World of Warcraft: The World Within in Review

I was at Blizzcon 2023 when Chris Metzan, World of Warcraft’s formerly retired narrative architect, took the stage to reveal the Worldsoul Saga—a three-act story spanning three upcoming expansions, beginning with The War Within this year, that promises to unravel the greatest mysteries of the Warcraft universe.

I’ve been to several Blizzcons, including when Diablo 4 was first announced in 2019, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an enthusiastic crowd reaction before. Fans got the message loud and clear: After 20 years, WoW was thought to be going away, but instead it’s entering its second Golden Era.

That’s critical context for The War Within, because at first glance it feels like a significantly stripped-down experience compared to what we’re used to. The main story campaign can be completed in about half the time of Dragonflight, Shadowlands, or Battle For Azeroth, and the four zones don’t feel nearly as expansive as the Dragon Isles. I expected to see a lot of negativity during Early Access from the many fun-per-minute machines out there, but there was none, and it’s not hard to see why. The War Within is a focused and perfectly paced adventure that puts quality over quantity and values ​​your time and effort more than its predecessors. That approach is a big gamble these days, but it pays off.

As the first chapter of the Worldsoul Saga, The War Within campaign is very focused on setting the tone and establishing the stakes. While the introduction is as momentous as a WoW story can be (if it hasn’t been revealed to you yet, you should get off the internet immediately), the rest of the short campaign focuses on building the world around Khaz Algar – the world beneath the world in Azeroth. There we meet friends and enemies who become major players in the unfolding saga, and are reacquainted with three protagonists whose stories have been on hold for some time: Anduin, Magni and Alleria.

Although the campaign is short, it defies many of the long-established expansion formulas and breathes new life into the decades-old game. While the story takes you through each zone in turn, introducing you to the characters, culture, and politics of each location, it moves at such a brisk pace that you never feel like you’re being forced to do unnecessary work for the sake of world-building.

The story has a purpose and urgency we’ve never experienced before, and the threats are ever-present, giving each mission weight and meaning. I tend to rush through WoW campaigns, but this one pulled me from one story climax to the next like I’ve never experienced before.

That’s not to say that world-building has been completely eliminated, though. Rather than stuffing the campaign full of side missions, Blizzard has opted to fill each zone with tons of quests that can be completed post-campaign. If you want to gain reputation and learn more about the world and the people who live there, there’s more than enough of that post-campaign. I suspect the total number of missions is about the same as previous expansions, but this rebalancing greatly benefits the campaign itself. There’s far more room for bespoke missions with varied gameplay, action-packed cutscenes, and well-paced story climaxes than we’ve ever seen in a main campaign before.

Thanks to skyriding, which expands Dragonflight’s dragon riding mechanic to over 400 mounts and is available right from the start of the campaign, the extra time can easily be spent completing every little quest in every zone. As much as I loved soaring over the Dragon Isles on Wilderdrake, I loved exploring the depths of Khaz Algar on my favorite mounts even more.

Blizzard’s environment artists and level designers deserve the highest praise for The War Within, which takes the “journey to the center of the earth” theme and executes it perfectly. The crown jewel of Khaz Algar is Hallowfall, home to an ancient human race called the Arathi, who are crucial to Warcraft’s story. Light and heat here are generated by a giant glowing crystal set into the ceiling of the domed cave.

Void corruption causes the crystal to occasionally go dark, creating a day-night cycle within the zone that alters the activities available. Hallowfall represents a level of dynamic world-building we’ve never seen before in WoW, and there are dozens more smaller examples scattered throughout the expansion.

There are many new systems, mechanics and features to talk about, but the common thread that connects them all is the feeling of player freedom. From being able to fly with any mount right from the start of the expansion, to the new Warband system that makes managing multiple characters easier. So much simpler, Blizzard has done a lot here to allow you to play WoW the way you want to, not the way you are supposed to.

The new endgame activity Delves is a great example of this. These microdungeons are the first way to get powerful gear from the Great Vault on a weekly basis through a solo activity. I’m also a huge fan of the new Companion Dungeons, where you can take AI companions into dungeons with you to get to know them before going in with a real team, or just experience the content without having to play with other people. We’ve never seen this kind of support for solo players before, but after 20 years, it seems like Blizzard isn’t as worried about WoW losing the things that make it an MMO, and is more willing to give players the tools they need to play the game their way.

The War Within is a new beginning in many ways. It’s the start of a three-act story that aims to cap decades of storytelling, led by a legendary figure brought back from retirement to finish his story. This premise has energized the WoW community and certainly caught the attention of former players, many of whom probably haven’t played WoW since Metzen retired.

It’s also the most welcoming WoW expansion yet. This is the start of a new story – one that, while rooted in WoW’s long history, goes to great lengths to bring new players up to speed. The brisk story also supports new players by requiring a small investment up front and giving them ample opportunity to continually reinvest. If you’re just starting out or returning without the safety net of your old clan, it’s easier than ever to be a solo player and not feel left behind. So much thought is being put into renewing WoW rather than getting even further caught up in the desires and whims of hardcore players. I imagine these weren’t easy decisions, but I see the long game starting here in The War Within, and I’m more excited than ever for the journey ahead.