Actually, I don't think Valdrakken or Dragon Isles looks that cool

[Mace]

Did they sack some of their other artists? Its not that it's bad, but, it just doesn't look stunningly remarkable take your breadth away type, like we've seem to have had every expansion. /shrug

All those quests that show you vistas, and comment how great it looks.. kinda feels like they're bragging about their work in-game, and I look at it, and have never felt it was that special.


Then come to Valdrakken, I would imagine it would have more of a spiky horned look than an elven (greco-roman) look. I get it, Dragons and elves and tians all have this thing going, but Bastion's - Elyssian Hold, Revendreth, Dazar'alor, Zuldazar, Suramar, , Skyhold, Auchindouin, Shattrath, , Dalaran, Silvermoon, Kezan. Ulduar - these are all so distinctive, and incredibly diverse and individulaly stylstic. This seems somewhat lacking or at least just not as inspiring... almost incomplete.


I dunno, maybe it's because the view quests brag so much, or maybe because it has such a Northrend meets Pandria feel to it or the landscapes are all too similar - Thaldrazsus, Ohn'aran plains and Waking Shore, only look slightly different, even Azure span, - makes more sense for a continent, but not what we are use to in terms of diversity...


I mean look at landscape wise, Arden Weald, Bastion, Zandalar, Val'sharah, Suramar, Azsuna Shadowmoon Valley, Frostfire ridge, Taladar, Tanaan, etc - these were stunning - and others linke Stormsong Valley, nagrand, , Stromheim, Revendreth - where all lovely. With most of Dragon Isles, i just htink, that's nice, or pleasant enough. Not breath taking like some of hte previous stuff.


I think I might be the only one who feels this way.

[BasilTheRat]

Did they sack some of their other artists? Its not that it's bad, but, it just doesn't look stunningly remarkable take your breadth away type, like we've seem to have had every expansion. /shrug

All those quests that show you vistas, and comment how great it looks.. kinda feels like they're bragging about their work in-game, and I look at it, and have never felt it was that special.


Then come to Valdrakken, I would imagine it would have more of a spiky horned look than an elven (greco-roman) look. I get it, Dragons and elves and tians all have this thing going, but Bastion's - Elyssian Hold, Revendreth, Dazar'alor, Zuldazar, Suramar, , Skyhold, Auchindouin, Shattrath, , Dalaran, Silvermoon, Kezan. Ulduar - these are all so distinctive, and incredibly diverse and individulaly stylstic. This seems somewhat lacking or at least just not as inspiring... almost incomplete.


I dunno, maybe it's because the view quests brag so much, or maybe because it has such a Northrend meets Pandria feel to it or the landscapes are all too similar - Thaldrazsus, Ohn'aran plains and Waking Shore, only look slightly different, even Azure span, - makes more sense for a continent, but not what we are use to in terms of diversity...


I mean look at landscape wise, Arden Weald, Bastion, Zandalar, Val'sharah, Suramar, Azsuna Shadowmoon Valley, Frostfire ridge, Taladar, Tanaan, etc - these were stunning - and others linke Stormsong Valley, nagrand, , Stromheim, Revendreth - where all lovely. With most of Dragon Isles, i just htink, that's nice, or pleasant enough. Not breath taking like some of hte previous stuff.


I think I might be the only one who feels this way.

Yes you are the only one who feels that way.
You are special, just like your mother told you all your life.
You are unique and one of a kind and deserve everything that is owed to you.
Congratulations.

[Segus1992]

I think I might be the only one who feels this way.

It really is funny how you felt the need to end with this statement. Yes, among millions of people including many thousands who look for something to be upset by you're the only one who feels this way about a very popular game.

[RahEndymion]

I think I agree generally.

The zones look really nice in Dragonflight but really that's it. They are all effectively copies of older zones just missing the spark that made each zone something special at the time.

Azure Span : Borean Tundra / Dragonblight
Ohn'Aran Plains : Nagrand
Thaldrazzus : Storm Peaks / Tiragarde
Waking Shores : Vanilla Thousand Needles / Mount Hyjal / Firelands

Obviously it makes sense for there to be crossover with Wrath zones given the narrative and location of the Isles from a lore perspective but I think that has left us with a bunch of zones that do look nice but just don't stand out at all.

I do wonder though if new players (should they exist) will feel differently and perhaps in 5-10 years will look back at DF zones as the special ones.

