WoW’s Plunderstorm Battle Royale Mode Returns Today, Now With Less Grinding

World of Warcraft’s pirate-themed battle royale Plunderstorm is back for a limited time, this time with a revamped progression system and new rewards to fight over. The mode, which does require a WoW subscription but not the game’s latest expansion, will be playable January 14 through February 18.

Blizzard first introduced the experimental PvP mode last spring. It stood out thanks to how it played nothing like the genre-defining MMORPG players have come to know. Players create a class-less character, drop into the game’s Arathi Highlands map, and then scrounge for new abilities and gear upgrades while battling both NPCs and players alike to level up and become more powerful.

Combat is all skill-based, requiring proper position and timing rather than simply right-clicking on enemies and having attacks automatically hit. According to a datamine by Wowhead, it seems there will be some new abilities for players to experiment with this time around, with two new offensive and utility abilities. On the offensive side, there is Aura of Zealotry, which looks to mimic the iconic Paladin ability Consecration, while another, Celestial Barrage, calls down beams of moonlight to damage and reveal enemies. The new utility spells include Call Galefeather, which pushes enemies back, and the G.R.A.V. Glove: a spell that allows players to place a mark and then instantly teleport back to it.

Originally, winning and completing matches saw players progress through a Plunderstorm Renown reward track (similar to a battle pass). The end result was one where players felt compelled to grind all the way to the end to earn the more lucrative cosmetics.

This time around, the experience should be less aggravating. Instead of progressing a battle-pass-like system, players simply earn Plunder that can be spent at new reward vendors. This lets players pick and choose which rewards they want to go after rather than having to grind through rewards they might not be interested in.

Speaking of rewards, there’s a number of new items available for players who maxed out the Renown track the first time the event was playable. Those who fell off the grind the first time the event was live will find that many of the mode’s old rewards have returned. There are two new pets, mounts, and titles to claim, as well a number of new weapon and armor cosmetics. There are also new achievements, all of which reward a number of pirate-themed titles like Swabbie, Swashbuckler, and Buccaneer based on how much Plunder players earn over the course of the event.

WoW will see two major content updates this year according to the game’s 2025 content roadmap, as well as a full reveal of the game’s next expansion, Midnight. Blizzard already revealed that a long-requested feature, player housing, will be part of Midnight, but has not released additional details.