‘World Of Warcraft’ Allied Races Now Live With ‘Battle For Azeroth’ Pre-Purchase

One of the major features of the seventh World of Warcraft expansion is the inclusion of Allied Races. These new playable races are not unlocked by simply buying the expansion, though. Players need to recruit the new races for either the Alliance or the Horde before they can play as one of them. In Battle for Azeroth, six new variant races are available to players, and those that pre-purchase the expansion can start playing as four of the Allied Races right now.

Battle for Azeroth can now be pre-purchased from the Blizzard Shop. Players that buy the expansion can play as four of the six Allied Races included in the expansion immediately. These World of Warcraft players will still need to unlock the races with the right achievements and required reputation within the game, though. Alliance players can unlock the Lightforged Draenei and Void Elves while Horde players can recruit the Highmountain Tauren and the Nightborne, according to the official site.

Although unlocking an Allied Race is an account-wide achievement, players will need to complete a number of quests and reach exalted status with the race before they can play as one of them. All four races require World of Warcraft players to reach exalted reputation status with the race’s faction. For instance, exalted reputation with the Highmountain Tribe is required to unlock the Highmountain Tauren race. Additionally, a number of quests are required to unlock them as well. In the case of Highmountain Tauren, players will need to complete the “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” achievement.

The four races available now are heavily integrated into the current Legion expansion. All four factions – the Highmountain Tribe, the Army of the Light, the Nightfallen, and the Argussian Reach – are part of the Legion expansion. The remaining two Allied Races – the Dark Iron Dwarves and the Zandalari Trolls – are recruited in Battle for Azeroth through similar methods.

Players with large rosters of alternate characters should not worry. Four additional characters slots are being added to every World of Warcraft realm so players can create these new playable Allied Races. Once a player unlocks an Allied Race, they can create a new character using that race. These characters start at level 20, and players earn special Heritage Armor if they level the Allied Race naturally to level 110. Paid services, like level boosts, race changes, and Recruit-A-Friend, will forfeit the special Heritage Armor.

Newly created Allied Races will benefit from the new zone scaling throughout World of Warcraft. As the Inquisitr reported, zones now have larger leveling ranges letting players complete stories before moving on to the next zone of their choice. Although leveling is slower, players have more options in where they quest to the level cap.

Battle for Azeroth can be pre-purchased now from the Blizzard Entertainment shop. The Standard Edition cost $49.99 and includes a level 110 character boost that can be used immediately. The Digital Deluxe Edition costs $69.99 and includes a wealth of in-game goodies. Two mounts and a pet are unlocked with that edition of the game. Items for Overwatch, a Hearthstone card back, sprays for StarCraft 2, and a mount for Heroes of the Storm are also part of the Digital Deluxe Edition.

The Battle for Azeroth expansion is due out this summer. Although there is no firm release date yet, the World of Warcraft expansion is due out on or before September 21.