Are you ready for Battle of Azeroth?

The next World of Warcraft expansion Battle for Azeroth will be available to play in a matter of weeks. Now, I don´t know about you, but it has been a very, very long time since I last visited the lands of Azeroth and I find myself surprisingly excited about this expansion. Why? For one, Battle for Azeroth is focusing on the conflict between Alliance and Horde, instead of the classical big bad uglies. In other expansions, both sides had to set aside their differences to work together and beat a common threat but after the events in Legion, this refocusing on the original conflict brings us some very interesting changes.

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth brings a new level cap, as has been the standard for the last expansions of the game. Players will now be able to level up to 120. Of course, the level scaling is back, so you can level through the zones in any order, but the story quests are more linear than in Legion. Blizzard also has added limited level scaling to all older content. Zones will scale within a range of levels, so everything in the zone will scale to your level, in both challenges and rewards. Battle for Azeroth adds “allied races”. Allied races are variants of existing races. Four allied races are already in the game and two more, the Dark Iron Dwarves and Mag’har Orcs are planned for Battle for Azeroth launch. Each Allied Race has its own racial abilities and traits. You can also unlock a heritage armor set by leveling any Allied Race to the level cap. The Artifact Weapons are gone for Battle for Azeroth and they are replaced by the Heart of Azeroth, a medallion that players upgrade with the expansion’s new resource, Azerite. Upgrading the Heart of Azeroth unlocks new traits on other pieces of armor, providing new customization options for each class. You will find a whole new set of dungeons to visit and raids to enjoy with your friends.

The expansion also introduces two new modes: Island Expeditions are three-man scenarios that can be played against another team or three enemies using what Blizzards calls “advanced A.I.” That is, the enemies will act more like players, pursuing goals proactively and filling class roles. You will sail to unknown islands and try to obtain resources more quickly than the other team. Warfronts are larger, 20-man PVE instances that take inspiration from the Warcraft strategy games. Players are deployed on the Warfront to collect resources, destroy enemy troops, construct buildings, and eventually launch an assault to take over the enemy base. Both modes reward you with a variety of achievements, loot, armor appearances, mounts, and the resource, Azerite. Players who pre-order World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth gain a free character boost to level 110 and all the previous expansions are now included, so this is a great time to come back and play this awesome game.