general thoughts on the Worgen starter area

[Sukurachi]

I know I'm late to the game on this particular point, but I've always been, since Vanilla, a dyed-in-the-wool Hordey.

However, this week, I decided to join up with our very sweet and talented forum member, Bulletdance, on her server. And since that means playing Alliance side, well, suck it up, dude, you gonna play on the BAD side for a bit!

Turns out the guild is wonderful, very nice and crazy people.

Now, back to the topic at hand.

I've played through all of the starter areas on Horde side, and all of the Alliance side as well, except Worgen until now.

Now, I'm also very very partial to Blood Elves. Don't ask why, I just is.
Now while the B.Elf starter area is unique in its own way, and quite different from any of the other starter areas (manicured lawns, decorative animals wandering around freely, it feels like a nature preserve or the park outside a fancy university), I never had a real sense that the storyline was DIRECTLY related to them as a race. That's just my impression.

But the Worgen starter area felt like a completely different experience to me. ok, you say "but it IS a completely different experience, d'uh". I know.

The cut scenes in the Gilneas quest chain were SCARY! I loved that! I was SO drawn in to what was happening! And the first scene in the Cathedral, you get such a shock immediately after handing in the quest (I really don't want to spoilerize it for anyone who just happens to be as late as I am to the game).

And the cut-scene with Sylvanas was great too. For low-level quests, I found them very engaging. A perfect way to get someone hooked.

My ONE complaint about the whole Gilneas quest chain is... you work you butt off to win back the city, and at the end what happens? They dump you in another city, with a bunch of weird looking hairless spindly long-eared people who have walking gardens trumping around their capital city!

Yeah, I really wish we could have kept Gilneas as a real capital city. It deserved it.

I know I'm not saying much, but, I just got my Worgen pair (they are a couple: Sukurachi, and Dyslexia his wife, with their pets a fox called"WhatTheFox", and a dog called "OhMyDog"... I let you guess who has which pet).

[Lisaara]

I loooove the Worgen Starting area. It's very engaging. Much like you, the Blood Elven area was my favorite...until the worgens came around. And yeah the cinematic is freaky...also when you get bit that one time is like "Whoa wtf just happened!". I wish they'd revamp AL the starter zones to be this engaging.

I think they will get Gilneas back eventually. But I wish we kept it too.....However the plague they unleashed made it uninhabitable and they outnumbered us.

[Chimera]

In the forsaken quest lines for Silverpine, we fight to claim Gilneas back from the once-again advancing armies and we begin winning, we almost have Gilneas reclaimed till the player, godfrey, ashbury, and whoever the 3rd guy was (you assassinate two of the men under godfreys command when you find out godfrey turns against greymane and godfrey suicides after).... they kidnap Lorna Crowly and in the final confrontation Crowly reluctantly demands all worgen to flee Gilneas and forfeit the war to save her. They run off after that and then something crazy happens to Sylvanas and then all of a sudden the three Gilnean undeads flee to Shadowfang and turn it into their fortress.

So.. we AAAALLLLMOST had it.... but then the forsaken got their claws on Lorna and Crowley gives up everything the gilneans have fought and died for in one decision. I wont say, because its his last living family member and his daughter to boot, that it was a bad one, due to the emotional value, but they could of planned a bit better

[cowmuflage]

It was allright. Personally thougt the goblin one was better.

[Chimera]

goblin was hilarious, imo i only like the worgen one for the area.. and the catapaults.. i dread doing the quests every time i make a worgen but luckily it doesnt stop me from making a whole pack of em xD goblins.. they are hilarious, they are awesome, but yet i only have one, im not particular on their appearance (their faces bug me a lot, both old and new models, but they are a lot more stylish then gnomes!)

[cowmuflage]

goblin was hilarious, imo i only like the worgen one for the area.. and the catapaults.. i dread doing the quests every time i make a worgen but luckily it doesnt stop me from making a whole pack of em xD goblins.. they are hilarious, they are awesome, but yet i only have one, im not particular on their appearance (their faces bug me a lot, both old and new models, but they are a lot more stylish then gnomes!)

See i'm the opposite of you I can't stand the new worgen but I loved the old models XD

[Chimera]

im a sucker for the old worgen... its the goblins i dont like, they're faces and i just cant get along XD But worgen.. old worgen and new worgen (mostly males but i dont mind females) are luv <3 I was so pissed off to see ALL worgen in-game except for northrend get converted to the new model.. but then i came across, back in Vanilla-WotLK the Son of Arugal.. hes eaten me up a lot during my time in silverpine in those days and id kill him in revenge, but i was so sad to see the old worgen gone and new ones in, but then i noticed the debuff you get when your within a certain range of him, and then i ran right into him, and of course as usual he ate me. I was on my lowbie undead hunter doing the new Silverpine quests for the first time and i was too busy squeeing and clapping to save myself XD

[cowmuflage]

Yeah he used to kill me alot too. XD

[Ket Shi]

I enjoy the worgen starting zone, too. The set pieces are unique and lovely, the music fittingly ominous, and you quickly move through an intense series of events. The only problem is its conclusion: you're dumped in Darnassus without a glimmer of Gilneas's fate. The only "conclusion" you get is by finishing the whole Silverpine quest experience as a member of the Horde, and even then there are many loose threads hanging. I suppose with a battleground playing out the conflict between Gilneas and Silverpine forever, its story may never be fully wrapped up.

