Stormwind vs Ironforge – which one do you prefer?

Where do you feel most at home in the game? And I’m not talking about where you put your hearthstone – most level 70s have it in Shattrath to get access to the free portals.

I think about the place where you normally go when you need to do errands – like visiting AH in combination of sorting your bank and getting repairs and reagents. The place where you’ve been so many times that you could keep your eyes closed navigating in the streets, since you know all the turns and ways by instinct.

To me the player base seems to be split in those two categories: Ironforge lovers and Stormwind lovers. It’s just the same way it is about dogs and cats in real life. There are the dog-preferring kind of people and the cat-fans. They don’t necessarily have reasons for those preferences, it’s just something you’re born into.

Until now I’ve been a Stormwinder, probably mostly out of habit. I simply know this place after spending so much time here. Zakesh, my co-innkeeper, on the other hand is a sworn friend of Ironforge. When we discussed this a while ago it came to my mind that I didn’t have any logical arguments for my habit to go to SW.

Because of this I did some research to once for all determine which place is best. And here’s the result:

1. Distance to facilities
I’ve measured a few walks I usually do whenever I’m in town. When possible I used my epic mount. I haven’t tried to make any kind of speed record – you can probably do those distances faster if you try. My intention was to make it as realistic as possible – to do it the way I always do it.

Portal place (where I appear) – bank
Ironforge: 37 sec
Stormwind: 44 sec

Comment: It may not seem a big difference, those 7 seconds, but trust me, they feel very long and annoying, especially if you count in the quite impractical placing of the portal in Stormwind, way up in the mage tower. You have to watch out so that you don’t run in the wrong direction, ending up in a wall instead of going outdoors. And there’s this annoying ramp you have to run down – or jump, and then accept some loss of hp. This is a strong argument for Ironforge in my opinion.

Bank – battleground masters
Ironforge: 40 sec
Stormwind: 1 minute
Comment: It’s very annoying to have to run the whole way inside the building in Stormwind without my mount.

Auctionhouse – mailbox
Ironforge: 12 sec
Stormwind: 13 sec
Comment: Not a big deal.

Bank – reagent vendor:
Ironforge: 22 sec
Stormwind: 13 sec
Comment: To be fair there is a reagent vendor guy closer to the bank in Ironforge, just by the inn. I guess about at the same distans as in Stormwind. But he's only got arcane powder, he hasn't got the vials I need as an alchemist. To get them I have to go to a shop near the fp, at least I haven't found anyone closer. This is very annoying. I tend to buy to few of them and often run a few times between the bank, AH, postbox and reagent vendor when I'm up for making some drugs.

Bank – repair guy
Comment: I forgot to use my timer on this one. But I reckon it's about the same. At first I was frustrated in Ironforge since I only found the smith standing in the cellar. I thought it was ridiculous to have to take the stairs down. But then I found another one on the other side of the bank. He is a few steps up, but it's managable.

2. Looks and atmosphere
Both Stormwind and Ironforge offer majestic settings, not the least the entrances. But Stormwind also offers something more: it’s relaxed, peaceful and pretty, with the channels, green parks, small shops selling things like wine and flowers and a lot of civilians and even children hanging around. You can see the sun and breathe fresh outdoor air. Without being a master of lore I get the feeling that this is what the ongoing war in the game is about; this is what we’re striving to protect.

Ironforge on the other hand feels pretty hostile. It’s definitely not pleasurable for civilians; it feels like an outpost combined with some mine industries. According to Wowwiki you should feel very safe and at home in Ironforge, but honestly, to me it’s quite a dark place. Not beautiful and welcoming the way Stormwind is. The whole town is bathing in different shades of darkness. You never see the sun and the air definitely is polluted with all this industrial work going on everywhere.

On the other hand – some of us prefer to dwell in the darkness. We want that “close-to-the-front”-atmosphere. We maybe find Stormwind even a bit too idyllic, too much of beautiful surface, a bit too polished to be comfortable and cozy. And way too crowded. Mind you, Stormwind has about 200 000 inhabitants, compared to the 20 000 of Ironforge.

The difference is huge, just watch the screenshots I included for a comparsion. But all in all, it’s more a matter of taste and what mood you’re in.

3. Miscellaneous observations

• Both Ironforge and Stormwind offer fishing opportunities. Not for the captures, it's just low level crap, but for levelling up. I must say though that standing by the channels a sunny day, watching the city life, seems much more enjoyable to me than to dwell all alone in the darkness of the Forlorn Cavern. What really speaks for Stormwind though is that you can complete the daily fishing q when it's the one where you catch a croc. It's ever so easy to do it while you’re still in town doing other errands.
• The flight path in Stormwind is slightly closer to the AH/Bank area. On the other hand you can’t mount all the way to it, and you have to run up an annoying ramp to access it. The flight master in IF on the other hand is standing conveniently on the ground and also has a repair guy nearby. The availability to the gryphon master isn’t any real argument though for either of the city, since you probably visit him for a reason; you don’t want just to go anywhere, but to a specific place. And while IF offer the closest transport to Ghostlands/ZulAman and Sunwell, Stormwind is the right place to start for a Karazhan run. So I guess that makes it even.
• There is a small advantage for Ironforge that it’s closer to the harbour if you need to take the boat to Theramore. Being a mage I don’t have to, and I also have rep to portal to Caverns of Time. But for other classes it could be something to consider.
• The deeprun tram is easier available in Ironforge than in Stormwind, where it’s well hidden. But since I hardly ever use it I can’t say it’s an argument for either side.
• I can’t help it but all the shops in Ironforge seem to look the same to me. It makes it harder to learn how to find your way.
• If your HS is on cooldown and you need to transport yourself there's a special thing you can do in Stormwind: start a party for Stockades. Enter. Then leave the party. You'll be transported to where your HS is set. It's not a big deal, just a small detail in advantage of SW.

My conclusions
After looking at those figures I think I’ll give Ironforge an honest chance to compete for the title “hometown of Larísa”. It is a bit annoying that I have to walk a bit to get my vials. But especially if I intend to combine waiting for AV queues with browsing AH, it’s very attractive.

And the most important reason of all is the one I haven’t mentioned yet: I have a strong feeling that there are much fewer beggars and other annoying people in Ironforge than in Stormwind. You’re more likely to be left in peace, even as a mage.

And what about Darnassus?
You who have read this far may wonder what happened to Darnassus, the capital of the elves?
Is Larísa so noobish that she hasn’t even heard about it’s wonders? Or is she a sworn elf hater?

Neither. But seriously, I’ve never ever met a player who considers Darnassus to be their home town, the place where you do your everyday stuff. And that isn’t strange. It’s ridiculously spread out and totally impossible to get the grasp of, to learn where things are situated. Some of the platforms are even annoyingly hard to jump up on as a gnome.

I know I’ll probably be flamed now by some dedicated nightelf players, but I can live with it. Tell me that I’m wrong and I may do some serious studies and measure the distances in Darnassus as well. But for the time being I just can’t see how it could qualify as a hometown.