Home » Solitaire games » The Second War for Azeroth. Review of the World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth add-on - the war between the Alliance and the Horde flared up with renewed vigor! When will Battle for Azeroth be released?

The Second War for Azeroth. Review of the World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth add-on - the war between the Alliance and the Horde flared up with renewed vigor! When will Battle for Azeroth be released?

And pre-orders for the Battle for Azeroth expansion are open in the in-game store! When you pre-order, you'll be able to instantly level up your character to level 110 and set off on a quest to find four new allied races that will appear in the expansion: Highmountain Tauren, Lightforged Draenei, Void Elves, and Nightborne. And for developing an Allied Race character from level 20 to level 110*, you will receive a special set of traditional armor - a true symbol of devotion to Azeroth.

Whose side are you on?

The inhabitants of Azeroth managed to repel 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 severe wound on the world. But there is an old split that will be even more difficult to overcome. The age-old mistrust 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 to the heroes - you! - you need to find new allies and go into battle for your faction. With arms 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-order Battle for Azeroth, mount a Gilded Ravasaur or a Salt-Maned Stallion, and set out in search of the Allied Races. Announce to all of Azeroth which 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 available in two digital editions: Standard and Deluxe.

Both the Standard and Digital Deluxe Editions include:

full version of the Battle for Azeroth expansion;
increasing the character's level to 110.
Pre-order now to immediately level up your character and start searching for allied races.

The Deluxe Digital Edition also includes:

Zandalari Gilded Ravasaur (Horde) or Kul Tiran Salt-Mane Stallion (Alliance);
pet Cake, a small tortollan;
Hearthstone card back;
graffiti in StarCraft II;
Fireborn Saber (vehicle) in Heroes of the Storm;
lines, emotes, sprays and icons in Overwatch.

Soon we will tell you more about collector's edition, which will only be available for retail sale. It will include the soundtrack, exclusive artwork and story details for the Battle for Azeroth expansion.

New Battle for Azeroth

Kul Tiras is a kingdom of the Alliance: the homeland of Jaina Proudmoore has become a hotbed of intrigue and dark magic. You will battle power-hungry pirates, witches who use death magic, and mysterious priests of the sea.

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

New Allied Races: By pre-purchasing, you can start building connections with the 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 cunning invaders (or players from the opposing faction). The islands are constantly changing, so many challenges await you.

Battles on the fronts: take part in a large-scale battle for 20 players in the mode cooperative game to recapture strategically important territory. Lead your troops and fight the enemy commander in a new PvE mode, similar to battles in classic Warcraft strategy games.

Heart of Azeroth: Receive the Heart of Azeroth, a legendary necklace, from the hands of Magni Bronzebeard himself. Infuse the necklace with Azerite, a valuable resource that has become a source of contention between two factions, to give your armor new properties.

Start recruiting new Allied Races!

When you pre-order, you'll be able to experience Azeroth through the eyes of a character from one of Battle for Azeroth's new allied races. The heroes of the Horde will be able to attract the Highmountain tauren and the nightborne to their side, and the Alliance will be able to attract the illuminated draenei and the 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 - earn a reputation or complete certain tasks. Once these conditions are met, you will receive a special task that will allow your faction to gain the support of the race. And if you can develop a character belonging to one of the Allied Races from level 20 to 110 - without using the services of a level increase, changing race or faction, and without gaining levels through the Refer-a-Friend program! - you receive a special set of traditional armor of this race. The set is a set of decorative items that will subsequently be available to all your characters of the corresponding race.

Allied Races: Features, Abilities and Conditions

Highmountain Tauren - Horde

Descendants of Huln, the brave hero of the War of the Ancients, the Highmountain tauren revere the spirits of the earth, river and sky. Although Legion forces invaded their lands, sowing seeds of distrust 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 relatives from Kalimdor. The Horde will certainly be glad to receive such noble and powerful allies.

Highmountain Tauren Racial Abilities

Bull Rush: Charges, knocking opponents down.
Highlander: Increases your versatility.
Pride of the Iron Horn: Increases mining skill and ore extraction speed.
Durable Hide: Reduces damage taken from attacks.
Thrift: sometimes collects more meat and catches more fish.

How to Enlist the Support of Highmountain Taurens

Earn Exalted status with the Highmountain Tribes.
Earn the "Knee-deep Mountains" achievement.

