World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is the seventh expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, which came after the Legion expansion. It was announced at BlizzCon on November 3, 2017. Unlike previous expansions, which launched at midnight in each time zone, Battle for Azeroth released at the same time for all regions. This happened at midnight Central European Summer Time on August 14, 2018.
The expansion increases the maximum character level from 110 to 120. It adds two new continents, Kul Tiras and Zandalar, and introduces four new races for both the Alliance and the Horde. It also includes new dungeons, raids, warfronts, and uncharted islands.
Gameplay
The expansion allows players to level up to 120, which is higher than the previous level cap of 110 in the Legion expansion. At first, there will be ten dungeons included with version 8.0, along with Mythic Plus versions of these dungeons and the first raid, Uldir, which will be available shortly after the game’s release. After the release of four allied races in January 2018 and the start of preorders, the number of character slots per server increased from 12 to 16. When the expansion launched in August, the number of slots was raised again to 18 to make room for two new races added through initial content. The number of bag slots in a player’s backpack, which has been fixed at 16 since the game’s release in 2004, will increase if an authenticator is attached to the player’s account.
A “stat squish” and “item squish” were introduced to reduce the numbers used in the game. For example, a legendary item that previously had a level of 1000 was lowered to 265. Unique class-specific abilities, such as mages’ Arcane Brilliance and priests’ Mark of Fortitude, were added back. Titanforging, a random event that increases the initial item level of gear obtained from drops or rewards, remains in the game. However, items affected by the Heart of Azeroth cannot be titanforged.
Leveling changes were made in earlier content with Legion’s 7.3.5 patch. The level-scaling technology introduced in Legion will continue in the new continents of Kul Tiras and Zandalar and will also be applied to content from previous expansions. This allows larger level ranges for lower-level zones. Since previous expansions are now included in the base game, their level ranges have been expanded, letting players spend more time leveling in preferred expansions and skip others entirely. For example, a zone like Westfall, which had a level range of 10–15 in Legion, now ranges from 10–60. Continents such as Outland and Northrend now share a 60–80 level bracket. This change encourages players to choose where they level and experience the full story of a zone without overleveling its quests.
There were fewer class changes in Battle for Azeroth compared to Legion. Ion Hazzikostas mentioned that not all experiments were successful, such as Demonology Warlocks. Survival Hunter mechanics still need improvements, but the developers are committed to supporting melee Hunters.
The Heart of Azeroth is an artifact given to players by the world soul through Magni Bronzebeard. It is a necklace that uses Azerite, the lifeblood of the titan Azeroth. Azerite functions similarly to Legion’s artifact power, as it is gathered through gameplay and used to upgrade an artifact. Like Legion’s artifact weapons, the Heart can be upgraded continuously. However, unlike artifact weapons, the Heart works for all of a player’s specializations and can power all eligible gear worn at the same time.
Gear that can be empowered by Azerite is available for the chest, shoulder, and head slots of all classes. This gear has multiple tiers of abilities, shown as concentric wheels with icons representing individual powers. When a power is selected, it activates in the interface and locks out other options unless the player pays to reset their choices. Outer rings offer choices based on the character’s class, specialization, zone, or gear acquisition. The innermost circle provides a flat, all-around benefit that increases the item’s level.
Allied races, which were previously neutral or newly introduced, can be recruited by completing quest chains. Four races were unlocked when the expansion became available for preorder in January 2018, and four more will be added after the game’s release.
The Alliance can unlock the void elves (exiled blood elves who use shadow magic, trained by Alleria Windrunner), Lightforged draenei (veterans of the Army of the Light), Dark Iron dwarves (fire-blooded relatives of Ironforge dwarves), Kul Tiran humans (larger, heavier humans from Stormwind), and mechagnomes (cyborg gnomes from Mechagon).
The Horde can unlock the Nightborne (former Night Elves from Suramar), Highmountain tauren (moose-antlered relatives of tauren from Mulgore), Mag’har orcs (survivors of the Iron Horde), Zandalari (troll ancestors), and Vulpera (fox-like people from Vol’dun).
When an allied race is unlocked, new characters of that race start at level 20. If a player levels an allied race from 10 to 50 without using character boosts, they receive unique “Heritage Armor” for transmogrification that reflects the race’s lore and is limited to that race. Completing quests to unlock allied races also grants their unique mounts. Void elves, Lightforged draenei, Highmountain tauren, and Nightborne were available with the preorder on January 30, 2018. Dark Iron dwarves and Mag’har orcs become available after completing the “War Campaign” in Kul Tiras and Zandalar and reaching exalted status with a faction’s War Campaign reputation. Kul Tiran humans and Zandalari are available in patch 8.2 by completing story quests and reaching exalted status with their factions. Mechagnomes and Vulpera are introduced in patch 8.3 by completing story quests in their home zones and reaching exalted status with their factions.
Warfronts are a new type of 20-player PvE content. They are similar to battlegrounds but focus more on building bases, capturing territory, and controlling resources, reflecting the game’s real-time strategy roots. Warfronts will not always be active regularly, as they require preparation before each one. Heroic versions of warfronts, which are harder, will be released in Patch 8.2: Rise of Azshara.
Island expeditions are a new type of 3-player content, similar to the 3-player scenarios in Mists of Pandaria. They involve dynamic challenges where players battle AI-controlled enemies or other players to gather Azerite for their faction’s war effort.
