Warcraft Reborn: Expanded Azeroth, EXP, and Difficulty

Warcraft Reborn

Expanding Azeroth

Going Beyond Classic+

Adventurers,

The vision video for Warcraft Reborn is out and gathering thousands of views. If you want to get informed about what Reborn is and where it’s going, watch the video and dive into the nitty gritty of the features with an extremely comprehensive article:

Massive Features Article: https://ascension.gg/en/news/bronzebeard-warcraft-reborn-the-next-chapter-unfolds/497

Today, we’re talking about expanding Azeroth with hundreds of new locations and immersive points of interest to discover.

Azeroth Expanded

Warcraft Reborn expands Azeroth with hundreds of new locations for you to explore on your journey. These interesting areas offer new quests, new creatures to challenge, and new treasure to claim: both Worldforged Items and Mystic Enchantments.

Here are just a few of the new locations:

Camp Blackwood

Tucked into the misty lowlands of the Wetlands, Camp Blackwood serves as a rough and ready hiring ground for those in need of less than subtle solutions. Run by the ever scheming goblin Krazzle Sparkplug, the camp offers a revolving roster of mercenaries for hire: ogres, gnolls, and forest trolls, each willing to trade fists for coin.

Krazzle does not ask questions, and neither do the fighters he brokers. Whether it is guarding a caravan, sacking a rival camp, or clearing out problems the locals would rather not name, Camp Blackwood sells muscle to anyone who can pay. Just do not expect loyalty. Once the gold is gone, so are they.

Savvy players of Warcraft 3 will recognize this location as a Mercenary Camp.

Highwind Hold

Perched high in the cliffs of Stonetalon, Highwind Hold serves as a sanctuary and training ground for Horde wyvern riders. Maintained by tauren of the Skychaser lineage, the hold is a place of balance: where beast and rider move as one.

The Wyverns raised here go on to serve in Orgrimmar and other Horde outposts.

Red Mage Tower

At the edge of Elwynn Forest as the trees give way to the rugged stone of Redridge, the Red Mage Tower is a recent outpost constructed by a contingent of Dalaran mages. Offering their support against the encroaching orcs and gnolls, its halls hum with power. Fledgling Mages and other spellcasters would do well to visit this tower on their way to aid the citizens of Lakeshire.

Tombshade Laboratory

Once a human research hall nestled in the woods of Tirisfal, the structure now serves the Forsaken as a secretive laboratory and listening post. Though its exterior still bears the marks of its past, the inside tells another story filled with plaguework, forbidden alchemy, and whispered observations.

Positioned precariously close to Scarlet Crusade territory, Tombshade functions as both a point of reconnaissance and a field site for experimental studies. Supplies are few, and discretion is vital, but the work done here may one day shift the balance in this long rotted war.

Gurubashi Fighting Pit

Beneath the jungle canopy not far from the great arena itself, the Gurubashi Fighting Pit serves as a brutal training ground for those who seek glory in the ring. Here, gladiators spar, bleed, and sharpen their instincts before stepping into the bloodstained sands of the arena proper.

The pit is where champions are carved from ambition. Roars echo through the trees as warriors test their strength against beasts, blades, and each other. Only the strongest earn their place in the arena. The rest become part of the lesson.

Stonefather’s Circle

In the quiet center of Mulgore, where the land breathes slowly and the wind carries the voices of the past, stands Stonefather's Circle. Here, Tharok Windhoof leads sacred rites, calling upon the spirits of the Earthmother and the ancient wild gods that guide the tauren people.

Each stone marks a story, each ripple in the water echoes with memory. The circle is a place of communion, where tradition is honored and the bond between the living and their ancestors is renewed through silence, prayer, and natural harmony.

Brother’s Tapworks

The Brother's Tapworks is a proud dwarven brewery run by six brothers: Bran, Morin, Grimnor, Grunir, Durnar, and Halin. Each brother brews his own signature blend, from deep stouts to biting ciders, and each swears his is the finest of the lot.

Adventurers passing through the valley know the Tapworks by reputation. Whether you need something to warm your bones, lift your spirits, or knock you clean off your feet, there is a brew here with your name on it. Just do not ask whose recipe is best. That fight still has not ended.

The Blood Crucible

Lurking behind the Crucible of Blood, this forgotten altar has been claimed by Blackrock orcs bent on vengeance. Here, they perform brutal rituals, siphoning black dragon blood to infuse their weapons with draconic power.

The Night's Watch

On the banks between Elwynn Forest and Duskwood, this secluded camp serves as a forward post for the Night's Watch militia. Its purpose is simple but grim: keep the horrors of Duskwood from spilling north.

