When is Battle for Azeroth coming out? World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. Our little Legion. Both the Standard Edition and the Deluxe Digital Edition include

And pre-orders for Battle for Azeroth are now open in the in-game store! When you pre-order, you can instantly level up your character to level 110 and start looking for four new Allied Races coming with the expansion: Highmountain Tauren, Lightforged Draenei, Void Elves, and Nightborne. And for leveling up an Allied Race character from level 20 to level 110*, you'll receive a special set of heritage armor, a true symbol of devotion to Azeroth.

Whose side are you on?

The inhabitants of Azeroth managed to repulse the surprise attack of the Burning Legion. The victory came at a high price: many noble heroes fell in battle, the blade of Sargeras inflicted a heavy wound on the world. But there is an old rift that will be even harder to overcome. The primordial distrust between the Alliance and the Horde threatens to escalate into a new conflict - and no one can foresee how this will turn out for Azeroth. Now the heroes - you! - you need to find new allies and fight for your faction. With weapons in hand, you have to take part in a key episode of a long-term confrontation.

This is not the time to sit back! Start preparing for battle now. Pre-purchase Battle for Azeroth, mount a Gilded Ravasaur or Saltmane Stallion and set out to find your Allied Races. Declare to the whole of Azeroth what faction you are for, and get ready to meet the enemy fully armed.

Battle for Azeroth: Standard Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition

Battle for Azeroth is offered in two digital editions: Standard and Deluxe.

Both the Standard Edition and the Deluxe Digital Edition include:

the full version of the expansion Battle for Azeroth;
character level up to 110.
Pre-Order to instantly level up your character and start searching for Allied Races.

The Deluxe Digital Edition also includes:

Zandalari Gilded Ravasaur (Horde) or Kul Tiran Saltmane Stallion (Alliance);
pet Cake, little tortollan;
back for cards in Hearthstone;
graffiti in StarCraft II;
fireborn sabertooth (vehicle) in Heroes of the Storm;
voice lines, emotes, sprays, and icons in Overwatch.

We'll have more details on the Collector's Edition, which will be available at retail only, soon. It will include the soundtrack, exclusive artwork, and story details from the Battle for Azeroth expansion.

New in Battle for Azeroth

Kul Tiras - Alliance Kingdom: Jaina Proudmoore's homeland has become a hotbed of intrigue and dark magic. You have to fight against power-hungry pirates, witches using death magic, and mysterious priests of the sea.

Zandalar is the empire of the Horde: in these troll-infested lands lies an ancient evil, ready to awaken and subjugate the whole world. You will need to defeat the crazed blood trolls, giant dinosaurs and the creations of the titans.

New allied races: By pre-ordering, you can start building bonds with Highmountain Tauren, Lightforged Draenei, Void Elves, and Nightborne. This, in turn, will give you the opportunity to create new characters belonging to these races.

Islands not on the map: Team up in groups of three and fight the cunning invaders (or players from the opposite faction). The islands are constantly changing, so there are many challenges waiting for you.

Battles on the fronts: Take part in a large-scale battle for 20 players in co-op mode to reclaim a strategically important territory. Lead the troops and take on the enemy commander in a new PvE mode similar to classic Warcraft strategy battles.

Heart of Azeroth: Obtain the Heart of Azeroth, a legendary necklace, from the hands of Magni Bronzebeard himself. Infuse a necklace with Azerite - a precious resource that has caused discord between two factions - to imbue your armor with new properties.

Start enlisting the support of new Allied Races!

When you pre-order, you can experience Azeroth through the eyes of a character from one of the new Battle for Azeroth Allied Races. Heroes of the Horde will be able to recruit Highmountain tauren and Nightborne, and the Alliance will be able to recruit Lightforged Draenei and Void Elves. If you form an alliance with these races, you can choose them when creating new characters.

Before one or another race will side with your faction, you will need to fulfill a special set of conditions - to earn reputation or complete certain tasks. Once these conditions are met, you will receive a special task that will allow your faction to enlist the support of the race. And if you can level up an Allied Race character from level 20 to level 110 without leveling up, changing races or factions, or gaining levels through the Recruit A Friend program, you Get a special set of traditional armor of this race. The set is a set of decorative items that will be available to all your characters of the corresponding race in the future.

Allied Races Traits, Abilities, and Conditions

Highmountain Tauren - Horde

Descendants of Huln, a brave hero of the War of the Ancients, the tauren of Highmountain revere the spirits of the earth, river, and sky. Although the Legion's forces invaded their lands, sowing the seeds of mistrust between the tribes, the Highmountain tauren united once again. For the first time in a long time, they are ready to leave the sacred mountain and join their kin from Kalimdor. The Horde will certainly be glad to receive such noble and powerful allies.

