World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Unveiled

Fresh from Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon festivities last Friday, the studio has announced a whole bunch of new titles. Of course, being Blizzard they are expanding on their several existing franchises, including Overwatch and WoW. To kick things off, they’ve announced World of Warcraft: Battle of Azeroth, a new expansion pack for the company’s insanely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing and according to the developers game that will test players’ resolve as they champion their faction’s cause in a devastating new war. The scoop is that “the battle against the Legion has left the world broken—but the shattered trust between the Alliance and the Horde could prove the hardest wound to mend.”

The fall of the Burning Legion has set off a series of disastrous events that have triggered the rivalry between the Alliance and fierce forces of the Horde. Heroes of Azeroth are now facing a new age of warfare and they must journey to find new allies, as they race to claim the world’s mightiest resources to turn the tides of war.

“Conflict is at the heart of the Warcraft® saga, and in Battle for Azeroth, tensions that have been simmering for a long time escalate into all-out war,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “World of Warcraftplayers are incredibly passionate about the characters and factions they identify with in the game, and this expansion will make them prouder than ever to declare their allegiance to the Horde or to the Alliance.”

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth will offer brand new features and more content. Blizzard also revealed what players can expect in this expansion:

• Explore Two Fabled Kingdoms: As a champion of the Horde, travel to the Zandalar empire to persuade the trolls to lend their naval might. As a defender of the Alliance, venture to the seafaring kingdom of Kul Tiras, home of Jaina Proudmoore, and rally its inhabitants to fight for your cause.
• Recruit Allied Races: Take a new form for your adventures as several new playable Allied Races, each with unique racial abilities. Earn the favor of the Highmountain tauren, Void elves, Dark Iron dwarves, and others to create a new character of that race and add their strength to your faction.
• Plunder the Islands of the Great Sea: Scour Azeroth’s myriad uncharted Islands and conquer an ever-changing array of enemies, environments, and objectives. Battle in groups of three as you race against cunning rival intruders—or enemy players—to collect each island’s resources and fuel the war effort.
• Charge Into the Warfronts: Fight on the battlefields of a large-scale, 20-player cooperative Warfront to claim a key strategic location. Capture resources to build your faction’s forces, lead the charge as your troops lay siege to objectives, and fight the enemy commander to claim victory in this new PvE mode inspired by classic Warcraft RTS battles.
• Infuse Your Armor with Titanic Might: Seek out Azerite, an invaluable new resource that has emerged in the Legion’s wake. Imbue the Heart of Azeroth—a legendary neck piece entrusted to each hero by Magni Bronzebeard—with Azerite to customize your armor with new powers and traits.
• Battle to Level 120: Trace the corruption of the Blood God to the Underrot, unearth the secrets of a lost titan vault, escape from the Drust Realm of the Dead, and more as you quest through 10 new levels—then continue to grow in power through new World Quests, raids, dungeons, and more.
• Instantly Boost to Level 110: Enter the raging conflict between the Horde and the Alliance prepared to survive on the front lines of a vicious new war.
• Connect Through Communities: Join up with WoW® players who share common interests in persistent cross-realm Communities. Share strategies with members of your class, fraternize with auction house magnates, talk shop with fellow tailors, and expand your social circles.