Plunderstorm has triumphantly returned to World of Warcraft, delighting fans with a host of new features and enticing rewards. This pirate-themed battle royale mode, where 60 players drop into the Arathi Highlands to vie for supremacy and loot, has been enhanced with several exciting updates. Originally set to return on January 14 after a brief delay, Plunderstorm is now live and expected to captivate players for at least a month, even as they eagerly await Patch 11.1.
This iteration of Plunderstorm brings a revamped battlefield complete with new points of interest and mobs. A notable change is that all non-elite enemies now respawn after a short period, ensuring a continuous supply of plunder until the Storm engulfs them. To help players navigate the battlefield more efficiently, horses now spawn across the map, allowing for quick travel to chests, elites, and opponents. Additionally, the in-game map now features zone threat indicators, showing the frequency of fights in different areas, and players can even choose their initial deployment zone at the start of a game.
New World of Warcraft: Plunderstorm Features
- New points of interest
- Respawning non-elite enemies
- Fast travel horses
- Zone threat indicators on the map
- Selectable deployment zones
- Practice Lobby
- Plunderstore featuring new and returning rewards
- Game mode access while on World of Warcraft: The War Within characters
- New abilities:
- Offensive
- Aura of Zealotry – Passively increase movement speed for your allies. Cast to consecrate the ground, damaging enemies periodically. While in consecration, gain enhanced movement speed and melee attacks.
- Celestial Barrage – Call down a barrage of moonbeams, damaging enemies. This spell can be empowered to greatly increase its range.
- Utility
- Call Galefeather – Call forth Galefeather to knock enemies back with heavy winds for a short duration.
- Void Tear – Tear into the Void, placing a Void mark. Recast Void Tear to instantly return to the mark, damaging and slowing enemies. The recast can be performed instantly while casting any spell without interruption.
- Offensive
- Ability balance changes
- Earthbreaker – Cooldown decreased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Slicing Winds – Cooldown increased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Star Bomb – Cooldown decreased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Storm Archon – Cooldown decreased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Toxic Smackerel – Cooldown increased by 1.5 seconds at all ranks.
Players can now collect and upgrade various spells in Plunderstorm. For offensive strategies, Aura of Zealotry offers a passive speed boost to the character and their team, enabling them to cast Consecrate for area damage and ally buffs. Celestial Barrage, on the other hand, is a long, chargeable line attack perfect for dealing significant damage. On the utility front, Call Galefeather allows players to summon an eagle to knock back enemies, while Void Tear provides a strategic teleport option that damages and slows foes. To keep gameplay fresh, cooldowns for existing spells like Earthbreaker, Slicing Winds, Star Bomb, Storm Archon, and Toxic Smackerel have been adjusted, and a new UI assists in swapping and picking up abilities.
A new Plunderstorm Practice Lobby has been introduced, where players can experiment with abilities, adjust keybindings and transmogs, and socialize. From the Practice Lobby, players can queue for games or access the Plunderstore, the hub for obtaining Plunderstorm rewards. This store is accessible from the Practice Lobby, the login screen, and even within retail World of Warcraft via the PvP interface.
One noticeable absence in this version of Plunderstorm is the three-person Trios mode. While it's unclear why Blizzard chose to remove it, fans are hopeful that it will be reintroduced before Plunderstorm sets sail again.