Lightforged Draenei - Alliance

For thousands of years, the Army of Light fought the Burning Legion in the Twisting Nether. Draenei, who have completely dedicated their lives to fighting demons, take part in a special ritual and absorb the essence of the Light of heaven, becoming illuminated. Having won their final victory on Argus, the lightened draenei set themselves new task- protect Azeroth from any threats and help the Alliance defend against the attacks of the Horde.

Lightforged Draenei Racial Abilities

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

How to Enlist the Support of Lightforged Draenei

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

Nightborne - Horde

The elves of Suramar spent 10,000 years protected by a magical barrier, and during that time they became overly 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 freedom from the demons who subjugated them, the Nightborne strive to form an alliance with the Horde and regain their rightful place in this world.

Nightborne Racial Abilities

Ancient History: Increases inscription skill.
Magic Affinity: Increases magical damage dealt.
Focus: Summons a flying tome that serves as a mailbox.
Arcane Surge: Fills an area with arcane energy, dealing damage and pinning nearby enemies.
Arcane Resistance: Reduces Arcane damage taken.

How to Enlist the Support of the Nightborne

Earn Exalted status with the Nightborne.
Obtaining the "Uprising" achievement.
Once these conditions are met, you can begin the quest chain to unlock this race.

Void Elves - Alliance

Many have tried to curb the dangerous magic of the Abyss. Most of them lost their minds. Alleria Windrunner is determined to use this power for the good of Azeroth - she has become the first mortal not subject to the influence of the whispers of the shadows. After saving a group of her brethren who had nearly perished in the arms of darkness, Alleria vowed to teach the Void Elves to keep the dark force under control and ensure that their newfound power would serve the Alliance.

Void Elves Racial Abilities

Child of the Night: Reduces damage taken from Shadow magic.
One with Entropy: Your abilities have a chance to empower you with Void Essence, increasing your healing and Shadow damage.
Aetherlink: Reduces transmog and Void storage costs.
Preternatural Calm: Casting spells is no longer 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

Earn Exalted status with the Defenders of Argus.
Earn the achievement "Now you're ready!"
Once these conditions are met, you can begin 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?

Battle for Azeroth will be released in the summer of 2018. The expansion will bring many new features to the game. In a fierce battle for the future of Azeroth, you will find yourself on the front line!

Pre-order the Battle for Azeroth expansion and go in search of new Allied Races!

*To obtain Heritage Armor, you must develop your character without leveling up, changing races or factions, or gaining levels through the Refer a Friend program.

**Not part of pre-order. The developers are currently working on expanding the number of cells for all players. Changes are expected in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned for news and updates.

In less than 2 weeks world of Warcraft, a full-scale war will once again break out between the Horde and the Alliance, and on this occasion we decided to tell you about 10 reasons why you should play Battle for Azeroth. And no stupid points like “new locations” or “new plot”.

1. Now is the perfect time to start playing WoW

We said at the time of Legion's release that there had never been a better time to start playing World of Warcraft, but that information is now outdated: Battle for Azeroth is even more suitable for beginners than the previous expansion. Moreover, this is true, even if we consider only the purely objective side of the issue - the financial one.

The fact is that just a few weeks ago World of Warcraft became more accessible than ever - now you don’t need to buy anything to play this MMO base game and all the addons, just pay for the subscription and you can go explore Azeroth.

True, this rule does not apply to content that will appear in the game along with Battle for Azeroth - you will still have to purchase the upcoming add-on separately, but it is still cheaper than entering WoW quite recently. Plus, purchasing Battle for Azeroth will give you the ability to instantly level up one of your characters to 110, in case you decide to skip the old content.

2. Back to basics: the war between the Alliance and the Horde

For almost 15 years World history of Warcraft plot This game revolved around a variety of events: the madness of the black dragon aspect of Neltharion, the spread of the influence of the Ancient God Yogg-Saron, the attack on Azeroth by the titan Sargeras and many others. But if you are not a fan of the World of Warcraft universe, then most likely all these names hardly mean anything to you.

But in Battle for Azeroth, the game returns to its roots Warcraft universe- to the war between the Horde and the Alliance, which all fans of the RTS series of the same name are well aware of. Unlike many other incredible conflicts in WoW, the confrontation between the orcs and the people (as well as all their allies) is intuitive, and you can understand the origins of this enmity in 2 hours - just watch the movie “Wacraft”.

