WoWed By Zones

In this episode, we run into a human zone that's actually good for once!  Discussing elements of horror and what makes fantasy horror work, PTSD, redemption, and many others!

If Stonetalon wins Most Improved, its sister zone of Ashenvale probably wins Biggest Downgrade!  In this episode we talk about lore, expansiveness, tone, imperialism, Lovecraft references and more as we dive into Ashenval Forest, to some the quintessential Night Elf zone!

So; the reason we skip a number is because we screwed up and lost the recording for Redridge Mountains.  There, admittedly, isn't too much to talk about for the vanilla version, and the Cata version was...divisive between us, which it is a shame to miss.  Thankfully, I think Stonetalon was a lot more fun to talk about here, and I'm excited to talk about another really solid war zone.  In Cataclysm...

We've got a long one today!  The Barrens is a truly massive zone to the point of being THREE zones to talk about, and not just two - talking about the nature of the Horde and it's place in the world, the relationship with goblins, and in a big one, the horrors of war and the monsters it makes.

Hey, we've done ten episodes!  Today the three of us talk about Westfall, about the nature of statehood, a land left to dust, and revenge.

Our horrid defiances of tragedy and nature enter their second zone!  Talks of war, colonialism, werewolves, and incredibly underwritten villains ahoy after our lovely return to WoWed By Zones!

Today we dive into another second zone, the dwarven lowlands of Loch Modan, where we discuss missed potential, signs of empire, and a set of villains that could have been so much better incorporated into the zone.

Ari, Torin, and Eowyn finally leave our starting zones and begin to make our way to the outside world!  We talk about how Cataclysm zones function as sequels, the relationship of the night elves with the world, and lore lore lore!

And on our appropriately spooky upload date, Ari, Torin, and Eowyn go to go to the undead starting zone of Tirisfal Glades, discussing tone issues, atmosphere, a sense of what it means to be, and the entire existential nonsense behind being a person-who-isn't-a-person-anymore.  We're finally done with starting zones for now!

Ari, Torin, and Eowyn enter a magical elf forest atop a great tree.  We talk a lot more about lore than we usually do in this episode, so be warned of that!

Ari, Torin, and Eowyn start taking about a new opening zone in the tauren's plains of Mulgore - we talk about topics like community, exploitation, colonialism, and 2005-era MMO quest design.

Apologies for the long wait for this one; we've had a few difficulties finding the time due to end-of-summer stuff. In our third episode, Ari, Torin, and Eowyn tackle Elwynn Forest, the human starting zone, and possibly the least changed by the Cataclysm expansion.  Discussions of conspiracism, atmosphere, and horrible murlocs exist in this episode of WoWed By Zones.

Ari and Torin are joined by a wild sister!  Eowyn joins us for the rest of our journey as we enter the brutal land of Durotar, where we talk about patriotism, worldbuilding, and (spoiler alert) a damn fine zone.

In their first foray into the land of Azeroth, Ari and Torin take on the wintry wasteland of Dun Morogh, where dwarves and gnomes start their journeys, discussing topics as varied as vibes, structure, and colonialism.