Shadowlands

Every expansion to World of Warcraft goes through a cycle, starting out fresh to the majority of players (those that weren't in the alpha or beta, anyway) and then, over time, as we all level through it there's a feeling of growing familiarity.

I admit it: Despite Jellycat existing, I hated Maldraxxus for months.

It's been a while since we had a linear leveling experience in World of Warcraft, where the game's story took you from Zone A to Zone B with no decision on your part. Warlords of Draenor had a single starting zone for each faction, but you could more or less decide which zone to go to next after that, while Legion and Battle for Azeroth both allowed you to pick and choose which zone you wanted to run.

Now, to be fair, as the Wowhead article points out, Pilgrim's Bounty only gives a slight buff to your overall reputation gains, but every little bit counts.

I will be writing the Queue for the next three days. Letting the American writers have the holiday.

Honestly, even when I was living in the US, I never much cared for Thanksgiving. My mom died when I was 19, and I haven’t really seen any of my family on either side since 2000, and the last conversation I had with my father was back in 2006. I’m sure they’re all fine, and even if they aren’t, the decision was made that I wasn’t really a necessary part of their lives a long time ago. So the idea of travelling all that way to spend a day of thanks with them… not really my thing.

So if you’re an American who doesn’t really have a family for the holiday, I get it. I’m very grateful for my wife and the family she’s made for me up here in Canada, but either way, the last Thursday in November is always just a day for me. But on the plus side, I get to spend it with you all.

It’s the Queue. What’re y’all up to?

This week, Matt Rossi and Joe Perez explore Sylvanas' intentions given the new short story We Ride Forth, the afterlife possibilities for Nathanos, and the dangling plot threads of Battle for Azeroth.

There's no question that the 50 to 60 leveling curve is pretty relaxed in Shadowlands, as some players managed to get to max level within three hours of the expansion's release, and even pokey players like me hit level 52 in a couple of hours of gameplay. World of Warcraft has probably never been easier to level in than it is in Shadowlands, and I'm curious what you think of that fact -- are you happy to be getting to max level relatively quickly, or at least to be able to do so, even if you're taking your time?

We've talked before about how Battle for Azeroth used cinematics to expand on its storytelling, but I have to say, watching how Blizzard has merged its various kinds of cinematics in Shadowlands is nothing short of breathtaking.

If you've been keeping up with the Shadowlands expansion -- and trying to understand all of its systems -- you might be finding yourself slightly overwhelmed.

It's officially Shadowlands time, and that means it's time to go crazy trying to blaze through to level 60 as fast as humanly possible while doing every single dungeon, every quest, everything the game has to offer all at once, progress every profession, go go go it's here it's here aaaaaaaahh.