We are just a week away from the release of World of Warcraft’s sixth expansion, entitled Legion. In this preview we will take a look at some of key features of Legion and what Blizzard has planned for this massive expansion.
Following the events of the fifth expansion Warlords of Draenor, which took players to an alternate timeline in the story, we are returned to our own universe, but now the heroes of Azeroth will face possibly the biggest threat to their existence. The Burning Legion, a vast army of demons, has initiated the third invasion and seeks to raise their fallen master Sargeras and bring about the end of all life on Azeroth. Heroes will be sent to the mysterious Broken Isles, the centre of an ancient elven civilization and the location of the Tomb of Sargeras. Along the way, they will make use of powerful artifacts and forge alliances with unlikely allies, all in the hopes of putting an end to the Legion’s plans.
Now, on to some of the features Blizzard has jammed into Legion:
Artifact Weapons
Upon beginning their adventure in the Broken Isles, players will be tasked with recovering a weapon of great power tied to their class and specialization. These are called artifact weapons and there are 36 in total, one for each class and spec. Players will recognize most of the weapons available to them if they’re familiar with the lore of Warcraft. Among the weapons that players can obtain include the Scythe of Elune, a powerful druid staff that ties in with the origin of the Worgen, and Ashbringer, the legendary holy sword used to smite the undead and reduce them to nothing but ash. Once players have reached level cap (110), they will be able to upgrade their artifact weapon, which is tied in with world and dungeon content. These include various different models for the weapons.
Broken Isles
Every expansion of WoW has lead players to exciting areas in the Warcraft universe, and Legion is no different. Players will now have the opportunity to experience the Broken Isles, an area tied heavily to the lore of Warcraft. Long ago, the world of Azeroth was one giant continent known as Kalimdor. At the end of the War of the Ancients, Queen Azshara, the ruler over the Night Elves at the time, created a portal for Sargeras at the sight of the Night Elves source of power, the Well of Eternity. However, things went astray and the spell created an unstable vortex within the Well which violently exploded. The result shaped the world of Azeroth into what it is today. The Broken Isles are one of the results, and contain some of the most interesting pieces of WoW’s story, including the Tomb of Sargeras, the remnants of the Temple of Elune which houses the Avatar of Sargeras (a piece of his spirit), and the ancient Night Elven city region of Suramar.
Demon Hunters
Legion will also introduce to the playerbase a brand-new class for them to play: the Demon Hunter. It is the second hero class introduced to the game (the first being the Death Knight) and will therefore start at a higher level than other classes. Demon Hunters start at level 98 and players must have at least one level 70 character on their Demon Hunter’s starting realm. For players that pre-ordered Legion, they already have access to the Demon Hunter and can go through their starting zone and bring it out into the current world. On the lore side, Demon Hunters can both be Night Elves or Blood Elves, and follow in the footsteps of Illidan Stormrage, the first and most famous Demon Hunter. There are only two specializations available for the class, where other classes have at least three. The specs are: Vengeance, the tank spec, and Havoc, the damage dealing spec. Demon Hunters are distrusted through many cultures in the Warcraft universe and become outcasts to society. Many do not understand the sacrifice they make to devout their lives to taking down the Legion and view them as dangerous creatures who delve into dark powers.
Class Halls
Also known as Order Halls, these are class-based areas where players will be able to hangout, recruit class-specific followers and send them on missions. In Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard introduced Garrisons, which Order Halls are directly inspired by. Garrisons gave each player their own area that they could add profession buildings, recruit NPC followers and send them out on missions that will earn the player different rewards. Order Halls will work as a base of operations and be class specific. You will be able to see other players in the hall, but only those who are the same class as the player. Players will be able to upgrade their Artifact weapons here and start quests through the NPCs and the Scouting Map. The followers players can recruit will be major characters from the lore of Warcraft, such as The Four Horsemen for Death Knights.
Legion will be releasing on August 30, and currently a pre-expansion event has been going on in-game where the Burning Legion has been invading specific areas of the world and players can head to the invasion sites to defend it and drive back the demons. Check back soon for CGM’s review of the expansion.
