wow War Within Official Preview and WoWCast

[Staff 1,382]

Here comes the big War Within Alpha preview, as Blizzard delve into all the new expansion highlights in the new WoWCast and accompanying article!  

War Within (Source)

Join Game Director Ion Hazzikostas and Associate Art Director Tina Wang as they sit down with Community Manager and host Bethany Stout to take you into The War Within™.

The alpha test is right around the corner and we look forward to moving into the next phase of development of The War Within with you.

Here’s a recap of some of the main features arriving with the expansion.

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Defend Azeroth from the Shadows Below

Journey through never-before-seen subterranean worlds filled with wonders and lurking perils, down to the dark depths of the nerubian empire, where the malicious Harbinger of the Void, Xal’atath, is gathering arachnid forces to bring Azeroth to its knees.

Freed long ago of the black blade that once bound her, she is now the Harbinger of a new era of the Void’s dark machinations. Her message is clear. The Black Empire has fallen. The Old Gods are dead and their ancient blood runs deep within the cracks of the world. We, the heroes of Azeroth destroyed them and the Harbinger watched all along. While the Black Empire has failed, Xal’atath seeks to set in motion the rise of a new dark legacy —one that knows our strengths and will seek to test them against a terrible power, the nerubians of Azj-Kahet.

Xal’atath has conscripted the nerubian queen, Ansurek, and offered her people a new future in which they would rise from their isolation and become a mighty kingdom once again. We will not find the nerubian soldiers of the Lich King here, but a mighty stronghold of nerubians as they once were—deadly survivors of the mythic wars that have played out repeatedly over thousands of years.

In return for their loyalty, Xal’atath has granted the nerubians the means of a dark evolution that will turn the nerubians into a new kind of ferocious and terrifying soldiers.

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Our Heroes

Several of Azeroth’s greatest heroes will rise to the call of the Radiant Song, and many will face their own unique challenges along the way.

• Anduin Wrynn: Having survived his ordeal with Domination, he will grapple with his relationship with the Holy Light that he no longer feels worthy of.
• Thrall: He is seeking a connection to the visions spreading across the world and working to find his new place within the Horde.
• Magni Bronzebeard: Long the Speaker of Azeroth, he will confront the heavy weight of that responsibility once and for all.
• Alleria Windrunner: Her journey will be central to the events and themes of the War Within. She, as a void hunter, must use all of her capabilities to hunt down Xal’atath while being torn between her own nature and the maddening call of the Void to which she is attuned. Along this adventure she will have a unique rivalry with Xal’atath whose twists and turns will come to define the nature of this new conflict.

This chapter is only the beginning of the saga.

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Khaz Algar- Designated Sector AR-934

Beneath the surface of Azeroth, an expansive world exists, fraught with danger and waiting to be explored.

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The Zones of Khaz Algar

The Isle of Dorn: Discover the land of Khaz Algar, off the western shores of Pandaria and home to the Earthen. Their capital city, Dornogal, will become the new meeting ground for the Horde and Alliance.

The Ringing Deeps: This gigantic cavern serves as the home of the Machine Speakers, Earthen who maintain the gigantic Titan machines of old.

Hallowfall: Lit by a massive crystal at its center, this bright underground zone is home to the Arathi who are engaged in a continuing battle against the nerubians.

Azj-Kahet: The pinnacle of nerubian society where Xal’atath, Harbinger of the Void, has been gathering and mutating nerubian forces to create an unstoppable army.

For players who are concerned about entering into a space filled with spiders, there will be an arachnophobia filter that can be turned on which will convert spider creatures into crabs.

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Meet the Earthen

We’ve met Titan-forged Earthen before in Ulduar and other places, but this society of Earthen has been isolated within Khaz Algar for a long while and have developed their own manners and customs. Visually, they are a bit larger, and gem encrusted.

It is up to the heroes of Azeroth to aid the Earthen and find a way to unite them once more and replenish their numbers.

Earthen as a New Allied Race

Earthen will also unlock as a playable race. Replenishing the culture’s dwindling numbers by either joining the Horde or the Alliance. Players will be able to choose either faction to begin their journey.

There are many customizations that will be coming for these Earthen including different gem encrustations, beards for all body types, skin colorizations, and more.

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Dungeons

Similar to the launch of previous expansions, there will be 4 level-up dungeons and 4 maximum-level dungeons that are available in each of the four new zones.

Level-Up Dungeons

• The Rookery
• The Stonevault
• Priory of the Sacred Flame
• City of Threads

Maximum Level

• Cinderbrew Meadery
• Darkflame Cleft
• The Dawnbreaker
• Old City

If you don’t want to use the Dungeon Finder to take part in dungeons with other players, you can continue the campaign story with Follower Dungeons which will be available to play through in all level-up dungeons.

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Nerub’ar Palace Raid Dungeon

The Nerub’ar Palace raid dungeon will offer eight boss encounters. Located in Azj-Kahet, it will result in the culmination of the story we see play out involving the machinations of the nerubian empire and Queen Ansurek’s collaboration with Xal’atath.

Players can also expect new tier rewards for their valiant efforts.

 

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New Features

• Delves: Deep beneath the surface lies treasure vaults waiting to be discovered. Explore these world instances solo or with up to four friends, along with an NPC companion, to defeat bosses and gain epic end-game loot.

Delves New Mechanical Mount Reward

Mix and match customizations to make your new mount your own.

• Warbands: Expand the potential of your alternate characters with account-wide progression across your family of characters on your Battle.net account. Share your Warband Bank access, War Within Renown, achievements, collections, and more. Visit our latest article to learn more about Warbands.
• Hero Talents: Rise to new heights of power with new Hero Talent trees. Each class specialization has access to two choices of self-contained Hero Talent trees inspired by iconic Warcraft universe archetypes. Revisit our previous Hero Talent previews to get a glimpse at what is in development.

 *Please note many of these trees have been updated since the original previews.

• Mountain Thane, Lightsmith, San’layn, and Chronowarden
• Keeper of the Grove Druid, Dark Ranger Hunter, Frostfire Mage, and Oracle Priest
• Elune’s Chosen and Wildstalker Druids, Scalecommander Evoker, Herald of the Sun and Templar Paladins, Trickster Rogue, Diabolist Warlock, and Colossus Warrior
• Rider of the Apocalypse and Deathbringer Death Knights, Aldrachi Reaver Demon Hunter, Druid of the Claw Druid, Flameshaper Evoker, Pack Leader Hunter, Spellslinger Mage, Shado-Pan and Conduit of the Celestials Monks, Farseer Shaman, Hellcaller Warlock, and Slayer Warrior.
• New Battleground: Deephaul Ravine
• Professions: New Recipes and Enchantments, updated NPC Work Orders
• UI Updates: Improved quest icons to make types of quests clearer.

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We look forward to hearing your ongoing thoughts and feedback as we continue development.

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