The War Within: A New Era for World of Warcraft
It won’t be long before the highly anticipated World of Warcraft: The War Within early access release time is here. Tomorrow, this 20-year-old MMO will introduce its latest expansion, bringing with it a new playable race and, for the first time ever, an account-wide progression system. This marks the beginning of a trilogy of expansions designed to finally resolve story arcs that have been running since WoW’s early days.
What is Warbands?
Several features of the War Within expansion are already available via a pre-release update, including Warbands. Warbands allow players to consolidate progress across all their characters, effectively creating a unified experience. This means that reputations, transmog cosmetics, and gear can be shared among your characters. As Fraser Brown aptly puts it, Warbands provide “a tantalizing teaser for WoW’s new trajectory.”
A Global Launch to Look Forward To
For those who have preordered the Epic Edition, the three-day early access period for the War Within begins at 3 PM Pacific Time on Thursday, August 22. The expansion will go live for everyone else on August 26. Because Blizzard is based in California, launch timings are based on the Pacific Time Zone, meaning countries like Germany and Australia will technically be able to access the content starting on Friday.
Release Times by Location
Here are the specific launch times for various locations around the globe:
- 3 PM PDT (Los Angeles)
- 6 PM EDT (New York)
- 7 PM BRT (São Paulo)
- 11 PM BST (London)
- 12 AM, August 23 CEST (Berlin)
- 8 AM, August 23 AEST (Sydney)
- 10 AM, August 23 NZST (Auckland)
Getting Back into the Game
If you haven’t played WoW in a while, you can download and update the game via Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher. Once you’ve updated to the latest patch, you’ll be ready to dive back in when the servers go live. Given the new features and exciting changes, now is an excellent time to return to Azeroth and see what the War Within has to offer.
