BFA Press Event - Talanji Cinematic, 8.0 Pre-Patch, Mag'har and Dark Iron Unlock Schedule

Posted 2018/04/05 at 8:29 AM by perculia

We also learned about the Battle for Azeroth Release Date and Collector's Edition! Learn more about the BFA release date here and the special CE rewards here. We also had an interview with Muffinus which you can find here.

Event Highlights

Mag'har Orcs and Dark Iron Dwarf Allied Races will be available after completing the Battle for Azeroth War Campaign. The Kul Tiran Human and Zandalari Troll Allied Races will be unlocked later in the expansion, after they respectively join the Alliance and the Horde.

The BFA alpha is lasting longer than alphas for past expansions. This is because the beta is treated as an opportunity to polish features now, and not all features are visible on the Alpha yet.

The pre-patch will let players experience the Burning of Teldrassil and Battle for Lordaeron.

There are six emissaries planned for each faction. Three for your home continent, two neutral factions (Tortollan and Voice of Azeroth), and a War Faction solely with quests on the enemy continent.

Battle of Azeroth is advertised as a faction conflict, but Ion's final words hinted that more is in store! "Battle for Azeroth will be fought between the Horde and Alliance, but Battle for Azeroth is also a battle to save Azeroth.

8.0 Pre-Patch

Pre-patch is likely a few weeks before the actual expansion, similar to past expansion schedules. Ion said not to quote him directly on this, nothing is official.

The pre-patch will contain content allowing players to experience the Burning of Teldrassil and Battle of Lordaeron. For example, there will be content in Darkshore - story-driven quest content and replayable outdoor skirmishes. We've datamined mounts themed around the Night Elves and Forsaken which could likely tie in to this event.

Through an awesome animated piece, which includes the two pieces of art we've previously seen, you'll learn how Teldrassil catches on fire.

Horde CinematicWe were not allowed to film or record this cinematic. Note this is not an exact transcript.

At the start of the cinematic, Nathanos and Zul stand on the docks of a Zandalari ship, while Talanji conducts a ritual below.

Nathanos: It appears the Alliance dogs have lost our scent.
Zul: Good...Our journey is almost over.
Nathanos: I hope the Warchief's faith is well-placed.
Zul: She seems very powerful, certain, in control.
Nathanos: It is an honor to serve my queen.
Zul: My princess is also strong-willed and sure of herself. Our King has always found her to be...challenging.

We then cut to Talanji's ritual.

Talanji: Oh mighty Rezan...as always, you come when I ask your aid.
Rezan: Speak and I will listen.
Talanji: I have sought the aid of the Horde, but my father may not agree with my actions. Advise! You are the loa of kings.
Rezan: My eyes see much....They see your boldness, your power, and enemies who fear both. And those who seek your demise are here!

We then see the Alliance fleet closing in on the Horde ship. Talanji walks out onto the top of the deck and casts a mighty spell, summoning Rezan!

As Rezan is summoned, a thick fog forms surrounding the Horde and Alliance ships. He then charges into the sails of the Horde ship, becoming a powerful wind in their sails and propelling them forward, breaking through the fog. Talanji then sees the shores of Zuldazar and the Zandalari army readying their turrets at her signal. Eventually the Alliance ships finally catch up and break through the fog and are attacked by the Zandalari turrets who were ready for them.

Talanji: We are home.

Press Event Recap

The expansion is heavily motivated by faction conflict. We do what we do for the Horde, or for the Alliance. First question you ask someone that plays WoW is "Alliance or Horde?"

After the events of Teldrassil and Lordaeron, we reach out to the two famous naval empires - Kul Tiras for the Alliance and Zandalari for the Horde.

As you quest on your faction's continent (Kul Tiras or Zandalar), you periodically visit the other continent as part of the War Campaign. This will tell the story of the Alliance and Horde conflict.

At 120, the entire world opens up as an end-game space, doubling the amount of space for end-game content.

Island Expeditions draws upon lessons learned past content like scenarios and keystone dungeons. This is replayable content for small groups.

Warfronts are about large-scale war on the homefront. The first one is set in Stormgarde, a key tactical location for both factions. They are heavily inspired by the RTS genre.

The Heart of Azeroth system is the successor to the Artifact system. As we explore the world, players level up amulets. This lets us power up several pieces of gear with customization options to suit different playstyles.

In the last five years, Blizzard has shifted their approach to storytelling. Each expansion used to be a distinct story. Now the stories flow together better between expansions. For example, Sargeras' attack at the end of Legion brought fought the Azerite that's so important in Battle for Azeroth.

The standard of storytelling has also increased due to lots of cinematics and cutscenes.

The Alliance and Horde intro scenarios were then recapped, which set the stage for us watching the Horde cinematic!

We then learned about Islands from Game Designer Jeremy Feasel and Producer Daniel Stahl.

