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The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: What's the best quest zone in the game?
by Olivia Grace 
Feb 11th 2012 at 8:00AM
The screenshot is a fine example of this. Sure, it looks like Gilneas, but it's actually a little pocket of Blasted Lands southwest of the Dark Portal. Unfortunately, I was on my Horde warlock when I happened upon this little coastal settlement, so its inhabitants were less than friendly to me!
What are your favorite zones to quest in, and what makes a great questing zone? For me, the vital components are atmosphere, looks, convenience of travel and geographical layout, and quality of quests. A zone has to look good -- my preference is for dark, mysterious zones like Duskwood -- and have a great feel to it. I think the feel is some combination of continuity in the looks and the quest content, plus a sense of what's going on in the zone, a bit of a story that I'm part of. Travel has to be convenient -- in long, thin zones, there has to be a way to get around. Obviously, this is tantamount where you can't fly!
And the layout of the quests has to be convenient, too. I hate doing a whole bunch of quests in one area and then moving to another area, only to have to go back to where I started. And having to go back to the same place again and again. That's just me, though. And lastly, the fewer "bring me nine basilisk gizzard" quests, the better. I don't care if they're to make your soup or for a satanic ritual -- it's still dull!
Badlands, since its Cataclysm rework, has some amazing quest lines -- it's now on the list of vital places I'll always level through -- but visually, it doesn't do it for me. My favorite? Duskwood, by a long shot! How about you?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
G0rehowl Feb 11th 2012 10:21AM
It may not be the most popular choice but I love the argent tournament/ice crown. Evaporating waves of undead with holy justice and providing my self worthy to join crusade, for a paladin this was the greatest thing EVER! Even today my paladin shambles around the tournament like a washed out athlete trying to relive his glory days.
AltairAntares Feb 11th 2012 10:33AM
Saving the argen crusader (bradenburg?) is my favorite questline probably in the game, it was just so awesome.
Taino Feb 11th 2012 10:46AM
@AltairAntares
That quest line was quite awesome. I have to admit I teared up when I completed it.
HayekWasRight Feb 11th 2012 10:10AM
Of all the zones in the game, Storm Peaks takes it in a walk. The epic story, the lore, the exploding mammoths, the daily quest to plant land mines? What's not to love?
Jutto Feb 11th 2012 10:24AM
For some reason, Northern Barrens was a blast for me. The movement from hub to hub made questing quite fluid, even though after Crossroads it slows down a bit. But a really nice zone nevertheless! I also have to agree with others that Silverpine and Hillsbrad are really fun zones as well.
Vorken Feb 11th 2012 10:45AM
Nagrand
/thread
muzeipost Feb 11th 2012 12:46PM
Nagrand!!!
StClair Feb 13th 2012 12:22PM
So beautiful. My orc warrior retired there, to live among his father's father's people.
David Feb 11th 2012 10:53AM
The zone that stands out for me is Duskwood. As a HUGE gothic horror fan, I knew no greater pleasure in WoW than questing through Duskwood on my first character.
Caylynn Feb 11th 2012 10:56AM
I'm not a fan of dark zones. I try to avoid them whenever I can.
I've always been fascinated with ancient Egypt, and have had the chance to visit Egypt twice and see many of the ancient monuments, temples and tombs that are there, so I find Uldum to be just amazing. I'm also a major Indiana Jones fan, so the Harrison Jones quests in that zone don't bother me at all.
I also like Sholazar Basin and Nagrand, because they are so nice and green! Bright and lovely. :)
Vashj'ir is beautiful - the colours are gorgeous - but trying to get around by swimming in a major pain. I can never quite judge where my character is in relation to the mobs I'm trying to hit.
Kadamon Feb 11th 2012 11:06AM
Horde would be, weirdly enough, Stonetalon Mountains. It's one of the best zone's I've ever leveled in when Cata hit, beforehand, I absolutely hated the zone.
lazymangaka Feb 11th 2012 11:17AM
Silverpine Forest is probably my favorite quest zone.
robitrock Feb 11th 2012 11:26AM
Storm peaks and twilight highlands, both have fun interesting quests that are heavy on lore.
