World of Warcraft: A Ranking of Zones
I’ve been playing a bit of WoW (World of Warcraft) Classic and felt the urge to rank all the zones in the game. This will be a ranking of the zones by expansion, up to the last one I’ve actually played (Cataclysm) when WoW was first releasing expansions. I won’t be considering old zones that got revamped for Cataclysm, as I never really leveled a character from 1 during it and simply took my pre-existing level 80 characters to 85 in the newer zones. There may, however, be zones I’m considering with changes that happened to them in other expansions pre-Cataclysm as well as in WoW Classic thru WoW Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) Classic.
World of Warcraft (2004/Vanilla/Classic)
40. Silithus
This zone only means something to those who were involved in the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort, which I wasn’t a part of. The Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, too, I never did in Vanilla or Classic. I didn’t do raiding until The Burning Crusade (TBC), so you may guess that early raids don’t really factor into what zones I find good or not. Silithus is a fairly desolate zone whose main features are three hives that each looks the same and each having bugs. Because of its place on a corner of the continent, its desolate atmosphere, and empty and incessant sounds, I never found a reason to go there except for later world event achievements. It may have that legendary quest for the iconic blade that gets referenced even today, but I never was in a position to want or care to go for it.
39. Swamp of Sorrows
This place holds true to its name. Its key features are the Sunken Temple, a labyrinthine dungeon that unfortunately holds worthwhile loot which necessitates repeated visits, and Stonard. As one who primarily plays on the Horde, Stonard holds the most value of this zone for simply being the nearest place to fly or take a portal to when needing to get to Karazhan or the Dark Portal. Stonard is also the place mages like to trick players into accidentally porting over to, which makes it special—I think fondly of the portal pranking, but it does speak to the zone when it’s used as a dumping grounds for where people don’t want to be. The questing in this zone is also not at all worthwhile as there are far better (and prettier) areas.
38. Azshara
I don’t think much of anything about this zone. Whatever quests there are I haven’t done them, and whenever I have gone there to see the furbolgs, naga, or whatever else it’s always been a chore having to navigate the landscape. It’s mildly more appealing in its oceanside, dilapidated atmosphere than Swamp of Sorrows, but it’s also a zone that’s actually annoying to be in.
37. Blasted Lands
I’ve next to no impression of this zone other than how it served as the place for the Dark Portal and several warlock quests. Given it’s next to the Swamp of Sorrows, I guess it makes sense how this zone isn’t all that great.
36. Durotar
Orcs are my least favorite race in WoW. Yeah, I said it. I’m a Horde player, and I think they’re lame. Their starting zone is also lame. It’s why I never leveled an orc, and only once leveled a troll. Except instead of leveling in Durotar, I made the journey to Mulgore because (1) I was too stupid or unaware that there’s a zeppelin that could’ve taken me directly to Tirisfal and (2) Durotar is lame as a starting zone. It has Orgrimmar, the primary Horde capital, but it, too, feels like the worst capital city of the others.
35. Moonglade
It’s the druid place. I’ve refused to play as a druid for the same reasons I’ve refused to play as an orc, and it’s because I think they’re lame. The only things of note here for me is that there’s an enchanting pattern that’s useful for leveling that’s sold, and it’s where the Lunar Festival event happens.
34. Burning Steppes
Another zone I don’t think much of beyond warlock class quests and it holding one entrance to Blackrock Mountain. It’s got dragons and imps and stuff, but I don’t come here for anything other than a flight path.
33. Deadwind Pass
Due to its size and limited purpose I’ve ranked this fairly low, but even then it holds more positives than the previous zones. In the beginning it served as a place of mystery, one that was ominous due to the ridiculously high level mobs that seemed like gatekeepers to something greater that was off the main path. It also gets significant points for holding Karazhan, my personal favorite raid in the entire game. Though there aren’t really quests here, I’d count the attunement quests for Karazhan and reputation for The Violet Eye as ones. But, I’m ranking zones and not strictly dungeons or raids, so this zone doesn’t rank high as a zone for me.
32. Eastern Plaguelands
The atmosphere of this zone isn’t my favorite, much like my opinion of Silithus, but at least it’s more varied and doesn’t have bugs. The Argent Dawn are here, alongside a bunch of Scourge, and of course the big raid of Naxxramas. I only know Naxxramas from raiding in WotLK, but it apparently holds most of the same stuff, and, it being good in my book, I’ll give the zone points for that. There’s also the two instances inside of Stratholme, the one I’m more familiar with having Baron Rivendare who I’ve yet to get his mount to drop. I’m not one for PvP, though the towers around the zone hold some interest and incentive to competing for. The one memory I have of Eastern Plaguelands back in Vanilla WoW was running up to a pass between two hills and running headfirst into Borelgore, the big blubbery beast thing. Someone had killed it and it was just lying there, taking up the entire path. That was amusing to me.
