World of Warcraft: The War Within Pre-Expansion and Patch 11.0 Release Date Confirmed

After months of speculation, Blizzard Entertainment has announced on its social media platforms that the tenth pre-expansion content of its long-running MMORPG, World of Warcraft: The War Within, is coming on July 23rd in less than two weeks.

The War Within Pre-Expansion update arrives July 23, with Warbands, class changes, and more! pic.twitter.com/VeqWjUaWsd

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) July 11, 2024

The War Within is the first chapter of a trilogy called The Worldsoul Saga, and players can expect to traverse new zones, dungeons, raids, and gameplay mechanics, all while continuing the rich narrative that WoW is known for.

Besides announcing the pre-expansion date for The War Within, Blizzard also announced an event called: “Radiant Echoes”, which will start a week on July 30th, lasting until the expansion’s official launch on August 26th.

What Can We Expect in Patch 11.0 and The War Within Pre-Expansion?

Firstly, players can expect The War Within expansion to introduce new features, such as the account-focused Warband system and Hero Talents for each class. The Warband system is one of the main highlights in Patch 11.0 as it will give characters a new account-wide bank to transfer items and gold more efficiently and allow for shared reputation point gains to make gearing up much faster.

Moreover, The War Within will introduce the game’s 25th playable race, the Earthen and bring class balance changes and new user interface elements for players to familiarise themselves with. As for the Radiant Echoes event, players can expect bosses from characters from World of Warcraft’s lore throughout Dragonblight, Dustwallow Marsh, and Searing Gorge.

Players must be level 70 to receive the quest pushed to them, which will direct them to visit Dalaran to start, and the event occurs in four stages and cycles between the three zones. Players participating in the event will receive a currency called Residual Memories, which you can trade to merchants in Dalaran, Dragonblight, Dustwallow Marsh, and Searing Gorge for mounts, bags, and companion pets.

Lastly, the event will last until August 26th, the day of the official launch of The War Within. However, for players who have pre-ordered the Epic Edition of the expansion, you can early access the expansion on the 22nd.

Related: Shocking News for Xbox Game Pass Gamers: Activision Blizzard Games Delayed until 2024, Says Xbox Chief

The War Within Alpha Preview

In April, Blizzard Entertainment released The War Within Alpha for players to trail, and the reception is good but not ground-breaking, unlike the highly-rated Elden Ring’s DLC expansion. Firstly, the Alpha brought players to the Isle of Dorn, a greenish island with mountains, caves, lush forests and dwarven architecture. It is also the starting area which acts as an introduction to the land of Khaz Algar. 

As for the plot, the first region was a fast-paced story centred around chasing some dwarf factions to build a council together and fight a familiar Warcraftian race of evil bug people. Other than that, there were also two dungeons players can explore: “The Rooker” and “Cinderbrew Meadery”.

Besides the new dungeons, there was also a new feature called Delves, where you and up to four other companions, aided by an NPC, can do a mini-dungeon focused on collecting treasure. It is a relaxing, solo exploration-focused content players can tune into when it officially launches.

Lastly, there was the Hero Talent feature, an enhanced level system where you, me or working adults won’t need to grind for artifact power, corruption dice rolls and Soul Ash anymore.

Closing Notes

With everything considered, The War Within expansion is Blizzard’s attempt to beckon the children of Azeroth home with the idea of tempting older players willing to return. In the words of associate design director Maria Hamilton, “We recognize that people might not play for an expansion. People get very busy with work or life and leave for a while.

“But they often want to return; their friends and community are here, or maybe there’s a certain nostalgia value. And, of course, we would love them to because this is a great time to return to World of Warcraft.”

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