[arucado3]

Ye the average design is garbage, I agree

But Shadowlands was too, except from Revendreth, that zone was cool af

[apepi1337]

Did they sack some of their other artists? Its not that it's bad, but, it just doesn't look stunningly remarkable take your breadth away type, like we've seem to have had every expansion. /shrug

, Shattrath, - these are all so distinctive, and incredibly diverse and individulaly stylstic. This seems somewhat lacking or at least just not as inspiring... almost incomplete.

I agree. Green on top of some more green with a little hint of some other shade of green is distinctive and incredibly diverse and individulaly stylstic that it took my breath away.

[Soikona]

Yes you are the only one who feels that way.
You are special, just like your mother told you all your life.
You are unique and one of a kind and deserve everything that is owed to you.
Congratulations.

No, I feel that way too. There is nothing stunning about the zones. SL had a lot bad with it, but the zone artwork was amazing.

[Varodoc]

Valdrakken looks generic as fuck, it feels like all the houses are identical, except for the palace of the Aspects. I thought each Aspect would have their own unique architecture, but they just have the same houses with different colour paint. So disappointing.

In terms of architecture, Dazar'alor, Suramar, and Dalaran were way more unique and creative.

Valdrakken is still better than Oribos ofc, but it's not hard. Anything is better than Oribos. I'm not even sure why it's called a "city" from a lore perspective, since it's literally just a glorified airport.

The zones themselves look too generic for a Dragon expansion... The only zone that truly feels like it fits in a Dragon expansion is the Waking Shores, due to all the burned environments and magma-spewing volcanos erupting from the ground.

- - - Updated - - -

I agree. Green on top of some more green with a little hint of some other shade of green is distinctive and incredibly diverse and individulaly stylstic that it took my breath away.

Until I read the post you were replying to, I thought you were talking about Onh'aran Plains... which is literally just green on top of some more green with a little hint of some other shade of green (the Green Dragonflight coastline). Great description of Ohn'aran Plains!

[Pakheth]

I think they tried to keep it similar to other places on Azeroth to make it more nostalgic and familiar and not too outlandish like Draenor/Outlands and the Shadowlands.

My favourites are Azure Span and the Waking Shore, the latter being a heavily upgraded Thousand Needles which really utilises Dragonriding to the fullest with arches to fly under sharp turns and plenty of high and low places to land and perch.
The Waking Shore also has a complete colour change of the skybox depending on time of day which imo makes the zone quite beautiful. The other zones don't experience this in the same way I feel.

The plains I can agree is the most boring of the 4. Thaldrazus could also have been bigger but the mountains and the Vault take up most of the non-Valdrakken space.

My only issue with the zones visuals has more to do with how the view distance change that was implemented a few years back now make everything look rather grey-tinted due to the fading "fog". I feel this makes the game look a lot more faded than it should.

[Mace]

Yes you are the only one who feels that way.
You are special, just like your mother told you all your life.
You are unique and one of a kind and deserve everything that is owed to you.
Congratulations.

Yes, I am special, one of a kind, remarkable. So are you. But I don't think of myself any more than others. WE the human race are all a remarkable and extraordinary people. Though similar, yet so very different, this is why i detest organisations, belief systems or governments that try to force people or cut them to the same size cloth .. it's not how we are.

- - - Updated - - -

I think I agree generally.

The zones look really nice in Dragonflight but really that's it. They are all effectively copies of older zones just missing the spark that made each zone something special at the time.

Azure Span : Borean Tundra / Dragonblight
Ohn'Aran Plains : Nagrand
Thaldrazzus : Storm Peaks / Tiragarde
Waking Shores : Vanilla Thousand Needles / Mount Hyjal / Firelands

Obviously it makes sense for there to be crossover with Wrath zones given the narrative and location of the Isles from a lore perspective but I think that has left us with a bunch of zones that do look nice but just don't stand out at all.

I do wonder though if new players (should they exist) will feel differently and perhaps in 5-10 years will look back at DF zones as the special ones.

Bingo, they look nice, definitely, but it's like sense and one it all right.? and no longer a WOW factor.. the same zones would have been incredible 10/20 years ago though.

They felt too samey - which is odd as a criticism, because i isn't really, I mean wow always distinguished itself from other games, other mmos, like SWTOR by it's expansions having a really unique feel all round. DF does have it's unique feel, but I think this is the first time the zones and art have felt like a rehash, rather than truly original.. does this make any sense to you?

[salate]

Valdrakken is actually the best city I could ask for...

From Tyrhold and Titanic places I get only epic vibes. Music adds right mood to all creations.

