The Broken Isles Looks To Be Smaller Than Pandaria. How Does It Feel?

[Gyrotex]

I'm concerned about the size of the map for Legion. It doesn't look like there will be as much to do in the world due to the smaller size of the map. Does it feel larger than it actually is?

Didn't read the whole thread, just responding to OP directly.

It does feel small.

Perception is unique thing of course, everyone has their own, but it IS. SMALL.

Any talk about how you can start in any zone of Broken Isles and be happy is kinda irrelevant, because continent is so small that you'll visit all zones anyway.

I.e. if you have 1+ alts, they'll all have the same journey. In different order.

My honest experience anyway.

[Zephre]

From my experiences on the alpha the zones are much smaller than anything that came before but there's more to do in the zones.

[Tenjen]

Oh my god. This damn topic every expansion. Every damn expansion in some form. It even has many of the same statements.

With each expansion blizzard is reducing the glut of "big empty vista's where you do nothing, nothing happens and nothing is located at". Hell Cata's biggest achievement was doing this to vanilla (within reason) for the leveling experience in almost every zone along with streamlining the quest path to the standards of the time.

WoD was especially great for this, a lot of content and areas and things to experience within every area. Hell every place told some sort of story big or small even if it wasnt related to some form of quest.

Legion takes it even further but not everything you see on the physical map and land portions is the content you experience.

[Deleted]

To me the zones in Legion seems to have a fair size. Some zones seems small at first, but as you level and do all quests you realize that it is bigger than you first thought. Like Azsuna, I felt it was a bit small until I discovered the beach with all the murlocs.
The zone itself are packed pretty tight, and you (or at least I did) feel it was a bit small while leveling. It being tight packed and having all those "sub zones" that are very different from each other was also a part of the reason of my experience.

To make this short, then the discover part makes a big difference in how "big" a zone will feel. If you just rush through the main quests it will probably feel smaller than if you actually do all quests and discover all of the map

[Deleted]

Would you be happier with a HUUUUGE continent where shit all happens and you just...travel...and fly...and travel..and fly?

Yeah I do, I m perfectly fine with kalimdor and the eastern kingdoms.

With each expansion blizzard is reducing the glut of "big empty vista's where you do nothing, nothing happens and nothing is located at". Hell Cata's biggest achievement was doing this to vanilla (within reason) for the leveling experience in almost every zone along with streamlining the quest path to the standards of the time.

WOTLK had ample spaces to explore and was quite huge.

[Deleted]

Yeah the Landmass is smaller but the Broken Isles are just that. Smaller masses of zones and such and it fits for where the expansion narrative is taking place. Also, what are the positives of dead space in continent/zones in a Mmo expansion. I've seen people defend it but no reason as to WHY.

Because if you speak about a world, then you compare this world with our real world, and we have many vast, open, empty spaces there. Deserts, savannas, large fields and grassy areas etc. There is some magic when you can travel for some time and not see any person out there. This is what makes the world feel big, that you have to travel for hours with such a fast thing as a plane to get to a destination.

Of course, you cannot recreate this experience in a game to the full extent, because traveling for long times is just not the same, but you can recreate it on a smaller scale, by making travel times relatively longer in some cases, which already happens, but I feel that is done with flaws. For example, a larger world would finally make the use of flying vs. non-flying mounts more interesting. You could for example make the preparation time to fly higher (like longer cast time for a flying mount, something we already had in this game some time ago), and the ground mount to be faster available. So you would use the flying mount to travel between quest hubs or areas of interest, and then use the ground mount to do the "tasks on hand".

Funny thing, in areas where I can freely chose flying or ground mount, I sometimes tent to use the ground mount if the distance is short, though I am an extreme pro-flyer. I find it strange to use a flying mount for a short hop. But I use flying mounts exclusively if my flying experience is deranged by some no-flying regulations.

Also, suspension of disbelief comes into play. I constantly get reminded that I am in a game when my whole experience is made up by areas which only exist for questing. I like to have "useless" places in the game, at least useless to that part of the game, which could be used for RP, for example, so you don't have constant interruptions from other players passing by or mobs which have to be there because of questing.

