World of Warcraft is getting its next big expansion in the form of Legion, announced not to long ago at Gamescom 2015.
It’s going to be set on The Broken Isles, which is itself a new and expansive continent that comprises of several small islands and peninsulas.
The news is still relatively fresh, but Blizzard entertainment has ensured that news of key features of this expansion, along with the basic lore, are known to every World of Warcraft enthusiast out there.
We’ll take a look at everything that is currently known about the massive expansion so far.
Lore and History
So what makes The Broken Isles so significant? Well, much like on Earth, there was once a super continent called Kalimdor that comprised of every continent and tiny island we currently see in World of Warcraft.
During the War of the Ancients, this super-continent broke up into multiple pieces, which later on came to be known as Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Northrend and Pandaria.
However, earlier on, Queen Azshara (Queen of nightelves) created a portal for Sargeras (lord of the burning legion) in the well of eternity, which caused what is known as the great Sundering.
This cataclysmic event completely changed the geological landscape of super continent Kalimdor forcing the lands to break away from center and sink some smaller portions (Broken Isles) into the sea.
The betrayer of orcs, Gul’dan, raised the Broken Isles from the bottom of the sea to search for the Eye of Sargeras in the revered Tomb of Sargeras located on this continent. Now, it sits at the heart of Azeroth, with plenty of ancient Elven Ruins.
The Continent Itself
The continent of Broken Isles comprises of small islands, namely The Broken Shore, Suramar, Stormhein, Highmountian, Val’sharan, and Azsuna. In addition to these, there will also be the iconic capital city of Dalaran, which floats about independent from the six islands.
The Broken Shore will act as the invasion startup area, and all six islands are home to different creatures.
Your Role in The Broken Isles
During the Warlords of Draenor expansion, the players were sent to the Hellfire Citadel to defeat Gul’dan in an alternate timeline.
Gul’dan spawns the Eredar Lord Archimonde, who after being defeated sends Gul’dan to the original Azeroth timeline, where he resides in The Broken Isles, attempting to bring the Burning Legion onto Azeroth for ultimate destruction.
The Tomb of Sargeras is a gateway to endless Legion worlds, and it is up to you to find the Pillars of Creations scattered around the Broken Isles in order to close the gateway.
Dungeons and Raids
Unlike Warlords of Draenor, Legion will bring a plethora of new dungeons with itself. There will be eight dungeons in the game: Halls of Valor, Black Rook Hold, Vault of the Wardens, Eye of Azshaara, Darkheart Thicket, Neltharion’s Lair, Helheim, Suramar City and Violet Hold highlighting the lore and history of these isles.
In addition to these, the launch Raid for this expansion will be the Emerald Nightmare, the tragic corruption within the Emerald Dream, where players will fight Xavius, while in the second tier of the raid parties will take on Gul’dan once again in the Suramar Palace.
Gameplay
Apart from the setting and the familiar addition of new Dungeons and Raid, World of Warcraft Legion will also be bringing plenty of additional content into the gameplay.
New Demon Hunter Class
The most noticeable one is the addition of the brand new class: the Demon Hunter.
The Diablo III inspired class will be exclusive to Elven races for lore purposes, as the Demon Hunters are in Legion lead members of the Illadiri, who once served Illidan at the Black Temple in Outland, which is exactly where the story of the Demon Hunters will begin.
In addition to their race restriction, Demon Hunters will get Two Specs instead of the traditional three specs. The Havoc spec will give the Demon Hunter classic DPS capabilities, while Vengeance will be a tank spec.
Demon Hunters are natural agile, having the ability to see through walls and move around at rapid pace.
Changes to Other Classes
In addition to the Demon Hunter, there will also be several changes to other classes, with the Hunter class getting the more evident changes.
The focus of the expansion is to make all the different specializations of each class vastly different from one another.
Honor System
A new feature called Honor System is also being implemented in the expansion. This PvP focused system will enable players to earn honor points and unlock traits that can be used in Arenas and Battlegrounds.
There will be 50 Prestige ranks and 15 traits to choose from, out of which some will be class and spec based.
You’ll also be able to earn specific mounts and prestige badges through this system, and also reset your Prestige rank to level it again if you wish.
Artifacts
Artifacts will play a very large role in the Legion expansion because you’ll be facing the mighty Burning Legion in its biggest invasion yet.
There will be a total of 36 artifacts – one for each specialization. Each specialization will unlock a specific quest in the expansion that will have them venturing out to find materials to craft their respective powerful Artifacts.
Each Artifact will have its own set of leveling system that will allow usage of Relics slots that can be used within the Artifact.
You’ll acquire Relics for these through Dungeons, Raids, PVP, World PvP, Major Objectives and On Quest hub Completions, allowing you to swap more powerful relics and upgrade your Artifact further. Artifacts like other items will also be transmog compatible.
Class Orders
Class Orders is a new system in which each class will get its own special Sancturn. There, you’ll be able to meet up with others using the same class and discuss strategies that would aid in fighting against the Burning Legion.
This is also the area where you will get class-specific quests, including the quests required for you to obtain your respective Artifact.
Well, that’s pretty much about it. If you feel like there is some additional information that you know of and isn’t in this article, please do share with us in the comments section below.
World of Warcraft: Legion expansion’s release date is currently a mystery, but Blizzard has stated that a beta for the expansion will be launched later this year.
