World of Warcraft: Legion

World of Warcraft: Legion is the sixth expansion for World of Warcraft. It was announced at Gamescom on 6 August 2015 and released on 30 August 2016, selling 3.3 million copies by the end of launch day. The expansion's alpha went live on 23 November 2015, then concluded on 10 May 2016 in order for the beta to start two days later. The pre-expansion patch, patch 7.0.3, was released on July 19, 2016.

Legion comes in three versions: Standard Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition and Collector's Edition.

Story
Kingdoms Will Burn
 * ''The Tomb of Sargeras has been reopened, and the demons of the Burning Legion pour into our world. Their full, terrifying might is fixed on summoning the Dark Titan to Azeroth-and they've already located the key to his return.


 * ''With the Alliance and Horde devastated, adventurers must take up legendary artifacts and weapons used by the heroes of old, scour the ancient Broken Isles for relics of the Titans, and challenge the Burning Legion before Azeroth's last hope dies.


 * Steel yourself, champion. Extinction is imminent.

Following the events of Warlords of Draenor, the alternate Draenor's is expelled by his demonic masters into the original Azeroth with a special purpose - to reopen the Tomb of Sargeras and the gateway to Argus, commencing the third invasion of the Burning Legion, an invasion even greater than the War of the Ancients. Gul'dan also had to find and steal the body of the famous demon hunter Illidan Stormrage.

After the defeat at the Broken Shore, the defenders of Azeroth found themselves exploring the long-forgotten Broken Isles in search of the Pillars of Creation, titan relics which were used to shape the world - and which were Azeroth's only hope for closing the massive demonic portal at the heart of the Tomb. However, the Broken Isles - a land which 10,000 years ago was home to the then mighty night elf civilization - came with their own perils to overcome, from the demon lord Xavius and his satyr armies, to the vrykul's God-King Skovald, to the powerful nightborne night elves, and the deadly naga led by Tidemistress Athissa.

As part of this desperate search, the Kirin Tor, now led by Khadgar, moved the floating city of Dalaran to the shores of this land, with the city serving as a central hub for the efforts of the world's heroes. The death knights of Acherus also took their floating necropolis to the Isles.

To defend their world against the onslaught of the Legion, the heroes of Azeroth sought out legendary artifact weapons to wield in battle, but also found themselves embracing new and unexpected allies in the form of the Illidari, Illidan's elite disciples, freed in desperation by the Wardens that guarded them to fight against the Legion in this hour of need.

Ongoing conflict between the Alliance and the Horde led to the formation of the class orders, with exceptional commanders putting aside faction to lead their classes in the fight against the Legion.



Features

 * New continent: the Broken Isles
 * Dalaran moving from Northrend to become the new capital city
 * Val'sharah - Home of the Tear of Elune, where the druids fight the Emerald Nightmare
 * Stormheim - Home of the Aegis of Aggramar, where Odyn tested the order hall leaders
 * Azsuna - Home of the Tidestone of Golganneth, where the order hall leaders saved Senegos and fought the Naga
 * Highmountain - Home of the Hammer of Khaz'goroth, where the order hall leaders defeated the drogbar led by Dargrul the Underking
 * Suramar - Home of the Eye of Aman'thul, where the Nightfallen would rebel against Elisande and the Nightborne
 * Broken Shore - The island where the Tomb of Sargeras is located, turned into the Burning Legion's primary foothold on Azeroth
 * Argus - Homeworld of the draenei and base of operations for the Legion, we must fight to defeat them and topple Sargeras from his throne from our ship, The Vindicaar. Three zones make up Argus:
 * Krokuun - The surface of Argus, where we make our first landing
 * Mac'Aree - The capital of the shattered world
 * Antoran Wastes - The planet core, and the heart of corruption, both literally and figuratively
 * New hero class: Demon hunter
 * Artifact weapons - 36 to encompass all specializations, plus Underlight Angler for Fishing
 * Trees for further spell/ability customization
 * Appearance customization
 * Artifact forms for Feral and Guardian druids
 * Class orders
 * Order Halls
 * Unique campaigns for each class
 * New dungeons, raids, and world bosses
 * Level cap increased to 110
 * New honor system
 * New PvP-only talent system
 * Removal of PvP gear
 * Significance of gear in PvP drastically reduced
 * Trinkets, set bonuses, enchantments, gems no longer active in PvP
 * Stats automatically adjusted to specialization-determined presets when entering PvP
 * Prestige ranks to earn
 * Character slots per server increased to 12
 * New social feature notifying you when friends join a queue, and allowing you to queue with them
 * Improved transmogrification system
 * Improved communication across groups
 * Older time limited legendary items, such as the Mists of Pandaria cape, became transmogable
 * Each profession has their own quest line along with some system changes, new functionality and improved UI