The Collector's Edition items were revealed, as well as the release date for Battle for Azeroth! We've covered this information in several posts - Collector's Edition and Battle for Azeroth Release Date.

Island Expeditions Presentation

The goal of an Island Expedition is to gain Azerite. It used by the Alliance and Horde as a weapon of war. The Azerite on the Islands comes from crystals to treasure chests to rare spawns.

There is meant to be a sense of exploration - you are limited as to what you can see based on your visibility. You must explore the landscape to find more Azerite.

Unlike lots of spawning patterns in WoW, nothing in Island Expeditions in static. There are hundreds of locations with many things which can show up.

Events can also occur during Islands, such as randomly-spawning Azerite.

The hostile NPCs on the Islands are after the Azerite as well, such as the Naga and Elemental Lords.

You are also racing against the enemy faction, comprised of super-smart advanced NPCs. They have more abilities than you expect from a creature in WoW, and they can play their class well!

It's lots of fun creating the advanced NPCs and giving them distinctive personalities with backstories and wacky abilities.

These NPCs also have unique tactical elements--ranging from playing aggressively to very defensive.

You never know what NPCs you'll face when you queue up for an Island.

There are four Island difficulties - Normal, Heroic, Mythic...and PvP.

A lot of the creatures on the island are difficult to solo, but are killable using certain consumables and items found on the Island.

This is role-agnostic content, you don't need a tank or a healer.

Group Q&AWhat's new with PvP?account-wideWhen are Mag'har Orcs and Dark Iron Dwarves coming?What about Classic WoW?Sometimes it feels like Mythic fights are easy for the first eight minutes and then get extremely difficult - any thoughts?How is the variability of Islands constructed?Can we take the Undercity back?!Date for start of beta?How many islands?Will the advanced AI feel too much like PvP?Rough estimate on when pre-patch will be?Any changes for low-pop Oceanic servers?What's coming to help new players?What elements from the RTS was the design team excited to bring to WoW?More RAF Changes?Will there be something alerting your faction that a Warfront is going on?Sylvanas is evil! Can you say something to Horde players worried we could be getting a Warchief soon, similar to Mists?How do you travel from one continent to the other?Could a faction in theory win Warfronts repeatedly, so the other faction is locked out of the zone for six months?What is the timeline of control for Warfront?If Warfronts get really popular feedback, could we get Warcraft 4!?In terms of expansion pacing, is it similar to Legion?We haven't seen much of Heart of Azeroth on alpha - is this a launch feature, or something coming as staggered content? The datamined traits are pretty basic, will we get more interesting ones later on?What do you think of small raids like Trial of Valor?Could we end up recruiting old races as Allied Races, like the tuskaar?Key ArtPress ImagesConcept Art

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Comments

Comment by JolietJerry

Questions about Classic at an event specific to BfA should be flat out ignored. I wonder if these ppl also go into Taco Bell and attempt to order a Big Mac.

Comment by 1261445

Trial of Valor was the only good raid this expansion, and it being short definitely contributed to that. No one wants to be stuck on the 10th boss for weeks, and no one wants to spend hours doing a raid because 1/4th of the raid leaves every 3-4th boss.

Comment by Mystic0x

Woohoo!

Comment by Kheridan

You mean brought forth right?

If Warfronts get really popular feedback, could we get Warcraft 4!
Anything is popular! But this isn't a decision for the World of Warcraft team.

Anything is possible you mean?

Comment by 1631525

"Mag'har Orcs and Dark Iron Dwarf Allied Races will be available after completing the Battle for Azeroth War Campaign. "
Is that just to push people to race change instead of creating a new character? seriously why not put them in the pre-patch since they're not really new races? that way it would allow people to level up their new DI/orc before battle for azeroth actually starts , which would make way more sense to me

Comment by GilneanRaven

Attackers always win Warfronts? I'm not totally sure how I feel about that. I don't hate the idea, but it kind of removes tension, you know? I don't want the only question when entering a Warfront to be "How long is this going to take?" It makes it feel more like a chore than a battle.

Comment by AlakeiThancan

When are Mag'har Orcs and Dark Iron Dwarves coming?
They will be coming in the 8.0 patch, and available by playing through the War Campaign.

Kul Tiran and Zandalari are coming a bit later on, as they reflect the core story of these factions joining the Alliance or Horde.

Beyond that...there's lots of potential for more Allied Races, more to come, but nothing to talk about now.

Damn it ! It would have made so much sense to release them in april/May. Everything relating those races are already done, the models, the textures, the mounts, the tabards, the heritage armor ... The only thing missing is the Mag'har racial traits. Would have made sense story wise (getting the help of old allies BEFORE the war effort, not AFTER launching it ..), gameplay wise (releasing them in the middle of the content drought, so people keep subbed/don't get bored, also giving us time to level our alt before launch so we can actually get to the end game content right at launch) ...

