WoW Battle for Azeroth Guide

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth (2018)

"Ours is a cycle of hatred. Alliances forged and broken. We have paid the price for sharing this world, and we have forgotten what makes us strong." - Sylvanas Windrunner

The seventh expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft is called Battle for Azeroth, and it comes after Legion. On November 3, 2017, it became public during BlizzCon and was released on August 14, 2018.

The expansion boosts the previous level maximum from 100 to 110, adds artifact weapons for each class's specializations, introduces the demon hunter hero class, which begins at level 98, and contains a new region on Azeroth called the Broken Isles. There were two raids and 10 5-man dungeons at first.

The Lore of WoW: Battle for Azeroth

The wounds inflicted by Sargeras the Dark Titan on Azeroth brought forth a volatile substance known as Azerite—the blood of Azeroth herself. Tensions escalated between the Alliance and the Horde as both factions came to realize the true power of Azerite, igniting a full-scale war leading to the fall of Teldrassil and the Undercity.

Weakened and in need of new allies, the Alliance and the Horde called upon their greatest heroes to bolster their ranks. Jaina Proudmoore traveled to her home kingdom of Kul Tiras, hoping to bring them once more into the Alliance. She found squabbling nobles and a resentful people, united only in their contempt for Jaina’s past actions. Meanwhile, the Horde rescued the Zandalari princess Talanji from the Stormwind Stockade. Talanji worked to convince the Zandalari trolls to aid the Horde, though her father—King Rastakhan—initially refused to listen. Both factions’ diplomatic efforts were successful in building trust, however, and their war campaigns alongside new allies led to new footholds being established in Zandalar and Kul Tiras. 

United in arms with new allies, the Alliance and the Horde stand once more upon the shores of war, as the tides of vengeance loom on the horizon... 

Tides of Vengeance (Content Update)

Lord Admiral Jaina Proudmoore led Alliance forces on a daring gambit to besiege the golden pyramid of Dazar’alor. They disabled most of the Zandalari fleet with clandestine explosives and distracted the Horde’s armies in the swamplands of Nazmir. By the time the Horde’s champions discovered the deception, the Alliance had already reached the steps of Dazar’alor. The ruler of Zandalar, King Rastakhan, fought to the death rather than surrender his ancient kingdom. Though their attack dealt a crippling blow to the Zandalari, the Alliance was forced to retreat as the Horde took back the city and mortally wounded High Tinker Mekkatorque.

Determined to regain the upper hand in the war, Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner plotted to undermine the Alliance from within. She revealed a plan to twist the mind of Derek Proudmoore—Jaina's long-dead brother, newly raised into undeath—and unleash him as a weapon against his family. Baine Bloodhoof refused to permit Sylvanas's warped scheme to unfold, so he chose to free Derek and return him to Jaina. When his defiance was discovered, the Tauren chieftain was imprisoned as a traitor.

Meanwhile, naga invaders assaulted the coastlines of Kul Tiras and Zandalar in increasing numbers. Repelling those attacks led Azeroth's champions to rediscover a lost artifact: Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire. The dagger's maddening whispers drew a band of heroes into the Crucible of Storms, where dark forces gathered to awaken the long-imprisoned Old God, N'Zoth. While the threat appeared to be contained, N'Zoth's numberless servants will not rest until their master rises once again...

Rise of Azshara (Content Update)

In the aftermath of the Battle of Dazar'alor, Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner ordered Nathanos Blightcaller to set sail with the remnants of the Horde fleet. Using Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire as a compass, the Horde hoped to turn the war in their favor. The Alliance fleet engaged in pursuit, and both groups were ambushed by the naga as the sea opened beneath them. Trapped in Nazjatar, the ancient home of the naga, both factions were met by an ancient enemy: Queen Azshara, ruler of the naga and servant of the Old God N’Zoth.

Meanwhile, Sylvanas Windrunner planned to execute Baine Bloodhoof for freeing Jaina Proudmoore’s risen brother Derek. Unbeknownst to her, Alliance and Horde forces were already on route to rescue the Tauren chieftain. Upon meeting on the battlefield, the outfits led by Thrall and Jaina realized that only by working together they could hope to destabilize Sylvanas's command over the Horde, and decided to join forces.