Bonus features
Players pre-purchasing Legion also received the following bonuses:


 * Level 100 Character Boost
 * Early access to the demon hunter class

The Digital Deluxe and Collector Edition came with the following bonuses:


 * Illidari Felstalker mount
 * Nibbles felstalker battle pet
 * Bonuses for Diablo III, Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft II available in those games

Level up zones

 * Azsuna
 * Val'sharah
 * Highmountain
 * Stormheim
 * Mardum - demon hunter intro

Max level zones

 * Suramar
 * Broken Shore (7.2.0)
 * Krokuun (7.3.0)
 * Mac'Aree (7.3.0)
 * Antoran Wastes (7.3.0)

Dungeons

 * Halls of Valor
 * Home of Odyn, inspired by
 * God-King Skovald, leader of the Felskorn vrykul, allied with the Legion
 * Black Rook Hold
 * Home of Kur'talos Ravencrest, ancient night elf fortress in Val'sharah
 * Vault of the Wardens
 * Warden maximum-security facility, from where alternate Gul'dan stole Illidan
 * Eye of Azshara
 * Minions of Queen Azshara seeking to ravage the land
 * Darkheart Thicket
 * Insides of Shaladrassil, where Malfurion was held captive
 * Neltharion's Lair
 * Capital of the Drogbar
 * Maw of Souls
 * Opposite of the Halls of Valor, realm of Helya
 * The Arcway
 * Catacombs of Suramar
 * Court of Stars
 * The largest mansion in the Noble District of Suramar
 * Assault on Violet Hold
 * The Kirin Tor's prison re-openeed
 * Return to Karazhan
 * Aid Khadgar in preventing the Legion from using Medivh's tower as a second major gateway to Azeroth
 * Cathedral of Eternal Night
 * The upper portions of the Tomb of Sargeras, corrupted and defiled by Mephistroth
 * Seat of the Triumvirate
 * Once the seat of power on Argus, it is now overtaken by the powers of the void

Raids

 * The Emerald Nightmare
 * 7 bosses
 * Emerald Dream, twisted and shadowed
 * Pursue Cenarius, face Xavius
 * Trial of Valor
 * 3 bosses
 * A final confrontation with Helya, ruler of Helheim
 * The Nighthold
 * 10 bosses
 * Built around the Nightwell, center of Suramar's power
 * Face off against Elisande and
 * The Tomb of Sargeras
 * 9 bosses
 * The prison of the Avatar of Sargeras, turned into a gateway to Argus
 * Kil'jaeden awaits at the other side, and will not accept defeat
 * Antorus, The Burning Throne
 * 11 Bosses
 * The seat of the power for The Burning Legion built upon Argus' core
 * Face off against powerful demons such as Varimathras, purify the titan pantheon, and destroy the world soul of argus, Argus the Unmaker

Dalaran
The expansion will see story-based modifications made to Dalaran, including changes to the center (most notably Aegwynn's Tower) as well as the Underbelly, which saw a new free for all PvP area.