31. Badlands
Quest-wise I’d call this zone below-average. As with most zones that are desolate, I don’t think highly of it for its atmosphere. What puts it above the lowest tier of zones in my book is the memories I have going into Uldaman as well as camping for Broken Tooth, a tameable cat with a high attack speed for hunters. Next to the lore for the Undead, Titan lore is my favorite in the game. Even though Uldaman isn’t really major, I do also enjoy it for its loot.
30. Alterac Mountains
There aren’t many reasons to go or quest here, but the area is rather nice in terms of atmosphere. And, the quests that are here, mainly picked up from Tarren Mill, are ones that I personally enjoy. And, it had Dalaran before it moved to Northrend. And, it has the entrance to Alterac Valley, the one PvP game I don’t dislike (much). And, it has things to do for the Christmas event. All in all, I’m pretty fond of it.
29. Wetlands
I said it before, but I’m mostly a Horde player. That makes this zone mainly a passage between Arathi Highlands and the Badlands for me. The few times I’ve leveled an Alliance character, I’ve mostly opted to skip this zone in favor of others. Menethil Harbor is a town I’ve enjoyed trolling Alliance players in while playing Horde, and the one raptor pet is also fun to try and get. Other than that, not much else to say; it’s a meh zone.
28. Western Plaguelands
Similar in atmosphere to Eastern Plaguelands (duh), but thanks to its more interesting quests I place it higher. Scholomance isn’t my favorite instance, but it’s admittedly cool with the weird bat boss that freaked me out when it arrived the first time I went in and all the other rooms within and the Barov Peasant Caller which was my favorite trinket back in the day. Araj the Summoner was the first late-game group quest I did, and that was fun.
27. Loch Modan
While gnomes and dwarves are my favorite Alliance races, their early areas aren’t my favorite. I do like the atmosphere of a loch, with the pleasant grass and that cool dam at the northern end of the zone and the dwarven architecture of Thelsamar. The quests were just too meh for me, and a lot of walking along the same paths and areas.
26. Darkshore
Moving on from Teldrassil to Darkshore was somewhat of a letdown. A night elf was my first ever character, and stepping out of the starting zone for the first time into the world… of warcraft… I found a gloomy area with murlocs and turtle remains along a beach, and weird ghosts. Granted, it’s more mysterious than gloomy, but it made me long for a different zone to quest in. Buuut, the quests weren’t bad. They were decent.
25. Felwood
The atmosphere of this place is similar to both plaguelands, but somehow different. Felwood is a unique zone because instead of Scourge, trolls, or naga that normally screwed up an area, it’s got what was my first taste of something else entirely that was screwing up the world. Something… demonic. My questing here was minimal, but the quests were of higher quality than most and I enjoyed exploring ever further into Jaedenar. This zone also has the tunnel that is home to the Timbermaw furbolgs! Well, their reputation is a bit of a grind, but they’re sort of a fun time with some rewards.
24. Winterspring
A snow area! It’s strangely desolate in terms of quests, at least for Horde players, but I do like me some snow. It’s got such a variety in mobs, from the wildlife to the furbolgs to the giants to the yeti to the owlbeasts to the ghosts to the dragonkin and to the demons. It almost feels like lost potential since I never could figure out what each of the mobs were there for in terms of quests, but its variety made it feel livelier than other zones with not much going on. There was also a similar sense of mystery that Deadwind Pass evoked, in that when exploring the southern end of the zone I saw the swirling particles representing the entrance to a dungeon in a cave but it was impossible to get to. Thinking back I think that was meant to be the entrance to Mount Hyjal, but back when I first saw it I wondered what purpose it would serve and that was fun.
23. Searing Gorge
I’ll say, I don’t like the atmosphere of dry rocks and lava, but the quests here are worthwhile. Helping that one guy stuck in the outhouse was weird and fun and exploring the big gorge was weird and fun. Searing Gorge also holds another way into Blackrock Mountain. I suppose I haven’t said anything about the instances within since it’s sort of shared with the Burning Steppes, but to be honest I don’t really think much of the instances in Blackrock Mountain. Blackrock Depths is apparently beloved by many players, and I get why with how grand it is, but I think it’s a touch too large. It’s somewhat difficult to navigate as well, kind of like Sunken Temple. The other instances I’m mostly unfamiliar with, particularly the raids. Of course, Ragnaros is that iconic elemental I’ve heard about, but what I’ve heard of him is all I know him as.
