Whether you wish to admit it or not, the Pandaren have been the selling point of the latest expansion. Sure there are more raids, more pvp battlegrounds and a pet battle system that Nintendo may see some familiarity in, but the bouncy (an adept description, see the Pandaren racials for evidence...) and rather affable Panda's that have invaded WoW are the posters children for our latest trip into the unknown. I presumed (without great effort or intelligence) that as a result of this focus, Blizzard would have put in a large amount of effort and resources into the newest playable race. So, to check my assumption, recently I decided to take a jaunt through the Pandaren starting zone and level one of the most controversial races to ever exist within the game (check the YouTube comments on World of Warcraft's official channel for reactionary views that would make your and my mother blush).
I'll say it straight away, Blizzard did a wonderful job with the Pandaren starting zone. The storyline is evenly paced and well written and I won't do it the disservice of posting any spoilers on this blog. I will say that in knowing Pandaren players would get a choice over whether to join the Horde or Alliance faction, I was fascinated to see how Blizzard would go about getting players to make that decision. Probably of greater importance was that I was curious to know why players would end up making the decision they did, at least against the backdrop of lore reasons. This was probably the point at which it could have fell over for me, but I'm relieved to say that Blizzard did the choice justice.
The overall feel for the zone harkens back to the original starting areas of WoW, with all the improvements that have been learned along the way. It's a great throwback and the mechanics support this. Unless it was down to incredible stupidity or blindness on my part, I could not find a mailbox anywhere in the Pandaren starting zone. I'll forgive the possibility of a massive error on my part and applaud the intent of this move. It achieves two things; the first is that your new character feels like a separate and new entity within the world and secondly with the absence of heirlooms you complete the storyline quests at a measured pace and while the content is not challenging, it doesn't feel like a cakewalk either.
Supplementing this feeling of a 'new introduction' to the game with a Pandaren is the fact that you may not join a guild until you have made your once-in-a-lifetime-no-returns faction allegiance choice (unless you got the dollars to make that change). With the absence of significant experience modifiers you find yourself progressing evenly with the content and this directly affects the enjoyment I felt in doing the predictably zany and interesting quests within the starting zone. The art is beautiful and will age well even compared to a game that is ageing rather gracefully already. I enjoyed the musical accompaniments but I realise that in-game music is not to the taste of most who play.
My one complaint is a minor one but I feel I must voice it regardless. Without spoiling the story, I was left wondering why Pandaren were not able to fulfill the role of the Druid class, particularly after events unfolded the way they did. I'm sure someone more familiar with the lore can explain why this is so and I don't doubt there is a logical explanation for it. However, I feel it my duty to ask for this to be reconsidered if not for the plight of one player I have known longer than most. Panda is an <Ajantis> Tauren Druid who has played his character for well over a decade now. It is time for him to match the most valuable name on the server with it's destiny.
It is time for Panda to be a Panda. Let it be done.
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