3. A new era in the history of World of Warcraft

Battle for Azeroth can also be recommended to those who have never liked or have become tired of the old motifs of the Warcraft universe. Despite the fact that part of the add-on will be devoted to the war between the Alliance and the Horde, few doubt that towards the end of the add-on both sides will face an external enemy.

And, for the first time in the history of World of Warcraft, this enemy will almost certainly be completely new, because all of the main villains of Warcraft have already been used by Blizzard: the stories of Illidan, the Lich King, Deathwing and almost all the Dark Gods have already been told and are a thing of the past. The time has come for new heroes and new villains, and now everything is limited only by the imagination of Blizzard writers.

4. The addon's plot centers on some of the most interesting Warcraft heroes

The number of important characters in the World of Warcraft universe is not even in the tens, but in the hundreds, but not all of them have interesting characters and depth. Fortunately, this time the central additions turned out to be surprisingly controversial and interesting characters.

Of course, the cloyingly kind Anduin Wrynn will certainly play an important role, but at the very center of the narrative in Battle for Azeroth there should be three contradictory heroines: Queen Azshara, who once summoned demons to Azeroth, the former pacifist Jaina Proudmoore, who has defected to the xenophobe camp, and the ruthless Sylvanas Windrunner, who has already become the most controversial leader of the Horde.

During the announcement of Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard warned that in this add-on the main characters will more than once find themselves in the zone of gray morality, and so far it seems that this is indeed the case - perhaps for the first time in the history of World of Warcraft, an intriguing plot awaits us, in which it will be difficult to clearly name who is right and wrong.

5. Expeditions to the islands

Fortunately, Battle for Azeroth differs from previous World of Warcraft expansions not only in potential story innovations, but also in gameplay innovations. And expeditions to the islands are one of the most interesting of them.

In Battle for Azeroth, the game will feature a PvPvE mode called “Island Expeditions,” in which you will need to clear procedurally generated islands of elite monsters while collecting the valuable resource Azerite. In parallel with you, a team from the enemy faction will do the same thing.

You are on the same island and compete for resources, and therefore you can interact with enemies - avoid them or, conversely, purposefully hunt them down and try to destroy them in order to take away the accumulated resources. Thanks to the ability to choose your tactics and procedural island generation, this mode offers almost endless replayability, and is sure to be loved by fans of unusual PvP battles.

6. Updated and improved World PvP

Speaking about new gameplay “features” and PvP, one cannot fail to mention the recently added “war mode” to the game, which should return game World PvP Now it doesn’t matter whether you are on a PvP or PvE server: thanks to the war mode, you can at any time join the grandiose war between the Horde and the Alliance, which is going on in all locations.

If you turn on war mode, then you automatically find yourself in the same world with other players who also want to fight - that is, you will instantly find yourself on the same server with the same World PvP fans like you who are ready to fight day and night. And if constant battles with players of the enemy faction tire you, then you can turn off the war mode at any time and return to quiet farming.

7. Allied Races

Unlike new locations for leveling up, dungeons and story quest chains, new classes or races do not appear in every World of Warcraft expansion, and fans of the game always perceive their appearance as a separate small holiday.

And this time the holiday is turning out to be especially large: there will be no new classes in Battle for Azeroth, but there will be new races, and 4 at once - two for each faction. Alliance members will be able to play as the Dark Iron Dwarves and the island dwellers of Kel Tiras, while Horde members will be able to take on the role of Mag'har orcs and the mighty Zandalari trolls.

8. Warcraft IV... oh, I mean, the Battle of Stromgarde

At BlizzCon 2017, the developers announced that Battle for Azeroth will feature a unique mode that combines RPG and strategy elements. This mode turned out to be front-line battles, in which you not only have to control your hero as usual, but also collect resources, build and improve buildings, and also hire troops.

The first frontline battle was the “Battle for Stromgarde”, in which the Alliance and the Horde are fighting for a fortress in the Arathi Highlands, and to win the battle, both sides will need not only heroes, but also an army - and each member of your team will have to strengthen and expand this army .

Control of Stromgarde changes from one faction to another every few days, and the party controlling the location receives special bonuses. Of course, this mode cannot be called truly strategic, but, most likely, we will not receive anything more similar to Warcraft 4 from Blizzard in the coming years.

