World of warcraft battle for azeroth description. World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Expansion Review - The war between the Alliance and the Horde has flared up with renewed vigor! Two new lands

Blizzcon 2017 has died down, and the long-awaited details about the new World of Warcraft add-on have finally appeared - it's called Battle for Azeroth, and, as usual, it has a lot of innovations. But first things first.

Add-on release date: 2018, the exact date is not yet known. Subscribe to us in in social networks so you don't miss out on anything.

Intro video (trailer) Battle for Azeroth (Battle for Azeroth) in Russian

What's New in the Battle for Azeroth DLC

Allied Races in Battle for Azeroth

Many have complained that World of Warcraft has both dark iron dwarves and a wide variety of trolls, but you can’t play for them. In the new addon, this oversight was decided to be corrected - at the start, the game will be available for 6 new subraces - dark iron dwarves, Highmountain tauren, abyss elves, nightborne, light-lit draenei, as well as trolls from the Zandalari tribe.

To unlock the ability to choose one of these subraces when creating a new character, you will first have to make an alliance with them with an existing hero, and only then go on an adventure. Representatives of new playable races begin their journey from level 20, and then the level of opponents in open world adjusts to them. This mechanic has already been tested in Legion, so it's safe to say that leveling a new character will be much more fun than it usually is.

When a representative of any of the six subraces available at the start reaches the maximum level, he will be rewarded with a unique set of transmog armor - another reason to come to grips with leveling a new character. You can order a character upgrade in World of Warcraft on our website.

And as a bonus, all of the new races have new racial abilities, so it's not entirely cosmetic.

New locations in the Battle for Azeroth expansion

This time, the adventures of the Horde and the Alliance will take place in radically different locations. Horde players will have to visit the mysterious islands belonging to the troll empire of Zandalar, and Alliance players will finally be able to get to the island kingdom of Kul Tiras, the homeland of Jaina Proudmoore. Each of these large locations consists of three smaller locations, in which Horde and Alliance players will have to level up. The ancient troll city of Zuldazar, the swamps of Nazmir, and the Vol'dun Desert await Horde players, while Tiragarde Strand, Drustvar, and Stormsong Vale await Alliance players.

They only briefly talk about what is happening on these islands, but this is understandable - if you tell everything at once, it will not be so interesting. It is possible that the coming of the Old God N'zoth is approaching, who is hiding somewhere in the depths of the ocean.

Island exploration

In the upcoming Battle for Azeroth add-on, you will also be able to travel to islands that have long been forgotten, but which are fraught with untold riches and deadly dangers - just the right thing to take your mind off all these Burning Legion invasions and talk about the bleak future of Azeroth.

The exploration of the islands will be something like mini-dungeons, which are crossed with scenarios from Pandaria - fast, exciting, and in some places even profitable.

Sieges and base building

Also, a new PVE mode will appear in the new addon, in which 20 players will be able to jointly attack the forts of the enemy faction, and then try to gain a foothold in the recaptured territory, building their own network of fortifications. This whole mode is a great opportunity to remember where World of Warcraft grew from - real-time strategy.

Strengthening armor instead of strengthening weapons

In Legion, we tried to strengthen our artifact weapons by infusing them with new and new abilities, but now we have to take care of the armor with the help of the Heart of Azeroth amulet, which Magni Bronzebeard is forging somewhere right now. It is worth noting that the armor will not be analogous to artifacts from Legion - you are free to choose any suitable armor, and only then decide how to strengthen them.

Exciting plot

Something that will definitely interest fans game history- This is a story about the confrontation of former allies, who recently fought together against the countless hordes of the Burning Legion. It goes without saying that the global plot will move against the backdrop of many small subplots that new locations can tell - troll cultists of Zandalar, court intrigues of Kul Tiras, gloomy forest witches. In short, a lot of interesting things.

And a bunch more

The level cap will be 120 this time, so level 110 elf jokes will need to be updated again.

New raids and dungeons, including Freehold, home to Azeroth's most dangerous pirates, and the ancient golden city of Atal'Dazar, home to a sinister bloody cult.

Instant level up to level 110, in case someone wants to try out the new content right away.

And that's all for now - we look forward to new details from the new expansion pack for World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. This article will be updated as news about the Battle of Az Azeroth expansion becomes available.

In less than 2 weeks, all-out war between the Horde and the Alliance will unfold again in the world of Warcraft, and on this occasion, we decided to tell you about 10 reasons why you should play Battle for Azeroth. And no stupid items like “new locations” or “new story”.

