This site makes extensive use of JavaScript.
Please
enable JavaScript
in your browser.
Live
PTR
Beta
Classic
Blizzard
82
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 were invited to attend a special Battle for Azeroth media event earlier this week at Blizzard HQ. At this event, we learned many new things about the expansion such as the timeframe for Dark Iron Dwarves and Mag'har Orc Allied Races. We even got a sneak preview at a Horde cinematic featuring Talanji, Rezan, and Zul.
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 Cinematic
We were given a sneak peak at a Horde cinematic. This cinematic plays after you rescue Zul and Talanji from the Stormwind Stockades.
We 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 first part of the event recapped the core features and story of the expansion.
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&A
After the presentation, Ion held a group interview with those in attendance. The Wowhead team specifically asked about the Mag'har Orcs/Dark Iron Dwarves, the timeframe for the prepatch, and if Heart of Azeroth would be a launch feature or one staggered later as we'd not seen much of it during the Alpha. Ion's reply was to announce that Heart of Azeroth was dropping during a build later today, and he found the timing funny for the Wowhead team!
What's new with PvP?
There is a new World PvP system, War Mode, where players can toggle PvP on or off during a capital city - on any server. Those that go out in the world with PvP mode enabled will reap extra rewards such as additional experience or Azerite Power. With people opting in to the War Mode experience, Blizzard can now create World PvP around those interested in it. All those who queue up for War Mode will be on one server shard, and those who do not will be on another.
The PvP gear system is also revamped, so players are not reliant on random strongboxes. The Conquest Points system is returning in the form of a bar you fill up to earn a piece of armor each week. When you're finished with a set, you can move on to acquiring a higher tier of armor. There are ways to skip ahead, if you are a Gladiator-type player, to shoot for the top gear.
There are changes to the Honor and Prestige system. Honor levels will increase in an open-ended way like Overwatch, and it will be
account-wide
. This will reflect how much PvP you've done. The Prestige rewards will be available going forward.
Honor Talents are tied to player level, not Honor Level. Any max-level player has access to the Honor Talents.
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.
What about Classic WoW?
Job openings were open on Blizzard's site and now they are closed - so draw your conclusions. Focus of today's event is BFA.
Sometimes it feels like Mythic fights are easy for the first eight minutes and then get extremely difficult - any thoughts?
This is a bit of a balancing act, as the final phase should be the point of greatest tension in a boss fight, but the first part shouldn't feel too boring. Gul'dan was cited as an example of balancing difficulty well throughout the encounter. Ideally there will not be difficulty extremes during a fight.
How is the variability of Islands constructed?
Island terrain is made by level designers and artists. As terms of what spawns there, it is governed by the AI system determining what should spawn at different points. Another system that adds variability is the new intelligence system so mobs don't predictably just want to punch you in the face.
Can we take the Undercity back?!
There's story to be told for sure! We will be revisiting key locations in the Old World, and those battles will have ramifications in the outdoor world, such as which faction controls Arathi.
Ion clarified that this is not a PvP expansion. The core content and new systems is same player vs environment - the backbone of WoW. This is the first time though that the enemy faction is coming into the forefront of the plot.
Date for start of beta?
Not yet, but soon. The alpha is laster longer than usual - at this point in Warlords or Mists, Blizzard would have moved to beta at this point. Beta is now reserved when all content is available (at the time of the event, Vol'dun was not yet open).
How many islands?
Looking at 6-7 at first with many combinations of enemies. There are currently six enemy groups you can encounter per faction.
Will the advanced AI feel too much like PvP?
Fighting the AIs should not have the stressful element of fighting a player on the other end. If players are anxious due to the nature of the AI gameplay, their aggressiveness can be toned down through easier difficulty levels. If you want to avoid confrontation, you can have that experience on easier difficulty levels.
Rough estimate on when pre-patch will be?
Historically, a few weeks before the expansion. In the past, it's generally been 4-6 weeks before. Ion is just speculating here.
Any changes for low-pop Oceanic servers?
New round of realm connections on the way. Some of the server changes back in Warlords made some parts of realm connections difficult, which is something Blizzard is trying to improve. War Mode will open up more possibilities for players to interact with more than just their low-pop realm.
What's coming to help new players?
Patch 7.3.5 added a lot of things for new players, such as the revamped leveling experience. Battle for Azeroth also comes with a boost so you can jump into the action.
What elements from the RTS was the design team excited to bring to WoW?