As Queen Azshara continued to dare those stranded in Nazjatar to face her, the champions learned from Magni Bronzebeard that a titan console was keeping N’Zoth prisoner within the Eternal Palace. As they fought their way through the Palace, the heroes discovered too late that it was a trap—though Queen Azshara was defeated, she successfully tricked the heroes into activating the console, releasing N’Zoth from his imprisonment. The Old God retrieved Queen Azshara and disappeared into the shadows, ready to once more unleash his terrifying might upon Azeroth. Left with no choice but to join forces completely against this new threat, the Alliance and the Horde headed into battle… but first, Sylvanas had to be stopped.

Visions of N'Zoth (Content Update)

Freed at long last from his titan-wrought prison, the Old God N'Zoth returned to his seat of power—Ny'alotha, the Waking City. There he gathered his forces and prepared to unleash a new age of madness upon the mortal world.

Elsewhere in Azeroth, a different battle raged on. Varok Saurfang, after rescuing Baine Bloodhoof, recruited assistance from Thrall, Anduin—who mustered the Alliance—and Horde dissidents. Saurfang's was a battle for honor, for the very soul of the Horde. The combined army traveled to the gates of Orgrimmar where Saurfang challenged Sylvanas Windrunner to Mak'gora, a duel for the title of Warchief. Empowered by a mysterious force, Sylvanas struck a lethal blow to the old soldier after proclaiming that "the Horde is nothing". She discarded the mantle of Warchief and left Orgrimmar, losing support from all but a few clandestine loyalists.

With the armies of both the Horde and Alliance depleted from the long war, N'Zoth sensed the perfect time to strike. As his shadowy servants assaulted the Forge of Origination in Uldum and the Engine of Nalak'sha in Pandaria, the heroes of Azeroth were aided by the return of Wrathion. The black dragon provided the means to resist the Old God's seductive promises of power and his nightmarish visions of a horrific future. The heroes of Azeroth stormed Ny'alotha and fought through the twisted armies of the Black Empire. In the end, they channeled the full power of the Forge of Origination through the Heart of Azeroth, defeating N'Zoth and purging his corruption from the world. 

The leaders of the Horde and Alliance signed a treaty to bring the Fourth War to an end. The Battle for Azeroth was over, but the whereabouts of Sylvanas were still unknown…

Battle for Azeroth focuses on the conflict between the two player factions, the Horde and the Alliance, after the events of the previous expansion left Azeroth scarred and broken. Azerite, a new mineral that includes both dangerously explosive and regenerating characteristics, has started rising through wounds in the planet's crust. The appearance of Azerite sparks a rising battle between the Horde and the Alliance, which is provoked by the Horde's current leader and Warcraft mainstay, Sylvanas Windrunner.

WoW: Battle for Azeroth Updates

The expansion raises the level ceiling from 110 to 120, includes the Kul Tiras and Zandalar continents, as well as four races for both the Alliance and the Horde, and adds dungeons and raids, warfronts, and unknown islands.

Initially, 8.0 had eleven dungeons, with Mythic Plus versions of the dungeons and the first raid, Uldir, being accessible shortly after the game's debut. Following the start of preorders and the availability of four allied races in January 2018, the number of character slots per server was increased from 12 to 16; with the release of the expansion in August, it was increased to 18, to accommodate the two extra races unlocked with the initial content.

The Value of Azarite

The strong artifact weapons of Legion are no longer available in Battle for Azeroth; instead, you are given a necklace called the "Heart of Azeroth," which harnesses the power of the Azerite you acquire. The Azerite, in turn, powers the new and helpful Azerite armor components you discover along the route. The power of that armor is directly related to the level of your Heart of Azeroth, and with these levels, you unlock powerful new abilities that can augment your skills, such as an extremely clutch bubble shield that absorbs damage every 30s seconds, keeping you in the fight for a longer period of time than normal.

The Squish

To lower the numbers used in the game, "stat squish" and "item squish" were added, for example, a legendary item with a level of 1000 was lowered to 265. A stat squish (also known as an item squish or simply "the squish") is the process of reducing stats and ilevels, such as item stats, player and mob health, and damaging and healing skills. The most recent stat squish came in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Patch 8.0.1 (and Patch 8.0.1prepatch), however, it was first used in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Patch 6.0.2. Because there was only one expansion between the two stat squishes, we may conclude that World of Warcraft: Legion Legion saw tremendous stat inflation.