Highmountain Tauren Racials

Bull Rush: Charges, knocking opponents down.
Highlander: Increases Versatility.
Pride of the Ironhorn: Increases mining skill and mining speed.
Durable Hide: Reduces damage taken from attacks.
Thrift: Sometimes gathers more meat and catches more fish.

How to enlist the support of the Highmountain Tauren

Reach Exalted with the Highmountain Tribes.
Get the "Knee-high Mountains" achievement.

Lightforged Draenei - Alliance

For thousands of years, the Army of the Light fought the Burning Legion in the Twisting Nether. The draenei, who have devoted their entire lives to the fight against demons, take part in a special ritual and absorb the essence of the Light of the heavens, becoming illumined. With the final victory on Argus, the Lightforged Draenei set themselves a new task - to protect Azeroth from any threats and help the Alliance defend against the attacks of the Horde.

Lightforged Draenei Racials

Forge of Light: Increases your blacksmithing skill and allows you to place an anvil.
Holy Resistance: Reduces Holy damage taken.
Judgment of Light: Deals heavy Holy damage to enemies in the target area.
Holy Retribution: Explodes upon death, dealing Holy damage to enemies and healing allies.

How to enlist the support of the Lightforged Draenei

Reach Exalted with Army of the Light.
Once these conditions are met, you can start the quest chain to unlock this race.

Nightborne - Horde

The elves of Suramar spent 10,000 years under the protection of the magical barrier, during which time they became too dependent on the arcane magic of the Nightwell. To protect this source of power, the leaders of the nightborne made a deal with the Burning Legion, which led to civil war. Having won their freedom from the demons who subjugated them, the Nightborne seek to forge an alliance with the Horde and regain their rightful place in this world.

Nightborne Racials

Ancient History: Increases inscription skill.
Magic Affinity: Increases magic damage dealt.
Focus: Summons a flying tome that acts as a mailbox.
Arcane Pulse: Fills an area with Arcane energy, damaging and Hindering nearby enemies.
Arcane Resistance: Reduces Arcane damage taken.

How to enlist the support of the nightborne

Reach Exalted with the Nightborne.
Get the "Rebellion" achievement.
Once these conditions are met, you can start the quest chain to unlock this race.

Void Elves - Alliance

Many tried to harness the dangerous magic of the Abyss. Most of them have lost their minds. Alleria Windrunner is determined to use this power for the good of Azeroth - she became the first mortal, not subject to the influence of the whispers of the shadows. After she managed to save a group of her brothers, who almost perished in the arms of darkness, Alleria vowed to teach the Void Elves to control the dark power and ensure that the newfound power served the Alliance.

Void Elf Racials

Child of the Night: Reduces Shadow damage taken.
Unity with Entropy: Your abilities have a chance to become empowered by the essence of the Void, which increases your healing and Shadow damage.
Aether Link: Reduces transmogrification and Void storage costs.
Supernatural Calm: Spell casting is not delayed when taking damage.
Dimensional Rift: Opens a rift in space, allowing you to teleport a short distance.

How to enlist the support of the Void Elves

Reach Exalted with the Champions of Argus.
Get the "You're Ready!" achievement.
Once these conditions are met, you can start the quest chain to unlock this race.

Additional Character Slots

All players will receive four additional slots for creating characters of new races.**

When will Battle for Azeroth be released?

The release of Battle for Azeroth will take place in the summer of 2018. The expansion will bring many new features to the game. In the fierce battle for the future of Azeroth, you will be at the forefront!

Pre-purchase the Battle for Azeroth expansion and set out to find new Allied Races!

* Earning Legacy Armor requires character development NOT through leveling, race or faction transfer services, or by NOT leveling up through the Recruit A Friend program.

** Not part of the pre-order. At the moment, the developers are working on expanding the number of cells for all players. The change is expected within the next weeks. Please stay tuned for news and updates.

There will be no winners or losers in this battle.

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Addition Battle for Azeroth became the fastest selling in history World of Warcraft: By the time the heroes of Azeroth received word from Magni Bronzebeard and put their "Azerite Vacuum Cleaner" around their necks, more than 3,400,000 copies of the addon had already been sold. And there is every reason for that: a loud announcement during BlizzCon, gorgeous cinematics, exciting pre-patch events, and, of course, allied races that are only available to owners of the expansion. But the main factor, perhaps, was the long-forgotten sense of unity with one's faction, expressed in the first cinematic trailers: For the Horde! For the Alliance!» And weapons like that - wow!

But now new lands have been discovered, explored and explored, dungeons have been completed, crafts have been studied, combat pets have been defeated and collected. Only a few days remain before the opening of the first raid, the first PvP season and the first mythical dungeons. It's time to take a look at the entire starting state of the Battle for Azeroth and try to understand whether it was worth it in such a hurry to join these three and a half million.