1. Now is the perfect time to start playing WoW

At the time of the release of the Legion expansion, we said that there was no better time to start playing World of Warcraft, but now this information is outdated: Battle for Azeroth is even more suitable for beginners than the previous expansion. And 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 the base game and all add-ons to play this MMO, you just need to pay for a 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 still have to purchase the upcoming add-on separately, but it's still cheaper than entering WoW quite recently. Plus, buying Battle for Azeroth will give you the ability to instantly level one of your characters up to 110, in case you decide to skip the old content.

2. Return to the roots: the war between the Alliance and the Horde

For almost 15 years history of the world of Warcraft, the plot of this game revolved around a variety of events: the madness of the black dragon aspect of Neltharion, the spread of the influence of the Old 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 the origins of the 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 orcs and humans (as well as all their allies) is intuitive, and you can understand the origins of this enmity in 2 hours - just watch the Warcraft movie.

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 got tired of the old motives 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 addon, 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 the main villains of Warcraft, Blizzard has already used: the stories of Illidan, the Lich King, Deathwing and almost all the Dark Gods have already been told and are in the past. It's time for new heroes and new villains, and now everything is limited only by the imagination of Blizzard writers.

4. In the center of the plot of the addon are some of the most interesting heroes of Warcraft

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 around, surprisingly ambiguous and interesting characters turned out to be the central characters in additions.

Of course, the cloyingly kind Anduin Wrynn will certainly play an important role, but three controversial heroines should be at the very center of the narrative in Battle for Azeroth: Queen Azshara, who once summoned demons to Azeroth, the former pacifist Jaina Proudmoore who defected to the xenophobic camp, and the ruthless Sylvanas Windrunner, who has already managed to 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 would find themselves in the zone of gray morality more than once, and so far it seems that this is true - perhaps for the first time in the history of World of Warcraft, an intriguing plot is waiting for us, in which it will be difficult to clearly name the 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 PvPvE mode "Island Expeditions" will appear in the game, in which you will need to clear procedurally generated islands from elite monsters, collecting a valuable resource of azerite. In parallel with you, a team from the enemy faction will do the same.

You are on the same island and compete for resources, and therefore you can interact with enemies - avoid them or, conversely, purposefully hunt down and try to destroy them in order to take away the accumulated resources. With a choice of tactics and procedural island generation, this mode offers near-infinite replay value and is sure to be a hit with fans of offbeat PvP combat.

6. Updated and improved World PvP

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

If you turn on the war mode, then you automatically get into 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 the constant battles with the players of the enemy faction tire you, then you can turn off the war mode at any time and return to a quiet farm.

7. Allied Races

Unlike new leveling locations, dungeons, and storyline quest chains, new classes or races do not appear in every World of Warcraft expansion, and their appearance is always perceived by game fans as a separate small holiday.

And this time the holiday turns out to be especially big: new classes in Battle for Azeroth will not be brought in, but there will be new races, and 4 at once - two for each faction. Alliance members will be able to play as Dark Iron Dwarves and the islanders of Quel Tiras, while Horde members will be able to take on the role of Mag'har orcs and mighty Zandalari trolls.

8. Warcraft IV… oh, that is the battle for Stromgarde

The first frontline battle was the “Battle for Stromgarde”, in which the Alliance and the Horde are fighting for a fortress on 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 side that controls 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, the heroes in World of Warcraft become more and more powerful: with new levels, sets of weapons and armor, their main characteristics, the amount of health and damage dealt grow. To match the increased strength of the heroes, all the mobs are becoming more and more “fat”.

Almost no one paid close attention to this fact, but when in the Legion expansion, after each hit, the players began to display 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.

You may think that this is a trifle, but believe me - it is not. At some point, the seven-digit numbers that pop up after hitting an enemy with an ability cease to be useful information, turning into visual garbage. Fortunately, in the Battle for Azeroth pre-patch, the developers solved this problem by “squeezing” all the numerical indicators in the game.

10. Battle for Azeroth - Improved Legion

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

And Battle for Azeroth the best of that Confirmation is an add-on that builds on all of Legion's best practices, adding a few new gameplay features on top. In BfA, we are again waiting for the well-established rotating World Bosses, mythical dungeons, world quests, the companion system, etc. And as a bonus to them - everything that is listed above.

So on this moment Battle for Azeroth is simply the best world version of Warcraft, which inherited from previous versions almost all the best. True, many inherent wow problems in BfA, too, have not gone away.

At Gamescom, we caught up with the developers of World of Warcraft's massive expansion, Battle for Azeroth. WoW Producer Michael Bybee and Lead Environment Artist Ely Cannon have a lot to say.

Journey to the New World

So, the add-on was officially launched last week. This happened simultaneously for all regions, which was a new achievement for the creators of WoW. The launch went without any problems, and this made the team very happy.

