New Plunderstorm Abilities Unveiled in World of Warcraft

Plunderstorm has made an exciting return to World of Warcraft, offering players a fresh array of features and rewards to dive into. This pirate-themed battle royale, where 60 players vie for supremacy in the Arathi Highlands, is back with a bang after a brief delay, and it's set to keep fans engaged for at least a month.

The second run of Plunderstorm introduces several enhancements to the gameplay experience. The battlefield now boasts new points of interest and mobs, with non-elite enemies respawning periodically to provide continuous opportunities for plunder. To navigate the expansive terrain more swiftly, players can now harness the power of horses scattered across the map. Additionally, the in-game map now features zone threat indicators, highlighting areas where battles are most likely to occur, and players can even select their preferred drop zones at the start of each match.

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 featuring new and returning rewards
• Game mode access while on World of Warcraft: The War Within characters
• New abilities:
  • Offensive
    • Aura of Zealotry – Passively increase movement speed for your allies. Cast to consecrate the ground, damaging enemies periodically. While in consecration, gain enhanced movement speed and melee attacks.
    • Celestial Barrage – Call down a barrage of moonbeams, damaging enemies. This spell can be empowered to greatly increase its range.
  • Utility
    • Call Galefeather – Call forth Galefeather to knock enemies back with heavy winds for a short duration.
    • Void Tear – Tear into the Void, placing a Void mark. Recast Void Tear to instantly return to the mark, damaging and slowing enemies. The recast can be performed instantly while casting any spell without interruption.
• Ability balance changes
  • Earthbreaker – Cooldown decreased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
  • Slicing Winds – Cooldown increased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
  • Star Bomb – Cooldown decreased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
  • Storm Archon – Cooldown decreased by 2 seconds at all ranks.
  • Toxic Smackerel – Cooldown increased by 1.5 seconds at all ranks.

Players can now collect and upgrade a variety of new spells in Plunderstorm. Offensive spells like Aura of Zealotry and Celestial Barrage offer powerful combat options, while utility spells such as Call Galefeather and Void Tear provide strategic advantages. Additionally, adjustments to existing spell cooldowns and a new UI for ability management keep the gameplay dynamic and engaging.

A new Plunderstorm Practice Lobby has been introduced, allowing players to experiment with abilities, adjust keybindings, and socialize. From the Practice Lobby, players can queue for games or access the Plunderstore, where they can acquire new and returning rewards. This feature is also accessible from the login screen and within retail WoW via the PvP interface.

Notably, the three-person Trios mode is absent from this iteration of Plunderstorm. While the reasons for this omission remain unclear, fans are hopeful that Blizzard will consider reintroducing it before the event concludes.