World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor alpha test invitations being sent out today

Blizzard is rolling out invitations to World of Warcraft players today to participate in the alpha test of the Warlords of Draenor expansion.

Blizzard opened registrations for the alpha test early April. The early alpha testing phase focuses on the Horde experience in Frostfire Ridge, "a harsh land of ceaseless winter and volcanic peaks." Participants are required to create a new Horde character and Blizzard will provide gear and level it to 90. More content and features will be added as the alpha progresses. Players are allowed to discuss and share screenshots and video footage of their alpha test experiences.

The expansion will overhaul World of Warcraft's original races, giving them a higher polygon count, improved textures, refined animations, new facial emotes and more. Numerous gameplay changes will be implemented and graphical fidelity will also be improved, updating non-player characters, in-game objects and environments.

Expansion pre-orders available include the Standard Edition for $49.99 and the Deluxe Digital Edition for $69.99. Digital Deluxe Edition includes a mount, a pet and a character boost to level 90 ahead of the expansion's release. Level boosting additional characters is $60 each.