Garrison

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about the core game mechanics of a new feature added to World of Warcraft with the expansion pack Warlords of Draenor: the Garrison.

One of the new features that were added to World of Warcraft (WoW) with the release of the expansion pack „Warlords of Draenor“ (WoD) is the Garrison. The Garrison allows the players to construct buildings, to transmute materials and to manage followers. In this new article series, I will analyze the major game mechanics which are used to realize this new part of WoW.

The Garrison itself is an instanced area which blends into one of the regions of WoD. Depending on the faction the players belong to, they will have their Garrision in Shadowmoon Valley (Alliance) or Frostfire Ridge (Horde). The region around the Garrison is shared among all the other players playing on the same realm. However, as soon as the player is approaching the location of the own Garrison, he changes from the shared environment to the instanced area of the Garrison. This gives the players the impression to be in charge of their own Garrisons and to be able to create something unique in the predefined world of WoW. Of course, the players are allowed to invite other players to visit and explore their Garrisons, but in general the players are alone as long as they are inside their Garrisons.

The Garrison itself consists of the main administration building and a certain amount of building plots where the player can construct three different types of buildings: small, medium and large ones. During the player’s progression through the content of WoD, the player is able to improve the own Garrison and transform it from a small outpost to a small castle. The player gains access to the first stage of the Garrison after he finished the first initial quests of WoD. The story automatically leads the player to the point where he needs to construct a small protected outpost in order to advance in the narration.

Garrison – Stage 2

The first stage of the Garrison comes with a large and a small building plot and is used to introduce the players to the basic management functions of the Garrison. The player learns how to begin the construction process of a building and how to send the own followers on a mission. This first stage lasts only for a short amount of time, because as soon as the player completes a certain quest or reaches level 92, he will be able to upgrade the own Garrison to the second stage.
At this point, the Garrison receives the appearance of a small fort and the administration interfaces of the Garrison move from a small shack to the inside of a townhall-like building. Furthermore, the Garrison then features a large, a medium and two small building plots, a mine, a herb garden and a fishing shack at a small lake. This allows the player to construct two additional buildings which should help him to get through the level phase until the player reaches the maximum level of WoD.
After reaching level 100, the player is able to upgrade the Garrison to the third stage which looks like a castle and offers several options to customize it. Moreover, the final tier of the Garrison provides two large, two medium and three small building plots and gives the player the option to add a monument after reaching a certain milestone in the game.

Garrison – Stage 3

The game mechanic of the upgradeable Garrison helps the players to get used to the new feature of WoW. The first stage introduces the player to the core mechanics and allows them to develop an understanding of the control interfaces. The second stage is an interim stage and allows the players to start the process of the Garrison development which leads to the uprade to the third and final stage. At this point, the players have learnt how to manage their Garrisons and are now able to take advantage of the performance of all the different buildings. Moreover, certain buildings are mostly useful for the endgame of WoD and would only distract the players during their level phase.
Finally, the process of expanding the Garrison is also increasing the immersive effect of WoW. The Garrison is improving together with the player. At the beginning of the WoD campaign, the players are completely new in the regions of WoD. As they progress through the level campaign, they start to get used to the new environment and are able to foster their base. Finally, after reaching level 100, the players are settled in the regions of WoD and hence are able to establish a fortified settlement.

to be continued …