Tinkereena Feb 11th 2012 11:28AM
I agree with the general consensus for silverpine hordeside, but I will always have soft spots in my heart for Nagrand and Deepholm. Both of them have questlines that really include the player. Nagrand, in the future of the Kurenai/maghar, and Deepholm, in the safety of the world. Breathtaking visuals in both, and flight fixes the transit issue. May be a lot of certain types of quests in deepholm, but not too bad.
NatalaH Feb 11th 2012 11:38AM
I have two, because I can't decide between them. Felwood, I'll admit, has a lot to do with the demon hunter quests where the druids are all so outraged and then he essentially calls you a fool and pulls you into an interactive history lessons. Also, the dryad. I love that dryad.
The second is one many have mentioned - Stonetalon Mountains. The first time I played through that, I thought it was going to break my love of the Horde. They've always been my favorites - and until I got to that very last part of the last quest, I was quite sure I was never going to be able to do Horde quests again. *laugh* Yet, I couldn't stop until I'd seen the end. And it so proved me wrong.
clundgren Feb 11th 2012 11:39AM
As so many have already commented, Blizzard really hit a home run with the Forsaken zones. Love her or hate her, Sylvanas is their most interesting and fully realized character, and the naturally conflicted Forsaken make fantastic story vehicles. I especially loved the sense you got of the Forskaen being fanatically devoted not just to Sylvanas but to each other; they have a true "us versus the world" mentality that makes perfect sense with their history.
The Gilnean starting zones are really great, too. The atmosphere is perfect and the quests have a fantastic flow to them. The goblin zones are fun but lack the same tight unity (too much of a parody at times).
The new Darkshore storyline is outstanding, as is the continuation into Ashenvale, on the Alliance side in particular. Westfall is a great zone, too, and really made you think about how all the wars are effecting common folk.
Athronaxx Feb 11th 2012 11:40AM
Paramount, not tantamount. WTB a weekend edition editor :)
RetPallyJil Feb 11th 2012 11:43AM
It WAS Western and Eastern Plaguelands. Terror and certain death around every corner! Zombies and skeletons under every step you take! It was paladin heaven :D
The revamp of WPL was ok, I guess. It progressed the story, which the game needs to do. Wasn't keen at all on the EPL changes, though. It was a total railroad with no room to breathe or explore at all.
Philster043 Feb 11th 2012 11:56AM
I'm actually now working on questing through all the old zones again on my main to get these new zone-specific achievements, despite already getting Loremaster pre-Cataclysm. I've already seen all of Eastern Kingdoms again on two alts (except for Duskwood - need to rectify that one day!), and most of Kalimdor, but am not quite done yet (still have to do Feralas, Thousand Needles & Tanaris). That being said, here's my top 5 so far:
1) Badlands. It may not do it for you visually, but for me it was one of the best surprises of Cataclysm for me. I had always avoided this zone like the plague before, but now I absolutely love it. I've done it on both my Alliance hunter and Horde warlock. It was a blast both times. Theldurin may be my favorite secondary character in WoW at the moment.
2) Silverpine Forest. This is an awesome example of what introductory zones SHOULD be like for every race. You get a retelling of current events from your own faction leader, Sylvanas herself, you end up feeling like a pivotal player, the story is pretty epic even if it's on a smaller scale compared to the rest of the game, feels personal somehow, and you understand what the Forsaken are all about when it's all over and done with. Elwynn Forest/Westfall, Dun Morogh/Loch Modan, Teldrassil/Darkshore, Durotar/the Northern Barrens, Azshara (particularly with regards to the current doings of Gallywix), and Gilneas should have all had similarly stronger focus on the cultural history of the featured races and their faction leaders.
(In Gilneas' case, half their story was lost to Silverpine! Blizzard needs to fix this one day by adding in an early questline that will take Worgen players into Silverpine similar to how Forsaken players got to visit Gilneas.)