22. Tanaris
It’s got the ugly bugs like Silithus but there’s more here than just bugs. There’s the goblin town of Gadgetzan and the harbor that serve as quest hubs for the rest of the zone. There’s the robot chicken and the turtle Tooga as two memorable escort quests. There’s the pirate town that also involves a Christmas event quest. There’s the instance Zul’Farrak where you can get some dank loots including the Carrot on a Stick for completing the quest to kill Ghaz’rilla. There’s that lone strip of beach at the bottom with all the turtles and some booty to get if you’re a true pirate. Yarrr.
21. Duskwood
Simply put, I like the atmosphere of a dark forest. The questing is solid and the ambience is on point. Its major drawback is that a lot of the time it involves a lot of walking, particularly from the eastern side to the western side. That one abomination mob that follows the path to Darkshire is both fun and annoying to avoid.
20. Ashenvale
This zone was the first I was introduced to the element of PvP lite. As a noob, when I followed Torek to raid an Alliance building I thought “Oh crap, we’re actually fighting the Alliance!” Much later I learned being flagged for PvP was where the real battle was, but it still was thrilling to feel like I was getting into the warcraft… of the world. Otherwise, this zone has the same vibe as the night elf starting zone which is among my favorite environments. There are some other quests involving defeating some sneaky night elves and other nature-loving folk. There’s also the unique beasts that drop items for the “Ashenvale hunt.” And of course there’s Blackfathom Deeps, which isn’t among my favorite instances but it is a place where one can get the good loots. I think it’s actually one of the few places requiring a minimal level of skill in platforming which is unique.
19. Silverpine Forest
On the topic of favorite instances, this zone has what is my #1 dungeon in the game: Shadowfang Keep. The atmosphere is great, and the loot is also great. I spent many runs trying to find the twink weapons of Shadowfang and Assassin’s Blade. The rest of the zone is kind of mellow like Darkshore but with more decent quests, and overall is a solid secondary area following the undead starting zone. Oh, I also remember my first encounter with a player of an opposing faction being here. I was running along the path trying to find help for a quest I kept dying for and found a human. Me, being unobservant, didn’t notice they were a human and asked them for help. I was confused by their silence but I persisted in asking for help. Finally they responded with gibberish: “Bur.” I concluded that they must’ve been demented and let them be. Later I learned that opposing factions can’t actually communicate and felt really stupid.
18. Desolace
After talking a lot about how desolate zones are for the most part lame, in my opinion, here we have one that has a name playing off the word ‘desolate.’ Now, why am I putting it in the higher ranks of my list? All I can say is, I enjoyed the time I spent dealing with the warring centaurs. Nowadays I know that their reputations were pretty much worthless, but for whatever reason I got into building it with one or the other. Anyway, the fishing village on the coast was cool, the demonic area was cool, the two escort quests were fun, the naga and treasure quests were cool, and the instance Maraudon was cool. Maraudon is another fairly large instance that I don’t really know the correct path, but its atmosphere is vibrant and has a decent number of good loots. And Rexxar being a big threatening Horde character that was in the zone made it more interesting.
17. Redridge Mountains
Bellygrub, that big honkin’ boar, is here. The fake Loch Ness Monster is here with murlocs and that necklace at the bottom of the lake. There’s an area to train the lockpicking skill for rogues. Lots of good memories of this place. There is an exception to my preface I wanted to mention here regarding experiencing this zone after Cataclysm, and that’s Keeshan. The quest chain with Keeshan is great. But with or without that quest chain, I’d rank this zone here.
16. Feralas
A vibrant green landscape with many ogres abound. And gnolls. This is probably the turning point on my rankings where zones go from solid to thoroughly entertaining and/or memorable. Feralas has Dire Maul, which is another not-favorite among instances but I’ve spent so much time grinding Shen’dralar reputation (for a certain insane reason) that it’s sort of grown on me. Feralas has another robot chicken quest, a part of the Linken quest chain, and a variety of quests that span other zones.