Dragonscale Expedition leader is quite cute, I like her voice so much! It sounds really intriguing and cool.
Azure Span one of the best zones I've seen in the game for a while.
Waking Shore gave me the feeling I wanted to feel in WoW for so long > feeling of Massive huge zone with real exploration vibe (Maybe because I started as DH and wanted to gather alotta mining nodes without a dragon, kek).



The main thing I loved in DF is...

Side-questing is a big win for DF for me. It's the first xpac I actually cried while completed Veritistrasz's quest, finding his love's diary, Dragonmaw orc quest, Kalec quests about family, and alotta other stuff I really liked in the game.

To be honest, maybe I'm a little prejudice cause alotta quests gave me some emotional kicks (in a good way) so Zones + Quests + Music + Gameplay = this equation worked so well for me, I'm a little sad I have no more time to spend on alts

Only one thing I really hate is Nohkud Offensive. Warglaive never drops

[Mace]

Ye the average design is garbage, I agree

But Shadowlands was too, except from Revendreth, that zone was cool af

Initially i wasn't impressed with shadowlands, but after playing it in the last patch, I actually though quite highly of a lot zones, I though Arden Weald was a stunning forest, as stunning a forest as Suramar was a city, ..now if only they combined the two for a night elf new capital with a zone?

I also felt Bastiion was stunning, but it felt a bit samey in some regards as first, i wonder if down the line i will look at DF and feel it was amazing, or does playing wow cast some sort of spell on you that makes the ordinary seem extra-ordinary? /shrug

Revendreth was very cool.. can you imagine a forsaken themed home based on that or at least a vampire race?

[MauroDiogo]

Doesn't take much for valid discussions to quickly turn into insults around here it seems... Sad to see.

But I agree with OP. Or I did... In the beginning it felt like while expansive, the areas didn't have as much "Oomph" as other areas seen in previous expansions. However, the more I think about it the more I see it as intended.

In the beginning with the areas being so big and architecture being so spread about, it even left me with a "generic", Unity game feel but I think they are trying to bring the focus to the isles themselves. Let the Isles tell a story rather than use architecture and "man-made" structures because these have always been untamed lands. Ancient lands so to speak. Ruled by Dragons but also left untouched for thousands of years!
While there are some cultures that have habited the lands, their focus isn't much in building and expanding. You have nomadic centaur and then Tuskarr which tend to just have small settlements.

And then there's the actual architecture that's there. The most impresive to me has been the Temporal Conflux. But these were beings that built these structures thousands of years ago, so I think they are a bit more "primitive" in design. So Valdrakken relies more on levels/verticality and placement to make it interesting while the actual structures rely on more basic shapes without a lot of detail. Almost Greco-Roman as you pointed out. Greco-Roman architecture can have a lot of detail but they tend to be small (but all over so there's a lot to it) and I don't think it's something the builders of Valdrakken could accomplish.

With all that said though, there's more that they could have accomplished to achieve their intended results more succesfully. If you want environmental storytelling then the environments could have had some more unique features in each area. I like what they did in the Flashfrost Assault area (Waking Shores) and the area south of Vakthros (Azure Span) for example but you can't beat the work they did for Frostfire Ridge. An area that is meant to be expansive AND snowy, which games have a hard time make look interesting but it looks incredible and has amazing atmosphere.

And then... Almost every area has a weird "filter" that I think removes a lot of detail from it. The contrast you'd get between vegetation, land features and architecture tends to get muted and makes it look bland. A great example is Thaldraszus & Valdrakken itself. When you're flying around or even just in the city, the filter or illumination change and blankets everything around you and you lose a lot of the visual identity of your surroundings.

This is how colourful and interesting Valdrakken/Thaldraszus look in the cinematic versus what we see in the game.





The contrast between the vegetation and architecture just completely disappears and makes it a lot less interesting or visually appealing.
Even the rough sketched out concept Art looks more interesting.

[Aucald]

I think Valdrakken is interesting in its arrangement and architecture, but its aesthetic is a bit plain for what it is. I think it would've been nice to see more draconic influence in its design and presentation - the city as it is in-game looks more like a generic fantasy castle with soaring buttresses and towers. I like its verticality, but I think they could've done more with it. I would imagine a truly draconic city would be more like a collection of ornate aeries, with massive portico-like entrances that admit beings who travel mainly via flight, rising up a massive mountain. The city should've been made more with Dragonriding in mind - with sky-lanes that move you from district to district, all revolving around a central spire whose top, like the current Valdrakken, would serve as the seat of power for the Aspects.