Battle for motivation

For a long time we have not been given the opportunity to face not some kind of “alien evil”, but a close, understandable and familiar enemy. And the preliminary events of the "Battle for Azeroth" plunged us into an epic and bloody confrontation between the Horde and the Alliance. Have you ever wanted to fire a fireball at Anduin or kick Saurfang's shoulder pads? Here they are, right in front of us, former combat comrades-in-arms, for whom bills have accumulated over the years! Come on, neighbor, ready to answer for Theramore and Taurajo, for homeless elves and oppressed orcs?

We witnessed episodes that forever changed history of the world of Warcraft. Before our eyes, the sacred world tree Teldrassil turned to ashes. With our direct participation, the ruins of Lordaeron became completely uninhabitable. After that, even the fans of pet battles wanted retribution with all their hearts.

However, the over-the-top epicness of what is happening did not completely hide the plot holes and the lame motivation of the characters. Why did Sylvanas suddenly decide to start a conflagration and why didn’t she finish the fight with Malfurion? How do Saurfang's attack in the back fit in with his subsequent worries about it? Why couldn't Jaina, who recently finished off the Plague in a matter of seconds, freeze the Horde saboteurs in the same seconds? Finally, what was the princess of Zandalar doing in Stormwind Prison and why did no one react to her escape? Why is there an escape, then the capital almost burned down, and no one even hinted at it, sending the Alliance fighters to Kul Tiras! There are fears: will the writers forget by the end of the addon that Darnassus is no more?

In order to somehow mend the holes, Blizzard even released two books of modest literary value. So what, the players Overwatch same suits that the game is separate, and the story is separate!

But the saddest plot failure hid in the sky. Fighters "Legion" remember what a powerful weapon the draenei spaceship, the Vindicaar, could be. Why didn't Anduin Wrynn think of finishing off the Horde with a couple of well-aimed shots? Obviously, according to the most compelling ones: the scriptwriters decided that the Vindicaar did not fit into the current plot, and simply forgot about it. Yes, the battle between the Horde and the Alliance is more of a friendly match, and you can't leave half the players as winners and half as losers. But it was possible to even casually mention some important mission of Velen or a catastrophic engine failure? Apparently, they decided not to waste their energy. Go to the bushes, Vindicaar, grow the keys.

Battle for resources

Be that as it may, after the unsuccessful battle of Lordaeron for both sides, we will have to safely forget about the confrontation between the largest factions. The leaders of the Horde and the Alliance assessed the losses and came to the conclusion: the armies need fresh blood. Our mission is to find new allies, convince them to forget about their own problems and line up under the banner of the right color along with their fleet. It seems that somewhere we have already seen the same plot plot ... yes, yes, the same melody played after the first unsuccessful attack on the Broken Shore!

Most of all, the first patches of Battle for Azeroth are reminiscent of the beginning of Legion. And not only with the plot: on the new continents, we are waiting for classes that are perfectly familiar from the last expansion, except perhaps in an economical version. The tactical map breaks a single global mission into three smaller tasks (or six, if you count the scanty military campaign in foreign territories), and from luxurious class strongholds the entire faction was moved to the ship's deck. Perhaps it was because of this that the companions lost interest in us: now there are only five of them, each has only one slot for equipment, and not a single one can be persuaded to accompany us on adventures. And the class resources simply changed their name - now they are “military” resources.

But simplified (at least at first glance) the equipment system. We similarly accumulate power by collecting Azerite to improve equipment, but instead of several types of weapons, we have a single medallion, the level of which unlocks additional abilities on the helmets, shoulder pads and breastplates we have mined. The savings in time and effort are, of course, significant. But before, in addition to artifact weapons, we received as many as three epic storylines, one for each specialization, and the druids even got four unique stories. Now, instead of all this wealth, you can only count on the inspiring speech of Magni Bronzebeard - the same for all races, classes and factions.

Heroes who have reached level 120 are included in a two-year journey: they begin to collect equipment. Here, as usual, it was not without pitfalls, randoms and the endless pursuit of perfection. The point is those very additional abilities: not all of them are equally useful. Some of the abilities migrated to the new Azerite Rings legendary items with powerful enhancements, but it will take remarkable luck and many attempts to get from many varieties of things one that combines all the desired talents.

Battle for reputation

But in the process of pumping, wonderfully drawn locations are opened, stuffed with quests and tasks. Sometimes even too generous: if you meet a lone warrior, you can be sure that he has five requests hidden in the stash. And if you stumble upon a camp or a village, the number of orders will at least triple!