Artifacts


Artifacts are a special new type of weapon, and are the only weapons players will wield over the course of the expansion.

Players can acquire these new weapons early in the expansion's run, and the weapons will grow in power alongside players. Players will be able to earn Artifact Power through engaging in most types of play, and can spend this to unlock a unique tree of traits traced upon the form of their Artifacts, enhancing their abilities. Players can also obtain relics from major content such as dungeons and raids, and use these to upgrade the Artifact itself. Artifacts also come with an extensive range of visual customization options.

There is an Artifact for each class specialization, 36 in total. For example, Blood death knights and Frost death knights will have different Artifacts. Obtaining each Artifact will involve a unique quest to seek out these powerful weapons.

Class Orders
Class Orders represent the collective effort of each class to band together to face the threat posed by the return of the Burning Legion. With tensions between the Alliance and Horde preventing faction leaders from working closely, it is up to the classes themselves to unite to focus on this threat, and do what needs to be done.

After their success on Draenor, the player will be looked to as the leader for their entire class. The Class Order creation process will begin with the acquiring of an Artifact. With this serving to inspire the allegiance of the other member's of the player's class, the player will found their Class Hall.

Class Halls


Class Orders will have their base of operations at unique Class Halls, special locations with a strong connection to the class. These class-specific areas will only allow access to players of the corresponding class, and will serve as a center for coordinating the efforts of that class, including sending champions on missions.

Class Halls are in many ways Legion 's counterpart to Warlords of Draenor's garrisons. They serve as a secondary hub for players outside of the main capital of Dalaran, and allow players to command a team of champions to undertake special missions. A key difference to garrisons is that the Class Halls are realm-wide, and will be open to all characters of that class, including characters of both factions. Class Halls are also not intended to players' main residence during the expansions, but instead somewhere to travel to to send champions on missions, customize Artifacts, and pick up special quests, before likely returning to the capital of Dalaran.

Champions
The evolution of Warlords of Draenor's follower system, Class Halls will feature class champions, which the player will be able to send on missions.

In contrast to the follower system, which saw players recruiting a large number of miscellaneous characters, in Legion players will command a far small force of exceptional champions, with some fairly major lore characters such as Lady Liadrin for the Horde. As with followers, players will send their champions on missions, but these missions will be more integrated into the rest of the game experience, unlocking content and enabling the player in related zones. For example, missions may open new areas for questing, or grant special buffs to the player while in certain zones. Players are intended to work alongside and with their champions, rather than competing with them for rewards.

Class and specialization identity
A major theme of Legion will be the forging of clear and distinct identities not only for each class, but also for each specialization. While some of this will be achieved through the Class Order and Artifact systems, the developers also plan on making significant changes to the concept, design and in some cases main functionalities of the existing specs. Some specs will be renamed.

Player versus player content


Legion will see some of the biggest changes to the player vs player experience in the history of World of Warcraft, with the removal of PvP gear, a dramatic reduction of gear significance in PvP, the disabling of trinkets, set bonuses, enchantments and gems in PvP, automatic adjustment of player stats while in PvP, and the introduction of the first true honor talents.

A major theme of Legion will be the separation of PvP and PvE, to an extent that has not been seen before. Long requested by some players, the division is intended to finally allow the designers to create two different versions of the classes, allowing for far better balance in both arenas.

New honor system
At the heart of the changes lies the new honor system. The new system will remove Honor Points and Conquest Points, replacing them with a new PvP talent system, granting access to new abilities that will function only in PvP combat, representing the major division in abilities between PvP and PvE.

Players will also be able to earn "prestige ranks" for access to cosmetic rewards. The intention is that players who wish to focus purely on gameplay can quickly reach the maximum power for their character, and enjoy PvP without being at any disadvantage. Meanwhile, those players interested in cosmetic rewards, or simply attaining recognition for their achievements, can choose to pursue the prestige ranks, giving them more substantial goals to work toward over time.

