Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Favorite Outland zone
by Alex Ziebart 
Aug 10th 2008 at 8:00AM
I'll completely agree that a lot of the locations in The Burning Crusade don't match up to our favorites in WoW Classic, but there are places I enjoy. Zangarmarsh is by far my favorite zone. No contest. It's the only zone that really gives me the feeling of "I'm on an alien world." It's something I wouldn't see on Azeroth. The blue tones, the giant mushrooms, the strange marsh creatures. It blew me away my first time running through it. It really was a different world there.
Outland was a bit too heavy on the futuristic sci-fi, but I think Zangarmarsh hit the right tone. What did you all think of Outland? Do you have a favorite zone? We're all eager to move on to Northrend, but is there a zone you'll miss when we're all idling in the frozen north instead of on Draenor? What did you like about it?
| Hellfire Peninsula | |
|---|---|
| Zangarmarsh | |
| Terokar Forest | |
| Nagrand | |
| Blade's Edge Mountains | |
| Shadowmoon Valley | |
| Netherstorm |
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Expansions, The Burning Crusade
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Tarbh Aug 10th 2008 9:55AM
Glad to see I'm not alone in my love of nagrand, it's that patch of pure green grass surrounded by a ruined landscape. It does like to remind you it is outlands with random floating islands that still blend in with the rest of the area.
alex.rushing Aug 10th 2008 10:31AM
I grew weary of hearing people complain about how Outlands looks a year ago. It is an alien dimension, with its own rules, environments, and ecosystems (and then blow to bits, to boot!), and yet so many people want another generic fantasy world.
I love all the areas in Outlands for their theme and structure. I dislike Blade's Edge because of the difficulty in getting around before you earn your flying mount, but the concept of it is spectacular. I love the peaceful look of Nagrand, although you can see the dangers lurking just out of sight. Hellfire Peninsula is a barren warzone, fought over repeatedly by forces with ever-diminishing material until there is barely anything worth fighting over. Zangermarsh is an alien environment out of an Escher drawing, with the native flora and fauna not only being beautiful, but appropriate as well. Terrokar is a haunted land full of ghosts and a savage race of birdman, all with ethereal spiders and sandworms.
That leaves my two most-favorite zones: Netherstorm and Shadowmoon Valley. Both of these places truly epitomize the destruction wrought upon Outland. When you fly through Netherstorm you see a world slowing crumbling, the remains of an Alliance village doomed for all time, and the ruins of ancient towns. How can you not like that? Shadowmoon Valley is the depository of so much lore from the game, that it oozes character. The Dragonmaw orcs have been part of the Warcraft universe from day one. The Black Temple, former home of the Draenai, then the demon lords who fought over Outland, then Illidan. The corruption visited upon the world is most evident here, with felfire volcanos, a sulfurous haze in the air, and demonic outposts everywhere.
Look beyond swords and sorcery, stop thinking spacegoats and zany sci-fi, and just enjoy the world.
nawe Aug 10th 2008 10:33AM
hellfire by far i think it really gave the impression of a warzone with the battle at the dark portal and the soldiers preparing in their respective keeps
dAnixx Aug 10th 2008 10:40AM
Blade's Edge Mountains.
Most Unique Zone ive seen.
U gotta Love dead Dragons
Dightkuz Aug 10th 2008 10:50AM
Only two good zones in Outland imo; Zangarmarsh and Nagrand. Hopefully Northrend will have some more diversity
Naldrissa Aug 10th 2008 10:54AM
Nagrand by far.
Tryst Aug 10th 2008 11:11AM
I hate Blades's Edge with the fury of a thousand suns. I actually quit halfway through the zone and moved on. Zangarmarsh was my favorite by far.
Zarkharaan Aug 10th 2008 11:11AM
Hellfire Peninsula, Zangarmarsh and Netherstorm are my favourites.
They do have one thing in common that annoys me, though. They're extremely monothematic when it comes to color. All you see in HFP is some kind of red, Zangarmarsh - blue, Netherstorm - purple. It really irritates the eye after a while and after a few hours of Netherstorm my head was filled with "OH GOD IT'S ALL PURPLE AHHGG".
However, HFP as an introductory zone does really well. It's atmospheric - a barren wasteland where the Horde and Alliance are beset by the Legion on all sides, there's a nice epic feel to it. It's less evident in the later regions, sadly.