15. Dustwallow Marsh
At first Dustwallow Marsh represented another Swamp of Sorrows to me. I actively avoided it based off its name and looked for other areas to level in. It was only once curiosity won out and I came across the desecrated building at the entrance to the zone I discovered I was in for a different kind of experience: a mystery. I was pleasantly surprised by the quest chain that saw me through a good chunk of my levels and uncovered nefarious schemes of the undead as well as Grimtotem taurens. There were other interesting stories in quest chains that followed the ogres and the haunted Witch Hill. And of course there’s the Onyxia raid which… is another raid I never did, but the buff that went out whenever someone completed the related quest was nice whenever I happened to get it.
14. Hillsbrad Foothills
Hillsbrad was like Ashenvale for me, in that it was one of the earliest zones that involved contested territory with the Alliance and Horde. What makes Hillsbrad better is that there are longer, more involved quests that span quite a few levels. On one hand, it’s somewhat annoying to have quests that are so far apart in level that it often requires waiting to do them before returning. On the other hand, it’s cool that this zone is one that has reasons to return to it beyond having a flight path there. Plus, it’s where I got my first head slot item in the game which was what I, as a noob, considered as armor belonging only to the “cool, legit” players.
13. Westfall
The dry and spacious fields of Westfall hold many memories of boar cries and clunky harvest golem sounds. I’m not much of a collector, but some items in WoW I randomly think “I need that!” The Westfall chicken is one of those I wanted on my Horde character, and so I went through the trouble of leveling up a human to make it possible. That chicken egg also was among the first representation of something more than there being questing and leveling in the game—to me, it indicated there was hidden items and treasure in the world. The random treasure chests that spawn in many zones also indicated that, but most I opened only held money and common items. This chicken egg—it was unique. Anyway, this zone has some cool quests and it has the iconic Deadmines instance. Great loot. Much fun.
12. Tirisfal Glades
Undead are among my favorite races in WoW, and their starting zone is cool. Starting inside a mausoleum was very neat. Seeing where the undead’s place in the world was compared to other undead creatures, humans, and the Scarlet Crusade, was cool. The Undercity is also cool. I’m saying a lot of things are cool, but they are. Having important lore elements with Lordaeron from the patricide of Terenas Menethil to the leader of the undead Sylvanas made it feel more than just starting grounds. Plus the presence of the Scarlet Crusade across the zone and in the Scarlet Monastery instances gives it even more depth. The loot in the dungeons were also big, particularly Whitemane’s Chapeau. As one who primarily played caster classes, that was the item I wanted above all others even more than what was offered in the late game. Oh yeah, Tirisfal is also the best place to be for Halloween.
11. Thousand Needles
This zone is very unique compared to the others, and I give it credit for the numerous rising mesas that are more like towers. With the Horde town atop one and Grimtotem atop several others, I always imagined there being a hidden path to climbing others that had something hidden at the top. It’s strange how forgettable the Grimtotem tribe are as villains but whenever quests involving them come about they’re such fun. With the addition of quests involving the centaurs and wyverns, it’s solid. What puts it even higher for me is the Shimmering Flats. The quests there are always the bridge for me transitioning from a below-level-30 noob to an above-level-30 pro. Well, not really a pro, but being more swanky at a higher level. The quests also take players to other zones which is cool.
10. The Hinterlands
It has another robot chicken quest. It also has a significant number of quests from other zones that requires players to venture here, such as from Tanaris and Feralas. One of those quests is unique in that it’s not exactly a quest but a subquest—getting the Mallet of Zul’Farrak for that Carrot on a Stick trinket. This was one of those things I personally did, and on my own, that I was pretty proud of myself for doing it back in the day. That troll place Jintha’Alor had elites which made it difficult, but sneaky ol’ me found a way to cheese up some hills and get to the upper levels of the city. Getting that mallet might seem like a minor reason to rank the Hinterlands so high, but you weren’t there. Filling a trinket slot meant something big. Outside of that, the other quests around the zone are solid.
9. Arathi Highlands
If anything exemplifies the sort of atmosphere I like, it’s these higher-ranked zones. The serene rolling hills are simply pleasant to venture across. Spending time here even to just train up skills in herbalism or mining was never stressful. The Stromgarde quests and the Myzrael quests were also some of the best in the game, at least for me at the time. And it having the entrance to the PvP game Arathi Basin… well, I’ve got mixed feelings about that one, but it’s something.
8. Mulgore
I’ll emphasize again that a serene atmosphere is what I like most about zones. An expansive field is the perfect starting zone for the cow people—I mean, the tauren. Between tauren and undead, I can’t say what’s my favorite race, but the tauren’s connection with the earth was more cool to me than the connection between night elves and the moon or dreams or whatever. Anyway, it might feel empty to some, but the emptiness added to the atmosphere. Many other zones feel overcrowded and can have players run into mobs every ten feet, and this one allowed for some space. Thunderbluff, the tauren’s capital, is a pretty cool city on top of several mesas. Lastly, the Darkmoon Faire stops by here and is where I got my Jubling. Big.
