I don’t usually think much of the level boosts included with World of Warcraft expansion purchases. I’m not a fan of boosting characters since I end up having no attachment to the character in question. But this time was different.
The War Within preorder came with an “enhanced” level 70 boost — one of Blizzard’s most generous yet. Unlike prior boosts designed to give you instant access to the current expansion content, War Within’s takes you directly to Dragonflight’s end game. You’ll get a massive amount of reputation with all of Dragonflight’s factions, servicable late-game gear, and five dragon mounts normally acquired thru the expansion campaign.
As someone who has played thru Dragonflight several times already but can’t seem to decide on a character, this boost was a godsend. I used it on my old Dwarf Warrior from the Mists of Pandaria/Draenor days. And immediately, I could jump into the latest and greatest content: The Emerald Dream.
And wow, what a zone. Maybe it’s because Dragonflight’s main zones set a low bar. But this incarnation of the Emerald Dream is certainly my favourite zone from the expansion, and one of WoW’s best zones overall.
Where Dragonflight’s zones were verdant but unremarkable, the Emerald Dream is immersive and entrancing. The lush, green scenery is no less impressive than that of the Waking Shores or the Azure Span. And unlike the aforementioned, there’s a wind at your back as you fight to defend the Green Dragonflight and new World Tree in the zone’s epic main questline. This especially pleased me, as many Dragonflight zone quests had this ho-hum, lackadasical quest pacing that struggled to keep me engaged.
And the music! Haunting and dramatic in that old-school WoW way — akin to Tedrassil or Azshara. Waking Shores had this goofy, country-twang zone theme that made me want to throw up my feet and fish at a riverbank rather than liberate the Dragon Isles from evil. Thankfully that’s gone and Emerald Dream feels far more reminiscent of WoW‘s elder days and even Shadowlands where the world felt more perilous and the stakes higher.
I do have some criticisms though. While the zone “vibes” are immaculate, the later-stage quest quality does nosedive somewhat. As the Green Dragonflight fights back against the primalists, you’re essentially appointed to “Clean-Up Crew”: Zipping around the bloody battles in progress to inspire fellow warriors or click quest objects instead of participating in the bloodshed. It’s a little weird and unsatisfying, but I get that Blizzard is trying to convey that you’re getting swept up in a larger conflict.
So if you were unimpressed with Dragonflight’s questing but want to pick up WoW again, this boost is perfect. It’ll let you jump right into this newest, higher-quality content and not have to worry about the rest of the Dragon Isles. Best of all, one boost is included with all versions of the latest expansion pre-order. They also include all Dragonflight content, meaning newcomers to the expansion can get caught up without paying for or drowning in what I’d consider a sea of mediocrity and one of WoW’s least remarkable expansions.
Byte-Sized Worlds 