To mark 20 years of World of Warcraft, Blizzard announced nothing less than three extensions forming the Worldsoul Saga at the opening of the BlizzCon 2023. The first of them, The War Withinwill be launched in 2024 and has obviously been the subject of a much more detailed description than the other two, especially since its pre-purchase began immediately in digital format. During the opening ceremony, a traditional cinematic was thus broadcast, featuring a poignant dialogue between Andrew Wrynnstill suffering from what happened in the Shadowlands, and Thrallgathered at Silithus by visions from the heart ofAzerothwith a close-up of the immense sword planted by Sargeras.
In addition to these two characters, The War Within will, among other things, involve Magni Bronzebeardas well as’Alleria Windrunner And Xal’atath, evidenced by the extension’s feature trailer. Our underground expedition to Khaz Algar (Sector AR-938) to investigate the visions will make us cross the road survivors of the mighty empire nerubiansome of whose members are now loyal to Xal’atath, who offered them a dark alchemical evolution and intends to put us to the test. However, not all of them have given in to darkness and we will explore their culture, discover new types of Nerubians and domestic insects within their society. We will also cross the road of Arathisvenerating the sacred firehaving industrial vessels powered by the latter and skills of Paladins. When we arrived, clouds of Nerubians have just been pushed back with difficulty from their bastions of Lightwho are under pressure.
Finally, the third local race will be that of Terrestrialwhich will become playable once we have helped them, both through Horde what’Alliance since it will be neutral. Created by the Titansabsent for ages, these Terrestrial isolated from the world will be divided between townspeople (Oathsworn) always loyal to their guidelines and philosophy, rural people (Unbound) who diverged from this path and those focused on industry (Machine Speakers)dedicated to the machinery of Titans without the belief that goes with it. In terms of customization, it will be possible to make them wear a beard, regardless of the body type chosen, to select the pattern of their rocky skin and decorative gems.
The War Within begins with an encounter with an ancient civilization deep within the planet, as the heroes of the Alliance and Horde are assailed by visions. Some belong to the Light, while others are turned towards an alternative, darker destiny.
- New playable allied race: Terrestrials – Players will meet and unlock this race created by the Titans. The Earthlings have made Khaz Algar their home and have a unique civilization and culture.
As for the new play areas, the technology Airlock already used in Dragonflight will allow you to navigate without transition between them. There will first be the fertile Isle of Dorn on the surface of Khaz Algar, a true paradise whose central city will be our capital. Below, THE Vibrating Depths will be a cavernous industrial space used by Machine Speakers and where the Kobolds even built a city under the leadership of King Wax-Pillager by gaining ground on the Terrestrial which are less and less numerous.
Even lower is Sainte-Chutedomain of Arathis whose light from a gigantic crystal illuminates the place, allowing the growth of plants. Except that its brilliance diminishes without warning, plunging these people into the Darkness, who can then only count on the light of his towers. Finally, deep insideAzeroth is located Azj-kahetheart of the empire nerubian. Cautious adventurers will be able to find skeins serving as homes for the guardians of the loreburrows housing treasure hunters who have been forgotten, while a bazaar will serve as a counter.
Even though three of these four zones are underground, the developers made them appear to be more than caveswith open spaces, vegetation and great diversity between each.
- Explore the new continent of Khaz Algar – Off the western coast of Kalimdor lies the Isle of Dorn, a new focal point for the Horde and Alliance. Begin exploring what lies beneath the surface, in the lava-powered forge of the Resounding Deeps, the lush Holy Falls and Azj-Kahet, the pinnacle of Nerubian society.
In terms of instances, 8 Dungeons new items will be added, four during leveling up (The Rookery, The Stonevault, Priory of the Sacred Flame And City of Threads) and just as much for the end of the campaign (Cinderbrew Meadery with the King Wax-Pillager, Darkflame Cleft, The Dawnbreaker And Old City), one of them having dragon flight. A Raid to eight bosses will take place Azj-Kahet and will be titled Nerub’ar Palace, including the queen as the final enemy in her sanctuary and having the particularity of playing on the verticality of the place. Below you can see a map the developers used when designing it.
The team’s approach to The War Within was to continue building on the three pillars of Dragonflight, namely to offer timeless content that is not left behind with each expansion, that there is something for each player profile regardless of the level or the time invested, and with several characters in mind. This will result in the addition of Chasms (Delves) where we will join theExpedition of the Dracaret in their quest for the treasures of Khaz Algar in activities integrated into the world, playable by up to 5 players and adjustable in difficulty. No less than 13 Chasms will be available at launch, with their rewards (mounts, titles, Achievementsequipment, etc.) and a companion NPC, who will be Brann Bronzebeard for the Season 1whose talent and skill system will be customizable according to our needs.
Another feature going in this direction, THE Battalions (Warbands), whose objective is to respect playing time as best as possible at account level whole rather than by character. The rules for transmogrification will thus be revised to be able to learn a variety of them via only one of our avatars instead of having to do it on each one. There Reputation and the Fame will also be shared by the account.
Finally, THE Heroic talents will be a well-separated addition to the current skill trees, offering three new ones per class, including two per specialization that can be swapped at will. The example below shows what this gives for the Warrior. This system will unlock at level 71 and one point will be obtained at each level, making 10 in total until new max level of 80. The nodes can be reassigned without any hassle, like what was proposed Dragonflight.
- Chasm – New condensed adventures integrated into the world, scaling to accommodate 1 to 5 players and offering significant progression.
- Battalions – This is an improvement in gaming comfort for people with multiple characters. Battalions allow you to share banks, reputation, transmogs, and more among all your characters.
- Anchor your character in the Warcraft universe with Heroic Talents – New level of specialization customization, Hero Talents are inspired by well-known archetypes from the Warcraft universe, such as the Dark Forester, Farseer and others.
No collector’s item in sight at the momentbut it is already possible to pre-order three digital editions in the online store Blizzardwhich are detailed below.
The War Within: Base Edition – €49.99
- Includes pre-purchase of World of Warcraft: The War Within.
- Access to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight*.
- An improved gateway to level 70, allowing players to immediately dive into Guardians of the Dream, Dragonflight’s next content update.
- 500 deniers.
The War Within: Heroic Edition – €69.99
- Includes Base Edition content.
- The Algarian Storm Rider mount and access to special races for dynamic flight.
- The Transmog Set: Storm Rider Costume.
- 250 additional denarii for a total of 750.
The War Within: Epic Edition – €89.99
- Includes content from Base Edition and Heroic Edition.
- Access to the World of Warcraft: The War Within beta**.
- Early access, at least 3 days before the launch of the extension***.
- The mascot Bourrasque, the offspring of the storm.
- The sandbox Storm Griffon toy.
- 250 additional denarii for a total of 1,000.
- 30 days of play time.
* Access to Dragonflight will only be granted to players who do not own Dragonflight.
**Availability and beta launch dates are subject to change. For a limited time only.
***3 days based on an estimate; Actual game time subject to possible interruptions and applicable time zone differences.
You can find numerous visuals illustrating everything we have developed throughout this article on the following pages. Many derivative products World of Warcraft are otherwise sold on Amazon And to the Fnac.
| Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law) Responsible Proofreader – Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin’s Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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