7. Un’Goro Crater
This is a zone that is serene but also menacing. I don’t know how, but the devilsaurs somehow always snuck up on me. Their presence throughout the zone with their very long patrols made the zone great. It’s just fun to always be on edge while going about other business. That devilsaurs later became tameable makes this zone even greater. Regarding quests, this zone starts the Linken quest chain which is nice, and has a variety of other quests including the pylon quests. The titan lore returned when WotLK released and players got to return to this zone, and players also had reason to return for the Venomhide Ravasaur mount.
6. Stonetalon Mountains
This may be a strange place to rank the Stonetalon Mountains since most people forget this place exists. It holds no dungeons and no reasons to return beyond the flight path and infrequent world events. Why, then, do I think so fondly of it? Well, back in the day I was mostly a solo player. That meant my main method of leveling was either killing mobs or questing. And so I went to this zone for both those reasons. And this zone provided me with quests I could do on my own. The quests don’t stand out, but neither did they feel boring. This zone, to me, was thoroughly engaging as a solo-leveling zone. Battling the Venture Co., fighting the spiders and kobolds in their niche valleys and caves, un-aliving the hippies on the peak, and walking into the deathtrap that is the Charred Vale all were fun experiences.
5. Elwynn Forest
As a Horde player, I have to admit the starting areas for the Alliance were substantially better. It’s undeniable the music of this zone is top-tier. The musical references to parts of Lament of the Highborne was a great touch. Northshire Abbey was a unique building unto itself. The Defias are one of the iconic enemies thanks to the Deadmines, and their presence started here. The quests, like most starting zones, are basic but solid. And then there’s Stormwind. Not to sound jealous, but the Alliance capitals are also overall superior to the Horde ones. I don’t think anywhere else captured the atmosphere of a city quite like Stormwind. And the Deeprun Tram is just another thing that made me jealous. Oh yeah, there’s also Hogger.
4. The Barrens
Ahem. All right. Here we have a zone that isn’t great for its quests, its atmosphere, or its instances. It’s great because of one simple thing: its general chat. This is another thing you just had to be there for to really get. No matter what you were doing, whether you were having the worst day in WoW or in real life or if your were just walking or flying through, there was never a moment where you were not entertained. If the Alliance had the better starting zones and capitals, well, the Horde had the Barrens. To touch on a few things that are noteworthy, it does hold the Wailing Caverns, another iconic instance, as well as Ratchet, a harbor town with the best transportation to get to Booty Bay.
3. Teldrassil
With my first character being a night elf, this could very well be nostalgia making me rank this in my top three zones. Nostalgia is a big thing for me in ranking the other zones as well. Well, again, this starting zone has what can simply be called a magical atmosphere. And the music, like Elwynn Forest, transported me into the world… of warcraft. While I may not have ever leveled a night elf far beyond this starting zone, it is a place I’m very fond of. Darnassus is probably the least great of the Alliance capitals, but I still consider it pretty cool.
2. Stranglethorn Vale
This zone spans so many levels and has so many reasons to return to it it’s crazy. It’s chaotic. If the chat was shared between Horde and Alliance, I imagine it’d be something like Barrens chat. This place has pirates, naga, trolls, ogres, the Bloodsail Buccaneers, Booty Bay, the Gurabashi Arena, the fishing tournament, the Zul’Gurub raid (another raid I never did in Vanilla/Classic but did go to in later expansions to try and get a mount), and the Nesingwary camp. It has a variety of both group and solo quests. It has just about everything. It’s a jungle.
1. Dun Morogh
This is definitely a nostalgia pick, and I don’t care. This is where the sense of mystery and exploration of a world (of warcraft) fully dawned on me while running across the snowy hills and entering the yeti caves. This is where the sense of thrill for finding item upgrades beyond quest rewards resonated with me. This is where the sense of serenity and strange melancholy touched my stomach as the calm, ambient music played. This is where the sense of awe hit me when following the path up to the gates of Ironforge. Stepping away from the pure nostalgia factor, Ironforge is, without a doubt, the best capital. Its music is great. The dwarven race is also my favorite among the Alliance races. Gnomergan, too, while not the best instance has a quirky atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the world (of warcraft). I imagine many had all of these experiences in other zones, but since this zone did it to me I’m putting it at the top of the Vanilla/Classic zones.
