World of Warcraft's new starting area is a great entry point for newcomers

There’s never been a better time to dive into World of Warcraft. 

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has officially been released, and while most players are likely doing quests and choosing Covenants, I’m busy grinding up to Level 50. See, new players are only given access to the Shadowlands at Level 50, and their journey begins in the game’s new starting area: Exile’s Reach. 

Exile’s Reach functions as a revamped introduction to the gameplay and mechanics of World of Warcraft, helping them learn the ropes before throwing them into the full game. It also teaches them about the world they now inhabit, and how to navigate it. Veterans might also want to dip their toes into this new starting area at some point too, considering that it has a brand-new storyline that doesn’t take long to complete. 

I’m extremely new to World of Warcraft - having never touched the game before - but I did want to venture into the Shadowlands, and Exile’s Reach proved to be a necessary jumping on point. Oh, and before I go into detail, I might spoil a thing or two about the stuff you’ll get up to in Exile’s Reach. Fair warning!

Horde or Alliance?

My knowledge of Warcraft pretty much starts and ends with Duncan Jones’ movie adaptation, so I started out in Exile’s Reach with very low expectations. My character was sided with the Alliance (the Horde gets a slightly different story here), so the story began on a ship set on a course to find lost Alliance soldiers. I was a new recruit on this ship, and after the game taught me basic attacks and movement, the ship crashed. What’s left of the crew finds themselves stranded on a strange new island called…you got it, Exile’s Reach. 

Just because you’re shipwrecked however, doesn’t mean it’s time to stop looking for those lost teammates. You’ll have to work with your surviving crewmembers to navigate this strange new place, kill lots of Murlocs and save your friends - while stopping a deadly resurrection in the process. Story-wise, I was surprised by how much I dug this small little series of quests. The characters were all rather generic, “For the Alliance!” types, but the missions were a lot of fun. 

There’s a lot of quest variety to be seen in Exile’s Reach. One quest asked me to storm into a base full of trolls and murder them all to find some gems. Another strapped me onto a mechanical flying drone, and pulled me into the sky to survey an army of enemies. The story starts very simply, though - teaching you basic things like movement and combat. I played a mage character, so my abilities weren’t very interesting at the start. Combat usually boiled down to freeze enemies, fireball, freeze, fireball and it was done. I didn’t enjoy that aspect of Exile’s Reach as much, but combat did get better the more I developed my character. 

This new recruit deserves a promotion

Exile’s Reach is perfect for those who haven’t even played an MMO before (me) - or even those who have little experience with PC games (well, I spent more time with my consoles) in general. The starting quests familiarise you with the game’s UI and all its little menus very well, which is important, because there’s a lot to keep track of in just these few short hours. You are also introduced to all of your character’s abilities in excruciating detail, and that sets you up for combat and more involved specialisation down the line. 

As far as tutorials go? Exile’s Reach is by far one of the best I’ve played through. It doesn’t just introduce all of Warcraft’s most important mechanics to the player, but lets them experience a bite-sized piece of the entire gameplay experience. For example, you don’t just get into combat and do optional quests here - you also get to head into a dungeon and fight a couple bosses. The very last boss in Exile’s Reach is a real spectacle to do battle with, and the game even gives you NPC cohorts to fight with - simulating the game’s multiplayer experience for those going at it alone. 

Exile’s Reach also introduces the game’s group-finder, which lets you queue to join a dungeon if you’d like. Personally, I went at it alone - and I’m not sure if the game bugged out or something, but I was expecting my Alliance friends to join in lieu of real players. They left me hanging istead. As a result, I died a couple times, but honestly? It helped. I was still learning the ropes then, and I eventually made it through the entire dungeon unaided. This isn’t too difficult however, since most of Exile’s Reach is a breeze to play through. 

Speaking of Exile’s Reach, this is a really beautiful place to explore. It’s full of lush greenery and wildlife, though it takes on different aesthetics once you stumble upon enemy lairs and troll-built bases. The quest design here is quite linear, taking you through all these different areas without much room for sightseeing. I suspect that’s because Blizzard initially wants players to not feel lost or overwhelmed, and that works great. However, there is a lot to explore here if you choose to take a break from the main quests - and you could always use the extra XP while doing so. 

In summary

I think Blizzard deserves some real credit here. They’ve managed to create a damn near perfect tutorial area for a 16-year-old game, and that’s not an easy task. Exile’s Reach is the perfect jumping on point for anyone who’s even remotely interested in World of Warcraft - especially so when you consider that it’s part of the game’s free trial. It takes you on an easy-breezy adventure from Level 1 to Level 10, and for the short amount of time it takes to complete, feels like it’s packed full of activities and quests. 

I won’t say that the story blew my mind or anything, but it was certainly fun enough to get me pumped up for my upcoming journey in Azeroth. And after that? Onwards to the Shadowlands, baby!

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