Cyanea Aug 10th 2008 12:04PM
My favorite's Zangarmarsh, but that epic feel you described definately gives Hellfire the number two spot. Blizzard was trying to get across the idea of a broken and tattered warzone, and they got it perfect between the look, the quests, and the NPCs. Watching the random events like the battle at the portal and the raining infernals never gets old.
Mellow Aug 10th 2008 11:42AM
Agreed, Nagrand simply the best :) MMO News
adamarius Aug 10th 2008 11:47AM
Netherstorm and Nagrand hands down.
On an off note, could this be turned into a poll, now, or soon in the future?
Alex Ziebart Aug 10th 2008 12:12PM
Done.
Cyanea Aug 10th 2008 12:01PM
I haven't been through all of Outland yet, but from the little I've seen it's Zangarmarsh, hands down. My two favorite zones in Old Azeroth were Darkshore and Duskwood, and the Zangarmarsh reminds me of that.
It was the first zone that I saw in Outland that made me just stop and go "Whoah."
Gerell Aug 10th 2008 12:09PM
Who would vote for BE? Nagrand all the way baby!!!
Robert M Aug 10th 2008 12:17PM
the overall feel of zangar and the storyline that permeates the entire zone make it the best area in OL. you only needed some cenarions tied to mushrooms and the sporegaar there to help them while the naga tried to detroy them to make the area better.
Mevolution Aug 10th 2008 12:18PM
I loved the Azeroth zones more because more immersed in the RPG elements of WoW, and by the time i got to outlands, i was more concerned with gear, loot, raids, guilds, professions and so forth. with that said, nothing in outlands gave the awe factor of going from the beautiful desert of Tanaris to taking that long winding ride down to Un'Goro Crater, and nothing was as remotely creepy as getting lost in Eastern plagelands trying to find the quest zone/FP >.>
as far as outland, my favorite zone as Hellfire Penninsula. mostly because it's environment reminded me of trigun universe and how you always felt like you were part of a battle. with infantry riding around, to all those bunkers with generals, to a hearing and feeling impending doom walk slowly around and hearing some evil lunatic boss screaming :o EPAC.
Samfisher Aug 10th 2008 12:36PM
Nagrand just for one reason - Hemit Nesingwary
Hoggersbud Aug 10th 2008 12:52PM
Let's see...
Hellfire positives: Nice graphics, plenty of quests, great rewards.
Negatives: Fel Reaver. Poor fishing.
Zangarmarsh: Graphics are awesome, as is the character. I love the waterspout. Great fishing.
Negatives: Crossing it is a pain.
Terokkar: Shattrath. Only other cool place is Skettis.
Negatives: Bland and boring. Very cluttered. The birds in Skettis.
Nagrand: Decent character, wide-open spaces in contrast to other zones.
Negatives: Oshu'gun isn't an instance yet? Come on, it's PERFECT! Better be something someday. Crowds at the Elemental Plateau. No Flight point near the Gem dispenser.
Blade's Edge: Well, all those dragons are interesting scenery.
Negatives: Hell of a place to navigate without a flying mount.
Shadowmoon Valley: Flavor is great.
Negatives: Netherwing dailies. Aargh.
Netherstorm: Very unique design, the collapsed village is great, the Manaforges look cool, and who doesn't like the Eco-Domes?
Negatives: Oops, I fell off the edge!
Jalel Aug 10th 2008 1:16PM
I like Netherstorm the best.
But not so much for Netherstorm itself, it's because of the biodomes. It really made me think of how this once was a beautiful, regular world that has now been shattered to pieces and thrown to the void. The first time I walked through one of the doorways in a Netherstorm biodome and stepped from that violent shattered chaos into that soft green world of yesterday, was the first time the story of the Outlands creation really hit home.
Rannulf Aug 10th 2008 2:03PM
Zangarmarsh hands down. It was great going there right after Hellfire. Also it is about the only zone that doesn't have at least 5 retextured mobs from Azeroth.
For some reason I never liked Nagrand. I think my friends overhyped it for me or something. Also the quest there are a little cumbersome. Killing 30 of one type of mob isn't bad in STV when they all jump you the moment you ride into the area. Also Nagrand seems.... actually a bit bland. Maybe I need to upgrade my graphics card or something but it's not the "feast or the eyes" I always expected it to be.
Blades is my second. I always thought Ogres were cool. Also it's hard for me to get tired of the area. Once you start getting tired of it you end up in another style valley. Also I can get my Orb of the Dragonwhelp here :D