New Allies on Both Factions

Completing quest chains allows you to enlist ally races that were previously neutral factions or were recently introduced. Four of these races were available for presale when the expansion was released in January 2018, and four more will be added after the game's release.

The Alliance can access void elves, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron dwarves, Kul Tiran humans, and mechagnomes. The Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, Mag'har orcs, Zandalari, and Vulpera are available to the Horde. If a player leveled an allied race character to level 110, they got a Heritage Armor set.

New Continents

There are two new continents, each with three zones, depending on factions. Kul Tiras represents the Alliance, and Zandalar represents the Horde. Kul Tiras is chilly, mountainous, and rich in metal ores and other significant natural resources. While Zandalar is lush and tropical. Mount Mugamba, which rises from the island's center, is by far the tallest mountain. Troll ziggurats, the domains of troll shamans, priests, and witch doctors, as well as troll totems and cottages, are strewn throughout the forest.

Island Expeditions

Island expeditions, similar to 3-player scenarios in Mists of Pandaria, are a new type of 3-player content that provides dynamic challenges including competing against a group of either superior AI NPCs or players to acquire Azerite for their faction's war effort.

Crestfall, Dread Chain, Havenswood, Jorundall, Molten Cay, Rotting Mire, Skittering Hollow, Snowblossom Village, Un'gol Ruins, Verdant Wilds, and Whispering Reef are the 11 island destinations players can explore.

Warfronts

Warfronts were a brand-new type of 20-player PvE gameplay. They work similarly to battlegrounds, but with a greater emphasis on base building, territorial takeover and control, and resource management to emphasize Warcraft's RTS roots. Because there was always a build-up to each one, warfronts were not always active on a regular basis. Patch 8.2: Rise of Azshara introduced heroic warfronts, which were more challenging versions of conventional warfronts.

Faction War Campaigns

The War Campaign plotline is an in-game classification of missions in the quest log in Battle for Azeroth. Unlike the other categories, which merely show zone names, the War Campaign category is broken into chapters and provides extra explanations when conducting quests as well as an actual quest name and zone to pick up to proceed in the campaign. In the mission log and the goal list beneath the mini-map, the War Campaign quests are labeled with Alliance or Horde colors and emblems. With the release of patch 8.2.5 and its last chapter, the questlines were completed.

War Mode

The addition of War Mode is one of the major modifications. By enabling this feature, players can join a player-versus-player instance for their whole server with like-minded folks, eliminating the need for dedicated PVP servers. This allows for player vs player combat across Azeroth, creating a feeling of adventure everywhere you go. It's also quite useful to have access to PVP talents outside of PVP scenarios, providing added value in any combat scenario.

Characters in War Mode can only see other players in War Mode unless they are in their own capital city. Players that participate in War Mode and kill many enemy PCs without dying gain an "Assassin" bonus that improves their damage and healing. Such a character eventually obtains a bounty on their head, offering other players a reward for murdering them.

Profession Updates

Crafting professions have also gotten a much-needed makeover, making them simpler to enter without excessive grinding. Players can now begin creating equipment and stuff that are instantly useful. This is extremely beneficial for new players or those who have boosted a new character to 110 without having to go back and grind the lesser crafting professions to unlock Kul Tiras and Zandalar crafting. The First Aid profession was eliminated; bandages and anti-venoms from the profession were transferred to Tailoring and Alchemy and will need to be relearned.

General Reception

Although Battle for Azeroth provided a lot of new and exciting addition to the lore and gameplay of World of Warcraft, some fans and critics still feel that Legion was a better expansion between the two. The PvP and PvE updates on Battle gave players that fun dynamic to wage war against each other but the lacking content when it comes to dungeons, raids, and additional locations halted Battle of Azeroth’s advance to the front lines.

Did you have expectations when the Battle of Azeroth expansion was announced? What would you love to add or take out on the latest expansion to WoW? Share your thought about this guide by leaving a comment below or share it to your friends to start a new raiding party!