All my last 2 weeks were devoted to leveling up my 4 chars through Cataclysm. I will make my usual story-posts for this content (for history sakes), but I still think that this expansion’s quests are a disaster with each next char and it was really a torture.
While storylines are interesting and epic enough, the major drawback is that there are 4 dungeons for 4 levels, extremely low leveling speed, same questlines for Horde and Alliance. And now I also personally hate Cataclysm’s locations:
Vash’jir. Underwater – nuff said. Despite all the beautiful seaweed, in the end of all the water mass above your head starts to press on you. When in the middle of location you get a quest when you are launched to the surface, you understand how much you miss the fresh air and the Sun. And then you must go back. And fighting and moving in 3D sucks. They say that Blizzard wanted to do a whole underwater expansion (in web-series “The Guild” they actually did). Thank you that it’s only one location. What I like about Vash’jir: seaweeds, the great epic chasm, naga flashbacks.
Hyjal. While it starts in the most beautiful elven vilages, you eventually end up with the dark, scorched land. It’s very, very much depressing, and although the finishing questline where you pretend to be a Twilight Hammer’s apprentice is one of the most interesting, I never did it this time – just can’t stand more crawling in the ash under dark skies. What I like about Hyjal: starting quests in green areas, RPG-element with all the demigods returned back.
Deepholm. Also dark, claustrophobic and oppressing. And most of the time you’re just flying up and down, many miles of flying. And silly Earthen. And annoying troggs everywhere. But rock giants are funny. And there’s a complete failure in the end of all: when you gather all the pieces of the world pillar together, you expect it to be SOLID. But what you get in the end is just floating rocks in the whirlwind of magic. Doesn’t look reliable – at all. What I like about Deepholm: mushrooms, throne of Therazane and vacant airship questline.
Uldum. It’s very cool when it concerns the lush valley on the shores of Nile. But when it moves to the desert, especially the one to the west, you practically choke with all the sandstorms and – again – vast desert areas with nothing to do but flying somewhere. I’m not into south, really. But Ramkahen palaces made me re-watch The Mummy trilogy :) What I like about Uldum: mad gnomes questline, Harrison Jones questlines, the River Nile.
Twilight Highlands. It’s when the things get interesting and cool at last – normal area, normal questlines with different and epic paths for both factions. But I never make it, cause it’s the point when you finish 3 new (!) dungeon runs and hit Pandaria. But i will return and replay both. What I like about Twilight Highlands: everything.
Now I have Zindari at 83,24 and Chitsuro at 83,7 – with Mayluna and Rottenshield already landed in the respective villages at Jade Forest.
Thanks God that Cataclysm for me will be over soon.
Gnomecore 