Most NPCs will be happy to explain to you how the Horde vs. Alliance confrontation is about the urgent need to rip off two dozen tails from lizards or ravage pterodactyl nests. Some side effects are worth going through at all - especially if you are a fan of mini-plots. For example, a plush tea party in Drustvar with an amazing, albeit useless reward. Or the story of a timid brutosaurus who needs to find a mate, but all attempts by scientists to bring him together with someone lead to an unexpected result.

We have to infiltrate a team of pirates and help dragons, deal with cultists and disrupt human sacrifices, arrange weddings and stab refugees with a needle, be horrified by losses and celebrate victories. We'll meet new heroes and whole new tribes, including the vulpera foxes singing about Speck and Dolly and the enigmatic sethrak snakemen.

It’s worth playing for the Horde or going through a military campaign on Zandalar if only to see Bwonsamdi himself in the role of a healer of souls - this loa of death is descended from the voodoo Baron Saturday (aka Baron Samdi), and in the manner of communication it resembles Ryuk from Death Note ". Every time he resurrects your hero, he makes a sly joke.

But in terms of mechanics, you can’t expect much abundance: most tasks come down to “kill, collect, use”. Because of this, even going after a cat stuck in a burning tower is perceived as a revelation and a gift.

But war is war, and locals are on schedule. If you speed up the run through the story and side quests, it will mean only one thing: the early onset of the era local tasks, envoy missions, and gaining reputation with new factions. The latter remains a key element of leveling: without reputation, you won’t see flights, new allied races, or useful gizmos.

Battle for DPS

They tried to implement new mechanics in island expeditions - these are special dungeons where a team of three players needs to have time to collect several thousand Azerite before NPCs or other users do it. But even here the revolution did not happen: despite the procedural generation, the expeditions are rather monotonous. But the list of possible trophies includes mounts and pets, so it is unlikely that the islands will suffer the same fate as the Pandaria scenarios. And it's always fun to compete with other players.

As for the new dungeons, they were a success. Unless, of course, you do not pay attention to the narrow corridors, where problems with the camera begin, and labyrinths with nooks and crannies, in which beginners are constantly lost. Group instances look completely different, but are equally atmospheric and worked out in detail. Bosses are not boring because of the variety of mechanics and the abundance of control, and the usual mobs guarding the approaches sometimes surprise with ingenuity. The same beginners will surely get on their nerves not only because of the labyrinths, but also because of the traps generously placed along the corridors. And in some dungeons, the opponents are so dangerous that the "high" keys for them, most likely, will remain unclaimed.

By the time the overview appears on the site, most likely, the first raid, Uldir, will already open. “Keys” will appear: Mythic dungeons will acquire additional difficulty levels. And for those who will successfully cope with the new challenges, one of the main problems of the new addition will finally come to naught.

But to talk about it, you have to go back in time.

Subscription battle

The principle of scaling works in some multiplayer games, and not only in arcade session action games. V The Elder Scrolls online adjusting the level gives players the opportunity from the very first minutes to rush to the development of the most “fresh” lands and plots, and then, at their leisure, move to the ancestral territories in search of missed adventures.

WoW scaling started at the start of Legion in the Broken Isles and has taken over the entire game over time, but it works differently. The world is divided into "pens", between which the gates are built: 60th, 80th, 90th, 100th, 110th levels. It doesn't matter if you love Pandaria, you still won't see it until you download it. It doesn't matter if you like Draenor, you can't escape it, unless you decide to level up, collecting resources on the Timeless Isle.

There is nothing wrong with the idea of scaling itself, the pitfalls are hidden in its implementation, and players of level 116-120 most actively count them with the bottoms of their ships. By this time, the effects of legendary items stop working, the epic armor of the Legion is almost completely replaced by the quest green and, if you're lucky, the blue from the dungeons.

An overview of the Battle for Azeroth add-on for World of Warcraft. Major new features in Battle for Azeroth, new continents and islands, allied races, dungeons, raids, game changes and more!

release date

Accordingly, to access the Lightforged Draenei, you will need to complete the Argus storyline and reputation with the Army of the Light. The Void Elves must be connected to the Argussian Reach and the main story in some way.

There are new zones in Stormwind and Orgrimmar where you can interact with representatives of the Allied Races. In these zones, a quest chain begins to gain access to new races.

Below are the available classes for each Allied Race.

Races of the Horde

	Highmountain tauren	Nightborne	Zandalari Trolls	Mag'har Orcs
Warrior	+	+	+	+
Paladin
Hunter	+	+	+	+
Shaman	+		+	+
Druid	+		+
Rogue		+	+	+
Monk	+	+		+
Mage		+	+	+
Priest		+	+	+
Warlock		+	+

Alliance races

	Lightforged Draenei	Void Elves	Dwarves	People of Kul Tiras
Warrior	+	+	+	?
Paladin	+		+	?
Hunter	+	+	+	?
Shaman			+	?
Druid				+
Rogue		+	+	?
Monk		+	+	?
Mage	+	+	+	?
Priest	+	+	+	?
Warlock		+	+	?