Representatives of the alliance and the horde have already begun to explore the locations of Kul Tiras and Zandalar. They complete quests, earn rewards, and enjoy an amazing story. Many players have reached the new level cap of 120 and have access to additional content. In particular, they opened world quests on two continents and began to study special storylines, available only at the maximum level.

Always be ready

The already implemented war mode is popular. In it, the player is constantly ready for PvP battles, receiving additional experience and other nice bonuses for this. The mode can be activated in the capital of the faction. This is a very fun innovation that allows, for example, the whole zone to attack aggressive players or organize internal competitions.

The development team plans a lot of patches, during the creation of which they hope for feedback from the players. Moreover, not every patch will have another raid. Basically, these will be local, small events that will successfully fit into the realities of what is happening.

Warcraft universe classic

New one coming soon interesting mode- fronts. These are PvE battles designed for 20 people. When creating the mode, the developers were inspired by the mechanics of the original Warcraft 3. In it, you will play the role of a commander hero leading a small group of warriors into battle. Each participant will lead their own group. It will also be possible to extract resources and build a base. Toward the end of the confrontation, the final assault on the fortress will begin, after which all the heroes will fight with the enemy commander. Having defeated him, they will successfully capture the territory, receive a reward and open access to additional quests.

Initially, the Arathi Highlands, where the battle will take place, belongs to the Alliance. To join the battle for this territory, the Horde will have to collect a certain amount of resources. Collecting them, she will attack and is guaranteed to win. This is to ensure that none of the factions can control a strategically important zone for too long. Having lost possession, the Alliance will also begin collecting resources, after which they will attack and return the lost. And so in a circle. The battle will take approximately 30-45 minutes.

Let's go on an epic journey

The first Uldir raid will begin on September 4th. It will first open in Normal and Heroic difficulties, and then in Mythic. In a few days, the first wing will open in the Raid Finder, and in two weeks, the second wing will open. The opening of the third wing is supposedly scheduled for the tenth of October.

When will Thrall return?

"Should we expect the return of former Horde leader Thrall from his, so to speak, 'maternity leave'? Producer Michael Bybee answered the question, saying that he personally and the whole team love this character very much, and, of course, he is not forgotten. But he is not yet ready to give an official statement about the return of the leader.

We remember that the Cataclysm expansion ended very indefinitely, with fire, lava and a giant tidal wave as the beginning of a new era. What she will bring to the leader and the newly minted shaman Thrall is unknown.

Interestingly, some people consider the union of Thrall and Aggra to be a hoax, naming a female character « filler » for those who dreamed of uniting the leader of the orcs and his beautiful partner Jaina. Perhaps in the future we will learn more details about the life of this ambiguous union of hearts.

Battle for Azeroth debuts today, August 14 is the final expansion World games of Warcraft, which is still the most popular subscription MMO product.

The new addition is partly a return to the roots of the cycle, at least thematically. In the center of the story there is a conflict between the Alliance and the Horde, which was most often used in strategies Warcraft .

As a standard, we get, of course, a higher level cap to achieve, a lot of tasks, some impressive scenes, changes in the balance of skills, as well as various group tasks.

Each chapter of World of Warcraft also introduces more exciting and exciting news. Here are the most interesting ones.

Two new lands

Developers at Blizzard have become accustomed to the fact that each supplement introduces a new continent. Therefore, it was a surprise that the Battle for Azeroth will offer two new lands One for each faction.

Alliance members will start their adventure on three islands Kul Tiras once the pride of the navy. Panstuko should now rejoin the war against the Horde.

There are three large exploration zones waiting for players, as well as the city of Boralus. Visually, Kul Tiras resembles Northern European landscapes, but there is no monotony in the visual experience. The artists took care of different views.

Representatives of the Horde, in preparation for the final confrontation with the enemies, are sent to an exotic island Zandalari or the cradle of the Trolls. The independents are looking for allies to repel the Alliance and bring order to a land where chaos continues from the cataclysmic events of the cataclysm, when the realm was literally separated from Kalimdor.

Zandalari are completely different landscapes than Kul Tiras. We will visit jungle-like forests, we will see creatures inspired by dinosaurs. One of the main themes will be the fight against the dangerous worship of blood trolls.

Sample shots from Zandalar:

expeditions

Blizzard is regularly trying to introduce new activities to WoW so that players can have more varied activities. Battle for Azeroth introduces unique scenarios for groups of three.

Expeditions, on which you can leave the capital of each of the two lands, will allow you to visit one of several small islands. When we come ashore, our goal will be collect azerites- a resource that we will strengthen our equipment, for example, reinforcements of the Artifact in the previous application.

Azerides are found in the form of minerals, but we can also find them in chests and take them from the bodies of defeated monsters. All actions performed on the island during the Expedition will reward us with this valuable resource. However, there is one catch - the material will also be collected by representatives of the enemy faction.

