World of Warcraft: The War Within's next patch is bringing with it a little something for everyone, including a new, story-focused way to level characters and even recolored variants of the MMORPG's most iconic tier sets.
Blizzard detailed what all will be new in the 11.1.7 patch in a blog post, and it includes a new story campaign that will explore rising tensions between the Horde and Alliance in the Arathi Highlands with "branching viewpoints," according to Blizzard. While new main story campaign quests are expected, the patch has more than a few surprises in store, too.
One of them is a new way to level characters that sounds like a more story-driven version of Chromie Time. By speaking to Lorewalker Cho in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, or Dornogal starting in patch 11.1.7, players can complete three repeatable quest chains containing both old and new quests from previous expansions but that share a common story thread. One quest chain, for example, dives into the history of iconic Warcraft villain Arthas, where players will be able to battle through Strathholme during the culling before jumping to the game's Wrath of the Lich King expansion and stepping into the shoes of Arthas himself. Another questline dives into the history of current main villain Xal'atath, as players experience her origins in Legion, how she regained her physical form in Battle for Azeroth, and a past confrontation between her and the Old Gods.
Blizzard didn't elaborate much on the new Lorewalker Cho quests, but it seems a great way to keep new or returning players up to date on plot threads that are currently relevant, with Xal'atath's origins, and another quest chain involving the Ethereals, being perfect examples. Why Arthas and the Lich King are featured prominently with a questline despite having no real connection to The War Within's events is anyone's guess. Perhaps the Lich King still has some role to play, or more likely Blizzard simply knows Arthas is one of the game's most enduring characters. Presumably, max-level characters can also experience these quest chains for a lore refresher, though what rewards they might contain is currently unknown.
Another surprise is the introduction of Overcharged Delves, more dangerous versions of six specific Delves that will feature more traps and enemies, as well a new trait tree specific to these amped up versions of WoW's solo dungeons. Blizzard will additionally be adding Battle for Azeroth dungeons to the game's Timewalking lineup as part of the return of the Turbulent Timeways event, complete with a new Battle for Azeroth Timewalking vendor.
While it will be coming sometime after the patch's launch, Blizzard also detailed the return of its Diablo-themed Greedy Emissary event that sees players hunting down Treasure Goblins for rare loot. This time the loot will be even more desirable, as there will be a new mount and recolors of WoW's recently remastered tier 2 armor sets that players will definitely want to collect.
Patch 11.1.7 will additionally bring UI improvements in the form of the recently revealed Combat Assistant. This feature when enabled will mimic the behavior of popular rotation assistance add-ons by displaying which ability a player should use next for optimal damage, but goes a step further by including a single-button rotation option that will automatically cast abilities in sequence. It's just the latest way Blizzard is looking to bring add-on functionality into WoW's base UI, with its most recent patch introducing a Cooldown Manager meant to replace the popular WeakAuras add-on.
WoW: The War Within patch 11.1.7 doesn't have a release date yet but is now available for testing on the game's public test realm.
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Blizzard detailed what all will be new in the 11.1.7 patch in a blog post, and it includes a new story campaign that will explore rising tensions between the Horde and Alliance in the Arathi Highlands with "branching viewpoints," according to Blizzard. While new main story campaign quests are expected, the patch has more than a few surprises in store, too.
One of them is a new way to level characters that sounds like a more story-driven version of Chromie Time. By speaking to Lorewalker Cho in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, or Dornogal starting in patch 11.1.7, players can complete three repeatable quest chains containing both old and new quests from previous expansions but that share a common story thread. One quest chain, for example, dives into the history of iconic Warcraft villain Arthas, where players will be able to battle through Strathholme during the culling before jumping to the game's Wrath of the Lich King expansion and stepping into the shoes of Arthas himself. Another questline dives into the history of current main villain Xal'atath, as players experience her origins in Legion, how she regained her physical form in Battle for Azeroth, and a past confrontation between her and the Old Gods.
Blizzard didn't elaborate much on the new Lorewalker Cho quests, but it seems a great way to keep new or returning players up to date on plot threads that are currently relevant, with Xal'atath's origins, and another quest chain involving the Ethereals, being perfect examples. Why Arthas and the Lich King are featured prominently with a questline despite having no real connection to The War Within's events is anyone's guess. Perhaps the Lich King still has some role to play, or more likely Blizzard simply knows Arthas is one of the game's most enduring characters. Presumably, max-level characters can also experience these quest chains for a lore refresher, though what rewards they might contain is currently unknown.
Another surprise is the introduction of Overcharged Delves, more dangerous versions of six specific Delves that will feature more traps and enemies, as well a new trait tree specific to these amped up versions of WoW's solo dungeons. Blizzard will additionally be adding Battle for Azeroth dungeons to the game's Timewalking lineup as part of the return of the Turbulent Timeways event, complete with a new Battle for Azeroth Timewalking vendor.
While it will be coming sometime after the patch's launch, Blizzard also detailed the return of its Diablo-themed Greedy Emissary event that sees players hunting down Treasure Goblins for rare loot. This time the loot will be even more desirable, as there will be a new mount and recolors of WoW's recently remastered tier 2 armor sets that players will definitely want to collect.
Patch 11.1.7 will additionally bring UI improvements in the form of the recently revealed Combat Assistant. This feature when enabled will mimic the behavior of popular rotation assistance add-ons by displaying which ability a player should use next for optimal damage, but goes a step further by including a single-button rotation option that will automatically cast abilities in sequence. It's just the latest way Blizzard is looking to bring add-on functionality into WoW's base UI, with its most recent patch introducing a Cooldown Manager meant to replace the popular WeakAuras add-on.
WoW: The War Within patch 11.1.7 doesn't have a release date yet but is now available for testing on the game's public test realm.
Source