After two decades, I'm finally installing World of Warcraft — here's what excites me the most about The War Within expansion

As someone who has been playing World of Warcraft on and off for over a decade now, I can’t help but feel a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming expansion, The War Within. Having witnessed the highs and lows of this beloved MMORPG, I’ve grown fond of its rich lore and immersive gameplay.

I’ll admit freely that I’ve held back from trying Blizzard Entertainment’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft, for quite some time. Despite nostalgic recollections of playing Warcraft 3 as a child, I couldn’t bring myself to engage with World of Warcraft in my younger years. My apprehensions ranged from being deterred by the significant commitment required to play the game, the uninviting environment for solo players in its early stages, the intricacy of its storyline and folklore, and the anxiety that I would struggle to form friendships or join guilds necessary to fully experience the game.

After more than two decades since its launch in 2024, I’ve recently become a full-time subscriber to World of Warcraft following my extensive MMORPG experience with Final Fantasy XIV. This transition was influenced by Blizzard’s revitalization of classic content, numerous quality-of-life enhancements that significantly expedited character advancement, finding an incredibly warm and inviting guild, and many other compelling reasons.

With this thought in mind, I’m thrilled about the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, named “World of Warcraft: The War Within.” As a significant milestone in WoW’s tenth expansion, it promises to elevate the MMORPG experience by introducing an engaging storyline, challenging players with new Raids and endgame Delves, and incorporating exciting gameplay features such as Warbands, Hero Talents, and many more.

In World of Warcraft: The War Within, these are the exciting new elements I’m eagerly anticipating:

World of Warcraft: The War Within — Warbands

One of the most exciting additions in the latest World of Warcraft: The War Within pre-expansion patch is the introduction of Warbands. With this new feature, players can now transfer progress towards achievements, collectibles, Renown levels, equipment, currency, flight points, and map discoveries from one character to another on the same Battle.net account.

As a long-time player of this game, I can’t help but feel elated at the prospect of these new features! The ability to share achievements and Renown levels across all my characters is a game-changer for me. No more repeating tedious quests or grinding for achievements on each character. Instead, I can focus on enjoying the game and exploring different classes and playstyles without having to start from scratch every time.

I’m a fan of the Warbands feature because it encourages players to make extra characters, making it simpler for those secondary characters to acquire equipment, accomplish feats, and progress towards endgame content at a faster pace compared to past expansions.

Additionally, you’ll be delighted to discover a fresh and exciting new feature: the ability to arrange four of your beloved player characters on the login screen for an impressive team portrait.

Blizzard has announced its intentions to enrich Warbands with additional features down the line, making it a thrilling new development for the entire game experience.

World of Warcraft: The War Within — Skyriding

In preparation for the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft: The War Within, a fresh addition has been introduced through the pre-patch – the Skyriding feature. Previously referred to as Dragonriding, this gameplay element enables players to maneuver their mounts in flight at increased velocities, providing a swifter means of navigating the game map compared to the standard flying system, which was originally implemented during The Burning Crusade expansion and is now called Steady Flight.

I’ve noticed an intriguing contrast between Dragonriding and Skyriding in World of Warcraft. While Dragonriding is exclusive to a select group of dragons, Skyriding applies to an impressive collection of 464 flying mounts. This number is expected to expand as time passes. What’s more, the Druid class’ Travel Form will also gain the ability to utilize this feature.

I deeply enjoyed the latest Dragonriding addition in Dragonflight for its significant time-saving benefit when moving between zones. It also brought back fond memories of the immersive flying experiences in classic games like Spyro the Dragon, with their realistic and engaging controls. However, the excitement level has been elevated further with Skyriding as it allows me to utilize my preferred mounts instead of being limited to only the custom Drake mounts offered in Dragonflight.

If you’re more accustomed to traditional flight methods, you have the option to change it in the Mounts segment of the Collections menu. There, you can select either Skyride or Steadfast Flight.

World of Warcraft: The War Within — Hero Talents

In the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft: The War Within, each class will acquire new abilities called Hero Talents. These are additional talent trees that become available as characters level up. Hero Talents offer passive skills that enhance a character’s existing abilities or entirely new active abilities. Every class, except Druids with four and Demon Hunters with two, will have three sets of Hero Talent trees to choose from. Players can switch between these trees to find the best fit for their unique playstyle.

I’m thrilled to explore Hero Talents because they offer the possibility of significantly transforming classes into unique versions or replicas of beloved Warcraft heroes or RTS game units. For instance, the Dark Ranger Hero Talent tree could bestow a Hunter class character with skills similar to Sylvanas Windrunner’s iconic abilities, while the Mountain Thane Hero Talent tree might endow Warriors with the powerful traits of the Mountain King hero units from Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos.

From an outside perspective, it appears that this system offers Blizzard a more expansive scope for the future. The potential to introduce additional hero talent trees for unique playstyles in upcoming expansions is a promising solution to the challenge of providing novelty without overwhelming players with excessive complexity. In the past, Blizzard has grappled with finding the balance between innovation and manageable complexity. Intuitively, transitioning between hero talent trees seems to be an ideal remedy.

World of Warcraft: The War Within — Delves

I’m excited about one innovative feature in World of Warcraft: The War Within that my experienced WoW colleague Jez Corden was impressed by during his preview – the Delves. Delves represent a fresh type of endgame content where gamers embark on dungeon adventures with an NPC comrade, battling challenging monsters, solving intricate puzzles, and navigating perilous platforming sections. Players can attempt Delves either alone or in groups of five.

