Dragonblight to Grizzly Hills

To me, Dragonblight is really a creepy place, with its sci-fictitious time warping and the daily litter of twitching oversized dragon corpses. It's also an unfortunate zone for low graphics settings. I felt like so much of it was Galli ooh-ing and ah-ing at the scenery on his kickass gaming machine while I stared at a mildly chlorinated swimming pool populated with dust bunnies. The drastically sloped terrain makes high draw distance necessary, and underpowered shaders mattify the snowy sheen that blankets the region. It's really the first time having a poor computer has detracted so dramatically from the atmosphere of a zone.

Less impressive than on Galli's machine.

Less contentious than My Inner Turmoil.

More altruistic than is credible.


Just plain creepy.

Admittedly I was pretty relieved to escape to the Grizzly Hills, a zone that has a strong vibe of the comfortable and the familiar. It is curiously refreshing for an area that doesn't add much that is new, whether in the way of mobs or storyline directions. The worgen threat quests directly reference the storyline out of Silverpine Forest. The slightly remodeled furbolg are back at their tribal faction feuds, now inhabiting evil world trees instead of tunnels bridging level 50-ish zones. The Westfall Brigade makes you reflect on the impact and influence your adventures have had on the world (of warcraft); ol' Gryan Fatmantle greets you with hearty recognition even if you've never seen him before. All this pleasant action-packed nostalgia happens amidst lodges, woodsy wildlife, and pine trees you can practically smell.

An excellent spot for efficient farming of... gelatin?

A relaxing worgen-peppered tour of the woods.

The unique wildlife really brings character to the zone.

There's also this Bambi reference, which is one of those RP setups that just can't be ignored:

Galli couldn't help but oblige in performing his hunterly duties. I personally seized the opportunity to provide an alternate ending.