3) Hillsbrad. Had a tough act to follow in Silverpine, and succeeded. One of the best zone revamps as far as overall levity and storytelling entertainment. After the serious quests of Silverpine, that was needed, so it was smart of Blizzard to do. Leveling as a Forsaken player, something I had always dreaded in the past, is now the most entertaining way to level in the game!
4) Eastern Plaguelands. Another excellent revamp. This zone used to be so dreary to level through; now it's a lot of fun and very engaging. The Caravan and their cast of characters was a brilliant addition. It's no longer tedious to move around there, and when you're done with the Plaguelands, you almost feel like you just hit the endgame of a small RPG.
5) Azshara. Now Goblinland, the reason it makes my top 5 is that it's now a great leveling alternate to the Barrens, which was needed for a long time. It also happens to be a great example of how a designer's imagination can completely reinvigorate an old questing zone. Goblins now have their own paradise to bask in, and you get to learn all about what they're all about. On a sidenote, Gnomes need a similar zone; all they have is northwestern Dun Morogh. Kind of a shame as I can see a zone dedicated to Gnomes as being just as fun. (Hint, hint, Blizzard: there's a LOT of untouched area on the western coast of Dun Morogh...)
Honorary mention: Redridge Mountains. This may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I thoroughly had fun with this zone and its Rambo spoofs. It was a lot more fun than it used to be (and I leveled through the old Redridge on about six Alliance characters! I was relieved for a change of pace!)
Un'goro Crater. Used to be an annoying zone as far as how much travelling you had to do to get to all the quests. Now all the quests are easily reachable from their questgivers and the addition
Western Plaguelands. I liked the conflict between Horde and Alliance, but some of the quests here did feel forced (particularly Thassarian and Koltira, as well as the Menders Stead quests). Also, since I first did this zone on my dwarf hunter as I was leveling him, I was left in a state of shock as the Alliance was driven out of Andorhal almost completely. And - though my main is a Horde character - I was actually miffed! (Maybe that's a plus, though - since the story actually touched on my emotions that much.)
Northern Barrens. If nothing else, riding shotgun (ha!) around the Barrens certainly helped the zone feel a lot more tolerable to level through once again.
Zones that most make me sadface:
1) Arathi Higlands. Before Cataclysm, I considered this zone to be one of the most boring questing zones in all of WoW. After...? Nothing's changed! Okay, besides a little Forsaken camp that now gives the same quests that you used to get straight from Hillsbrad... and also, a new direct path to the Hinterlands is available now so that you can get out of there as quickly as possible. Regardless of these minor changes, I nominate this zone as the one most in need of a revamp in the next expansion. I would actually not mind seeing the Alliance completely take over this zone just as the Horde did Hillsbrad (eye for an eye!), and to see a re-construction of Stromgarde Keep. Bye-bye Hammerfall. Horde players can easily move on from Hillsbrad to the Hinterlands without much of a problem, anyway, with a few transitional quests sprinkled in between the zones. (Alterac Mountains used to have more quests before it became part of the Hillsbrad zones...)
2) Tie between Burning Steppes/Searing Gorge. After Badlands, I was so excited about these zones, thinking they had as much to offer as the Badlands as far as fresh questlines. These zones are also pretty much World of Warcraft's version of Mordor, so I was also expecting something new and similar in vein to that. Besides the admittedly amusing Lunk, I was left wholly disappointed. Except for the skirmishes between Alliance and Horde in the Swamp (which I was glad for), the rest of the Eastern Kingdoms after the Badlands felt rather uneventful. This was a shame for these zones as I felt there could have been more done with them as far as introducing players to the threat of Blackrock Mountain, etc.
3) Desolace. Another zone revamp that initially raised expectations, the place actully ended up still being a grindy bore and actually stopped one of my alts from exploring Kalimdor any further! (One day, Feralas...) They might as well not have bothered with the addition of the new grove, though I still appreciate the change of scenery, brief as it is.
Ok I'm done. Sorry for the wall of text!
Philster043 Feb 11th 2012 12:02PM
Whoops, didn't finish my Un'goro Crater summary - the addition of Maximillian's quests were fun, though I miss the Linken quests.