Azeroth

Unable to defend herself, she relies on the inhabitants of Azeroth for protection, as many outside threats, including the malevolent Titan Sargeras, tried and failed to corrupt or kill her.

Other aspects were noted as undermining Azeroth's realism for the sake of gameplay, such as ingame chat, electronic auction houses, "mechanically accurate" beast mounts, and respawning enemies and NPCs.

Characterizing Azeroth's design as "all about playability", he compares the ideal design for such places to real-world theme parks such as Disney World and Universal Studios, describing it as merely a virtual theme park version of the more in-depth and ever-changing mythos described in Warcraft I-III and the franchise's novels.

Other aspects, such as the inclusion of meeting places for players, more resemble "planned urban spaces" than a living, breathing natural world.

They describe the faction division between Alliance and Horde as one of the most impactful simplifications of the lore, noting that while the game is clearly designed for inter-faction struggle between "good" and "evil" sides, the two sides have become increasingly equal in their actions over time to the point that neither has moral superiority, with the Alliance being seen as warmongering colonizers, while the Horde lives in harmony with nature.