We already know that World of Warcraft’s upcoming Battle for Azeroth expansion will be removing some obsolete content from the game, but for all that it will be losing, the venerable MMO will also be gaining a lot, particularly in its PvP component, once its newest expansion is live. Now, Blizzard has detailed exactly what PvP fans can look forward to when World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth expansion launches this coming August.
As its name suggests, Battle for Azeroth’s core theme will be one of conflict, specifically the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde which has been intensifying during the aftermath of the events driving the previous expansion, Legion. Because of this focus on conflict, World of Warcraft’s PvP component will be getting some serious attention, and that attention will culminate with the addition of four new features: War Mode, Bounties, revamped PvP Talents, and the Dueler’s Guild.
If you’ve been following Battle for Azeroth’s development, you likely know a bit about War Mode already. With Battle for Azeroth’s launch, Blizzard will be abolishing the current server-segregation system in which specific servers are classified as either PvE (no world PvP allowed) or PvP (players can freely engage in world PvP). Instead, all servers will be PvE by default, but players will be able to manually flip on the ‘War Mode’ toggle that enables world PvP. Having War Mode active will grant XP bonuses and other benefits, though to ensure new players don’t overwhelm themselves, the War Mode toggle won’t be available until a player reaches level 20.
Tying into War Mode is a new Bounties system in which a player who manages to kill a certain number of enemy players in world PvP without dying will be labeled as an ‘Assassin’ and granted a 15 percent buff to their health and damage output. Members of the opposing faction will be able to spot an Assassin player on their map, and if they manage to fell the Assassin they’ll earn a cache of rewards that includes Conquest Point.
If structured PvP is more your style, you’ll be happy to hear that PvP Talents are being revamped. Rather than earn new talents by increasing your Honor Level (a level that can only be increased once a player reaches the maximum character level), you’ll instead unlock new talents as you level up your character, which means max-level characters will be able to select from the entire pool of available PvP Talents. Also, whereas the current system locks PvP Talents into level-restricted rows of three, the revamped system will let players pick any three talents of their choosing from the overall pool along with a fourth talent that breaks crowd control.
Lastly, those who want to prove they’re the best of the best will be able to participate in the Dueler’s Guild, an activity that allows players to engage in 1v1 PvP duels to see how many consecutive matches they can win in a row (similar to the PvE-focused Brawler’s Guild). Those who manage to win a certain number of consecutive fights will unlock suitably coveted rewards, including a new ‘Contender’ character title.
For more Blizzard game news, be sure to read about the latest round of hero tweaks that are now available on the Overwatch test server.