I spoke a little bit about the setting of Pandaria yesterday, but I think it deserves additional attention. Put simply, this is the most fun I've had while exploring World of Warcraft since the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was released, and that's mostly because all of Pandaria's current content takes place on a single continent instead of over several regions in the style of Cataclysm. In Cataclysm, the zones were usually small enough that I could tell what visual surprises waited for me at a glance; in Pandaria, I've constantly found myself distracted from my current quests by the sight of an enormous structure or mountain range looming in the distance, and the joys of visiting these landmarks occasionally outweighed the satisfaction of earning experience from quests.
People in chat called this the "Skyrim zone."
I love it so much that I wouldn't care if Blizzard removed flying mounts from Pandaria altogether.
That's also because Mists of Pandaria keeps you grounded until level 90. There's no way I can express my appreciation of this decision adequately enough, particularly since it conveys the feeling that you're actually exploring. This, I believe, was one of the key elements that made exploring Classic Azeroth so enjoyable, and I love it so much that I wouldn't care if Blizzard removed flying mounts from Pandaria altogether. Some of the expansion's best moments, such as when you climb a narrow set of stairs cut into the side of a steep mountain, or run across narrow bridges over crystal clear water, would be utterly lost with flying mounts. The majesty of the mountains of Kun-Lai Summit (my favorite zone so far) would seem pitiful from above, while on foot there's an unmistakable element of surprise when you cross a ridge and find the starkly beautiful Shado-pan Monastery looming above the snow before you. It's also a design decision that keeps you involved in the world as you need to dodge enemy camps and natural obstacles; while flying, you might as well be looking at a satellite map. Basking in the Rising Sun
The Asian aesthetic works well in this framework, particularly because some genuine architectural surprises lie in wait throughout your travels. The human castles and orcish fortifications of old Azeroth look dull and uninspired when compared to Pandaria's ornate pagodas and shrines, and the sense of "otherness" extends to the wildlife and flora as well. You'll still find some holdovers from old Azeroth such as yetis, but for the most part, wandering Pandaria is like taking a visit to World of Warcraft's version of the Galapagos Islands. I already prefer my yak mount over the other 50 or so mounts in my personal stable, and I've enjoyed studying the new models Blizzard used for turtles and even the raccoons that dot the landscape. It's all so well done that you feel the age of the rest of Azeroth weighing down on you once you teleport back to Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms to toss a few things on the auction house. I may be on the fence about the Pandaren themselves, but I think it's safe to say that I'm in love with Pandaria itself, and this surprises me since the Asian aesthetic actually didn't interest me until I started playing.
Westeros meets Great Wall: The Shado-Pan call themselves the "Watchers on the Wall."
You might also remember that I worried that Pandaria's dungeons were too easy on the first day, but last night's run through the Shado-Pan Monastery dungeon forced me to rethink that. Not only do I love the setting -- the secretive members of the Shado-Pan Clan, guardians of Pandaria, exude an unmistakable aura of badassery despite being, you know, pandas -- and I got a good laugh after our tank wiped us by running through a bunch of enemies and going down in seconds, regretfully explaining afterwards that "you could just run through them in beta" and then proceeding more carefully. The idea behind the Shado-pan Monstery is that some of its leaders have been corrupted by evil forces of the Sha, and you need to take them down. But the same members have to test you first, and the second fight is an entertaining (if somewhat easy) event in which you fight off the initiate and then one of the masters to prove your worth.
Mad Monks
The relative complexity of the fights in the Shado-Pan Monastery has me looking forward to the new challenge dungeons at level 90.
Other bosses required more coordination than I found in the first two dungeons, such as one that required us to all bunch together periodically for the effects of healing bubbles while an Asian dragon rained hell on us. On the last battle, which centers on a master corrupted by the Sha of Anger, you have to meditate early and often to keep your anger bar from filling, which significantly decreases your ability to hit the boss and be healed. In addition, ranged DPS need to kill the little balls of hatred causing all the problems. It's not super difficult (although we did wipe four times despite having what looked like a competent, if random, group), but the coordination involved keeps the fight challenging and interesting. I've also heard that they've buffed the fight since beta, which comes as welcome news since many players apparently thought the mechanics were too manageable. Indeed, the relative complexity of the fights in the Shado-Pan Monastery has me looking forward to the new challenge dungeons at level 90, which normalize your gear and thus remove any concerns that players in godly raid armor can just steamroll through the dungeons, rendering even the best of them boring.
"How dare you call me cute and cuddly?!"
It sounds like limiting the use of flying mounts has turned out to be one of the better decisions in Pandaria. Especially if so much work has gone into creating beautiful vistas that Blizzard wants us to look at. What has been the most striking thing that you've seen in Pandaria thus far?
