All the new features in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth

Previously, we covered World of Warcraft's Legion expansion and some of the last updates from the past few months. We establish that World of Warcraft'southward Legion expansion was among the best in recent years, if not of all time, adding an absolutely insane amount of content for players of all types to enjoy. With Boxing for Azeroth launching on August thirteen, 2022, we thought we'd give y'all an update on what to wait from the next expansion as a returning role player or a full newbie.

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Battle for Azeroth: Story Summary

If you're a new or returning histrion, now is undoubtedly the best time to go back into Earth of Warcraft, since a big expansion is nearly to come and completely level the playing field for the MMO'due south millions of players. With Boxing for Azeroth, the level cap will increment to 120, granting two large new continents to explore and digest.

In the previous expansion, the demonic forces of The Burning Legion invaded Azeroth once again, and players across both playable factions, the Horde and the Alliance, united in a fragile pact to vanquish the franchise's most iconic foes. Past the end of the Legion expansion, the demons were once again defeated, but Azeroth itself was securely wounded.

The gargantuan nighttime titan known as Sargeras plunged his gigantic sword deep into the heart of Azeroth itself, creating a huge fissure deep in the deserts of Silithus. The wound was ultimately stabilized, using the ability from your antiquity weapon obtained during the expansion, but Azeroth even so bleeds, literally.

The crystallized essence of the planet, now known every bit Azerite, is bubbling upwards all over the land. Early, Horde players discovered the power and potency of this strange new mineral and sought to excerpt information technology before the Alliance could proceeds cognition of it. Naturally, it didn't go to plan.

The Alliance began harvesting Azerite for itself, having killed the Horde goblin miners in the desert sands. Alarmed, the Horde leader Warchief Sylvanas, resolved to capture the Night Elf city of Darnassus, to the north of the main Horde urban center, Orgrimmar. Again, things didn't exactly go to plan.

Sylvanas initially planned to simply capture the city, holding its inhabitants hostage. Merely afterward the Night Elf leaders were able to escape, rather than cutting her losses, Sylvanas ordered the Horde to burn the unabridged city, slaughtering hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent civilians. Equally a noble, honorable faction, many Horde leaders (and indeed, players), were alarmed by Sylvanas' actions, forming the basis of the Horde story arc moving into Battle for Azeroth.

The Horde and Alliance are back at war, despite working together during Legion. The Alliance are gearing upward in an endeavour to take Sylvanas' home kingdom, Lordaeron, as players will seek new lands and new allies, unravelling the mysteries of Azerite, and all-new threats lurking in the shadows.

Boxing for Azeroth: Features

Battle for Azeroth is a new $49.99 expansion for the about-fifteen-year-former game, adding a new level cap, tons of new dungeons and raids, and other new features.

New artifact abilities

Blizzard has struggled to contain the quickly expanding corporeality of abilities players take gained admission to over the years. And so, i solution they're using now is to add abilities that exist for an expansion. In Legion, you lot leveled up and curated an artifact weapon based on your course lore, granting yourself new abilities as you completed quests and dungeons throughout the game. In Battle for Azeroth, you are granted a magical pendant known equally the Centre of Azeroth, and throughout your leveling experience and across, you will as well level up this necklace, unlocking new traits for your class spells and abilities.

The traits are unlocked on special pieces of Azerite-infused armor, which can be found in quests, dungeons, raids, and player vs. thespian (PvP) content. The harder the content, the more potent the armor, equally usual. This is in addition to actress trait slots.

Some traits are detail specific, others are class specific, and some are even location specific. Wowhead has a great guide to these traits, and how they volition raise your character in Boxing for Azeroth.

Warfronts

Warfronts is new player vs. surround (PvE) content that depicts the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde. New Warfronts volition open up as the expansion receives complimentary content patches over fourth dimension, depicting some of the biggest wars in the game's story.

Warfronts are inspired past World of Warcraft's real-time strategy game (RTS) roots.

Warfronts are inspired by World of Warcraft's existent-time strategy game (RTS) roots, and even feature armor rewards modeled afterwards some classic Warcraft designs of yesteryear. As players in a region contribute resources to the state of war effort, eventually, the battle will unlock, allowing players to queue up for a 20-player war scenario.

Players will be able to construct buildings, RTS-style, that contribute troops and other abilities to the state of war effort. When the battle is won, players volition gain access to new quests and rewards, while the losing faction volition begin the resources gathering cycle over again.

