Part of the appeal of World of Warcraft Classic is getting to relive old memories with older friends. Some people have unfinished business with raid bosses, others are excited to chase after PVP titles and rewards. As for me, I’m looking forward to actually playing the game with a full guild and raid team, something I missed out on 15 years ago.
Because of this, most of my recollection of The Burning Crusade is different than what others might remember. I thought it would be fun to take a trip down (fuzzy) memory lane and rank the zones in Outland based on how I remember them, from worst to best.
7. Hellfire Peninsula
I hated this place. Absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt hated this place. It’s busy, filled with questing bottlenecks, and it turns my gear into a hodgepodge of mismatched space colors. I wish I could send Hellfire Peninsula to, well, Hell.
6. Zangarmarsh
It took forever for me to break through the Zangarmarsh. The blue lulled me to sleep as I was busy dreaming of the wonders that awaited beyond. It was dreary, it was big, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
5. Shadowmoon Valley
You get your flying mount in Shadowmoon Valley. Beyond that, it has Black Temple. It has to be at least somewhat cool, right?
Okay, this is where I confess: Back when I played this 15 years ago, I’m pretty sure I didn’t do a darn thing in Shadowmoon Valley. So there’s that.
4. Terokkar Forest
This doesn’t seem to be a popular take, but I enjoyed my time in Terokkar Forest. It was a nice change of pace from the grind of Zangamarsh, but wasn’t as good as the zones I remember the most fondly. I even enjoyed Terokkar on the Shadolwands 9.0 patch, as I leveled up some alts.
Do I remember it as fondly as the top three zones? No, absolutely not. Do I remember it being solid? Yes, definitely.
3. Blade’s Edge Mountains
While Netherstorm will always be the coolest looking zone (more on that later), this is a close second. It’s simply oozing with visual appeal in terms of the numerous spikes that populate the zone’s crags, as well as the larger-than-life creatures that make this place home.
I do remember it being difficult to traverse without a flying mount, which means a revisit might prove this zone was all style and no substance. For now, it lives fondly in my memory.
HomeFeaturedWorld of Warcraft Classic: Ranking Outland Zones Based on How I Remember Them
Part of the appeal of World of Warcraft Classic is getting to relive old memories with older friends. Some people have unfinished business with raid bosses, others are excited to chase after PVP titles and rewards. As for me, I’m looking forward to actually playing the game with a full guild and raid team, something I missed out on 15 years ago.
Because of this, most of my recollection of The Burning Crusade is different than what others might remember. I thought it would be fun to take a trip down (fuzzy) memory lane and rank the zones in Outland based on how I remember them, from worst to best.
7. Hellfire Peninsula
I hated this place. Absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt hated this place. It’s busy, filled with questing bottlenecks, and it turns my gear into a hodgepodge of mismatched space colors. I wish I could send Hellfire Peninsula to, well, Hell.
6. Zangarmarsh
It took forever for me to break through the Zangarmarsh. The blue lulled me to sleep as I was busy dreaming of the wonders that awaited beyond. It was dreary, it was big, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
5. Shadowmoon Valley
You get your flying mount in Shadowmoon Valley. Beyond that, it has Black Temple. It has to be at least somewhat cool, right?
Okay, this is where I confess: Back when I played this 15 years ago, I’m pretty sure I didn’t do a darn thing in Shadowmoon Valley. So there’s that.
4. Netherstorm
If we’re talking about visuals, Netherstorm takes the cake. While the science-fiction feel turned some people off, I was all about it. This was a place filled with mystery and wonder, and it had a satisfying color palette to boot! While Shadowmoon Valley was also a max-level questing zone, Netherstorm was the place I was truly working to get to.
This was where I realized, “I’m not in Azeroth anymore, Toto.”
1. Nagrand
While Netherstorm was as far away from Azeroth as one could get, Nagrand was the best of both worlds: a familiar Azerothian feel with a distinctive Outlandian flair. Here, you were hunting a lot of animals, meeting some important lore characters, and experiencing a wide variety of factions.
This is the zone that I, as well as many others, most fondly remember from our original Burning Crusade experience. But does it hold up as we traverse through the Dark Portal once more? We’ll just have to find out next week, now won’t we?
