Summary
Plunderstorm has returned to World of Warcraft, bringing exciting new features and rewards! This pirate-themed battle royale mode features respawning enemies, fast travel horses, and helpful zone threat indicators on the map. Players can also collect powerful new offensive and utility spells, such as Aura of Zealotry and Void Tear.
Plunderstorm, the popular 60-player pirate battle royale in the Arathi Highlands, is back in World of Warcraft! While an official end date hasn't been announced, players can expect to enjoy this thrilling PvP mode for at least a month. Initially slated for January 14th, a brief delay preceded its launch, offering players a highly anticipated return while awaiting Patch 11.1.
This iteration of Plunderstorm boasts significant improvements. The battlefield features revamped points of interest and mobs; non-elite enemies now respawn, providing a continuous supply of loot. Fast travel horses are scattered across the map, enabling quicker traversal and access to chests, elites, and opponents. The in-game map now displays zone threat levels based on combat frequency, and players can even select their starting deployment zone.
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 with new and returning rewards
- Game mode access while on World of Warcraft: The War Within characters
- New abilities:
- Offensive:
- Aura of Zealotry – Passively increases allied movement speed. Casting consecrates the ground, periodically damaging enemies. Consecration grants enhanced movement speed and melee attack power.
- Celestial Barrage – Summons a barrage of moonbeams, damaging enemies. This spell can be empowered for increased range.
- Utility:
- Call Galefeather – Summons Galefeather to knock back enemies with powerful winds.
- Void Tear – Creates a Void mark. Recasting instantly teleports the player to the mark, damaging and slowing enemies. Recasting is instantaneous during any spell cast.
- Offensive:
- Ability balance changes:
- Earthbreaker – Cooldown reduced by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Slicing Winds – Cooldown increased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Star Bomb – Cooldown reduced by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Storm Archon – Cooldown reduced by 2 seconds at all ranks.
- Toxic Smackerel – Cooldown increased by 1.5 seconds at all ranks.
Several new spells are available for collection and upgrade. Aura of Zealotry offers passive speed buffs and a consecrated area for damage and allied buffs. Celestial Barrage is a powerful, chargeable line attack. Utility spells include Call Galefeather, summoning an eagle to knock back enemies, and Void Tear, a teleport ability that damages and slows enemies. Existing spell cooldowns have been adjusted, and a new UI facilitates ability selection.
A new Practice Lobby allows players to experiment with abilities, adjust keybindings and transmogs, and socialize. Players can queue for games or access the Plunderstore (where Plunderstorm rewards are obtained) from the Practice Lobby, login screen, or the in-game PvP interface while playing retail WoW.
Notably, the three-person Trios mode is absent from this iteration. The reason for its omission remains unclear, but hopefully, Blizzard will reinstate it before Plunderstorm's next departure.