That there is a long list. It’s about to get longer with TBC, WotLK, and Cataclysm zones. But first, let’s start with TBC (I’ll be adding decimal rankings to indicate where I’d rank them compared to the previously ranked zones).
The Burning Crusade (2007/Classic)
12. Bloodmyst Isle (26.5)
It’s the new secondary zone for the draenei, and it’s… all right. The atmosphere kind of sucks and it’s unmemorable, but the quests felt more involved than previous secondary zones for players (though between here and Darkshore, I still prefer Darkshore).
11. Azuremyst Isle (25.5)
It’s the starting zone for the draenei, and it’s… good. The atmosphere is certainly one I’m content with, and the quests are fine. What I most remember is leveling a draenei shaman thanks to the expansion now giving access to that class for Alliance players, and the shaman quests here were fun. The Exodar is the new Alliance capital, and it’s… probably the worst of the capitals alongside Orgrimmar, but a city is a city and it’s pretty cool.
10. Isle of Quel’Danas (20.5)
This is a rather small zone, but its unlockable daily quests that built reputation with the Shattered Sun Offensive was cool as a sort of shared progression between factions. Magister’s Terrace has some nice pre-raid loot, and Sunwell Plateau, being the final raid of the expansion, has some biiiig loot. This place is my first experience with daily quests, and they were pretty fun.
9. Ghostlands (19.5)
It’s a solid questing zone that ties several storylines between trolls, undead, night elves, blood elves, and the Scourge together. What I remember most was the trailer videos before the release of Zul’Aman that made me hyped back in the day. Now, after the Classic releases, getting to do the raid for the first time and getting that bear mount was very cool.
8. Hellfire Peninsula (18.5)
The atmosphere here is ugly, but the questing here is not ugly at all. It served its purpose as being the opening act to the rest of Outland after entering the Dark Portal. There’s plenty to do in the way of quests, PvP, and instances. Hellfire Citadel, from its dungeons to its raid, are all around fun. Meeting the Mag’har here on the Horde for the first time is also cool lore stuff despite orcs being the stinkiest race. The fel reaver patroling the zone played the role of the Un’Goro devilsaurs, and was cool in that regard.
7. Blade’s Edge Mountains (17.5)
This zone is a bit annoying to navigate without flying, but the variety in the areas and the quests are fun from the ogres to the arakkoa. It gave the first glimpse of the netherwing, which was cool. Late game content here in the way of the Sha’tari Skyguard and Ogri’la reputations were all right, and Gruul’s Lair was a fun little raid.
6. Terokkar Forest (15.5)
This zone has some key pieces of lore in the way of Kael’thas’ plans, has Auchindoun, Shattrath, and the main hub for Sha’tari Skyguard reputation. While it has a lot more going for it than the previous TBC zones, it sort of feels like it lacks what I can best describe as an identity.
5. Eversong Woods (11.5)
The blood elves were among the best additions to TBC. It was refreshing seeing a solid starting zone that could compete with the Alliance starting zones as being one of the greats. The music is great with that majestic cello, and the atmosphere is great with the fiery leaves of the trees. Getting more lore about the undead and Scourge was cool, and that quest to be cool enough to be a part of that one blood elf’s fancy party was cool. And Silvermoon is definitely a cool city. It’s unfortunate how out of the way it is and thus doesn’t see much traffic, as it’s much more deserving. It also holds one of the two mana looms in the entire world that are helpful for tailors.
4. Netherstorm (10.5)
If not for the crumbling atmosphere I’d probably have ranked this alongside Stonetalon Mountains thanks to its great content in the way of solo questing. The quests across the eco-domes, Archmage Vargoth, and Kirin’Var village are some of the most memorable in all of Outland. Once flying is achieved, the instances floating off the eastern edge of the zone are some good times. The Eye is definitely a raid among WoW raids. I neither like nor dislike it, but I can’t deny it’s got good loots including the Ashes of A’lar.
3. Shadowmoon Valley (10.25)
I wanted to rank this higher solely for the Netherwing reputation, but the rest of the zone is pretty bland in my opinion. Since it’s primarily a zone for group quests, it’s also not very solo-player-friendly. But, the quests are interesting in terms of lore and attunement for one of the big raids in TBC—the Black Temple. And within the Black Temple is the guy who none of us were prepared for—Illidan. In terms of WoW villains, I place him at the top even above Arthas. He’s just that cool. But, really the Netherwing reputation is what carries this zone for me. I spent many beloved moments searching for eggs just to get one of those sweet mounts faster.
