[Updated 02/02/2020 with final thoughts] World of Warcraft, one of the MMO most famous in the world, arrives tonight in its seventh expansion bringing with it many new features. In this article we are going to summarize all the main aspects of this substantial update.
WoW is perhaps the 'longest running MMO ever, with almost 14 years on his shoulders but despite his venerable age continues to thrill millions of fans around the world.
The story so far
With the defeat of the Burning Legion, Sargeras inflicts ad Azeroth one last hard blow by piercing her with his huge sword before disappearing along with Illidan and the rest of the pantheon of Titans. To heal the wound of the world, the heroes are called to sacrifice their artifacts to suck the evil energy contained in the sword of the Dark Titan that was poisoning the planet. From the wound located in Silence what is the blood of the world begins to emerge, an icore that crystallizes when it reaches the surface, its name is Azerite. This new material first of all attracts the Trade Prince Gallywix who immediately deploys his goblins miners to then report to Sylvanas. The eyes of the Covenant, however, are upon them and also Re Anduin Wrynn learns of the enormous power of the mineral.
In the past the Horde and Alliance they had put aside their differences to make a common front against the Legion, but now the old grudges resurface and the two factions are ready to battle again for control over the Azerite fields in a real arms race.
To control the flow of Azerite a Kalimdor, Sylvanas decides to attack Darnassus to remove from the Alliance the main port for trade with the Kingdom of the Eastern. What is remembered as the War of the Thorns ends with the burning of Teldrassil, tree of the world on whose top stands the capital of the Night Elves; in response the Alliance will march on Ruins of Lordaeron under which there is The tombs, Sylvanas' abode. These conflicts will increasingly exacerbate relations between the two factions resulting in a large-scale conflict.
The invincible army
Both sides must strengthen their ranks, particularly their fleets, and ensure dominance over the seas and the safe transport of Azerite. To do this they will respectively have to ask for help from the peoples of Kul Tiras e Zandalar but getting what they want won't be that easy.
With the introduction of these new zones we will bring our characters up to level 120.
Kul Tiras – Alleanza
Once the main maritime empire of the Alliance, it decided to isolate itself after the events of the Third War where Daelin Marefiero, father of Jaina, he lost his life. The Alliance and Jaina will have to regain the trust of the inhabitants of Kul Tiras if they want to have access to the huge shipyards. Awaiting them, they will find a series of mysteries and sorceries that revolve around the different houses that dominate the kingdom.
Baia di Tiragarde
Characterized by rocky peaks and rugged coastline, the Baia di Tiragarde is the home of the Marefiero family. Here Jaina, accompanied by Genn Mantogrigio he will be reunited with his mother even if his reception will not be the best ...
Drustvar
For some time now there has been no news of the family Crestabianca which resides there. Known to his soldiers, Drustvar it has something unusual a gloomy and dark air, it has always been a barren land but this time there is something more sinister than usual. The people of Drustvar are very superstitious and rumors about the presence of witches are always circulating.
Valley of Canto Tonante
With luxuriant vegetation and a system of internal channels there Valley of Canto Tonante it really looks like something out of a storybook but a gloomy scenario opposes it. THE Cultisti del Mare they are plotting something by organizing rituals and playing with powers greater than themselves.
Zandalar - There
One of the oldest empires Azeroth has ever known, that of the Zandalari it is a territory full of danger: giant dinosaurs, constructs of the Titans and cannibal tribes. Their millenary tradition of navigation techniques is tempting to the army of the Horde but after saving the Princess Talanji from the prison of Stormwind, Sylvanas will be put in front of an exchange: "Help our people and we will help yours".
Zuldazar
Located in the middle of a dense jungle lies the capital of Zandalar. From here Re Rastakhan, King of the Zandalari, rules over his kingdom characterized by landscapes where tradition and innovation meet with architectural wonders and temples dedicated to Speaker, their deities. In the kingdom, however, there are those who plot behind the King to seize the throne and throw it into a new era under the sign of G'Huun the God of Blood.
nazmir
A gloomy swamp populated by the remains of what was once one of the beating hearts of the Troll civilization. It is now the home of the blood troll, merciless beings dedicated to the cult of G'Huun, to blood rituals and cannibalism. To defeat this threat, the help of the loa will be needed, including that of death.
