It’s a pirate’s life for me.
The mysterious patch 10.2.6 is now revealed and it's.... Not what I think anyone expected? That is, unless you've been saying for five years that World of Warcraft was going to eventually enter the battle royale business. Good news for that one annoying guy in every guild then, as WoW Plunderstorm was unveiled today. The 60 player battle royale, 10-15 minute mode launches today and, according to Blizz, offers "excellent rewards for Modern and Classic progression realms."
Players will drop down into a pirate-themed paradise, level up, gain spells, slay enemies, and grab big bags of booty in the process. Let's look at everything we know about WoW Plunderstorm ahead of its launch later today.
WoW Plunderstorm: Booty first
Taking place in the Arathi Highlands, WoW Plunderstorm is a mode accessed outside of the game game. You'll load up World of Warcraft, then select Plunderstorm from the main menu. Likewise, created character remain unique to WoW Plunderstorm. From there, you'll select to play in either a Solo or Duo team, much like other battle royale games.
From there, you'll crash land into the highlands via your mount and go about leveling up. According to Blizzard, you will "discover lootable spells, abilities, and upgrades as you plunder treasure chests and defeat enemies. Upon picking up, spells and abilities are automatically added to your Action Bar, with two slots dedicated to offensive skills and two for utilities such as leaps, speed boosts, and crowd-control."
Spells rank up to a max of level three, with treasure chests holding the path to mastery. But, let's be honest: I've talked for almost 300 words and haven't mentioned the rewards for doing this potentially forgotten-about mode. So, let's get to that, yeah?
WoW Plunderstorm rewards
Thus far, Blizzard is tight-lipped about what to expect from WoW Plunderstorm and its plunder. "Players can earn cosmetics, pets, titles, and mounts as they progress through the reward track. This includes a majestic Plunderlord parrot mount, Bubbles the crab pet, swashbuckling cosmetics, and more."
Will the mode stick with fans? Honestly, I'm conflicted. I love that Blizzard is trying something new, but battle royale modes feel so very five years ago. Whether or not players will hang around depends entirely on how often Plunderstorm gets new rewards and updates. Otherwise, we're just looking at something quickly ignored. Remember when Fallout 76 got a battle royale mode?
Yeah, me either. See for yourself when WoW Plunderstorm goes live today.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for esports news and WoW information.