2. Nagrand (7.5)
W-what? Nagrand’s not #1!? Heh, well, it’s definitely a great zone, I’ll give it that. The floating isles with gentle waterfalls dispersing into the air were my favorites to fly up to and just sit and look at the landscape. Its atmosphere is serene and beautiful. Although, when I take away its atmosphere I don’t quite get the best feeling from everything else. The Mag’har questlines and reputation here are the most notable, but they’re forgettable. The PvP is more of an eyesore than an interest (though that’s also (largely) true for all the other PvP events in other zones). The return of the Nesingwary camp was a cool throwback, but the sheer amount of animals killed was pretty excessive. Oshu’gun looked interesting, but for as large as it was there wasn’t really that much to it which was kind of disappointing.
1. Zangarmarsh (3.5)
This zone has the loveliest atmosphere of any zone to date. The forest of massive, glowing mushrooms accented by light rainfall in a blanketed sky was the best place for me to quest in. The Sporegarr isn’t the most fun reputation to build, but it’s something to do. The Cenarion faction and quests are more worthwhile and memorable, as well as both Horde and Alliance towns. As Horde I sort of felt jipped again when I saw the Alliance had a place atop one of the big mushrooms, but Zabra’jin has a pretty cool aesthetic in its own way. And then at the center of the zone is the Coilfang Reservoir with probably the most memorable raid fights, if not the best. This zone just has the best atmosphere and is complemented by everything else which makes it the best TBC zone to me.
Now we get to WotLK. Again, I’ll be adding decimal rankings to sandwich where I’d place these zones among the previous zones.
Wrath of the Lich King (2008/Classic)
10. Crystalsong Forest (34.5)
The forest is itself beautiful and cool to look at, but it serves next to no purpose. It’s sadly potential that never had the chance and was thus wasted. As it stands, it serves as the place where Dalaran floats. The city is great, but the zone… is just pretty.
9. Icecrown (33.5)
This is the endgame zone, and as such it serves little to no purpose in entering until you’re already level 80. Because of this, it’s my least favorite of the WotLK zones. What I do find worthwhile here is the Argent Tournament and the last raid of the expansion where players get to fight Arthas. The Argent Tournament is the coolest thing here, but it’s not that cool.
8. Zul’Drak (22.5)
The atmosphere here is ugly and there are trolls everywhere. The instances here are ugly and there are trolls everywhere. The quests here are decent, but there are trolls everywhere. Well, okay, the troll lore isn’t bad, it’s just whatever to me. But anyway, the quests are decent and solid in getting experience. That’s all.
7. Wintergrasp (21.5)
This zone is pretty despite its constant war… craft. I said earlier and I’ll say it again here, I don’t do PvP much. This area is pretty much solely for that purpose. What makes it more favorable in my eyes than other zones is that the PvP served a PvE purpose, and that’s getting access to the fortress with the portal to Dalaran and Vault of Archavon raid for loot. The PvP itself with vehicles was actually pretty fun, to be honest. And I spent quite a bit of time flying around collecting herbs here.
6. Borean Tundra (19.75)
I call this zone “boring tundra” because that’s what it is. I hear from many others that this place has some of the best questing, and I’m like… really? The questing here is probably worse than Zul’Drak’s, but the environment is all around better. But with the choice between going to a fjord and a tundra, what would you rather see? If you picked the tundra, you’re wrong and you should feel bad. The instances in Coldarra are among the worst in the expansion, but they’re not… cough… bad…
5. Dragonblight (16.5)
The Wrathgate quest chain was probably the best questing in the entire expansion. I didn’t really understand it at the time, but I felt so badass playing an undead and seeing Putress swag on the Horde, Alliance, and Lich King and then dip. The various dragonshrines hold some interesting lore (and use for tailors), as does Wyrmrest Temple, Azjol-Nerub, and the revamped Naxxramas. The taunka are kind of a whatever race, but they’re here too which counts for something.
4. Storm Peaks (9.5)
This zone had the hunter pet I coveted above all others: Skoll. Searching for and being able to tame a blue thunder wolf was awesome. The quests here, too, are pretty great with the vyrkul and Sons of Hodir as well as Thorim. The various peaks and titan structures gave a strange but interesting atmosphere that held mysteries and was worth exploring. This zone has the better instances in the expansion, as well as the best raid in my opinion—Ulduar.
