Blizzard is hosting their annual BlizzCon convention this weekend, and the developer is shining a big spotlight on World of Warcraft. The long-running MMORPG is on the verge of its 13th anniversary, and Blizzard used the occasion to announce the game’s next expansion, as well as plans to launch “Classic” servers sometime in the near future.
You can read all about both stories after the break.
Declare Your Allegiance in the Battle for Azeroth [Press Release]
Blizzard is rekindling the battle the between the Alliance an the Horde in the MMORPG’s next expansion, World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth. Players will be able to explore new lands, recruit “Allied Races,” engage in 20-player battles inspired by the original Warcraft, and raise their level to 120:
In Battle for Azeroth, the fall of the Burning Legion has set off a series of disastrous incidents that reignites the furious rivalry between the noble Alliance and the mighty Horde. As a new age of warfare begins, Azeroth’s heroes must set out on a harrowing journey in search of new allies, race to claim the world’s mightiest resources to turn the tides of war, and fight on several fronts to determine which side will lead Azeroth into its uncertain future.
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth includes new features and content that will put heroes’ dedication and fortitude to the test. In this expansion, players will be called upon to:
- 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.
Blizzard has yet to announce a release date for World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth.
World of Warcraft Classic Announcement [YouTube]
Blizzard will take fans back to World of Warcraft‘s very beginning with a new “Classic Server Option” for the MMORPG. It’s currently unknown when players will get the chance to re-experience “Vanilla WoW” for the first time in more than a decade, but Blizzard is working on it.
