As someone who’s been playing FFXIV for years and who really cares about story, music, atmosphere, emotion, and fantasy elements in MMOs, I’ve always had a bit of a bias against WoW. I pretty much assumed FFXIV was better in most ways. But recently I felt like trying something different, so I finally gave WoW a shot.
I rolled a Night Elf Balance Druid and jumped straight into the Dragonflight storyline. Honestly, the world design and the music pulled me in right away. As I kept playing and did a bit of reading on the side, I started learning more about the Night Elves’ past, how Teldrassil was burned, and how so many of them died. That hit harder than I expected.
Then I watched the Winter Queen cinematics and got even more invested. Seeing how Elune was involved, and how Tyrande led the souls of the fallen Night Elves toward a new home, and how that whole process revolved around protecting that seed, gave me chills. Playing through those parts felt genuinely emotional.
Maybe it’s because I’m playing a Night Elf Druid, I don’t know, but the whole Elune and Night Elf theme really got to me. The moments between Ysera and Merithra, the Aspects regaining their power, Tyrande and Malfurion and their devotion to the Kaldorei, and especially Amirdrassil blooming into Azeroth… that ceremony where Tyrande mixes the last water from Darnassus with Amirdrassil’s water was such a powerful moment for me.
I’d heard a lot of negative things about the Dragonflight story, but honestly, for me it’s been a really magical experience. I’m even writing this while just chilling in Bel'ameth, listening to the music and soaking it all in.
Now I’m moving on to the story of TWW, and I’m really hoping I can feel the same kind of emotions there and in Midnight too.