# World of Warcraft: The War Within

World of Warcraft: The War Within is the tenth expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Dragonflight. It was announced in November 2023, and released on August 26, 2024. It acts as the first part of the Worldsoul Saga trilogy of expansions, led by Chris Metzen, the executive creative director of the Warcraft franchise.

## Gameplay

The primary setting for The War Within is the subterranean continent of Khaz Algar, divided into four distinct zones: the Isle of Dorn, the Ringing Deeps, Hallowfall, and Azj-Kahet while the capital city of Dornogal serves as a central hub for players. The primary narrative revolves around the Harbinger of the Void, Xal'atath, who mobilizes her forces to pose a threat to both Khaz Algar and Azeroth as a whole. Following the completion of the main campaign, players can unlock a new playable race, the earthen, which are available to both the Horde and the Alliance. Dungeons and raids continue to play a key role, with eight new dungeons and a raid added as end-game content.
The level cap in The War Within has been raised to 80, allowing players to further develop their characters with new abilities and talents. Starting at level 71, players can unlock new Hero Talents for every class and specialization, providing more depth to character customization and combat strategies. The Skyriding feature, initially introduced in Dragonflight as Dragonriding, allows players to explore the new zones at a fast pace while using various in-game mounts. The Delves feature has players tackle instanced content alongside a dedicated NPC companion and provides solo or cooperative play for up to five players to defeat bosses and obtain end-game loot. The Warbands feature acts as an account-wide system, allowing players to progress reputations and achievements across multiple characters.

## Plot
### The War Within campaign
#### Visions of Azeroth

As numerous individuals across Azeroth experience strange visions known as the Radiant Song, Thrall, Lady Jaina Proudmoore and the former High King of the Alliance Anduin Wrynn seek out the diamond-bodied Magni Bronzebeard who had previously been able to communicate with the world soul of Azeroth herself that had now been silent for several years. After Magni is injured attempting to commune with Azeroth, they relocate to the floating city of Dalaran, home of the Kirin Tor mages, along with Magni's daughter Moira Thaurissan and her son Dagran Thaurissan II. After consulting Archmage Khadgar and Alleria Windrunner on how to proceed, Magni awakens and explains that Azeroth warned him of dark forces on the subterranean continent of Khaz Algar, so Dalaran is teleported above it to investigate the undiscovered land. Alleria, who had been hunting the mysterious Void entity known as Xal'atath, discovers that Xal'atath had managed to infiltrate Dalaran and launches a full-scale assault on the city with an army of nerubians, an ancient race of humanoid spiders previously thought to be near extinct, who begin kidnapping civilians. After Alleria and Anduin evacuate Dalaran's remaining citizens, Khadgar confronts Xal'atath and witnesses her absorbing the arcane energies of Dalaran into the Dark Heart relic before she obliterates the city, seemingly killing the archmage along with it.