The Dragon Isles themselves are pretty nice, though; an eclectic mix of zones that, at least to me, hearken back to WotLK in terms of being less alien and fantastical and more terrestrial while keeping a definitive sense of mystery. My only criticism here is that I think the original plan was for the zones of the Dragon Isles to represent each Dragonflight in a way. The Waking Shores seem more reflective of the Red flight, the Ohn’ahran Plains have echoes of the iconic swirls of the Emerald Dream as befits the Green, and the Azure Span obviously evokes the cold, ice, and arcane of the Blue, but the theme kind of falls flat when it comes the Bronze and Black flights. Thaldraszus feels more like an extension of the Waking Shores for the most part, with only a small portion devoted to the Bronze themes of desert and mystery, and the Black flight has only a small portion of the Waking Shores to showcase its theme of fire and molten earth. I would've made Thaldrazus into something more befitting the Bronzes, with Valdrakken being more in the center of the landmass, stretching into each territory to create an enclave for each flight, so to speak. The lands of the Black Dragonflight could've been more of an archipelago of volcanic islands, but with their core found at the Forbidden Reach, which would be strongly themed to the Black flight's aesthetic and separate from the lands of the other flights, befitting their ultimate fate.

[Mace]

Valdrakken is actually the best city I could ask for...

From Tyrhold and Titanic places I get only epic vibes. Music adds right mood to all creations.

Dragonscale Expedition leader is quite cute, I like her voice so much! It sounds really intriguing and cool.
Azure Span one of the best zones I've seen in the game for a while.
Waking Shore gave me the feeling I wanted to feel in WoW for so long > feeling of Massive huge zone with real exploration vibe (Maybe because I started as DH and wanted to gather alotta mining nodes without a dragon, kek).



The main thing I loved in DF is...

Side-questing is a big win for DF for me. It's the first xpac I actually cried while completed Veritistrasz's quest, finding his love's diary, Dragonmaw orc quest, Kalec quests about family, and alotta other stuff I really liked in the game.

To be honest, maybe I'm a little prejudice cause alotta quests gave me some emotional kicks (in a good way) so Zones + Quests + Music + Gameplay = this equation worked so well for me, I'm a little sad I have no more time to spend on alts

Only one thing I really hate is Nohkud Offensive. Warglaive never drops

Beautiful response. Thanks for sharing that, I'm glad we can all feel differently, we all have different experiences with the game anyway, and different things that we like or that catch our eye.


While my mind isn't changed yet, I must say they got the ancient vibe well of early mastery meets titan. Although I feel the dragon city perhaps should be a bit more spiky (I don't want to use the word horny - as it would be confused)

[Kyphael]

I love how some initial reactions are to be offended by someone for having an opinion. How dare you criticize this game I love and am addicted to. Talk about herd mentality. It's ok to disagree with OP, but to attack his opinion says more about you than it does them.

Anyway, I'll always give WoW's artists credit despite how awful the story has been for the last few expansion, and continues to be. Their lore is terrible, but if there's one thing consistent, art and music is always impressive. That said, you could just be burned out. You can only see floating islands and platforms of land with waterfalls raining out of the sky or whatever the hell it is for so long before the fantastical becomes pedestrian. WoW over-saturates the full-time players. Take a break, come back and you might appreciate it more.

[Cosmic Janitor]

I have no issues with the world itself. I do have alot of issues with some creatures and most armor design though.

[czarek]

Imo its becuase of dragonrideing :P We do skip most areas with blink of the eye. I was excited at the begning now its just okish for me. Not bad not great. Imo VOTI looks a bit empty?! Imo it looks like it was done in one weekend or smth. Armor desing reminds me ZERETHMORTIS ?! dafaq is it only me? ;d

[chrisisvacant]

I've felt this way for a while in WoW. Both Shadowlands and seemingly DF feel samey. Revendreth and Bastion had interesting uses of the same old stuff. But there isn't a lot of imagination going on.

I knew it was a problem when they released Zereth Mortis. Not only did the aesthetic not come anywhere close to what I would expect, they hyped the physics of water when it was just waterwalking applied. ??? Ok.

[Tangra58]

Imo its becuase of dragonrideing :P We do skip most areas with blink of the eye. I was excited at the begning now its just okish for me. Not bad not great. Imo VOTI looks a bit empty?! Imo it looks like it was done in one weekend or smth. Armor desing reminds me ZERETHMORTIS ?! dafaq is it only me? ;d

Yup, the new zones look great, dragonriding just makes it hard to appreciate them since it takes 5 seconds to cross a whole zone.