Plunderstorm Returns to World of Warcraft with Enhanced Features and Rewards
Plunderstorm, World of Warcraft's pirate-themed battle royale, has returned, bringing with it a host of new features and quality-of-life improvements. While the end date remains unannounced, players can anticipate at least a month of high-seas plunder. The event, initially slated for January 14th, launched shortly after a minor delay.
This iteration of Plunderstorm boasts significant enhancements. The Arathi Highlands battlefield features revamped points of interest and respawning non-elite enemies, ensuring a constant supply of loot. Fast travel horses offer quicker traversal across the map, aiding in the search for chests, elite enemies, and opponents. A new map overlay displays zone threat levels based on combat frequency, and players can now select their starting deployment zone.
New Plunderstorm Features:
- Revamped points of interest
- Respawning non-elite enemies
- Fast travel horses
- Zone threat level indicators on the map
- Selectable deployment zones
- Practice Lobby
- Plunderstore with new and returning rewards
- Access while playing World of Warcraft: The War Within characters
- New abilities:
- Offensive: Aura of Zealotry (passive speed buff, consecrated ground AoE damage), Celestial Barrage (long-range, chargeable attack)
- Utility: Call Galefeather (knockback), Void Tear (teleport, damage, slow)
- Ability balance adjustments (Earthbreaker cooldown reduced, Slicing Winds cooldown increased, etc.)
A notable addition is the Plunderstorm Practice Lobby. This allows players to experiment with abilities, adjust keybindings, customize appearances, and socialize. Players can access the Plunderstore (for obtaining rewards), queue for matches, or access the lobby from the Practice Lobby, login screen, or the retail WoW PvP interface.
The absence of the three-person Trios mode is a curious omission. While the reason for its exclusion remains unclear, fans hope Blizzard will reinstate it before Plunderstorm's departure.