Shrines that offer reinforcements, as well as special items that are available for purchase only on the ship and on the territory of a particular island, will help in the struggle and competition. It's also worth noting that Expeditions appear in different versions, divided by difficulty level - normal, heroic, mythic and PvP. In the latter case, we will fight with other players.

The creators have taken care of the appropriate rewards, so by participating in this type of activity, we have a chance to get interesting items. There are still unknown ways to get different monsters, but Expeditions will allow you, among other things, to get a green parrot or a skeleton, an excellent monkey.

Warfronts in Battle for Azeroth

Another new addition to Battle for Azeroth is an interesting experiment. Warfronts allow you to participate in large-scale skirmishes with 19 allies that affect the overall conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. Interestingly, this is not a PvP mode - we are fighting with advanced artificial intelligence.

Warcraft 3 was the inspiration for Warfront 3. Our hero is the commander of one group of units. We are moving around big map, create footholds and secure sources of raw materials, or establish paths for resources and additions. We are also training subsequent units to fight on the main front line.

The ultimate goal is to capture the fortress of the enemy faction. Before us are the main opponents representing different classes, as well as heavier bosses that require more coordination of the battle participants.

When one faction wins a battle, it takes control of the region. The other side of the conflict must gather special resources to challenge and try to deflect the target. The reward for the controlling faction is, among other things, the presence world boss in a certain place. Other bonuses were also prepared, such as the ability to get a special mountain - and how!

mixed racing

In the mists of Pandaria we haven't seen any new characters in World of Warcraft, so Blizzard came up with an interesting idea, introducing additional races, which aren't actually... new.

Allied Races are different factions or variations of already existing races. These are, for example, the Dark Iron Dwarf clan, the Tauren mountain region of the Highlands region, or dark elves Void.

Access to some races requires the completion of specific streams and a number of tasks related, for example, to a military campaign that will begin soon. Zandalari Trolls and Kul Tiran Humans will only be available after August 14th.

Battle.net Voice Chat

Battle for Azeroth could change that as developers implement latest version systems voice chat Battle.net, the same tool we already used in Overwatch.

In this way, we get more usability, additional options for muting different channels and, above all, best quality sound. We can also talk to friends who are playing another Blizzard game. This is a great option for those who don't regularly use Discord or aren't satisfied with Skype.

No more PvP servers

Another big change is the elimination of the traditional division of servers into PvE (player versus environment) and PvP (player versus player) that has existed in the game for many years. Previously, when playing on a server of the second type, we had to reckon with the fact that in certain zones we could become a victim of a player from the enemy faction.

Now the system is changing. PvP Mode- in practice, agrees to participate in competitions between users - we activate one button. In this way we also include our PvP talents updated in the new application and we will reach a world in which we will find other players who prefer the same style gameplay.

This solution is a response from the creators to requests from some users who felt restricted on a server with fixed rules. Also, it's worth noting that activating War Mode will provide a small bonus to accumulated experience points, which is definitely worth considering when aiming for level 120 in the Battle of Azeroth.

It should also be emphasized that the military mode literally transforms all zones into areas where we can fight with opponents of another faction - there are no exceptions. In addition, in the zones of the new addition, the most dangerous players will be marked on the map for rivals, and rewards will be allocated to eliminate them. All this corresponds to the spirit of the conflict between the Horde and the Covenant, like a glove.

Return of Jaina

Jaina Proudmoore - the most famous sorceress in the Warcraft universe - was virtually absent from the previous feature expansion. Even in Warlords of Draenor, we didn't see her very often. Behind this position is the destruction of the city she founded on the Isle of Theramore - Garrosh Hellscream did this terrible deed.

Proudmoore is no longer looking for compromises and is not going to even think about giving a hand to any representative of the Horde. Given the similar attitude of the enemy leader, we can expect some pretty significant developments in the Battle of Azeroth. Since such outstanding heroines want to end the other side of the conflict at all costs, this will happen.

Jaina is also just an interesting character - and there are probably feelings here. After all, we have known this for a long time, also from strategy games many years ago. Although MMO game never offer a storytelling worthy of a real single player experience, Blizzard can present interesting events in a very efficient way.

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 have 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 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 could be spaceship Draenei - Vindicaar. 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 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. 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, shoulders 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. The new Azerite Rings have carried over some of the powerfully buffed Legendary item abilities, but it will take a lot of luck and a lot of trying to find the one that combines all the talents you want out of many varieties.

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 confrontation between the Horde and the Alliance is connected with the urgent need to tear off two dozen tails from lizards or destroy nests of pterodactyls. 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 prick 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 a run through the plot and side quests accelerate, this 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 - this special dungeons, where a team of three players must manage 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. AT 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.