[RHMakonea]

I really enjoyed the Worgen start area, everything about them in general is engaging. I play horde too but the Worgen have started to draw me closer to Ally. It quickly became my favorite race and I do wish that they had it as a main city hopefully in the future. I now have several worgen including my primary healer. My Main will always be my blood elf, but worgen are my absolute favorite race.

[Kayb]

I find the starter zone completely and utterly boring and depressing.

I've tried five or six times, but nope, can't get into it.

Boring.

[Vephriel]

I'm very fond of the style and atmosphere of the Worgen starting area, and I more or less enjoyed my first run through it, but I could never get into it a second time. It feels like watching a graphic novel rather than playing a character. I'm not a fan of the race and lore at all, I was wholly disappointed in the retcon they did to Worgen in general, but I'll always love their architecture and visuals.

[Sukurachi]

OH yes, the other thing that bothered me, and did take away a bit of my enjoyment:

I REALLY would have loved for a far longer quest line with those "wild" Worgen that we meet in the hollowed-out tree.
I found that the great reveal with the king would have had more impact if we had gotten to know them "as a people" better.

[Talaridan]

I'm very fond of the style and atmosphere of the Worgen starting area, and I more or less enjoyed my first run through it, but I could never get into it a second time. It feels like watching a graphic novel rather than playing a character. I'm not a fan of the race and lore at all, I was wholly disappointed in the retcon they did to Worgen in general, but I'll always love their architecture and visuals.

Veph pretty much summed up my feelings perfectly. The first time was interesting and new, but after, I just couldn't seem to get into it.

[GormanGhaste]

I love the Worgen starter area, it's the Kezan portion of the Goblin 'experience' that I find painful.

[Sukurachi]

On a related note: at first I really didn't like the Worgen "running wild" thing. I hated the posture.

I had even bought the racial horsey mount (which looks TOTALLY ludicrous on a male Worgen) to see if I preferred using that to one of my "special" mounts (sparkle pony, toasty lion, flashy horsey).

Then my armor changed as I leveled up a bit, and for some reason, I totally love it now.
I don't use the mounts anymore. I think my pair look awesome running along at breakneck speed, on all fours, followed by their dog/fox pets. It's like one big happy family.

It's been just a few days (and yesterday I was out of town, so I barely got to play at all), but my happy Worgen pair are now level 26. The levels are flying by real fast.

Still love my Worgies.
Despite the fact that they are Alliance (and one seems to get an impression in some quests that the Alliance are "putting up with" the Worgen presence rather than heartily embracing them into the Alliance fold), I think Worgen are my favourite race.

[Chimera]

Males look waaaaay better all around then females and especially for running wild, males look so more feral and vicious, females just sit there with their butt in the air and run really akwardly almost, they look so thin i feel like im gonna stretch too far out and pop my back out and faceplant into the ground

[Lisaara]

On a related note: at first I really didn't like the Worgen "running wild" thing. I hated the posture.

I had even bought the racial horsey mount (which looks TOTALLY ludicrous on a male Worgen) to see if I preferred using that to one of my "special" mounts (sparkle pony, toasty lion, flashy horsey).

Then my armor changed as I leveled up a bit, and for some reason, I totally love it now.
I don't use the mounts anymore. I think my pair look awesome running along at breakneck speed, on all fours, followed by their dog/fox pets. It's like one big happy family.

It's been just a few days (and yesterday I was out of town, so I barely got to play at all), but my happy Worgen pair are now level 26. The levels are flying by real fast.

Still love my Worgies.
Despite the fact that they are Alliance (and one seems to get an impression in some quests that the Alliance are "putting up with" the Worgen presence rather than heartily embracing them into the Alliance fold), I think Worgen are my favourite race.

Well here's a bit of spoilers....

Varian is actually looking to Genn and the worgens for help. Why? to control his own rage/anger issues.

[Sukurachi]

Well here's a bit of spoilers....

Varian is actually looking to Genn and the worgens for help. Why? to control his own rage/anger issues.

So, at what level does this section of the story continue?
I'm curious as to whether I should be seeking out specific quests, or if this is from end-game dungeons.

[Worba]

My ONE complaint about the whole Gilneas quest chain is... you work you butt off to win back the city, and at the end what happens? They dump you in another city, with a bunch of weird looking hairless spindly long-eared people who have walking gardens trumping around their capital city!

Especially as the place is now sitting there unoccupied - although the Gilnean troops are still out there fighting it out in Silverpine.

But I agree, the worgen starter quests and artwork are gorgeous. It makes me a bit nostalgic when passing through Surwich (Blasted Lands).