World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth pre-purchase is live

Blizzard announced today that the pre-purchase for World of Warcraft’s seventh expansion, Battle for Azeroth, is live. While we don’t have an exact date on when the expansion will launch on live servers, the pre-order itself comes with some exciting perks.

Purchasing Battle for Azeroth will grant players a character boost that can be used on any character and will instantly level them up to 110, the current maximum level pre-Battle for Azeroth. Blizzard has been offering these instant boosts since Warlords of Draenor, the game’s fifth expansion, was available for pre-purchase back in 2014.

What’s far more exciting about this pre-purchase is the inclusion of the new Allied Races system. When Battle for Azeroth was first announced, Blizzard showed off six new races: the Nightborne Elves, Highmountain Tauren and Zandalari Trolls are joining the Horde, while the Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei and Dark Iron Dwarves will be joining the Alliance.

Blizzard/Activision

With the pre-purchase, players will be able start unlocking the Nightborne Elves, Hightmountain Tauren, Void Elves, and Lightforged Draenei. The Zandalari Trolls and Dark Iron Dwarves will not be available until players have actually played through Battle for Azeroth’s leveling experience.

However, just because the Allied Races are now available doesn’t mean they’re accessible to everyone. Players who want to unlock these Allied Races must be Exalted with that race’s associated Legion faction. Reaching that level with the Army of the Light, Argussian Reach, Highmountain Tribe and the Nightfallen will take most players a few weeks of grinding world quests and other activities. Thankfully, these requirements are account-wide, helping Alliance players unlock the Horde races fairly easily and vice versa. Players can also check their progress toward unlocking these races on Wowhead.

Battle for Azeroth’s pre-purchase costs $49.99. A digital deluxe edition is also available for $69.99 and includes the following digital bonus items for Blizzard’s games:

World of Warcraft: Charge into battle astride the Seabraid Stallion (Alliance) and Gilded Ravasaur (Horde) mounts, and explore new frontiers with Tottle, the baby Tortollan pet, at your side.

Hearthstone: After a rough day on the front, rest up at the tavern and play a few hands of Hearthstone with your hot new Azeroth Is Burning card back.

StarCraft 2: Make your mark on distant worlds with Horde- and Alliance-themed sprays.

Heroes of the Storm: Roar onto the Battlegrounds of the Nexus riding your Primal Flamesaber, a fiery new mount with three variants.

Overwatch: Champion your faction on the battlefields of tomorrow with Horde and Alliance voice lines for Torbjörn and emotes for Tracer; sprays featuring Anduin, Sylvanas, Jaina, and Varok Saurfang; and player icons representing Kul Tiras and Zandalar.

Blizzard says the expansion will be released on or before Sept. 21, 2018.