Note: Allied Race paladins are currently only available to the Alliance.

Read full guide to learn about racial abilities, mounts, heritage armor, and better ways allied race upgrades:

New locations and changes to old zones

In addition to the Battle for Azeroth in WOW, 2 new islands (continents) will be added - Kul Tiras (Alliance territory) and Zandalar (Horde territory). Each of them will have 3 locations.

Kul Tiras

The island of Kul Tiras is quite gloomy. The local forests are full of witches and ancient, magic-using druids.

Kul Tiras consists of three locations:

Stormsong Valley
Drustvar
Tiragarde Sound

Stormsong Valley

Drustvar

Tiragarde Sound

Below is more detailed information about each location in Kul Tiras.

Stormsong Valley

this location has a port that produces warships consecrated by the Sea Priests - this makes the ships more powerful, which helps the Alliance in naval battles.
the valley is home to the Shrine of the Storm, a sacred site and a 5-player dungeon used by local priests

Drustvar

Long ago, this hilly region, covered with dense forests, was inhabited by people who called themselves the Drust. Later, people already familiar to us reached Drustvar, who drove out the indigenous inhabitants of these lands, destroying most of them.

But the Drust are not completely gone - they seem to be frozen in time, located in the central part of the city, protected by some kind of strong magic.

The Drust spirits are looking for ways to get back - they even made a pact with the current owners of Drustvar, and specifically with Lady Waycrest. She agreed to this treaty only to strengthen her position in the council of Kul Tiras.

Another Battle for Azeroth dungeon, Waycrest Manor, is located in Drustvar.

Tiragarde Sound

The location is inhabited by pirates - it is here that their stronghold, Freehold, is located.

In the capital of Tiragarde Sound, Boralus (run by Jaina Proudmoore's mother, Miss Katrina Proudmoore), there is a level 120 dungeon called Siege of Boralus (a scenario similar to the Quarter of Stars).

Zandalari

Zandalar is a territory inhabited by trolls, full of prehistoric animals and ruins.

Zandalar Island Locations:

Nazmir
Zuldazar
Vol'dun

Nazmir

Zuldazar

Nazmir

Nazmir is somewhat reminiscent of Un'Goro Crater - prehistoric animals, dense thickets and swamps. However, there is a difference - Nazmir is inhabited by tribes of blood trolls.

This location also contains the Underrot dungeon - the main source of corruption that the Zandalar tribe has undergone.

Zuldazar

Zulzadar is the capital of the continent, which makes this location the safest in comparison with other zones of Zandalar. Here is the base of the Horde.

There are 2 dungeons in the Zuldazar location - Atal'Dazar (dungeon under open sky like Zul'Drak and Zul'Aman) and the Rest of Kings (the inner sanctum, the tomb of the troll kings).

Vol'dun

The desert land, once attacked by the ancient gods - this is how Vol'dun appears before the players. The Zandalar tribes exiled criminals here, so the location is very unfriendly. Inhabited by the Vulpera fox-men race and the Sethrak serpentine race.

In Vol'dun, you'll find another new dungeon, the Temple of Sethraliss.

Stormwind and Orgrimmar

In the Battle for Azeroth expansion, Stormwind City and Orgrimmar will not receive such global changes as during the Cataclysm, but they will have new buildings.

Faction leaders gather in the new buildings, discussing the possibilities of attracting allies. These same leaders tell the player the stories of the allied races and trigger quest chains/mechanisms to play with the chosen race.

Heart of Azeroth

The Heart of Azeroth (localized that way) is an artifact-level medallion that the player receives as a gift from Magni Bronzebeard at the start of the expansion.

The Heart of Azeroth will be with the player throughout the expansion. So it's sort of like the Legion artifact system, tailored around Battle for Azeroth.

What is the Heart of Azeroth

The Heart of Azeroth is energized by Azerite, which the amulet automatically consumes when near a deposit - you don't have to spend space in your bags and waste time collecting new substance.

As you consume Azerite, the amulet will increase its level, which can eventually be used to unlock the hidden abilities of your equipment.

Read the detailed guide:

Armor Upgrade

Leveling the Heart of Azeroth allows you to open "talent branches" at your helmet, shoulder pads and chest - the principle is approximately the same as for the Netherlight Crucible.

The talent tree is represented as several circles:

talents of the first circle - class
talents of the next circle - associated with a certain specialization
on the 3rd circle - defensive talents
center circle increases item level by 5

Items with the same name will have the same talent trees - in the case of the Heart of Azeroth, any randomness is excluded. However, the higher the level of an item, the more powerful its talents will be.