3. Sholazar Basin (6.5)
The Oracles and the Wolvar war(craft) was like a throwback to the rival centaurs in Desolace for me, and that hooked me pretty much immediately despite their derpy appearances. The Nesingwary quests here felt much less stale than what was in Nagrand, and the atmosphere of a humid basin filled with exotic wildlife was thoroughly engaging to explore and quest in. Another coveted hunter pet, Loque’nahak, spawns around here, though in my opinion doesn’t look nearly as cool as Skoll.
2. Howling Fjord (6.25)
As implied earlier, I chose the fjord over the boring tundra, and it was definitely the right choice to make when first venturing into the cold weather of Northrend. Doing it as an Alliance player felt somewhat more engaging when taking that boat through the fjord itself, but entering by the coast as Horde was also very fun. Seeing the Norse-inspired vyrkul was pretty majestic along with the fjord itself. Utgarde Keep has my personal favorite dungeons of WotLK thanks to the architecture and atmosphere. The entire Tuskarr and pirate area for questing was simply great.
1. Grizzly Hills (2.5)
Was there ever any doubt? The atmosphere, the ambience of lumberjacks, wind, and nature, the bears, the rivers, the log architecture, the redwood trees, and the music. That music alone is worth going to this zone. Thankfully it’s not just the music, as everything comes together and makes an experience that feels oh-so right. The questing is solid, a few noteworthy ones involving Harrison Jones, Budd, and the iron dwarves.
Finally, we have Cataclysm. It was the last expansion I legitimately played before leaving WoW. I won’t be counting the Maelstrom as a zone. Let’s get into it.
7. Gilneas (25.25)
Werewolf lore is meh. The architecture and atmosphere, on the other hand, is pretty cool. Not many memories of this place ‘cause I didn’t spend much time leveling a wolf boy.
6. Kezan & Lost Isles (21.25)
Goblin lore is cool. I’m considering both areas as one “zone” because shut up. It’s chaotic and kooky and everything I expected goblin civilization to be like. All in all, it had some fun and more memorable stuff going on.
5. Mount Hyjal (20.25)
This zone is the one I never leveled in, but I know and like it for one big reason: Terrorpene, the lava turtle. Everything else here looks good and cool, I just never really experienced it the same way as the other zones in Cataclysm. I guess it also has the Firelands raid which a lot of people like, but I never did it.
4. Twilight Highlands (19.25)
It was nice to finally see areas in the old zones finally get some reason to be there, so seeing Grim Batol get some use was cool. This zone has a sort of subdued beauty thanks to the nature being interrupted by Twilight’s Hammer and the Crucible of Carnage. The questing was decent and I had no real complaints about it. Being able to tame Karoma, another spirit beast, was also cool.
3. Uldum (9.25)
Here is another zone expanded from the previous Uldum gate at the bottom of Tanaris. This fulfilled what a desert environment looked like to me. Having a neat intro questline for the zone was very cool, and having both Harrison Jones and Budd in the zone was very fun. It has several instances, and pretty much all of them I think are cool. Searching the desert for those camel figurines in the hopes of getting a camel mount while doing some solid questlines were some good times.
2. Deepholm (5.5)
This zone is just great. It felt mysterious, beautiful, and integral to the overarching story in Cataclysm thanks to the thoroughly enjoyable questlines seeing players find the pieces of the World Pillar. It’s very cool to have an entire zone underground, and not only underground but beneath the big swirling Maelstrom that I always wondered about when looking at the world map. It had some unique looking mounts you could get and some entertaining instances, and the return of the great Millhouse Manastorm.
1. Vash’jir (3.75)
This zone is segmented into three parts, and yet has cohesive storylines and questlines across its entirety. It’s all underwater, and as such is another imaginative zone players hadn’t seen like Deepholm. Its atmosphere is fantastic, from its vibrant marine life to its foreboding vastness of size. I was both in wonder and on edge while questing here, as I was paranoid about any kind of creature swimming by and simply eating me whole. Seeing the whale shark definitely put the possibility of it in my mind, and seeing the squid boss in the Throne of the Tides dungeon made it even more believable. I ventured at my own risk across the zone, and for what felt like the first time I made a discovery without reading about it on Wowhead. Out in an abandoned reef I saw a lone creature on my minimap and got closer to investigate. It turned out to be the spirit beast Ghostcrawler. As I was playing a hunter at the time, I both felt thrilled as well as annoyed since I wasn’t a high enough level to tame it. But I was proud to have found a rare beasty on my own, and I sure did go back there when I maxed out my level to tame that ghost crab.
Whoa. That’s a mighty long list. Looking back at it, it’s clear the power of nostalgia is quite strong, but I wouldn’t really rearrange my rankings.