9. Compression of characteristics and all numerical indicators

With each addition, heroes in World of Warcraft become stronger: with new levels, sets of weapons and armor, their main characteristics, the amount of health and damage dealt increase. To match the increased strength of the heroes, all mobs become more and more “fat”.

Almost no one paid close attention to this fact, but when Legion expansion after each hit, players began to see seven-digit numbers, and the amount of health of raid bosses began to be measured in almost billions, Blizzard realized that this was already too much.

It may seem like a small thing to you, but believe me, it’s not. At some point, the seven-digit numbers that pop up after hitting an enemy with an ability stop being useful information, turning into visual garbage. Fortunately, in the Battle for Azeroth prepatch, the developers solved this problem by “compressing” all the numerical indicators in the game.

10. Battle for Azeroth - improved version of Legion

World of Warcraft is constantly changing and transforming - every year this game becomes less and less similar to the one that came out back in 2004. And while ardent fans of the “vanilla” World of Warcraft insist that WoW is only getting worse over time, it is clear to most gamers that Blizzard is trying to constantly improve the game, developing successful ideas and discarding unsuccessful ones.

And Battle for Azeroth is the best confirmation of this - this is an add-on that develops all the best developments of the Legion add-on, adding several new gameplay “features” on top. In BfA we will again have the well-proven rotating World Bosses, mythical dungeons, world quests, follower system, etc. And as a bonus to them - everything that is listed above.

So for now, Battle for Azeroth is simply best version World of Warcraft, which inherited almost all the best from previous versions. True, many of the problems inherent in WoW in BfA have not gone away either.

So, the announcement of the new addition has taken place. Just a few hours before Blizzcon, information appeared online 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 news about the name registration, I thought that “Battle for Azeroth” meant the battle for the female titan of Azeroth against the Old Gods. This was quite logical, because after the victory over the Burning Legion, the Lords of the Abyss and their minions, the Ancient Gods, would 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 butted heads.

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

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

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

Levelcap raised to level 120;
Kul Tiras is a location where Alliance characters will be leveled up, and Horde characters will be leveled up on Zandalar;
Kul Tiras is run by Jaina's mother: widow Katrina Proudmoore;
Each of the islands is divided into three parts, which are ruled by their own factions. As the plot develops, we will have to get to know them and restore order in the relationship;
I don’t think there’s any need to tell you who the Zandalari are, but if you don’t know, I advise you to read the corresponding section in the Chronicles;
The main characters of the addition 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 serious, we must gather all the allies we can. This is what explains the appearance of;
Alliance subraces: lightforged draenei, Dark Iron dwarves, Void elves;
Horde subraces: Nightborne elves, Highmountain tauren and Zandalari trolls;
New subraces will need to be “discovered” during the game, and not just purchased as an add-on;
After fulfilling the conditions for opening a subrace, they can be played starting from level 20;
will appear new type armor that can be upgraded and customized (something similar to artifacts, but not quite) using a necklace;
. Travel to the islands and fight for resources on them, and the opponents there will not be bags of loot, but something controlled by an advanced artificial intelligence;
: content designed for 20 people, which will involve attacks on enemy battle formations and bases;
Zone scaling will extend to the entire world, as long as the zone scaling plan is as follows (within these locations the level will be adjusted within certain limits):
- starting zone: 0-10
- classic zones: 10-60
- Outland and Northrend: 60-80
- Cataclysm and Pandaria: 80-90
Cancellation of division into PvP and PvE servers. The 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 the boss (obviously the main one) will be Queen Azshara.

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

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 news from Magni Bronzebeard and hung 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 this: a loud announcement during BlizzCon, gorgeous videos, exciting pre-patch events and, of course, allied races available only to owners of the add-on. But the main factor, perhaps, was the long-forgotten feeling of unity with one’s faction, expressed in the first cinematic trailers: “ For the Horde! For the Alliance!"And with weapons - wow!

But now new lands have been discovered, explored and explored, dungeons have been completed, crafts have been learned, battle pets have been defeated and collected. There are only a few days left until 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 Battle for Azeroth and try to understand whether it was worth the haste to join these three and a half million.

The battle for motivation

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

We witnessed episodes that forever changed the history of 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 this, even fans of pet battles wished for retribution with all their hearts.

