Why is Timeless Isle so fondly remembered?

[Narwhalosh Whalescream]

Thematically it wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad either, pleasantly grounded like the rest of pandaria. What i remember the most of it was the exploration and the many ways of it, like in the water, or gliding through the sky. And best of all! WPVP! Got like 3000 bloody coins from that place thanks to that red item, very fun times as a lock with many toys and items to glide and swim very very fast.

[Morae]

Wasnt it first time they did a zone like that? It was new and interesting?

[Hitei]

Wasnt it first time they did a zone like that? It was new and interesting?

No, it was just a worse Isle of Thunder.

[Lolites]

at the time it was good, it was fresh, and now enough time has passed for nostalgia to kick in

[Biomega]

Nostalgia, mostly. It wasn't the first, but it was a capstone event for an overall decent expansion, which created lots of memorable moments for people.

Objectively, it was okay. The concept was fairly novel still, but there were issues as well like chaos around the rare spawns etc.

Like "omg Mage Tower!" it has cemented its place in collective player memory as a great experience, but that's not usually done with a lot of objective assessment in mind - it's a community reaction more than anything. It was fine for its time, but it wore out quite quickly as well.

[Skayth]

I actually despised timeless isle. I prefer a story for the zone, but instead of a story... you could grind mobs and find treasure chests and killing rates when they spawned....

Thunder isle was firelands, timeless isle was the end of a proper cohesive story in the final zone.

[McNeil]

I never really thought much of Timeless Isle, even at the time. For most part it was just running around with annoying elite mobs and collect a currency I wasn't interested in, though I did like doing the world bosses and finding treasures. The zone doesn't even look unique as it just reuses Jade Forrest assets. I remember some people even called it ''Mindless Isle'' back then. It was the first of its kind and todays players seem to remember it more fondly, even if its done better in the following expansions (yes I do actually believe Tanaan is better than TI, at least I could fly). Zones like Isle of Quel'Danas, Molten Front and Isle of Thunder are way more up my alley.

[Uoyredrum]

Wasnt it first time they did a zone like that? It was new and interesting?

Isle of Quel'Danas came first, then Isle of Thunder, then Timeless Isle.

[Neuroticaine]

Why is Timeless Isle so fondly remembered?

Not by me. Hated it then and still regard it as the worst content they've ever added to the game.

[Cæli]

last actually good expansion for many

[Kralljin]

Never been a fan of this rather odd attempt at Sandbox content, it just feels like random points of interest strewn across a zone.

[Schizoide]

My feeling is most people that loved the Timeless Isle were on PvP servers, where it was a glorious orgy with blood pooling up to their ankles.

As a PvE carebear, I found it completely boring after two weeks.

[loras]

Thematically it wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad either, pleasantly grounded like the rest of pandaria. What i remember the most of it was the exploration and the many ways of it, like in the water, or gliding through the sky. And best of all! WPVP! Got like 3000 bloody coins from that place thanks to that red item, very fun times as a lock with many toys and items to glide and swim very very fast.

As someone who encountered it only later (didn't play during pandaland) i've gotta say that it seems like nothing special, a bit reminiscent of a less atmospheric Quel'danas at best.
Some obvious similarities to Isle of Thunder as others note, but that one seems a lot better in terms of theming; Timeless isle just feels tacked on, and while that's lore consistent that doesn't make it good.

[exochaft]

No, it was just a worse Isle of Thunder.

Isle of Thunder actually had quest lines and story attached to it, as well as a raid. There were some non-power rewards, but not that many.

Timeless Isle was more of a optional catch-up mechanic, where most of the content was a condensed area of cosmetics and pets/mounts/toys (with a dash of storyline to lead into the next expansion). In terms of that, Timeless Isle was pretty unique. If you were on a PvP server at the time, it was a bloodbath as well as a fairly unique way to get PvP-specific items and cosmetics. On both the PvE and PvP side of things, there were tons of buffs and effects you could gain on the island that could change up your standard experience or just make you feel more powerful than you normally would. There were a bunch of events and areas to explore (amplified by not being able to fly there), and it was probably one of the last times where there were tons of people in one area interacting with each other in helpful (or harmful) ways.

Simply put, Isle of Thunder and Timeless Isle are meant to be two different things and different experiences. While Isle of Thunder was superior in terms of story progression and quests, Timeless Isle was superior in terms of a social hub for players to interact with each other for various reasons. Ironically enough, Blizz has tried to replicate the Timeless Isle experience, but they've never been able to do so.

[Sephius]

It was the best piece of content ever to be added into the game. At the time i was in max pve gear as a rogue, and with the item that let you kill people from the same faction, i was able to spend hours every day just killing people. Most fun ive ever had. Would roam with a buddy or two of mine. I have a folder on my old hardrive of hundreds of screenshots of death threats i received. Good times.

[THEORACLE64]

It was good, that’s why.

[prwraith]

Timeless isle was well designed. Good flow to the zone, easy to understand. Could reliably get the drops you wanted and kill the rares you needed. Didn't have to put much thought into it. Good way to zone out and enjoy

[Kauko]

Simple. Lots of stuff to do. PVP... Something new or kinda new.

I don't know if I ever spent so much time on any other patch zone like I did in Timeless Isle... Sometimes I was just roaming the island for hours, PVPing, playing with my alts... No forced content, just play the game.

[Schizoide]

With PvP, yeah. If you PvP'd, you probably liked this zone. If not, not.

[Dracullus]

People like this kind of small, open, bright, flat zones. Isle of Quel'Danas, TI, Mechagon.