The expansion changes the PvP rules on each realm. By default, players can only attack NPCs in the open world. Players who want to engage in world PvP must activate a
Plot
At the end of Legion, the powerful titan Sargeras was trapped, but not before he stabbed his sword into the planet Azeroth. This action caused widespread destruction, including the cracked and burned Silithus desert. It also seriously injured a titan that was still forming inside Azeroth. Heroes managed to reduce the most severe damage, but many of their powerful weapons lost some of their special abilities. The world continues to bleed a magical substance called "Azerite," which has strong magical properties. The Horde leader, Sylvanas Windrunner, tried to take control of Azerite in Kalimdor, where it is mostly found. Her efforts were part of a pre-launch event for the expansion. This event ended with the Horde seizing or destroying major Night Elf areas, including Teldrassil and Darnassus, which are starting zones for Night Elf players. Two books were published by Blizzard: Elegy by Christie Golden tells the story from the Alliance’s side, and A Good War by Robert Brooks tells it from the Horde’s side.
During the pre-launch event, Alliance and Horde players received different quests showing the story from their faction’s perspective. The event’s final part included a cinematic showing Sylvanas for both factions. Alliance players then had a quest in Darnassus where they had to rescue 982 Night Elf citizens from fires within three minutes. Each player’s actions were not shared with others, but the quest succeeded automatically. After this, Teldrassil was shown as a burned ruin to high-level players, though it remained the Night Elf starting zone and was not removed from the game.
The Alliance attacked Sylvanas’s home, the Undercity, which was once the human city of Lordaeron. After a long battle, including Sylvanas using a powerful Azerite weapon and High Overlord Varok Saurfang being captured, the Horde was driven out. Sylvanas left behind disease and toxins that made the area uninhabitable. This battle left the Horde in control of Kalimdor and the Alliance in control of the Eastern Kingdoms. The war continued with both factions moving to Kul Tiras and Zandalar to find new allies.
In Kul Tiras, the Alliance’s first attempt to get help failed when Katherine Proudmoore, the leader of Kul Tiras, refused aid and exiled Jaina Proudmoore, her daughter, for her role in her father’s death. Kul Tiras faced corruption and outside threats, so Anduin and Genn Greymane sent Alliance champions to help. With the aid of Flynn Fairwind and Taelia Fordragon, the Alliance fought pirates, Naga, and ancient forces to earn Kul Tiras’s trust. After defeating these threats, Katherine decided to help the Alliance find Jaina.
The Alliance found Jaina on the prison island of Fate’s End, where she was being tortured by Gorak Tul, an ancient enemy. The Alliance destroyed Gorak Tul and rescued Jaina, who then joined the Alliance. Together, they defended Boralus from pirates, and Jaina became Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras’s navy.
In Zandalar, the Horde helped King Rastakhan deal with threats to gain his support. They fought Blood Trolls, Naga, and ancient cultists. They learned about G’huun, a dangerous being created by the Titans. The Blood Trolls and their allies tried to free G’huun to rule Azeroth. The Horde helped Rastakhan defeat his adviser, Zul, but G’huun’s prison was destroyed. Both factions fought G’huun’s champions and killed him.
After G’huun was defeated, the Horde and Alliance focused on the war. The Horde obtained a powerful sea-controlling artifact, while the Alliance stopped an alliance between Sylvanas and the San’layn Elves. The Alliance prepared to attack Zandalar to stop the Golden Fleet. They attacked Dazar’alor but had to kill Rastakhan after he became too powerful. Horde champions then attacked the Alliance, seriously injuring Jaina and Mekkatorque.
Meanwhile, Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage decided to attack Darkshore without Anduin’s approval. Tyrande became the Night Warrior, a powerful warrior linked to Elune. Sylvanas raised fallen Night Elven heroes as Dark Rangers to fight her.
As the battle for Darkshore began, both sides were surprised when Varok Saurfang, who had been captured earlier, escaped and went on the run. Sylvanas sent Horde champions to track him.
Setting
The expansion happens right after the events of Legion. Two new continents were added in the Great Sea between the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor: Kul Tiras, an important human kingdom, and Zandalar, the homeland of Azeroth's trolls. At first, the Alliance will go to Kul Tiras, and the Horde will go to Zandalar. However, both continents will be available to both factions when players reach level 120.
Kul Tiras is the main place for Alliance characters in the expansion. It is divided into three zones: Tiragarde Sound (which contains the Alliance capital, Boralus), Drustvar, and Stormsong Valley.
Zandalar is the main place for Horde characters in the expansion. Like Kul Tiras, it is divided into three zones: Zuldazar (which contains the Horde capital, Dazar'alor), Nazmir, and Vol'dun.
Development
The expansion was announced at BlizzCon 2017 on November 3, 2017. Battle for Azeroth began limited alpha testing in early February 2018. Public beta testing started in late April 2018. Blizzard announced the release date on April 5, 2018, along with a special collector's edition.
Reception
The expansion Battle for Azeroth received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic. IGN praised the game, noting that the zones are "wonderfully diverse." GameSpot highlighted the addition of Allied Races to the Alliance and Horde, stating that these characters are "so well-crafted that it's almost worth it for fans of the game's story alone." However, Polygon raised concerns about the game's long-term enjoyment, mentioning "a list of serious problems in the game's systems." PCWorld gave the expansion 4 out of 5 stars, explaining that while issues like Azerite gear and some repetitive dungeons exist, the game offers "so many activities to enjoy that these problems do not take away from the overall experience."
According to Blizzard, the expansion sold over 3.4 million copies on its first day of release, making it the fastest-selling World of Warcraft expansion.