However, the overwhelming epic nature of what was happening did not completely hide the plot holes and lame motivation of the characters. Why did Sylvanas suddenly decide to start a fire and why didn’t she finish the fight with Malfurion? How do Saurfang's attack in the back and his subsequent feelings about it fit together? Why couldn’t Jaina, who had recently ended 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 flight, here the capital almost burned down, and no one even mentioned it when sending Alliance fighters to Kul Tiras! Concerns arise: will the writers forget by the end of the addon that Darnassus no longer exists?

To somehow mend the holes, Blizzard even released two books of modest literary value. So what, players? Overwatch I’m happy that the game is separate, and the plot is separate!

But the saddest plot failure was hidden in the skies. Fighters "Legion" remember how powerful weapon could become spacecraft Draenei - "Vindicare". For what reasons did Anduin Wrynn not think of ending the Horde with a couple of well-aimed shots? Obviously, for the most compelling reasons: the writers decided that “Vindicare” 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 cannot leave half the players as winners and half as losers. But it was possible to at least briefly mention some important mission of Velen or a catastrophic engine failure? Apparently, they decided not to waste their energy. Go into the bushes, Vindicaar, grow some keys.

Battle for resources

Be that as it may, after the unsuccessful battle of Lordaeron for both sides, we will have to happily forget about the confrontation between the largest factions. The leaders of the Horde and Alliance assessed the losses and came to the conclusion: the armies needed fresh blood. Our mission is to find new allies, convince them to forget about their own problems and line them up with their fleet under the banners of the desired color. 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 resemble the beginning of Legion. And not only the plot: on new continents, activities that are very familiar from the previous expansion await us - perhaps in an economical version. Tactical map breaks a single global mission into three smaller tasks (or six, if you count the scanty military campaign on foreign territories), and from the luxurious class strongholds the entire faction was moved to the ship's deck. Perhaps it was because of this that our companions lost interest in us: now there are only five of them, each with only one slot for equipment, and not a single one can be persuaded to join us on adventures. And the class resources simply changed their name - now they are “military” resources.

But the equipment system has been simplified (at least at first glance). We accumulate power in the same way 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 obtained helmets, shoulders and breastplates. The savings in time and effort are, of course, significant. But previously, 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 reach level 120 begin a two-year journey: they begin to collect equipment. Here, as usual, there are pitfalls, randomness and an endless pursuit of perfection. The thing is with those additional abilities: not all of them are equally useful. Some of the abilities have been transferred to the new Azerite rings legendary items with powerful enhancements, but it will take considerable luck and many attempts to get one from many varieties of things that combines all the desired talents.

Battle for reputation

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

Most NPCs will be happy to explain to you how the confrontation between the Horde and the Alliance is connected with the urgent need to tear off two dozen tails from lizards or destroy the nests of pterodactyls. Some side effects are definitely worth going through - 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 match him with someone lead to an unexpected result.

We have to infiltrate the pirate crew and help the dragons, deal with cultists and disrupt human sacrifices, arrange weddings and stab refugees with a needle, be horrified by losses and celebrate victories. We will meet new heroes and whole new tribes, including the vulpera foxes singing about Specks and Dolly and the mysterious serpent people Sethrak.

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 descends from the voodoo Baron of Saturday (aka Baron Samdi), and in his manner of communication he is reminiscent of Ryuk from Death Note " Every time he resurrects your hero, he makes a snide 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 local networks are on schedule. If you run through the plot and side quests accelerate, this will mean only one thing: the speedy advent of the era local quests, envoy assignments and earning reputation with new factions. The last one remains key element leveling up: without reputation you won’t see any 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 must manage to collect several thousand Azerite before non-player characters or other users do so. But there was no revolution here either: despite the procedural generation, the expeditions are quite 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 competing with other players is always fun.

As for the new dungeons, they were a great success. Unless, of course, you pay attention to the narrow corridors where problems with the camera begin, and the labyrinths with nooks and crannies in which newcomers constantly get lost. Group instances look completely different, but are equally atmospheric and detailed. It’s not boring with bosses due to the variety of mechanics and abundance of control, and ordinary mobs guarding approaches sometimes surprise with their ingenuity. Those newbies will probably fray 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 will most likely remain unclaimed.

