Riverglades: Forever's new level 35–45 zone is the size of Stranglethorn

Riverglades is the centerpiece of Forever's mid-level content, a brand new zone for roughly the mid-30s to the mid-40s. It's about as big as Stranglethorn Vale and sits on the eastern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, between Redridge, the Burning Steppes, the Badlands and the Swamp of Sorrows. You get there through a new fork on the road from Redridge toward the Burning Steppes.

That level range is where Classic always ran thin. The mid-30s to mid-40s meant Stranglethorn, Desolace and Scarlet Monastery runs until you could recite Herod's lines. Riverglades gives you somewhere else to go, with somewhere between 150 and 200 quests across both factions, new reputations and rewards, and more than one path through the zone.

It's full of people with history. There are humans descended from settlers who were stranded there during the early wars, orcs and ogres, gnolls and murlocs, the Powderfuse goblins, the Twilight's Hammer, and the Brotherhood of the Horse from early Warcraft lore. One ogre clan used to run with the Twilight's Hammer and doesn't anymore.

Horde stories start around Ragmar and Alliance stories around Farhold Keep. A neutral goblin port connects the zone to trade routes across the Eastern Kingdoms, so both sides will be passing through.

Krol'dok Stronghold is the zone's outdoor dungeon, and it's huge, covering levels 40 to 55. Ogres have been kidnapping people and raiding settlements, and the chanting at night suggests a cult is involved.

What I like most is the size of the story. Riverglades isn't about saving the world. It's about communities, trade routes, rivalries, old grudges and getting by, which is what vanilla zones were always best at.