Many famous battles from Warcraft history are likely to appear as new Warfronts throughout the expansion, with hints that iconic fights betwixt Tarren Manufacturing plant and Southshore could also play a part. Warfronts will be a way to gain powerful and corrective rewards collaboratively.

Centrolineal races

As function of Boxing for Azeroth, players will be able to unlock new "Allied Races" to bring together the Horde and the Alliance, becoming playable after meeting certain conditions. Some of the new races are already available in the game for pre-purchases, while others will become unlocked while playing through the new content. Blizzard has also confirmed that beyond the ones we know so far, further races are planned to join the Horde and Alliance in future patches for gratis. The new races we know near so far are equally follows.

Each of the new races has access to special racial abilities that set them apart from others and can gain admission to unique cosmetic armor sets if leveled from 1 to 120 the old fashioned mode, instead of using one of the boost tokens that come with an expansion buy.

New Horde races

Highmountain Tauren: Highmountain Tauren are hulking bovine-similar cousins of the Horde's iconic Tauren race. Highmountain Tauren share many similarities to regular Tauren, sharing a reverence of nature and shamanism. These Tauren come up with extra customization options, about notably with larger moose-similar horns.

Nightborne Elves: Nightborne Elves are highly magical creatures you meet initially in the Legion expansion. The Nightborne were enslaved by The Burning Legion, but players band together to free them. The Nightborne ultimately decide to bring together the Horde, feeling closer alignment with the Horde'southward magical Claret Elves, rather than the Alliance'southward nature-loving Night Elves.

Zandalari Trolls: The Zandalari are an ancient Troll civilization endowed with advanced magic and barbarous savagery. Boasting the largest Troll empire in history, Horde players align themselves with the powerful Trolls to bolster ranks confronting the Alliance.

Mag'har Orcs: Available sometime in the future, the Magazine'har Orcs are tribes remaining afterward the events of the Warlords of Draenor expansion. It is non known fully how they join the Horde (without information mining the beta), but they have far more customization options than current trolls, since they vest to various clans and creeds.

New Brotherhood races

Void Elves: Void Elves are a faction of High Elves and Claret Elves who were shunned out of the Horde for experimenting with Void shadow magic. Led by Alleria Windrunner, these Elves are infused with shadow magic, and bask shelter in the Alliance.

Lightforged Draenei: Lightforged Draenei are an offshoot of the Draenei race, having thrown their lot in with an intergalactic army dedicated to catastrophe the Legion. Now that the Burning Legion is (or well, seems) defeated, the remainders have joined the rest of their race to discover a home on Azeroth.

Dark Iron Dwarves: The Night Iron Dwarfs of Blackrock Mount were once the evil (although, enslaved) minions of the iconic elemental Ragnaros. Having freed themselves, the Alliance has finally accustomed them back into the fold, admitting with suspicion.

Kul Tiras Humans: Hardened generations of sea-faring humans grew separately from those on the Eastern Kingdoms. These naval humans are bulkier and less pious than those on the mainland, and it's on Alliance players to win them to their cause.

Island Expeditions

Much of the new expansion revolves effectually traveling at sea, specifically to unique uncharted islands not yet establish on the game'south world map. These procedurally-generated islands are ripe with loot to plunder, should you meet their unique challenges. Blizzard has developed advanced A.I. that more closely resembles unpredictable player beliefs, and then you'd improve bring your A-game if you want to defeat those who are also seeking the island's treasures.

There are a set corporeality of landscapes, merely each island has hundreds of unique challenges, elite bosses, and other events that might announced as part of your expedition. The main aim of these scenarios is to gain Azerite to empower your equipment, but the events also spawn quests that can reward special mounts, cosmetic gear skins, and unique companion pets.

In that location are three difficulty tiers, each offering greater rewards in substitution for greater difficulty, in addition to a PvP tier, where the advanced A.I. enemies are placed with a team of players.

In that location are no quest objective markers on an Island Trek, instead you must explore, follow clues, and nautical chart the island map shrouded in an RTS-like Fog of War, equally you attempt to gather Azerite faster than your enemies.

Battle for Azeroth: New Areas

Battle for Azeroth adds two continental landmasses each comprised of three large areas. For the start fourth dimension in WoW history, Alliance and Horde players will level to cap separately, with Horde players starting on Zandalar, and Alliance players starting on Kul Tiras. At max level, Horde and Alliance players will invade each opposing isle to continue the story.

