Another year is almost gone in the World of Warcraft era of Warlords of Draenor. Released on November 13, 2014, 2015 is truly the first full year for this expansion. The fifth expansion in this franchise, Warlords has been riddle with criticism from fans since its launch. However, despite wide public disapproval, this expansion has also had some high notes (really!) along the way. Reminisce with us as we get in the spirit of the end of year reflection, get sentimental, and take a look back at the best and worst of Warlords of Draenor.

Best of Warlords

Starting off on a positive note, we looked back on the many features of Warlords that fell into the realm of good concerning this expansion. With so many negative feelings channeled at Warlords, it was understandably difficult to see past its flaws. However, after some careful consideration; we came up with a fair few features that embody the best of Warlords:

Legends Come to Life

Remember when Warlords was first announced at BlizzCon 2013? One of the major draws for the expansion was the prospect of heading back in time and meeting up with legendary characters like Kargath, Grommash, Gul’dan, Blackhand, and Durotan. I had chills at the thought of seeing these guys in action. The prospect of an entire expansion dedicated to players not just learning about the lore, but living it, was intoxicating. While the expansion may not have played out entirely like expected, seeing Draenor and its inhabitants in all its glory was still an unforgettable experience.

Raids

Raids have been pretty sketchy in the last few expansions. Many players felt the challenge they once posed was no longer there. Boss fights felt lackluster and even the raid instances themselves felt a bit out of sorts. Warlords took a step back in time, bringing us raids that felt more like those we loved from the past. Bosses were a challenge, raid instances were cool, and overall raids felt more worthwhile in this expansion.

Patch 6.2

The base Warlords game was pretty bare and Patch 6.1 was laughable. In fact, the lack of content was one of the major complaints about this expansion. So when Patch 6.2 was released it was like a beacon of light in a dark room. Pack with content, this patch was what the expansion should have been from the start.

Game Tokens

Game Tokens are handy little items that allow you to exchange both gold and game time. For the first time ever paying for gold won’t get your account banned and players can use the gold they have earned to pay for their subscriptions. With gold selling out of control and subscription numbers declining, this was perhaps one of the smartest paths the game could take.

Draenor Flying

Is it or isn’t it sums up the idea of flying in Draenor. Developers flip flopped back and forth on the subject, but after much public outcry; flying made its way into this expansion. Even better, flying wasn’t just handed out to players. Instead, we had to work for it by completing several achievements. While many players were outraged, it was probably one of the best compromises to appease both those who wanted and didn’t want flying in game.  

Worst of Warlords

Of course, things can’t always be positive. Making this list was a little easier, since Warlords was full of many blunders. Here are our picks for the worst of Warlords:

Garrison and Shipyard

The Garrison was the developers first attempt at player housing, something that fans had been asking for years, and it was a disaster. Players felt isolated and like the Garrison activities were nothing more than a set of chores they had to log in to complete. Things went from bad to worse when the Shipyard was introduced. Set just far away enough from the Garrison to be annoying, the Shipyard opened up a whole new level of boring that will hopefully never be replicated in game again.

Dungeons

Dungeons in Warlords? What Dungeons? You may be asking yourself these questions because Dungeons were almost nonexistent in this expansion. Sure there were a few there for completion at the start, but after that things in this department kind of stagnated. After running your first character through them, Dungeons in Warlords really lost most of their appeal and overall usefulness.

Single Player Experience

Warlords of Draenor propelled each player into the spot light. We were the leader of the army, the ruler of our Garrison, the ultimate hero. This sounds great, until you remember that we are playing in an MMO. Warlords created an atmosphere of a single-player experience that really took away from one of the greatest features of WoW: the community. What is the purpose of playing an MMO if you have no reason to interact with other players?

Patch 6.1

Patch 6.1 may very well go down in history as the worst patch ever. Warlords was released as a bare bones package, with very little content to keep players sustained. Patch 6.1 should have been a major content patch that resolved this issue. Instead we got cameras to take selfies, a jukebox, and a host of other inane items that should have been side notes instead of the main event. This is a patch that many of us would like to forget.

Subscription Loss

While I am not a Chicken Little who constantly thinks the sky is falling, Warlords was a pretty sad expansion when it came to subscription numbers. While still at a hefty 5 million (give or take), numbers are at their lowest point since the game has been released. For now, we can attribute the loss to the general dislike of Warlords and we must place our hopes on Legion to bring back the fan base.

Tired of looking back? Take a look forward to Legion and everything we learned about the upcoming expansion in 2015.