Pirates make everything better, so if Blizzard's announcement that World of Warcraft now has a standalone Battle Royale mode isn't enough to get your feet tapping with excitement, then how about this? It's called Plunderstorm and it's about pirate loot.
Plunderstorm arrives alongside World of Warcraft's 10.2.6 content update as a limited-time event accessible over the “next few weeks.” Up to 60 players can participate, either playing alone or in a duo with a friend, traversing the Arathi Highlands to locate skills, upgrades and loot in an attempt to be the last pirate standing in each 10-15 minute match. .
“Discover spells, abilities, and upgrades that you can loot as you loot treasure chests and defeat enemies,” Blizzard explains in its announcement post. “When picked up, spells and abilities are automatically added to your action bar, with two slots dedicated to offensive abilities and two for utilities such as jumps, speed boosts, and crowd control. Some abilities are more action-based and require a good positioning and selection of players”.
Plunderstorm Launch Trailer | world of warcraftAnd if that sounds familiar to you, fans have noticed that Plunderstorm looks a lot like the now-defunct magic-based battle royale game Spellbreak from developer Proletariat, a studio Blizzard acquired in 2022 to work on World of Warcraft.
By progressing through Plunderstorm's reward tracks, it is possible to unlock the Plunderlord parrot mount, Bubbles crab pet, swashbuckling cosmetics, 750 Trader's Tender from “Keg Leg's Crew” to use at the trading post, and more. Rewards, once earned, can be used in both World of Warcraft Modern and Classic.
Plunderstorm's standalone mode is accessed through the World of Warcraft game menu and players must create a new character in order to participate. No expansions are required, but a WoW subscription is required to play.
Next up for World of Warcraft is its new expansion The War Within, which will kick-start the game's multi-part Worldsoul saga when it launches later this year. Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen revealed The War Within during BlizzCon 2023, as part of a big announcement that also included details about the two subsequent WoW expansions: Midnight and The Last Titan.
