I’ve read over the recent Insider interview “Fury of the Sunwell and Beyond” several times now. And there’s always a few quotes that stick out in my mind given what we know about Wrath of the Lich King. Let’s start with a statement made by J. Allen Brack:

Naxxramas comes to mind as an example of what we’re aiming for with the Sunwell. Despite being the pinnacle of PvE raiding before The Burning Crusade, Naxxramas didn’t actually complete that many of the story arcs presented in the original game. While Naxxramas remains one of the best designed high-end dungeons in World of Warcraft, it still felt like there was untapped potential for what high-end PvE storytelling could be. That’s what we set out to do with Sunwell Plateau and Magisters’ Terrace: create a dungeon experience that features spectacular gameplay and an awesome conclusion to the expansion’s story arc.

This quote highlights the specific line of reasoning as to why I think moving Naxxramas to Northrend and retuning it to be an entry level dungeon in WotLK is a huge mistake. I know what you’re thinking, “Woah, wait, what? Moving Naxxramas and reintroducing it is an awesome idea! It’s a great dungeon!” Is it? Hear me out.

First, consider the key points in this quote. Naxxramas was the pinnacle before TBC, and it had problems concluding the storyline of vanilla WoW. When I consider all of the bosses in Naxxramas, the only three that have any real connection to previous story lines are the Four Horsemen (specifically Mograine), Sapphiron and Kel’Thuzad. So it’s not until the last three bosses in a fifteen-encounter dungeon that you have any emotional investment in the characters of the dungeon. You have to endure twelve nearly irrelevant encounters before you get to the proverbial meat of the dungeon’s lore. And how is this going to be any different in WotLK if they simply retune it?

In contrast, Sunwell’s encounters are presented extremely well. You’re invested in Kalecgos because he introduces you to the perils of the current situation in Magister’s Terrace. So, naturally, when you see him being corrupted, much like Vael in Blackwing Lair, you become invested as a player in the story being told. Also, when you see the battle between Madrigosa and Brutallus, you become invested there. Similar concepts apply to M’uru with the blood elf corruption, and especially with Kil’jaeden, who has games worth of lore relevant to his appearance in the Sunwell. The only encounter I don’t really feel invested in is the Eredar Twins.

I see Sunwell Plateau more as an evolution of what we did with Naxxramas.

So do I. And I would rather see this evolution continued starting with the very first dungeon of WotLK. And this isn’t going to happen if they simply move and reintroduce Naxxramas. I would much rather see Kel’Thuzad reintroduced in a manner similar to Kael’thas in Magister’s Terrace, except on a 10- or 25-man level. I would rather see resources involving encounter design and testing used to create new encounters, as opposed to the retuning of old encounters. Especially because I don’t actually enjoy a lot of the encounters Naxx has to offer. Anub’rhekan? The concept of out-ranging abilities is not innovative or enjoyable. Faerlina? Another reason I hate RoF. Razuvious? I’m sure the priests loved it, but most of us were reminded of Firemaw given the LOS mechanics. Noth? Decurse, decurse, decurse! And don’t get me started about Loatheb. I don’t know anyone that didn’t hate that fight at 60.

When I sit down and actually think about the encounters, Naxxramas wasn’t actually all that great in its entirety. It’s simply fortunate for Blizzard that they also made some incredibly innovative and difficult encounters to fit into Naxx. Heigan is extremely enjoyable, and the Four Horsemen extremely difficult. Sapphiron was also well-designed, if you ignore the annoying debuff removal mechanic Blizzard professed its love for all throughout vanilla WoW. So there were some gems in the rough that often influence people’s opinions of the dungeon.

… at the same time I think its size made it difficult for some players to fully experience [Naxxramas]. Sunwell Plateau’s smaller scale will let more players access the raid and give them a reasonable chance of clearing it before the launch of Wrath of the Lich King.

No doubt. Even at level 70, one-shotting all of the bosses, the instance takes a long while to clear. Fifteen is too large a number of encounters for a single instance, especially because the last two bosses require you to clear the entire dungeon if you want to experience them. In contrast, you can easily do Hyjal or BT in a single night. Hyjal only takes a couple hours if you do it right. Comparatively, only a very small percentage of guilds cleared Naxxramas in a single night. So, if Blizzard really wants to reintroduce Naxx, they should consider removing some of the boring or annoying encounters. Let’s start with Faerlina. Maybe Loatheb. I wouldn’t mind if Grobbulus and Gluth got the boot, either. And I think only the priests would mind if Razuvious was kicked to the curb. But let’s leave Patchwerk in, because his sayings make me smile. And then let’s remove some of the most annoying trash the game has ever had to offer. That would trim the dungeon down to a manageable size.

Then I consider the atmosphere. For its time, Naxxramas was revolutionary. It definitely outdid the likes of MC, BWL and TAQ. However, I think every single 25-man dungeon in TBC outdoes it aesthetically. Why? Well, the only interesting room in the entirety of Naxx was, in my opinion, Sapphiron’s Lair. The rest was simply the Undercity 2.0, and the room leading up to Heigan was basically a brief foray into Plaguewood. It didn’t add the same amount of flair to its Undercity elements that Sunwell adds to what it borrows from Silvermoon City. Furthmore, I only enjoyed two pieces of music from the entirety of Naxx. Every other piece was simply a random mash-up of creepy orchestral sounds. The Black Temple, meanwhile, has an awesome suite of music that fits its storyline and artistic style perfectly. Compared to the two minutes of Naxx music I have on my mp3 player, I have nineteen from BT.

All of my opinions regarding the reintroduction of Naxx aside, the rest of the interview has a myriad of positive points, and I’ll get to those in the second part of addressing this interview.