Legion already made World of Warcraft better even before it released

Legion comes out until tomorrow, but I’ve already spent about 40 hours playing World of Warcraft this month.

That’s because even before the release of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game’s sixth expansion, Blizzard Entertainment has added a lot of new content with update patches. Some of it is available to everyone (like invasions that have large groups of players fighting waves of demons, though these disappear when Legion launches), but other parts require you to have already ordered the new expansion (like being able to make a Demon Hunter, World of Warcraft’s newest player class).

I was surprised by just how much I had to do before the expansion was even out. If this is a sign of how engaging Legion will be, I might be sucked back into Blizzard’s MMO.

Invasions

The Invasions were the meatiest part of the pre-Legion content. Six zones from the original World of Warcraft continents (Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms) would come under attack from the Legion. Any one who entered these areas could participate in the event thanks to level-scaling, meaning any player can contribute and earn usable rewards whatever their level.

Not only was it fun to fight such an onslaught of demons (including some pretty big ones) with so many other players, but the rewards for completing Invasions were fantastic. You would earn boxes that would give you random loot, including weapons and armor. While the stats for them will become irrelevant after questing a bit in Legion’s new continent, the Broken Isles, they look awesome. Thanks to World of Warcraft’s streamlined appearances tools (which also came out as part of a prelaunch patch), you can easily make newer gear look like these flashy costumes and weapons.

But the experience points were the real highlight of Invasions. Although I understand why they were a temporary event (they end when the expansion launches), I hope Blizzard makes more content like it in the future.

Making new characters

Typically, leveling up a character in Word of Warcraft is a long process. You have to work your way through the original zones and five expansions’ worth of more content if you want to reach the current max level, 100 (that goes up to 110 once Legion comes out). Invasions, however, gave out a ton of experience points. At lower levels, you could earn multiple levels per Invasion. Even in the 90s, you could easily level up your character faster by participating in Invasions than by working through quests.

Preordering Legion also gives you access to a free character boost to level 100. I made an Undead Warlock, thinking that I would boost him, but I had so much fun exploring old content and speed-leveling him through Invasions that I naturally raised him to 100. I even went back to an old character, a level 90 Tauren Paladin, and worked him up to level 100. Why waste the opportunity?

Now, keep in mind that getting my Warlock to level 100 still took about 25 hours, and that with the help of Heirlooms (expensive, cross-account items that increase the amount of experience points you earn). Still, it was quicker than doing it the traditional way.

I usually don’t play with a lot of alts. For most of my time with World of Warcraft, I’ve focused on a single character. Ever since the second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, that’s been my Death Knight. Even playing as my Death Knight again felt fresh thanks to Blizzard’s revamping of every class’s Talents and Skills, which removed redundant spells and abilities while offering new choices. My Death Knight can now summon a scythe to cleave multiple enemies. Neat!

My Death Knight used to be my only character. Now, I have him, my Warlock, and my Paladin at level 100. And by the end of the day, I’ll boost a Pandaren Monk to 100 and finish my Demon Hunter’s starting area, which will also get it to the max level (Demon Hunters start at level 98, so it doesn’t take long). Thanks to Invasions and other pre-Legion bonuses, I have five characters that I could potentially use as my main for Legion. I no longer feel married to a specific class.

Demon Hunter

This new class is a lot of fun to try. They focus on mobility and melee attacks, and they’re the only class in World of Warcraft that can double jump and glide. This makes navigating terrain easier. They also look great. More so than any other class, you can easily identify a Demon Hunter from other characters because of their distinctive weapons and horns.

The starting area also gives insight into an event from World of Warcraft’s past, the assault on the Black Temple from the Burning Crusade expansion (the MMO’s first). It’ll make you wonder if we kind of screwed up by killing the Demon Hunters’ leader, Illidan, during those events.

I’m glad that Blizzard has allowed players to get accustomed to their Demon Hunters before Legion goes live. Now, we can take these characters straight to the Broken Isles when the expansion launches.

Story quests

Players have also gotten to play through new quests in the weeks leading up to Legion’s launch that set up the plot of the expansion. It starts with an attack on the Broken Isles that has some interesting moments, including a fight that has members of the Horde and Alliance factions taking turns smacking up a boss. It also features in-game cutscenes with voice acting and significant plot developments, nicely setting the stakes for Legion.

Other quests took players to fan-favorite locations like, the old Ulduar and Karazhan raids, and explained why we’re going to the Broken Isles in Legion. These quests don’t offer fantastic rewards, but they give fans a chance to get into in the expansion’s story.

I’m ready

It’s strange how I actually feel like I’ve already been playing Legion for weeks now. The Invasions and Demon Hunter class have given us a chance to prepare new characters for the expansion while getting to revisit classic locations and earn fun loot.

When Legion actually comes out, we’ll get plenty of more content: the Broken Isles, artifact weapons (which you get early on and empower as you play through the expansion), and Class Halls (places where you can chill with other players of the same persuasion).

It might be impossible for World of Warcraft to return to its 12 million-player glory. But the pre-expansion content gave old players a reason to return to the MMO even before the expansion released, which improve Legion’s chances of being a success.