Once modified with Azerite, an item cannot be upgraded in the Titan Forge.

Azerite

Azerite in the Battle for Azeroth expansion is an analogue of the power of artifacts from the Legion.

This substance appeared on the surface due to the constant strife between the Alliance and the Horde, because not only the peoples, but also Azeroth itself suffer from them. Goblins and dwarves quickly figured out which islands they could mine and sent their expeditions there.

Azerite can be found in the form of deposits, in chests, as a reward for killing mobs and bosses, for completing normal and world quests.

island expeditions

Island Expeditions is a new form of battlefield designed for a team of three players. It is not yet known whether it is required to create a group in advance or players will be selected randomly, as in the dungeon finder system.

As for the roles in the team, they do not matter: you can participate in island expeditions both in a team of three tanks and, for example, three healers. The opportunity to win will be in any case, this is provided by the developers.

Territory where they will be deployed fighting, will differ:

other creatures on the map
other types of points to capture
different treasure chests
new NPCs, etc.

Thus, according to the plan of the developers, the expeditions will not bother the players with their monotony.

Island Expeditions in Azeroth

Description of expeditions

An island expedition looks like this: you arrive on the island as part of a team of NPCs and two other players, and join in the fight against the forces of the enemy, who also sailed here in order to get the island's resources.

You can choose the type of opponents before sending on an expedition - either they will be NPCs (but much "smarter" than usual), or players.

Each Island Expedition will last approximately 15-20 minutes and will have multiple difficulty levels: Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and PvP.

One of the island expeditions

Updated AI

The behavior of ordinary opponents has long been known - mobs just run up to you and hit you as best they can. If you move far enough away from them, they return to their place. That is why an advanced AI was developed for the Island Expeditions, which will try to defeat the players with their own methods: for example, such NPCs will try to turn into a sheep or stun your healer in order to calmly deal with you.

In addition, AI will be good at navigating space - identifying Azerite deposits, finding local bosses, as well as assessing the situation and making decisions along the way.

For example, in some cases it is easier for an NPC to use Polymorph on you and move on, bringing their team closer to victory.

The new NPCs are likely to have their own traits and names - for now, an NPC named Rogue Pete has been announced that will apply Sap on your healer if he sees that you clearly have the upper hand in combat.

Island Expedition Guides

Fronts

The new game mode "Front" is a co-op for 20 players, working like garrisons.

The mechanics of fronts were borrowed from classic RTS games, in particular from Warcraft III. Approximately how this would work:

Setting up the camp: collecting resources (wood and metal), creating buildings (forge, armory, barracks, etc.)
Each player collects resources independently and invests them in the selected building, which will be erected automatically (as soon as required amount resources)
Next, you need to create an army to defeat the enemy leader
Different leaders have the ability to upgrade certain types of troops: for example, the dwarf leader will allow you to improve shooters with guns, and the person at the head of the camp opens access to improved knights
Also, random events can appear on the map, such as goblin merchants
To win, you will need not only to break through to the enemy, but also to defend your lines from attacks.

Guides for these factions can be found on the Reputation page.

There will be 10 dungeons available at the launch of Battle for Azeroth. All of them will be available to players from level 120.

Below - full list dungeons and raids of Battle for Azeroth.

Free port
Waycrest Manor
Tol Dagor
Shrine of the Storm
Siege of Boralus

Atal'Dazar
Temple of Sethraliss
Underrot
Rest of Kings
Kezan

Raid Dungeons:

Uldir
Halls of Control

So far, there is detailed information only about the pirate dungeon Freehold and the troll Atal'Dazar.

Free port

Freehold is a haven for pirates who do not want to live under the control of Kul Tiras. And before they become too strong, players will have to deal with their leaders, sowing confusion among the free people.

Atal'Dazar

In the tombs of Atal'Dazar, high on Mount Mugamba, lie the kings of the trolls, along with their treasures.

But the filth reached these places too - the prophet Zul, together with his faithful follower Yazma, cursed the tombs, wanting to use the already fallen kings for their own purposes.

class changes

Most of the changes in the new expansion will affect tanking classes. Abilities that allow you to massively stun opponents will also be revised.

An important moment for all other classes: in the Battle for Azeroth artifact weapons will be removed, and all the opportunities that it provided will be distributed in class talents and spells. Thus, it is planned to maintain a balance and not deprive the players of the already familiar and necessary combat capabilities.

In this case, the artifact will not simply be removed from the game - you have to go through a chain of tasks that will smoothly turn weapons into abilities, etc.

