Everyone has a fighting chance
World of Warcraft’s Public Test Realm has been updated for players to try out patch 8.1.5 that contains some fantastic new additions to Battle for Azeroth. Of particular note is the arrival (FINALLY) of the Zandalari and Kul Tiran Allied Races. In unexpected news, developers have announced that Wintergrasp will be joining the Epic Battleground Queue — a player favorite from Wrath of Lich King.
On Thursday, January 10th, a pair of Blizzard developers will be on hand for the next World of Warcraft live stream event. This time, viewers will be treated to a stream event squarely focused on the story and lore in Battle for Azeroth. Cinematic Project Director Terran Gregory and Senior Game Designer Steve Danuser will be on hand in the WoW Twitch channel starting at 11:00 am Pacific / 2:00 pm Eastern.
The World of Warcraft site has been updated to provide players with a preview of the upcoming Battle of Dazar’alor raid. The raid is set to open on Normal and Heroic difficulties on January 22nd, with Mythic and LFR Wing 1 opening on January 29th. The LFR version will see Wing 2 open on February 12th and Wing 3 on February 26th. The experience is a first-of-its kind as Horde and Alliance will begin at different spots with different objectives.
Last week, World of Warcraft Game Director Ion Hazzikostas took part in a live Q&A where he answered a number of questions across a wide array of topics including the much-discussed Azerite armor system. In one of the more positive takeaways from the Q&A, Hazzikostas said that items that drop after the Battle of Dazar’alor raid will come with all traits unlocked automatically — no more getting a piece of armor with traits that are unavailable until the Heart of Azeroth levels up enough.
The World of Warcraft site has been updated with the Tides of Vengeance update notes to give players a peek at what they can expect after today’s maintenance (tomorrow for EU). Players will find a number of new features, updated class abilities and activities in which to participate as the faction war gets back underway.
Wouldn’t it be something to see your favorite game turned into a full-fledged Netflix series, either animated or live action? YouTuber Str1der has taken that wistful thinking and turned the idea into a trailer for a fictional Netflix series and it’s an awesome cobbling together of cinematic footage and in-game cinematics that creates just the right vibe to get you to add it to “My List” and begin the binge! Check it out!
When v8.1 “Tides of Vengeance” launches in World of Warcraft next week, players will be able to level and gear up characters through the newly added “Faction Assault” points. Those who played the Legion expansion will be familiar with the mechanic. Specific assault points will appear on the map in a single zone. “A Horde or Alliance crest on the map will indicate the type of invasion that is occurring and the available quests associated with it.”
When the v8.1 “Tides of Vengeance” update launches on December 11th, players will have a second warfront to participate in with the opening of Darkshore. The Battle for Darkshore provides players of both factions with an up close and personal viewpoint of the war between Horde and Alliance. Arathi Highlands and Darkshore warfronts will run independent of one another and players can participate in both at any given time through the contribution phase or the more active phase.
The World of Warcraft Twitter has a new post that reveals some mechanics changes coming to the random cosmetic item drops in island expeditions. The post has been further expanded on the WoW forums to inform the community that random cosmetic items will no longer be exclusively dropped by rares players defeat. Instead, these items will be a potential drop from any monster encountered / defeated during the course of an island expedition as part of an overall change to the drop system.
The World of Warcraft site has been updated with a post to show off the heritage armors coming for both Blood Elves and Dwarves. Players of level 120 and who are exalted with either Silvermoon or Ironforge will be able to embark on a quest and, once finished, will earn the racial armor similar to Allied Races added in Legion.