[Huntaer]

Honestly for me, when you're not yet flying and walking around in the area's, it feels really really big. Even the flightpoint from dalaran to highmountain felt like the place was huge.

[thilicen]

Feels great. It's obviously smaller than what we're used to but that also makes it a lot more living in terms of seeing players all over the place. There's also more content than before, now spread out on a smaller surface. All in all you will definitely see it's physically smaller if you're looking for it, but I've not once felt it bothered me in the beta as I was more caught up in enjoying content wherever I went.

[PragmaticGamer]

Almost enough hyperbole in this comment. Try using more next time.

Ah, so you loved the frustrating terrain? The barriers that were inexplicably placed at every turn? The items tossed up mountains that have less clear paths than in previous expansions?

Okay. Good for our.

[Deleted]

Quality > quantity.

Just look at Kun-lai for example, almost all of it is just barren space.

[Akta]

Yeah that's right, i totally don't know how legion works...

you still can't progress without world quests

[Lochton]

I'm concerned about the size of the map for Legion. It doesn't look like there will be as much to do in the world due to the smaller size of the map. Does it feel larger than it actually is?

This is going to sound horrible...

... but... It isn't always the size that does it.

[Nakotsu]

It is large with many things to do within it. Unlike pandaria which had vast spans of pointless land, most of all the space in legion is used for one thing or another whether it be questing, world quests, pvp stuff, whatever your cup of tea is. After being on legion for about 9 months now it honestly seems great and may contend with my favorite expansion (wrath - didn't play seriously during bc to like it much), and with there being three raid tiers and plenty of content to come, I am currently completely satisfied. Pandaria does not stand close to it imo. Gotta get that immersion through actual content and not entirely pretty flowers in a field and a brewery in the background.

it is smaller but more stuff in it. less wasted land. You will get bored thou quiet fast.

[Racthoh]

just feels like another expansion continent to me. the flight paths are pretty fast.

[Dremall]

There are points where you are aware of how small the map is, particularly when taking a flight path. Once on the ground though, the space is very well utilized. There is a ton of stuff to do. It seems like there is something new around every corner.

[Lionhearte0]

People say that it feels really huge, but i remain unconvinced.

Boldly said.

[nocendi]

It feels much smaller than Pandaria to me. I think people are being a bit deceived by the fact that they remember Pandaria with flying mounts, and compare that idea to Broken Isles with ground mounts.

With that being said, I think the zones are big enough for all of their purposes.

[Deleted]

Didn't read the whole thread, just responding to OP directly.

It does feel small.

Perception is unique thing of course, everyone has their own, but it IS. SMALL.

Any talk about how you can start in any zone of Broken Isles and be happy is kinda irrelevant, because continent is so small that you'll visit all zones anyway.

I.e. if you have 1+ alts, they'll all have the same journey. In different order.

My honest experience anyway.

I dont think it feels small. It feels like leveling zones should feel to me.

Also in any expansion ever where you even slightly serious you would have visited all the zones and done all the quests anyway. There is nothing new to this.

This is actually the first expansion ever where you wont have the same journey. Specifically ebcause of artifact weapon and the associated questline.

You are so off

[melodramocracy]

Ah, so you loved the frustrating terrain? The barriers that were inexplicably placed at every turn? The items tossed up mountains that have less clear paths than in previous expansions?

Okay. Good for our.

I didn't find it frustrating in the slightest. Actually, I rather enjoyed it, and didn't actually have any trouble getting where I wanted to be.

Anyone who disliked Draenor geographically should, for shits 'n giggles, go play GW2's Heart of Thorns expansion for an actual example of what difficult, confusing terrain plays like. I found that fun as well.

[EzG]

it is smaller but more stuff in it. less wasted land. You will get bored thou quiet fast.

Bored? After all of the world quests, reps, places to go to, raids, world pvp, etc. I don't see you running out of content unless you blow through mythics and finish everything within the first 2 months.