Kul Tiras

Kul Tiras is an aboriginal island nation belonging to a group of humans who isolated themselves from the Alliance later on it felt they had been abased by information technology. A veteran of the early on wars with the orcs, the leader of Kul Tiras, Daelin Proudmoore, had led his dominating navy against the new Horde. His own daughter, Jaina, stepped aside and allowed the Horde to impale Daelin. She had wanted to forestall a genocide of the new Horde, afterwards their help had secured victory against the Legion in Warcraft 3.

Kul Tirans didn't take this news lightly. The nation attributed Jaina'south betrayal to the Alliance itself, and vilified Jaina as a traitor. It won't be like shooting fish in a barrel for Alliance players to win over Kul Tiras to their crusade. Filled with regret over how the Horde evolved, Jaina looks prepare to exist a major graphic symbol in this expansion, possibly taking up her father'southward old goals of eradicating the Horde.

Zandalar

The isle of Zandalar suffered immensely afterwards the Cataclysm, where natural disasters warped the island and awoke new threats from beneath its dense swamps and barbarous deserts. The Zandalari Trolls are amongst Azeroth's oldest civilizations, with Aztec-inspired architecture and access to powerful primal magic.

Horde players volition attempt to aid the Zandalari against a vicious sect of corrupt Blood Trolls, who have taken to worshipping a gargantuan horror lurking in the depths of Battle for Azeroth's first raid, the Titan containment facilities of Uldir.

Battle for Azeroth: New Dungeons and Raids

Battle for Azeroth will feature ten new 5-human dungeons at launch, epic world bosses, and a new raid "Uldir" for groups of up to 25 players.

Atal'Dazar: Atal'Dazar is an ancient Zandalari tomb housing the remains of the empire'southward kings of old. Dark forces have entered the tomb, resurrecting the dead for their evil agenda.

Freehold: Freehold traditionally served as a prophylactic haven for all of the ocean's scum and villainy. A port steeped in piracy, Freehold has come up under the vicious rule of the Irontide Raiders.

King's Rest: King'due south Rest is another Zandalari tomb, the final resting place of some of the empire's greatest champions, rulers, and conquerors. Nighttime magic has taken hold in that location, and players must dive into the depths to eradicate it.

Shrine of the Storm: The Kul Tiran fleet might be the nigh powerful naval force Azeroth has ever known. Earlier sailing into battle, the fleet docks at the Shrine of the Storm to receive powerful blessings. Aboriginal forces are attempting to wrest power from this sacred place, and perhaps gain command of the Kul Tiran armada itself.

Siege of Boralus: Lady Ashvane's Azerite weapons and summoned horrors threaten the ancient Kul Tiran city, and information technology's up to players to step in and help liberate the populace.

Temple of Sethraliss: An ancient god-like Snake Loa known as Sethraliss is buried deep in the temple's tombs. Evil forces have infiltrated the temple to effort to steal the Loa's powers for themselves, and it'southward upwards to you to finish them.

The MOTHERLODE!!: The Island of Kezan, a goblin player's starting zone, got utterly destroyed during the Calamity by a gigantic volcanic eruption. The ending, however, has produced tonnes of pure Azerite to chimera up on the lava-blasted island. Players must head at that place to finish their enemies from getting the Azerite first.

The Underrot: Deep in the swamps of Zandalar, a supernatural blight is spreading outwards across the island. If players don't uncover the source fast, it could leave the isle in ruin.

Tol Dagor: In one case a Kul Tiran prison house, Lady Ashvane has taken information technology over, using information technology as a dungeon for her enemies.

Waycrest Manor: Waycrest was once the seat of ability for one of Kul Tiras' most powerful ruling families. At present, dark rumors hang over the manor, with tales of undeath, vile rituals, and kidnapped travelers running amok.

Uldir: The first of Battle for Azeroth's raids is an abased Titan laboratory, where the creation' most powerful beings experimented on means to eliminate Azeroth's corruptive Old Gods. After the Titans were defeated past Sargeras, the facility remained abased, just the festering horrors within endured, growing always stronger. It is deep within Uldir that players volition encounter G'huun, a manufactured anathema the Titans had inadvertently created during their experiments on the One-time God's countless corruption.

Will you join the Battle for Azeroth?

Boxing for Azeroth launches on Baronial 13, 2022 for U.Southward. customers, and August 14, 2022 for the rest of the world. Priced at $49.99, Battle for Azeroth is adding a vast corporeality of fresh content for players to digest and savor, with i of the biggest focuses on finish-game activities seen in the MMO's crumbling history.

Will y'all be joining the Battle for Azeroth? Let united states of america know in the comments!

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