Main changes:

Class buffs are back in the game
Some classes received artifact or legendary effects as talents
A new spell damage formula has been introduced that better balances attack power and weapon damage. See the English wowhead article for details.
On the Bleeds and Poisons now affects Speed
The concept of hunter pets has been reworked. In the Legion, any pet could have any specialization (tank, dd); In Battle for Azeroth, you will need to tame a specific family of pets for each specialization. Details are in the video.
The PvP talent system has been completely redesigned. Now not one talent is selected from three in each row, but one talent from the general set. Total PvP talents in Battle for Azeroth reduced to 4 (from 6 in Legion).
The ability animations for some specs have been reworked (for example, holy paladins and all warlock specs).

Most of the changes came into effect with the release

So, the announcement of the new add-on took place. Just a few hours before Blizzcon, information appeared on the network that the company had registered the name Battle for Azeroth. And so it happened. the long-awaited announcement was made. The new addition to World of Warcraft will be called Battle for Azeroth.

Battle for Azeroth - "Battle for Azeroth". When I was linked to the name registration news, I thought that "battle for Azeroth" means the battle for the female titan Azeroth against the Old Gods. This was quite logical, because after the victory on the Burning Legion, the Lords of the Abyss and their minions, the Old Gods, will become the new enemies of all living things. But it turned out that after a grueling and difficult battle with the hordes of Sargeras, the races of Azeroth did not unite to restore the "national economy", but again clashed foreheads.

From the point of view of common sense, this is more than strange. Both factions over the past ten years have had common enemies, much more powerful than themselves. And more than once, both factions opposed them, albeit on a divided front, but still against them. In my opinion, this faction conflict has long been an atavism that could easily be removed. But they decided to do it differently.

The Horde burns Terdrassil, that is, the capital of the night elves, to which the Alliance responds by attacking Lordaeron. In short, a new round of struggle for power over Azeroth begins.

So, what about the plot is clear, what about the content and innovations? The main news are summarized below:

Level cap raised to level 120;
Kul Tiras is the location where the Alliance characters will be pumped, and the Horde - on Zandalar;
Kul Tiras is ruled by Jaina's mother: widow Katrina Proudmoore;
Each of the islands is divided into three parts, which are ruled by their factions. In the course of the development of the plot, we will have to get to know them and put things in order in relations;
Who are the Zandalari?
The main characters of the add-on will be: the young king Anduin, Sylvanas Windrunner, Jaina Proudmoore, we will also learn something about Vol'jin and - surprise surprise - Thrall will return to us;
Since the battle is going to be serious, it is necessary to collect all the allies that are possible. This explains the appearance;
Alliance Subraces: Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarves, Void Elves;
Horde subras: Nightborne elves, Highmountain tauren, and Zandalari trolls;
New subraces will need to be "opened" during the game, and not just bought an add-on;
After fulfilling the conditions for opening a subrace, they will be playable starting at level 20;
will appear new type armor that can be upgraded and customized (something similar to artifacts, but not quite) using a necklace;
. Traveling to the islands and fighting for resources on them, and the opponents there will not be bags of loot, but something controlled by advanced artificial intelligence;
: content designed for 20 people, which will involve attacks on enemy battle formations and bases;
Zone scaling will be global as long as the zone scaling plan is as follows (within these locations the level will adjust within certain limits):
- starting zone: 0-10
- classic zones: 10-60
- Outland and Northrend: 60-80
- Cataclysm and Pandaria: 80-90
Cancellation of the division into PvP and PvE servers. PvP flag can now be raised at will;
New arenas, battlefields and showdowns in Silithus;
Two raids have been announced: Uldir, Halls of Control, which will have 8 bosses, and an unnamed raid, in which Queen Azshara will be the boss (obviously the main one).

If in large strokes, then that's all for now. Details - in subsequent materials.

The already troubled Azeroth once again became a battlefield. This time there is no external enemy, because the conflict is between the main factions of the game - the Alliance and the Horde. Choose a side and fight!

Battle for Azeroth

Swords and axes did not have time to cool down after bloody war with the Burning Legion, and a new one is on the doorstep. There are two prerequisites at once - logical and ... Not very logical. Before his death, Sargeras, the creator and leader of the Legion, plunged his giant sword directly into the planet, after which azerite began to grow from its depths.

This is an incredibly valuable resource, which is rumored to be particles of titanium dormant deep underground. Of course, both factions want to get their hands on as much Azerite as possible. But the spark that ignited the flames of war between the Alliance and the Horde was not him, but the banshee Sylvanas, she is the leader of the Forsaken.

First, players of both factions take part in the siege of the Undercity, which takes place in several stages, then the action smoothly flows into Stormwind, where a prison riot takes place. Further, depending on the faction, it branches.

Supporters of the Alliance will go to Kul Tiras to support the local naval commanders, and the "Horde" will go to Zandalar - a huge island where it has existed for many thousands of years ancient civilization trolls.

