World of Warcraft has been around for quite some time now and consistent players have all looked forward to the release Battle for Azeroth.
Set after the events of Legion, Azeroth is now bleeding “Azerite” which is magical, and everyone wants their hands on it. Monopolies are being set up to control this substance primarily by Sylvanas Windrunner. Her goal is to consolidate Horde power on her own turf of Kalimdor. As things get heated, battles begin and the Battle For Azeroth begins and the continents of Kul Tiras and Zandalar begin to recruit new allies to try to gain an upper hand to turn the tides.
Despite some initial crashes that come along with most expansion pack releases such as server issues, freezing and crashes, the overall hype is good. Comparing this to some other past expansion packs, Battle for Azeroth is great. Since WOW is already such an immersive game, the main changes for this release include the ability to reach a higher level. For example, being able to pass level 110 and reach a level 120. Some backpack slots have been added as well as a lot of technical upgrades that don’t really make sense to most folks. The noticeable changes mostly come in the form of new characters, “War Mode” where players can do a PvP quest, and new zones to explore.
Now that the game has been released a week, Blizzard has been working very hard to keep patches coming to improve player experiences. One example of this is a patch that was put in to place that changes bracket levels depending on what zone you’re in. Brackets, normally ranging from 10-15, are now being upped to 10-60. The goal of this is to allow players to explore one zone and keep on with their quest without overshadowing quests in different areas.
A lot of stats were changed as well. Weapons now are slightly decreased. To offset this change, unique buffs are back. Some items will be able to increase in power, but the buffs will not work if the weapon is already affected by the Heart of Azeroth. Deeply skilled players will be able to recognize this quickly upon checking inventory.
With so much to get in to such as new war fronts, new islands to explore and allied races, this expansion will take some time to get in to, which all good plots do. Players will have a more seamless experience now with the patches but should also expect to complete quest chains to keep progressing. On the bonus side, we can all level up a bit further as well.
8/10
Available on PC and Mac.
