In the Legion expansion, Mistweaver monks lost the Chi resource and the Fistweaving talent that allowed them to heal by dealing damage.

Unlike previous races in World of Warcraft, which are tied to either the Horde or Alliance in-game factions, pandaren are faction-neutral for the early levels of the game.

(In an interview with Kat Hunter, Chris Metzen jokingly said the languages had not yet been chosen but Pig Latin was a strong candidate.

It was later revealed that the 4 parts of Scarlet Monastery – Library, Graveyard, Armory and Cathedral – would be merged into two heroics in Mists of Pandaria.

[15] With Deathwing's menace ended, Warchief Garrosh Hellscream seized the opportunity to strike at the Alliance and expand the Horde's territory on Kalimdor.

His assault completely obliterated the human city of Theramore, causing worldwide violence between the factions to erupt anew.

A destructive naval skirmish left Alliance and Horde forces washed ashore on the fog-shrouded island of Pandaria, which had appeared in the open sea, defying modern maps and charts.

This ancient race worked with the Alliance and Horde in the hopes of dispersing the Sha: dark, ephemeral beings roused from beneath Pandaria by the bloody conflict.

As the two factions' armies clashed on the shores of the continent, Warchief Garrosh Hellscream dispatched elite troops to find the Divine Bell—an ancient mogu artifact capable of endowing his soldiers with unimaginable power.

Garrosh's bold and reckless actions, however, had dire consequences for the Horde, including the outbreak of violence against the Darkspear trolls and the expulsion of the blood elves from the once-neutral mage city of Dalaran.

Although Garrosh claimed the bell, Prince Anduin Wrynn and the Alliance secret agents of SI:7 closely tracked the warchief's every move.

On the highest peaks of Kun-Lai Summit, the brave prince thwarted Garrosh's plans, leading to the fabled mogu artifact's destruction.

Garrosh Hellscream's quest for power in Pandaria leads him to excavate part of the sacred Vale of Eternal Blossoms in search of a sinister artifact, a decision that puts the Horde at odds with the Shado-pan and other influential pandaren.

Meanwhile, in the Horde capital of Orgrimmar, Chieftain Vol'jin and the Darkspear trolls are declared traitors and hunted by the Kor'kron, Hellscream's personal guard.

Vol'jin's people retreat to Durotar and the Barrens to gather supplies and reinforcements for their counter-strike, relying on the support of their former warchief, Thrall, and a particularly tenuous pact with the Alliance, whose interest in ending Garrosh's rule may not bode entirely well for the Horde... Garrosh Hellscream's reckless thirst for power has led him to do the unthinkable: from beneath the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, he has seized the detached heart of the dead Old God Y'Shaarj to use as a tool of war, unleashing horrors upon the sacred valley.

With Garrosh bent on total victory, he plans to demonstrate the potency of the True Horde by conquering not just the Alliance but the whole of Azeroth.

[17] Several zones have been added, including the Jade Forest, Valley of the Four Winds, Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Townlong Steppes, Kun-Lai Summit, Krasarang Wilds, the Timeless Isle, and the Dread Wastes.

The Wandering Isle is a new zone, serving as the starting area for pandaren players, which they leave after choosing a faction (horde or alliance).

Because of this he departed the pandaren continent of Pandaria around 10,000 years ago, riding on the back of the then man-sized turtle, Shen-zin Su.

By the time players encounter Shen-zin Su, the turtle has grown to the size of a small continent, complete with fertile farmlands, mountains, lakes and a thriving population of pandaren, animals and plant life.

In addition to serving as a home and method of transportation for his inhabitants, Shen-zin Su is a fully sapient being and quite aware of the Wandering Isle pandaren that have been living on his back for generations.

[27] Academic Douglas Eyman cites the expansion as an example of glocalization because it was designed at the outset to appeal to global audiences while celebrating Chinese culture.

Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Mists of Pandaria for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition".

[41] Subsequent comments by reviewers acknowledged that the sales of nearly 3 million in the first week would be desirable and an indicator of success for any other company in the gaming industry, but the reviewers said these numbers "still aren't looking good for the long-term future of Blizzard's wildly successful MMORPG" and "likely left some of the team at Activision Blizzard wondering where they went wrong".