The allure of the Delves lies in the fact that they yield rewards comparable to endgame raid equipment upon completion. Consequently, players who don’t belong to a guild or must adhere to raid schedules can still access this high-level loot by tackling the Delves solo or with their closest companions. Alternatively, they may choose to team up and farm for gear that matches the power level, ensuring they remain competitive in content and continue making substantial advancements.

Further perks for the Delves include unique mounts, playthings, cosmetics, and other incentives that are unavailable elsewhere within the realm of World of Warcraft.

World of Warcraft: The War Within — The new Earthen Race

In the expansive universe of World of Warcraft, a fresh addition awaits: “World of Warcraft: The War Within” introduces a novel playable race named the Earthen. These are the ancient Titan-crafted golems, originally designed to mold Azeroth’s subterranean caverns during its formative years. However, many Earthen were transformed into the modern-day Dwarves due to a curse inflicted by the Old God Yogg-Saron. Remarkably, some original Earthen survived this unfortunate transformation and have since fought valiantly against The Harbinger, striving to save Azeroth from destruction.

The Earthen Race offers the flexibility of joining either the Alliance or the Horde. During character creation, they may select from among the available classes: Hunter, Monk, Paladin, Mage, Priest, Warlock, Rogue, Warrior, or Shaman.

I’m drawn to the Earthen beings, as they represent a unique race of crystalline-covered golems with inherent superpowers, seldom encountered in RPGs. With Shale from Dragon Age: Origins being a well-known representative, I’m eager to experiment with them and expand my Warband roster.

As an analyst, I’ve discovered intriguing evidence suggesting that Earthen may not be the sole new race to make an appearance in The War Within. Based on recent datamining findings, Harronir, resembling cave trolls, have also been uncovered. Notably, these beings are prominently featured in The War Within’s CGI intro cinematic.

World of Warcraft: The War Within — A new saga spanning multiple expansions

At Blizzcon 2023, it was revealed that World of Warcraft: The War Within is the beginning of an extensive narrative titled the Worldsoul Saga.

As an avid fan of the World of Warcraft lore, I’m thrilled to share that over the course of the next three expansions – The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan – we’ll embark on an epic journey where I, along with other champions of Azeroth, strive to protect the Worldsoul of Azeroth from the enigmatic menace, Xal’atath the Harbinger. This battle won’t be easy as we encounter not only Xal’atath but also deal with the Titans and the opposing forces of Light and the Void. It’s a grand tale filled with adventure, mystery, and high stakes that I can hardly wait to explore!

Chris Metzen, a renowned figure in Blizzard’s game development who previously oversaw storyline, created artwork, and provided voiceovers for iconic titles like Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo, is coming out of retirement to assume the role of Executive Creative Director for the Warcraft universe. Long-standing Warcraft enthusiasts are elated about Metzen’s significant return as he was instrumental in crafting some of the most unforgettable, epic, and cherished moments in the franchise.

Enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating that under Chris Metzen’s creative guidance, the narrative in World of Warcraft will once again deliver captivating tales and intricately crafted characters. This optimism stems from the fact that expansions like Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands, which didn’t feature any of Metzen’s involvement, left a bitter taste for fans. Shadowlands, in particular, drew significant criticism due to multiple reasons, leading many long-term World of Warcraft players to switch allegiance to Final Fantasy XIV.

Although I can’t guarantee that Chris Metzen’s leadership will win back fans’ trust in World of Warcraft’s evolving storyline, I am definitely intrigued by the concept behind “World of Warcraft: The War Within.” I’m eager to discover Xal’atath’s endgame and look forward to encountering the Nerubians, a beloved Warcraft race from Warcraft 3, as formidable adversaries who merit players’ attention to such an extent that they are receiving their own Raid instance.

World of Warcraft: The War Within — Possibility of more WoW Remix events

In World of Warcraft: The War Within, my preferred aspect isn’t necessarily missing, but I fervently hope that we’ll encounter more WoW Remix events moving forward. WoW Remix signifies a limited-time experience where players are given the opportunity to revisit previous expansions of World of Warcraft, but with refreshed content that introduces exciting new ways to engage.

As a seasoned analyst of World of Warcraft events, I can’t help but express my excitement for the inaugural WoW Remix event, Mists of Pandaria. This immersive experience was an absolute joy to engage with, and I strongly believe it serves as an ideal introduction for newcomers to the expansive World of Warcraft universe and a fun way for veteran players to prepare their Alt Characters for The War Within.

As of now, the World of Warcraft Remix: Mists of Pandaria is ongoing and will conclude on August 19, 2024. During this transition, all player characters from the Remix will be moved to the standard version of World of Warcraft for The War Within. I eagerly anticipate that there will be more Remix events in the future as part of World of Warcraft: The War Within’s post-release updates. Fingers crossed for Remixed versions of Legion, Burning Crusade, or Wrath of the Lich King.

Are you ready to journey to the depths of Azeroth and battle the Harbinger?

Here are my top reasons for excitement about playing World of Warcraft: The War Within: From game-altering Hero Talents, the introduction of the Earthen race, an intriguing storyline that will unfold over several expansions, Delves, Warbands, and Skyriding – there’s simply an abundance of enticing content to explore.

Aug. 26, 2024, marks the release date for “World of Warcraft: The War Within” on personal computers. Those who have pre-ordered the game’s Epic Edition will enjoy early access starting Aug. 22, 2024. I’m eagerly looking forward to playing this upcoming PC title with my guild friends and setting out on a fresh journey in one of Blizzard Entertainment’s top-tier PC offerings.

2024-07-29 14:41

After two decades, I’m finally installing World of Warcraft — here’s what excites me the most about The War Within expansion