There are a few things that hurt Mists in this area and yet several which saved it from getting a much lower score. The first is the fact that Warcraft’s gameplay systems are really starting to become out of date when compared other MMOs emerging in the market. Linear questing and hubs are becoming a thing of the past. This style of MMO gameplay needs to evolve in Warcraft’s next expansion for sure. Mists offered some solid rewards in terms of getting through the content, no doubt, however there are much better worlds to play in out there on the horizon and even right now.
The talent system also hurt a lot here. The fact that talents are now so simple and that a strong portion of character customization is reduced to so few choices really makes the leveling process feel like you are missing something. If this system was designed for players to join the game from the start I would find it very unrewarding. For high level players it is just a respec and a few choices at the end to flesh out your character. I do think this new system has hurt the game. Even if players argue that there are more choices for classes, I personally can’t see it. The idea was to be rid of cookie cutter builds, but this seems to have only made it worse.
The new dungeons, scenarios, challenge modes, and the Pet Battles definitely save Mists from getting a low score. The new challenge mode system really is fun and gives players a whole new goal to shoot for. The Pet Battles also are a lot of fun and add a lot to the game even if they’re “fluff”. I found both of these to really add to the enjoyment of playing the expansion.