With
an official release date
in site, fans of World of Warcraft are eagerly awaiting the arrival of
the newest expansion; Mists of Pandaria. Not so long ago, the same
tingling anticipation was being focused on Cataclysm. Sadly, Cataclysm
was rejected by many players and even labeled as one of the worst
expansions to date. I wouldn’t go as far to say that
Cataclysm was a failure, however, I do believe that there are many
lessons to be learned by Blizzard.

Mists of Pandaria is the
shining ray of hope that these lessons have been learned and applied
into the world we hold so dear. I firmly believe, based on what I have
seen in the beta that, always the pragmatist, Blizzard has taken these
lessons to heart and Mists of Pandaria will take the game to new
heights. Thinking I’m just a delusional dreamer? Here are
five reasons to back up my ideals:

Top 5 Reasons Mists of
Pandaria Could Potentially Top Cataclysm

Fare-thee-well Arch-Villian

Remember Ragnaros as he was in
Molten Core? How about Illidan or even Arthas? These evil doers, along
with the nefarious Deathwing, are the forces that have driven the flow
of the game since the beginning of World of Warcraft. Thanks to this,
Alliance and Horde have been forced to band together to defeat these
overwhelming obstacles for the greater good. However, Mists of Pandaria
will change everything.

In this newest expansion there
is no big bad guy lurking in the shadows. Alliance and Horde are left
with nothing to do but fight amongst themselves. While I rather enjoy
taking on a big baddie, the intrigue and open warfare of this newest
expansion promises potential thrills that will take the game to place
that it has never been and hopefully will help to rekindle the fires of
interest in players everywhere. It is time that we the players actually
engaged in some Warcraft.

Raids...Minus
the Nerfs
style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/233611" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/233611/preview"
width="245">Arch-villians
like Deathwing will be a thing of the past in Mists of Pandaria.

Raiding is be all and end all
for most of the World of Warcraft populace, myself included. There is
nothing quite like finally downing a boss encounter after spending days
or even weeks working on it. Each piece of loot is a small trophy of
your success. In Cataclysm, it took some time and more than a little
effort to obtain tier 11. So when tier 12 was introduced raiders
everywhere once again gritted their teeth and prepared once again for
the thrilling climb.

However, the climb was not to
be. Instead we witnessed nerf after nerf, finally allowing even PUG
raids to form and easily take on Cataclysm’s dungeons.
Similar wholesale nerfs were applied to tier 12 well before tier 13
came out and the content quickly became boring for raiders, and even
irrelevant well before its time. With the Looking for Raid feature in
place, allowing players to experience content they may not have been
able to before, these nerfs were totally unnecessary.

Thankfully, in Mists of
Pandaria Blizzard seems to have seen the error of their ways and it
seems no more content will die an early death because of nerfs. Those
that are more proficient will have raid content that is tuned to their
ability, without fearing incessant nerfs, while Looking for Raid will
allow those who wish it to see end game content as well. These ideas
are of course are just promises made by Blizzard, however, I truly
believe that there is reason to be hopeful for raiders in Mists of
Pandaria.

Varian, Varian Who?

Let’s face it,
besides Thrall, most of the faction leaders in World of Warcraft have
been pushed way into the back of the closet and left to collect dust.
Sure we know they are there, but they don’t really do
anything to draw our interest. The chance for the leaders to come
bravely forward was at its height in Cataclysm as Deathwing ravaged the
land.

Despite this, the only action
we were allowed to see was through the eyes of Thrall, who had a very
exciting place in the story. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love
me some Thrall action, but I want to see some other notable characters
pushed into the limelight for once. Mists of Pandaria has the potential
to do just that. With no arch-villain in sight, the Alliance and Horde
will be fighting each other and as the tides of war roll in, hopefully
we will see those often overlooked characters come to life. Mists of
Pandaria is the perfect time for notable players like Jaina Proudmore,
and King Varian to be pushed into action for the universal enjoyment of
us all. We already know that surly, yet strangely silent Garrosh will
play a major part in this expansion, making it likely that other
characters typically regulated to the wings will be thrust onto center
stage.

No Dungeon
Boredom
style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/233610" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/233610/preview"
width="245">Pet
Battles are just one of many options players will have to keep
themselves entertained.

Heroics in Cataclysm were
pretty much a requirement to get geared enough for any player to raid.
Meant to slow down gear progression, while still providing a challenge,
Blizzard hoped players would take the time to master these dungeons.
However, in the long run, many players found themselves at a perpetual
brick wall, unable to complete the heroics.

In order to appease players
heroics were made easier and players were able to get the gear, but
with a cost. Nerfed heroics became a grind, monotonous and almost
laughably easy. Blizzard saw this and has attempted to correct the
problem in Mists of Pandaria. While dungeons will be able to be
completed by any competent group, those players looking for more of a
thrill will find their prayers answered with Challenge Modes.

Challenge Modes will allow
players to take on heroics in a whole new light. Like Stratholme,
taking on a dungeon in Challenge Mode will pit your group against an
unforgiving timer. Those groups that can complete the challenge and
beat the timer will get rewards as well as some added swagger. With
Challenge Modes in place players can constantly challenge and recalling
themselves to beat their best time and rise to greater excellence in
game, dungeons likely will never be boring again.

Not a Dull Moment

After defeating the heavily
nerfed raids, and doing farming more herbs than I can ever count, I
found myself ….well…bored. When it came to
Cataclysm there wasn’t much to do other than raid, PvP, or
farm. Not that these aren’t interesting, but after awhile
most players find themselves wishing for just a little bit more. Mists
of Pnadaria promises to bring those wishes to fulfillment. In fact, we
may even find ourselves hard pressed to complete all we want to in the
game. Pet Battles, Scenarios, Challenge Modes, as well as a potential
farm to run will hopefully provide players with more than enough to do
and no time for boredom at all.

While many of the above may not
actually pan out, I hold out hope that Mists of Pandaria will be an
expansion pack to be remembered. In what ways do you think that Mists
of Pandaria will top Cataclysm? Share your thoughts with us in the
comment section below!


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.

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