Alright, let me tell you about the time I got really into the whole garrison setup, thinking maybe I could turn it into some kind of personal arena hub or something. This was back when that expansion was the main thing, you know?
So, I jumped back into the game, specifically aiming to build up my garrison. First thing, I had to actually get the garrison going, which meant following the storyline quests for a bit. That part was pretty straightforward, just following the markers and getting the basic buildings up.
Getting the Followers Sorted
Then came the followers. This was the bit I thought might lead to the ‘arena’ idea. I started collecting them, doing quests, finding them out in the world. My plan was to get followers with abilities that seemed good for combat, thinking maybe they’d help in some way, or maybe I could use them for specific missions that felt like arena practice. I spent ages looking at guides online, trying to figure out which followers were supposed to be the ‘best’.
- I ran around zones hunting specific named ones.
- I checked the inn every week hoping for good recruits.
- I leveled them up through missions, which took forever.
Honestly, it felt more like managing a spreadsheet than playing a game sometimes. Click mission, assign followers, wait hours, collect reward. Repeat. That was the core loop.
Trying to Make it an ‘Arena’
Now, the ‘arena’ part never really happened like I imagined. There wasn’t a specific building or feature called ‘Garrison Arena’. It was more me messing around. I tried dueling guildmates right outside the gates, using the space as our personal little fighting ground. That was okay, but it wasn’t really integrated, you know? Just players making their own fun.
I also focused on missions that involved combat or seemed PvP related. I’d send my best-geared followers, hoping for cool rewards or maybe some sense of progression towards being ‘arena-ready’. But mostly, it was just passive mission stuff. Send them out, they come back (or fail), and that’s it. There wasn’t much direct action involved for me related to an arena inside the garrison itself.
The biggest letdown? It felt super isolated. Garrisons were mostly single-player instances. So much for a community arena feel. It was just me, my buildings, and my little follower dudes running errands on a timer.
Looking Back
Looking back, I spent a ton of time on that garrison. Setting up the buildings, optimizing follower traits, running those missions constantly. Did it feel like I built my own ‘garrison arena’? Nah, not really. It was more like a time-consuming base management mini-game inside the main game.
It had its moments, finding a rare follower felt good for a second. But mostly, it was a grind. It definitely wasn’t the dynamic, player-driven arena hub I’d sort of hoped I could make it into. Just another system you had to keep up with back then.