Vol’ Dun
An arid desert populated by shy and cunning creatures: i vulpera and sethrak. The sands of this ancient place hide still unsolved mysteries that derive from the era of the Titans.
Ventura's companions
Allied Races are introduced in Battle for Azeroth, a new series of races to be unlocked as the story progresses. In such a great war, any help is essential that's why we will find ourselves recruiting new recruits for our faction, some of these were already available with preorder such as the Lightforged Draenei and Void Elves for the Alliance or Highmountain's Tauren and Nightborne for the Horde; others will be unlocked later as the expansion progresses such as i Dark Iron Dwarves and the Humans of Kul Tiras for the Alliance and the Zandalari Troll and the Mag'har Orcs for the Horde.
Frontier War
Never before has the faction war theme been more prominent than in Battle for Azeroth, offering tons of new ways to proudly display your membership.
War Fronts
Il Stormgarde Fort becomes the backdrop for a huge pitched battle between the Horde and the Alliance. In this new PVE co-op mode, which combines the classic mechanics of RTS Series Warcraft to some aspects typical of Japanese musou, 20 players will have to collect resources and then attempt the siege of the fort. We will lead our army just like the special units in Warcraft III!
Island Expeditions
In this mode 3 players embark on the discovery of one of the mysterious islands off the coasts of Zandalar and Kul Tiras in search of Azerite deposits. Waiting for us will be a scenario generated each time with new enemies, fields and events always new. The opposing faction will not stand idle, it will be possible to find special NPCs or other players if you decide to take on this adventure in PvP mode.
War mode
World of Warcraft PvP evolves once again, the War mode replaces the old differentiation between realms (PvE or PvP). By activating it we will have access to a series of talents specially designed for clashes against other players, in this way the whole world will be your battlefield but beware the opposite faction could put a bounty right on your head!
Expeditions and Raids
They could not miss the new end game Shipping and new Raids that will tell other small fragments of the story of this expansion.
Shipping:
- Siege of Boralus.
- Atal’ Dazar.
- Lair of Liberty.
- Grottamarcia.
- Manor of the Crestabianca.
- Repose of God
- Shrine of the Storm.
- Temple of Sethraliss.
- Dagor toll.
- Come Mother.
Raids (coming September 5th):
- Uldir.
The gift of Azeroth
To accompany us in this adventure we will receive from Magni Bronzebeard il Heart of Azeroth, the new artifact necklace that will allow us to access new powers. Once worn we will have access to the powers of Azerite that will infuse our helmets, shoulder straps and armor for the torso giving us access to additional skills that will gradually evolve our style of play.
final Thoughts
As the Horde and the Alliance walk tall on the battlefield, World of Warcraft does the same in the varied gaming landscape we are used to today.
Despite the "seniority" of the title and of the genre, the MMOs, which now seem increasingly obscured by MOBAs and Battle Royale, Blizzard Entertainment once again manages to excite older fans and those who are approaching for the first time to the game. The theme of factional warfare returns to make itself felt overwhelmingly as in the old titles of the Warcraft series, showing how far the two sides will be willing to go for total domination. Battle for Azeroth is a truly packed expansion of content suitable for all types of players; we do not feel like expressing a definitive judgment yet (since it has just begun) but we are sure that it will continue to entertain us for a long time and that it will hardly end up boring us.
[02 / 02 / 2020] Well what to say, these last lines have not aged very well. Battle for Azeroth comes in a dark time for Blizzard of layoffs and missteps. It can be said that she almost managed to do worse than Warlords of Draenor with a whole series of boring and quite sterile activities, but above all a fairly dispersed and confusing narrative that was able to burn the material for two expansions. The final nail on the coffin of this expansion was surely the ending that relegated N'Zoth, one of the greatest evils of Azeroth, to a second-class pop-up torpedoed by a powerful energy wave. The fact that this expansion closes with 30 seconds of cinematic with recycled animations and music from the last scene of the Lord of the Rings almost makes the future of this IP doubtful.
Rating: 5