The new honor system is also intended to heavily reduce the importance of player gear in PvP play. In the new system, the significance of gear will be heavily scaled down, with the best gear in the game providing perhaps a 7% advantage over a character who has just reached max level. This aims to still provide some satisfaction from acquiring new gear, but to for the most part remove the significance of gear from PvP, returning the focus to playing ability as well strategic options such as talent choices. It will also see the complete removal of PvP gear itself, along with PvP stats such as resilience.

System changes
Besides the new honor system, Legion will see other major changes to PvP:


 * When entering a battleground or PvP area, the stats of each player will be adjusted automatically based on their specialization. This is intended to allow the developers to balance each class and specialization for PvP specifically, without affecting PvE.


 * Trinkets, set bonuses, enchantments and gems will no longer activate in PvP. This again serves to separate the two types of play. Their removal is expected to dramatically reduce unpredictable burst damage, making sustained damage more important. The impact of these effects will be replaced by the PvP talent system. For example, the traditional PvP trinket will be replaced by the very first PvP talent earned.

Prominent figures

 * Main characters
 * Maiev Shadowsong
 * Xavius
 * Anduin Wrynn
 * Turalyon
 * Genn Greymane
 * Alleria Windrunner
 * Khadgar
 * Sylvanas Windrunner
 * Illidan Stormrage
 * Velen
 * Velen


 * Other
 * Magni Bronzebeard
 * Malfurion Stormrage
 * Tyrande Whisperwind
 * Cenarius
 * God-King Skovald
 * Grand Magistrix Elisande
 * Ysera
 * Dargrul
 * Tidemistress Athissa
 * Liadrin
 * Darion Mograine
 * Thrall
 * Tirion Fordring
 * Jaina Proudmoore
 * Hemet Nesingwary
 * Queen Azshara
 * Kil'jaeden
 * Sargeras
 * Varian Wrynn

Factions and organizations

 * Dreamweavers
 * Highmountain Tribe
 * Valarjar
 * The Court of Farondis
 * The Wardens
 * The Nightfallen
 * Talon's Vengeance
 * Armies of Legionfall
 * Argussian Reach
 * Army of the Light

New creatures

 * New notable unique creatures
 * Agronox (a unique fel corrupted ancient)
 * Fallen Avatar
 * High Botanist Tel'arn (a botanically transformed nightborne)
 * Krosus
 * Lothraxion (a lightforged nathrezim)
 * Inv pet felkitten.png Mischief (a purchasable companion pet)
 * Inv foxpet.png Shadow (a purchasable companion pet)
 * Inv dogmount.png Shu-Zen, the Divine Sentinel (a purchasable mount)
 * Turalyon (a lightforged human)
 * Vydhar

Development
The internal alpha has already started. The alpha for Legion went live on the 11th anniversary of the release of the original World of Warcraft. Flying will not be available at launch, but will come later much like in Warlords of Draenor.

It was stated that BlizzCon 2015 would most likely have the "first playable tour of the world".

The demon hunter class has been considered since Wrath of the Lich King. They were added for this expansion because it finally fits into the story. Demon hunter was also considered for The Burning Crusade, but the developers were not ready to add another class at that time.

Legion has the most voice acting of any expansion to date.

It was decided that the intro cinematic feature a war-zone, but the "emotional hook" was decided upon later. Going into war tropes, the cinematics team settled on the idea of an individual writing letters home, and echoing the themes of "why do we fight?" and "what is worth fighting for?" Original concepts had these letters being written by an Alliance footman, and transitioning the sequence to an orc grunt. The sequence would end with Varian writing a letter to Anduin. It was decided that while it was clear that the Alliance and Horde were on their way to fight the Burning Legion, they would be fighting the environment itself to some extent. The design of the airships was taken from 18th century frigates.

Tie-in literature

 * See: Prepare for the Invasion