World of Warcraft Shows Off New Plunderstorm Abilities and Features

Summary

Plunderstorm returns to World of Warcraft, bringing exciting new features and rewards! Expect respawning enemies, fast travel horses, and helpful zone threat indicators on the map. Players can now collect powerful offensive and utility spells like Aura of Zealotry and Void Tear, adding strategic depth to the gameplay.

Plunderstorm has officially returned to World of Warcraft, bringing its pirate-themed battle royale action back to players. While an official end date hasn't been announced, fans can likely enjoy this popular game mode for at least a month. World of Warcraft announced Plunderstorm's return on January 14th, the pirate-themed battle royale where 60 players fight for supremacy and loot in the Arathi Highlands. Following a short delay, it's now live, offering a thrilling PvP experience while players await Patch 11.1.

This iteration of Plunderstorm boasts significant improvements. The battlefield features revamped points of interest and mobs; all non-elite enemies respawn, providing a constant stream of plunder until the Storm claims them. Horses offer fast travel across the map, aiding in locating chests, elites, and opponents. The map now displays zone threat levels based on combat frequency, and players can even choose 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. The recast is instantaneous while casting any spell.
• 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 enhance this Plunderstorm experience. Aura of Zealotry passively buffs movement speed and allows consecration for area damage and allied buffs. Celestial Barrage is a powerful, chargeable line attack. Utility spells include Call Galefeather, summoning an eagle for crowd control, and Void Tear, enabling teleportation with damage and slowing effects. Existing spell cooldowns have been adjusted, and a new UI simplifies ability selection.

A new Practice Lobby lets players 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 even within retail WoW via the PvP interface.

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.