By day, the outpost handles patrols, resupply, and the occasional frightened traveler. By night, its fires burn low, and every sound from the trees is watched with drawn steel. Recently, strange tracks and torn scraps of fur have been found near the water. Some think it is just another beast, but others whisper of a deeper worgen presence lurking beyond the treeline.

Chapel of Final Grace

Along the withered road in Tirisfal Glades, the Chapel of Final Grace stands as one of the last sanctuaries untouched by madness. Father Alastor, once a priest of Lordaeron and now undead, continues his rites with quiet conviction. He tends to the chapel with care, offering rest and aid to any who arrive, no matter their nature.

Though the land is shadowed and the kingdom fallen, the chapel remains a place of stillness. Flickering candlelight, whispered prayers, and a weathered fountain offer small reminders of what was and what might still endure.

Shal’Athil

Shal’Athil serves as a place of learning and reflection for young night elves called to the druidic path. The glade is tended by elder druids who guide their students through the teachings of balance, patience, and harmony with the wilds.

Here, lessons are spoken through wind and water, and spirits of the forest drift gently among the trees. It is a quiet outpost, but one that shapes the future of night elf tradition, rooted in reverence and renewal.

Morvath’s Hold

Morvath’s Hold was once a quiet lakeside lodge, part of the Caer Darrow estate. When the Cult of the Damned took root within the manor, the hold fell with it. What was once a retreat for study and reflection is now overrun with undead and necromancers, working to return Morvath the Undying to unlife. His spirit lingers, and the ritual grows stronger by the hour.

Scarlet Tannery and Forges

The Scarlet Crusade have refined new methods of tanning and processing leather and their Tanneries can be found throughout their strongholds and bases throughout the Plaguelands. Adventurers who seek them out may be able to tap into their new methods unlocking new recipes.

Outside of a Scarlet Crusade Tannery

Inside of a Scarlet Crusade Tannery

Scarlet Crusade Forge

x1 EXP Rates

Experience rates have been lowered to x1 from x1.5. (Majority of Bronzebeard development rates were 1.2x) There are so many custom changes on Ascension that his number is a bit misleading, but for frame of reference the rates now sit somewhere between 1x vanilla and 1x WotLK.

Here’s why:

While the polling showed many were voting for 1.5x the actual feedback seen from those playing was much more reflective of wanting slower experience rates.
In addition to this, the polling unfortunately did not actually specify which base the experience rates were based on 1x vanilla and 1x wotlk are very different. Our 1x will be closer to that of WOTLK which is more comparable to 1.5x vanilla rates.
In discussions with the community, many people said they will not play the realm if the rates are 1.5x, but those who want 1.5x said they will still play if the rates are slower.
Previously, when there was less new content in the world, these rates made less sense. With the addition of new content as well as a variety of ways to get slight experience bonuses it is now clear these rates are the best for the long-term health of Warcraft Reborn.
This will very likely be polled again in a survey before launch, so make sure to subscribe to the newsletter.

Further Increased World Difficulty

With the updates that just went live on the Bronzebeard Alpha today, difficulty of the world has been increased and player power while leveling has been reduced. This will keep receiving further tweaks.

This has been accomplished three ways:

Creature damage was increased an additional 15% (It was already buffed)
Weapon DPS while leveling was corrected to be more representative of a vanilla curve
New items specifically in the low levels have been re-itemized to more properly match other gear of that level.

Making Open World the Focus

There has been a long list of updates to pivot the focus to the Open world from modifying quest experience, kill experience, difficulty and more.

The most recent changes aims to not only pivot the focus to the Open World but also de-incentivize rushing to last boss in dungeons and also buff running to dungeons.

LFG completion no longer rewards experience, instead this experience has been distributed across the bosses in the dungeon.
- This means you will get more EXP by doing full runs
- People will be de-incentivized from rushing the last boss
- Groups that head to the dungeon on foot without LFG will no longer be punished for doing so.
  - Note: On Ascension, you cannot specific queue LFG dungeons while leveling, so there is actually still a reason to run to dungeons
- This translates into less EXP generally for last boss rush LFG runs, more experience for people who run to the dungeon to do a full clear, and relatively makes the the Open World more competitive.
  - Updates here will not stop until the Open World is the best way to level. The end goal is Dungeons are primarily where youn get gear, but not experience.

Undead Paladin

Warcraft Reborn introduces undead paladins as a new race class combination with this came some additional content to make them fully fit into the world of Azeroth.