By the time the review appears on the site, most likely, the first raid, Uldir, will already have opened. The “keys” will appear: Mythic dungeons will have additional difficulty levels. And for those who successfully cope with the new challenges, one of the main problems of the new addition will finally disappear.

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

Battle for subscription

The principle of scaling works in some multiplayer games, and not just in arcade session action games. IN The Elder Scrolls Online Adjusting the level gives players the opportunity from the very first minutes to rush to explore the most “fresh” lands and plots, and then, at their leisure, move to their original territories in search of missed adventures.

WoW scaling was introduced at the start of Legion on the Broken Isles and eventually expanded throughout the game, but it works differently. The world is divided into “pendocks”, between which 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 level it up. It doesn't matter if you like Draenor, you can't escape it unless you decide to level up by collecting resources on the Timeless Isle.

There is nothing wrong with the very idea of scaling; pitfalls are hidden in its implementation, and level 116-120 players most actively count them using 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, by the “blue” from the dungeons.

The already troubled Azeroth has once again become 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 go into battle!

Battle for Azeroth

The swords and axes have barely had time to cool down after the bloody war with the Burning Legion, and a new one is already 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 that is rumored to be titanium particles that lie dormant deep underground. Of course, both factions are trying to get their hands on as much Azerite as possible. But the spark that lit the flame of war between the Alliance and the Horde was not he, but the banshee Sylvanas, also 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 occurs. Further, depending on the faction, it branches.

Supporters of the Alliance will go to Kul Tiras to support the naval commanders there, and the “Horde” will go to Zandalar, a huge island where an ancient troll civilization has existed for many thousands of years.

New regions: Kul Tiras and Zandalar

To fully learn the story 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, the setting was Kul Tiras and Zandalar. Each region is divided into 3 locations and includes several quest chains, during which you can learn a lot about the warring dynasties of people and the conspiracies of the troll islanders.

The Alliance will be able to fight pirates, uncover the cult of the Ancient Gods and learn about the struggle between witches and the Inquisition. The Horde, in turn, will engage in the palace intrigues of the Zandalari rulers, wander through the swamps of Nazmir, and even go to a “showdown” with the snake people in the Voldun desert. In short, there is more than enough content for both factions.

And that doesn't even take into account the new dungeons and raid! There are 8 of them in Battle for Azeroth, 4 for each faction. Each has its own strictly defined theme, “monster hunt” and a selection of unique rewards for completing. But it was not possible to evaluate the raid: at the time of the addon’s release it was closed.

Finally, the developers stopped “brothering” factions in the fight against an external enemy and focused on the central conflict of the entire game. However, this is just the beginning: story campaign associated mainly with preparation for 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 written well, completing them and watching cut scenes is interesting. 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.

Have you called for reinforcements?

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

Fans of World of Warcraft are already familiar with some of these races. For example, Lightforged draenei and Void elves were needed on Argus in the last expansion.

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

Everything new is well forgotten old

As always, the World of Warcraft developers tried to diversify the standard gameplay scheme. In the case of “Battle for Azeroth,” several additional formats can be distinguished. At a certain stage, the player receives the Heart of Azeroth artifact. It differs from other items in that it can be upgraded multiple times.

Another interesting decision concerns the so-called “War Mode”. There are no longer PvE or 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 game's creators reward this behavior with additional experience points.

At the same time, for each class, “Heart of Azeroth” can be customized to suit you, choosing from various talents. There are other items in the expansion 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” unfold in the vicinity of the city of Stromgarde, where players of both factions can build their own bases and even control troops. The latter, by the way, need to be trained, and as you develop your own garrison, you need to go through additional tasks...So, someone said the word "Garrison"?

And this is not an accident: “Fronts”, upon closer examination, 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 expansion, I would like more unique content made specifically for Battle for Azeroth.

Such different “Islands”

As if sensing that artifacts and “Fronts” would not be enough, the developers of Blizzard Entertainment implemented another mode in the game. And rightly so! It was called “Islands”, and it is the only one that is truly new. The idea is extremely simple: the player can go to one of hundreds of islands to replenish their Azerite reserves.

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

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

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

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

And although some of the formats are adaptations from Legion, the addon has something for those hungry for a completely new experience - for example, the “Islands” mode. And while hard-core fans of the series are wondering which faction will be removed from the game following the war, millions of players are returning to World of Warcraft to play with the new addition.