Revealed to the world a few short days ago, the fifth expansion to World of Warcraft’s name it set to take players to the world of Draenor. A major part of the universe, the location is linked to the history of both the orcish tries and the draenei, serving as their original homeworld and battleground against the Burning Legion.

A few lore aficionados will know that previously an Alliance expedition seeking to end the orc threat once and for all resulted in the planet’s destruction. There is a reason for this, as the expansion’s trailer opens with “When past and present collide, the fate of all worlds hangs in the balance.”

Covered by playerattack.com, Blizzard has warned players that “folks like Grommash Hellscream, Blackhand and Ner’zhul are lurking around the savage jungles and battle-scarred plains”. With Hellscream and Ner’zhul both six feet under and firmly dead, the idea that this will potentially take place in the past is only further confirmed by statements that we will see the moment when the Dark Gates were opened.

The expansion itself seems to feature a number of significant upgrades, touting the ability to build and upgrade garrisons, better character models and animations, along with yet another increase in level cap. This time up to 100, new players will be able to jump straight to level 90 and there will be access to a new PvP world.

CEO Mike Moraime has been quoted stating that players will be offered a chance to “take a commanding role in one of the Warcraft series’ most crucial conflicts.” A statement likely referring to both the presence of the Dark Gates and the ability to upgrade garrisons. Unfortunately the trailer itself place heavy emphasis upon the Horde once again, meaning Blizzard may be favouring the orcs and their allies once more. Rather than an equal presentation, only two Alliance figures were shown with an entire Horde army being present ransacking a city.

Beyond basic statements of new items and dungeons, we need to wait a little longer until we hear exactly what this expansion will involve. None the less, it looks like a promising event and may prove to be something to draw players back after the drop in subscriptions over past months.

Trailer:

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