What are some of the significant carry-overs/connections between these two games that helped bridge players from one to the other when Vanilla was released?
For me as a primarily alliance player, the plague lands for sure. The whole of both zones, seeing that its like years after seeing the fall happening in real time in WC3, how ruined everything is. Strat especially.
Durotar is also cool for horde, after being part of the founding in 3. I just don't play horde as much.
Ashenvale probably has the most tie-ins to WC3 out of any zone in the game.
The Warsong camp at the Barrens entrance and the night elves fighting them, the logging camp in the east, the demons nearby with the memorial for Grom
Arguably Tirisfal and the plaguelands followed by ashenvale and the barrens
Hillsbrand when this music start to play
Walking through the burning Stratholm, Barrens, Moonglade, Stonetallons, Ashenvale…that’s pretty much the campaign.
Truthfully, almost everything. It really feels like they scaled up all the WC3 models and put us in the game. The trees especially. Even the icons are the same.
Not far from the literal truth considering the original vanilla client was heavily modded from the wc3 engine. Pretty sure they use actual assets/models from wc3.
Timmy in Strat Live (There's a Ghoul called Timmy in WC3)
Strat, plaguelands, durotar, barrens, ashenvale, winterspring
Northern barrens to ashenvale border
Dalaran
Poor Tobber Mcnabb
"It's all their fault, stupid Alliance army. Just had to build their towers right behind my farm."
Being a long time horde player and running through Durotar/barrens so many times. All the orc and human buildings are basically just full scale wc3 models. Probably because they started work within wc3 of I remember correctly
Ashenvale by far.
Barrens, the centaurs, kodos, Mulgore, Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale… for some reason I’ve always preferred Kalimdor to the EK. It felt more raw, genuine.
The throne room above Undercity
The sound effects, ghostly cheers and bell tolls as you walk down the same hallway as Arthas. The rotted rose petals. The fallen bell. The blood spatter still on the floor where he murdered his father. So atmospheric and reminiscent of that cinematic