Base building felt pretty huge - building iconic Warcraft buildings. This came with natural challenges - as single RTS player, you get to make all the challenges. When you have a group of 20 players, things are more challenging so everyone in the group has agency. Each player in the group can decide where their resources go to. The tech tree is based on Warcraft III which constrains and guides your choices a bit.
More RAF Changes?
Nothing to announce now, but looking at it. The system received some changes in 7.3.5 because people were leveling too quickly and not processing the world around them.
Will there be something alerting your faction that a Warfront is going on?
The system is one of global contribution - similar to contributing resources on the Broken Shore for buidlings. When your faction has enough resources, you can launch the assault. The team that wins controls the base and accesses special outdoor content, while the losing faction then works on collecting resources.
Sylvanas is evil! Can you say something to Horde players worried we could be getting a Warchief soon, similar to Mists?
Sylvanas has always been aggressive, she's never been a pacifist. There is war going on, but she is the Warchief and is trusted and followed. As we saw on the battlefield of Lordaeron, there is a great deal of inspiration around her.
How do you travel from one continent to the other?
At max level players move between continents frequently. Both faction capitals have war hubs which include ships that take you to the other continent.
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.
Could a faction in theory win Warfronts repeatedly, so the other faction is locked out of the zone for six months?
Small spoiler, 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.
Example: Arathi held by Alliance > Horde donate materials to War Effort > Horde Warfront begins when resource bar is full > Horde players get rewards for completing Warfront > Horde control Arathi and can't donate resources > Horde go to outdoor world and fight world boss > Alliance donate materials to War Effort > Alliance do Warfront > etc
All of North America or Europe will be on the same Warfronts cycle. More Warfronts will open up through Battle for Azeroth.
What is the timeline of control for Warfront?
About a week. Long enough so you don't feel you're likely to miss it if you go out of town for a few days.
If Warfronts get really popular feedback, could we get Warcraft 4!?
Anything is possible! But this isn't a decision for the World of Warcraft team.
In terms of expansion pacing, is it similar to Legion?
Blizzard is pretty happy with the pacing of Legion. In retrospect, Karazhan might have been a little too soon. But decoupling the release of content from patches has been great. Legion is a template for Battle for Azeroth.
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?
"So, I'm sure this will be delightful news for you because you're here today. The alpha push coming later today will have the Heart of Azeroth!"
The complexity of traits will increase as players start getting gear from challenging sources like raids. Azerite armor in general should allow customization in your gameplay and rotation. With artifacts, players eventually ended up with all traits which wasn't much fun for decisions. With legendaries, it was frustrating when you wanted a powerful one and didn't have it for months.
What do you think of small raids like Trial of Valor?
Blizzard isn't opposed to small raids, especially if they tie into small unfinished story lines.
Could we end up recruiting old races as Allied Races, like the tuskaar?
Arguably Dark Iron Dwarves feel like a throwback. It comes down to what makes sense storywise. Nothing is off-limits.
Key Art
Press Images
Concept Art
Get Wowhead Premium
As little as
less than $1 a month
to enjoy an ad-free experience, unlock premium features, and support the site!
Related Articles
Returning to Azeroth: A Quick Guide to Using Your Heart of Azeroth and Applying Essences
16 Comments
Battle For Azeroth Community Tool Spotlight: Exorsus Raid Tools
6 Comments
Obtaining the Flightmaster's Whistle in Battle for Azeroth
33 Comments
Battle for Azeroth Collector's Edition Unboxing and Digital Deluxe Giveaway
1931 Comments
Battle for Azeroth - Prepare for War Videos
55 Comments
Call to Arms Feature - Create Pictures With Your Characters
87 Comments
Comments
Sign In to Post a Comment
82 Comments
« First
‹ Prev
1
...
3
4
5
Comment by
ikechi
on 2018-06-09T18:01:45-05:00
At 120, the entire world opens up as an end-game space, doubling the amount of space for end-game content.
Does this include oldworld, Outland, Northrend etc?
And, does it include zones such as... well, Molten Core or Blackwing Lair?
Could a faction in theory win Warfronts repeatedly, so the other faction is locked out of the zone for six months?
Visions of Wintergrasp... the only BG always dominated by the Alliance...
« First
‹ Prev
1
...
3
4
5
Post a Comment
Please
log in
to add your comment, or
register
if you don't already have an account.
« Next Post
Previous Post »
© 2021 Fanbyte
Comments
Sign In to Post a Comment 82 Comments