New Regions: Kul Tiras and Zandalar

To fully learn the history of the Battle for Azeroth, you need to go through 2 large campaigns at once - for the Alliance and for the Horde. As noted above, Kul Tiras and Zandalar became the scene of action. Each region is divided into 3 locations and includes several quest chains, during which you can learn a lot about the warring human dynasties and the plots of the island trolls.

The Alliance will be able to fight against pirates, discover the cult of the Old Gods and learn about the fight between witches and the Inquisition. The Horde, in turn, will take palace intrigues Zandalari rulers, wander through the swamps of Nazmir and even go to the “showdown” with the snakemen in the Voldun desert. In short, content for both factions is more than enough.

And that's not even counting the new dungeons and raids! There are 8 of them in the Battle for Azeroth, 4 for each faction. Each has its own strictly defined theme, "monster" and a selection of unique rewards for passing. But the raid could not be evaluated: at the time of the release of the addon, it was closed.

Finally, the developers stopped "brothering" factions in the fight against an external enemy and focused on the central conflict of the whole game. However, this is only the beginning: the story campaign is mainly connected with preparations for the general battle. And it will happen later, when the next major patch comes out.

From the point of view of execution, there is simply nothing to complain about: all the quests are well written, it is interesting to go through them and watch the cut scenes. Even after so many years of continuous work on , developers can tell new stories and move storyline forward. This is partly why the game is still extremely popular.

Were reinforcements called?

One of the features of the expansion is the new allied races for both factions. For each, the developers prepared 4 pieces. Horde players will be able to play as Nightborne, Highmountain tauren, Mage Hara orcs, and Zandalari trolls, while Alliance players will be able to play as Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarves, and Humans of Kul Tiras.

Some of these races are already familiar to World of Warcraft fans. For example, Lightforged Draenei and Void Elves were needed on Argus in the last expansion.

The Mag'Har orcs came from Draenor after the end of the story, and the inhabitants of Kul Tiras also figured in the story. New races boast not only unusual appearance, but also unique racial abilities.

Everything new is well forgotten old

As always, the developers of World of Warcraft have tried to diversify the standard gameplay scheme. In the case of the Battle for Azeroth, several additional formats can be distinguished at once. At a certain stage, the player artifact "Heart of Azeroth" (Heart of Azeroth). It differs from other items in the possibility of multiple upgrades.

Another interesting decision concerns the so-called "War Mode". Now there are no PvE and PvP servers in World of Warcraft. Players can turn on "War Mode" and thereby confirm that they are ready to fight to the death with representatives of the enemy faction. The creators of the game encourage this behavior with additional experience points.

At the same time, for each class, the Heart of Azeroth can be customized by choosing from various talents. In addition, there are other items with similar capabilities. However, this mechanic is not new: the first such artifacts appeared in Legion. The situation is similar with the "Fronts" mode, which allows you to feel like a real strategist.

The events of "Fronts" take place in the vicinity of the city of Stromgarde (Stromgarde), where players of both factions can build their own bases and even manage troops. The latter, by the way, need to be trained, and in the course of developing your own garrison, you need to complete additional tasks ... So, did someone say the word "Garrison"?

And this is no coincidence: "Fronts" on closer inspection are improved and modified "Garrisons" from the same Legion. On the one hand, this is great, because the mode is interesting and rich in interesting solutions. On the other hand, given the price of the add-on, I would like more unique content made specifically for Battle for Azeroth.

Such different "Islands"

As if feeling that Artifacts and Fronts would not be enough, developers Blizzard Entertainment implemented another mode in the game. And right! It was called the "Islands", and it is he who is the only truly new one. The idea is very simple: the player can go to one of the hundreds of islands to replenish their stocks of Azerite.

In addition, each time the island is generated randomly. Landscape, side quests, opponents, the location of objects - all this is constantly changing. It is impossible to find 2 identical islands, and this has a positive effect on replayability. These locations are especially great together with friends, feeling like a sort of pioneers!

The goal is always the same - to collect as much Azerite in a limited time, and then exchange the resource for valuable equipment. It will help the character in both PvP and PvE, but all the best equipment, of course, is available only to arena gladiators and raid veterans. But still, the mode turned out to be very interesting, it's definitely worth a try.

The war between the Alliance and the Horde has flared up with renewed vigor!

World of Warcraft has long established itself in the MMORPG genre, and the question of whether it is worth playing, in general, is not worth it. Battle for Azeroth is bursting with new content: story missions, detailed dungeons, new races and items.

And while some of the formats are adaptations from Legion, the addon has something to thirst for a completely new experience - for example, the "Islands" mode. And while hardened fans of the series over which faction will be removed from the game at the end of the war, millions of players are returning to World of Warcraft to play with the new addition.