Nostalgia is a very potent sensation. Like any long-lived MMO, World of Warcraft extends its lifespan with expansions that tap into the happy memories held by many of Azeroth's veterans, giving them a comforting mix of the familiar with a generous helping of the new. And it’s the power of nostalgia that fuels much of the fun in WoW's fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor. While its additions don't reinvent the loot-chasing wheel, WoD's blend of old experiences and new adventures is enough to get any lapsed player hooked all ovꦺer again.

Much of WoD feels like something you've seen before, only better. Take Draenor itself, the setting of your journey from level 90 to 100. Through a series of plot twists and turns that are best not thought about for too long, the Alliance and Horde have wound up in an alternate universe on the other side of the iconic Dark Portal. Instead of stumbling into the shattered continent of Outland, you're suddenly a part of the orcs' rewritten history in the realm of Draenor. It's a convoluted plot device with an interesting purpose: it puts you in p💟laces you feel like you've been to before, even though they're barely recognizable.

Of course, any compelling sense of familiarity depends on your personal history with WoW. Draenor is a callback to the Burning Crusade expansion frꦏom 2007, but altered into something wholly new. Rather than trekking through the barren wastelands of Blade's Edge Mountaiꦐn, you'll cut through the lush jungle of Gorgrond. Instead of eradicating the Arakkoa bird-people of Outland's forests, Draenor gives you the chance to help them rise up out of a brutal caste system. Beyond the standard quest structure, optional objectives and rare mobs with guaranteed loot drops pepper the landscape, encouraging you to explore well beyond the beaten path.

If you didn't experience Outland back in the day - or decide to skip it entirely using the complimentary instant-level-90 character boost included with WoD - the environments are no less varied or attractively colorful. But there's a certain magic to revisiting an alternate version of those places you explored years ago, appreciating all the subtle or extravagant ways they turned out differently in this universe. And over the course of five expansions, Blizzard has ಌabsolutely mastered its phasing technology, creating quest chains that make you the hero at the center of your own story (which just so happens to include random players cavorting around the backdrop). The plot progression within zones has actual payoff in the form of awesome cutscenes, and lore hounds will love the nods to characters from Warcraft's history as far back as the original RTS.

WoD also recaptures the feel of WoW's first expansion with some smart design tweaks, including a game-wide reduction - squish, if you will - of stats, damage, and health values. By reducing numbeಞrs across the board from big and ludicrous to small and comprehensible, WoD does away with the constant stat escalation typical of past expansions. Another clever move is the reduction of ability count across all classes, making your options more clear without fundamentally changing your playstyle. It's a move that feels less like an insult to your intelligence and/or competency, and more like a much-needed refocusing ♏that cuts away the fat from your skill bar.

These are but a few of the most prominent refinements in WoD. 𝐆Retooled character models for every last race and gender combination (Blood Elves forthcoming) give each player a fresh, more modern appearance. Your chaꦕracters probably won't look exactly as you remember them, but their new faces and animations are undeniably better once you've adjusted. It's also mind-bogglingly easy to group up with friends, now that you can join parties across all servers.