Removed I just wanna have my Mag'har warrior now :(

I think you misunderstood. You're not sure to win a warfront if you go there. But you're certain your faction, at large, will win. Much like a raid. You might not clear the content, but canonically, the "heroes of Azeroth" always win.

You can definitely lose a warfront, but you know on the next reset you'll have control of the region back.(##RESPBREAK##)8##DELIM##Rankkor##DELIM##Don't bypass the profanity filter. Its there for a reason

Comment by Sp33dey

HYPE
I LOVE the new details on warfronts by the way! I hope they'll not only bring a world boss but a world quest hub as well :3

Comment by Sp33dey

I think you don't get it right. From what we've seen thanks to MrGM and the alpha exploit (they could play a very early version of warfronts) it'll be hard and you can lose. What Ion meant is that All Warfronts play out as YOU as the ATTACKER vs PvE Defenders.

Comment by comi

no one wants to spend hours doing a raid because 1/4th of the raid leaves every 3-4th boss.

I believe you're talking about pugs here... It would be better to join a raiding guild, pugs have always been like this.

Comment by Ellore

Wow. It would have been really great to see all that concept art in an artbook that should have come with the deluxe edition.

Comment by honorshammer

Kul Tiran and Zandalari are coming a bit later on, as they reflect the core story of these factions joining the Alliance or Horde.

As someone who is excited to play a Zandalari Druids, this is disappointing to here. It's almost like the flail for my Prot Paladin. I saw it in Beta and didn't have it in game for a year.

Comment by 68doc

no one wants to spend hours doing a raid because 1/4th of the raid leaves every 3-4th boss.

I believe you're talking about pugs here... It would be better to join a raiding guild, pugs have always been like this.

What comi said. If you think that's how it is all the time then you need to stop pugging, leave your guild if you're in one, and join a raiding guild. But if you "don't want to spend hours doing a raid" then maybe raiding current content isn't for you.

Comment by Dabraxus

ToV was a quicky raid and pretty boring. I for one like raids with more than 3-4 bosses bcs they provide me with more content/fun. But I raid in a guild and not in pugs.. Raiding (and M+ to an extend) is the reason why I play WoW. The bigger the raid, the better!

Comment by instig

but whichever faction is attacking wins. It should shift back and forth. When a resource bar is filled up, one faction can attack the Warfront and take it over.

I am extremely disappointed by this. Essentially, you are hiding world bosses and special content behind a frustrating 7 day time-gate between each faction. This is not the same as Wintergrasp or Tol'Barad - which I was expecting a variation. I was expecting each faction can fight to take the Warfront, by providing resources to increase their army that is attacking/defending and if their army wins, they unlock raids/world bosses, etc. . In Warfronts, thats not the case, its a deterministic event that you are guaranteed to win every 7 days if you reach X resources.

I really hope they make it a large scale region-wide PvP battle every 5/6 days like Wintergrasp, where the resources you obtain in those 7 days contribute to your chance of winning in the battle at the end of the week - but you still have to fight the Horde or Alliance in the castle and you are not guaranteed to win, and you have to destroy it and capture that city, just like in Wintergrasp.

Currently, Warfronts seem like a worse version of the Broken Shore towers - collect resources, return them. Put up tower, wait 7 days. Repeat. Instead, how awesome would it be if each resource you gain increases the number of siege tanks / siege vehicles attacking, increases the number elites or specialist units deployed in battle. Likewise for defending, imagine if gaining resources would increase the number of defending towers, improve the arrows to Rocks or Fire arrows, or increase the number of specialist units inside the city, then you and the region-wide Horde will have a region-wide PvP battle to defend the warfront against the region-wide Alliance with the resources and armies both factions have amassed. That would be a much cooler concept than it is currently. They could have made this so much more epic.

Comment by kleman96

Questions about Classic at an event specific to BfA should be flat out ignored. I wonder if these ppl also go into Taco Bell and attempt to order a Big Mac.

Haha yes! Nice one.

Comment by 1261445

They should release the Orcs and Dwarves before release and Trolls and Kul Tiran with release. They either won't have them ready by release, or they want people to pay for a race change after leveling.

Comment by Bloodvalor21

Questions about Classic at an event specific to BfA should be flat out ignored. I wonder if these ppl also go into Taco Bell and attempt to order a Big Mac.

I actually tried that once. Was pretty funny.

Comment by 1841794

Zandalari won't be unlocked till later in the expansion?

Oh boy here comes a s**t-storm from excited horde players

A wise man once said "Good things come to those that wait.", or maybe it's just an old ass Heinz commercial, either way it's a valid point.

Comment by Drex202

lmao, ToV best raid? hahahha April fools' was 4 days ago dude.

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