#### Into the Deeps

The survivors of Dalaran's destruction find themselves on the Isle of Dorn and hold off another nerubian assault while rescuing survivors from the rubble. They soon run into Stormward Baelgrim, leader of the Stormriders earthen, who details how his people have been isolated on the island for millennia and that they strictly follow a set of edicts issued by the Titans. He reluctantly agrees to work with the outsiders, and they attempt to defend the earthen capital of Dornogal from the nerubians, but they succeed in damaging the Coreway, a large access tunnel that connects the surface to the rest of Khaz Algar underground. Upon meeting Councilward Merrix, leader of the Oathsworn earthen, he accepts the outsider's aid while Thrall and Jaina leave the island to gather Horde and Alliance reinforcements. Baelgrim then seeks out Stoneward Adelgonn, the estranged leader of the Unbound earthen. Despite her history of rejecting the Titan's edicts, he recruits her to repair the Coreway. Baelgrim then attempts to rally the Stormriders together, only to discover that the vast majority had been killed in his absence. With the lack of an earthen military force, Adelgonn lays a trap to fend off the nerubians. Baelgrim sacrifices himself to defeat the nerubian commander, saving Dornogal from further incursions. Inspired by Baelgrim's sacrifice, Merrix and Adelgonn reform the Council of Dornogal, and the Coreway is soon repaired. Alleria, who is being taunted by visions of Xal'atath, quickly heads underground to pursue her target, seeking vengeance for Dalaran's destruction.
Now able to access the Coreway, Brinthe, a representative of the Machine Speakers earthen, travels to the settlement of Gundargaz in the Ringing Deeps. She finds that her people are in disarray as the Awakening Machine, a facility used to recharge the earthen, had run out of power, meaning the earthen would eventually all shut down. Brinthe is soon joined by Magni, Moira, and Dagran, who together meet with High Speaker Eirich, leader of the Machine Speakers, who dismisses Brinthe's concerns and the problems his people face, seeking only to reactivate the Awakening Machine. Deciding to solve the problems herself, Brinthe allies with the kobold Skitter and helps depose the kobold's tyrannical leader, ending kobold attacks on earthen settlements and recruiting many rebellious kobolds to take the place of the decreasing number of earthen. Magni and Dagran investigate an abandoned mine only to discover it overrun with skardyn, earthen corrupted with void magic, and soon learn that Eirich allowed Xal'atath to help repair the Awakening Machine but that any who use it become skardyn. After learning of this, Brinthe confronts Eirich, who finishes corrupting the Awakening Machine out of self-preservation before fleeing. Magni manages to call upon Azeroth's blessing within himself and purifies the machine, shattering his diamond form and returning him to his original dwarven body. With the Awakening Machine reactivated, the earthen could now be recharged and no longer faced extinction, and dormant earthen could be reawakened. Brinthe takes Eirich's place as High Speaker and unites the Machine Speakers and kobolds to defeat Eirich and his skardyn forces before returning to the surface to join the Council of Dornogal.
After Anduin learns from the earthen that they previously traded with a race known as the Arathi, mixed-race descendants of humans and high elves from the ancient Empire of Arathor, he travels to the expansive cavern known as Hallowfall. He quickly discovers Beledar, an immense crystal embedded in the cavern's ceiling that acts as an inner sun, and meets Faerin Lothar, a hopeful Arathi Lamplighter. She explains how the Arathi were part of an expedition sent by the Arathi Empire's prophetic emperor fifteen years prior but became stranded in Hallowfall. Anduin and Faerin then arrive at the border wall and meet Great Kyron, leader of the Lamplighters, who defend the Arathi against threats by lighting Dawntowers that radiate holy light. They hold off a nerubian attack and are joined by Alleria before witnessing Beledar shift into a temporary Void state. The trio then meets with General Vaelisia Steelstrike, who commands the Arathi military, and they fend off a raid of the monstrous kobyss who attack whenever Beledar shifts. They soon discover that the Order of Night, a group of void cultists who have allied with Xal'atath, are attempting to corrupt the area. Anduin then struggles to purify a Dawntower corrupted by the cultist's leader Aelric Leid after previously losing access to his Light abilities. Anduin and Alleria soon join the combined Arathi forces in defending the city of Mereldar from a joint invasion of the Order of Night and the kobyss, where they defeat Aelric before he can corrupt the Arathi's sacred Eternal Flame. Before the Arathi can recover, the nerubians launch another offensive on the border. After holding back the nerubians for as long as they can, Alleria and Faerin board an airship to escape, but Anduin stays behind to protect the others before he is quickly overwhelmed and dragged away.
Seeking to rescue Anduin from his captors, Alleria and Faerin descend into the Azj-Kahet, the last kingdom of the nerubians, but their airship quickly becomes ensnared in its webbed defenses. Before they can be overwhelmed, the mysterious druid Orweyna comes to their aid. She reveals herself to be a haranir, a reclusive subterranean race who came to Azj-Kahet to protect the great roots throughout the region from the corruptive Black Blood of the deceased Old Gods that permeate the area, but is forced to leave due to her people's isolationist traditions. Widow Arak'nai, a nerubian spymaster known as "the Weaver", contacts Faerin seeking allies to stand against Queen Ansurek, the ruler of Azj-Kahet and Xal'atath's closest ally who usurped her own mother, Queen Neferess, to whom the Weaver was deeply loyal. After Ansurek made a bargain with Xal'atath to restore her struggling kingdom's former glory, many nerubians in positions of authority were replaced by the Ascended, nerubians transformed by the Black Blood. This angered the traditionalist Anub'azal, the former commander of the nerubian military known as "the General". To undermine the authority of Zev'kall, the rival Ascended that replaced him, the General works with the goblin Monte Gazlowe, Trade Prince of the Bilgewater Cartel, to free numerous prisoners who were captured during the assault on Dalaran and were brought to Azj-Kahet to be experimented on. After receiving an invitation to visit the nerubian capital, the City of Threads, Alleria meets with Executor Nizrek, one of Ansurek's advisors known as "the Vizier", who had become horrified by the queen's actions and secretly rescued Anduin. After observing one of Ansurek's speeches, Anduin and Alleria witness Xal'atath by her side. Alleria impulsively attempts to assassinate Xal'atath, who easily avoids the attack, and Ansurek sends guards to apprehend them, forcing Anduin and Alleria to flee. After they inform the Weaver of what transpired in the city, she contacts the General and the Vizier, who together decide to join forces and form the Severed Threads conspiracy to launch an insurrection against Ansurek.

#### Algari Offensive

After returning to the surface, Anduin and Alleria inform their allies of the danger they face if Xal'atath is allowed to proceed with her plans. Thrall and Jaina soon reach the Isle of Dorn with a large fleet of Horde and Alliance ships and begin training the earthen for war while Alleria is reunited with her partner Turalyon. With the combined might of the earthen, Arathi, Horde, and Alliance, they form the Algari Offensive to protect Khaz Algar and stop Xal'atath.
While the Council of Dornogal had been restored with Merrix, Adelgonn, and Brinthe among his members, they still sought to reform the Stormriders and find a new Stormward to lead them. Thrall seeks out Lufsela, who tends to the elemental stormrooks that the Stormriders use as mounts, and together they work with the veteran Stormrider Olbarig to find recruits to replenish their number and manage to summon forth new stormrooks to use in battle. The council soon decides to renounce the Titan's edicts for good to give the earthen the freedom of choice and to better assist their new allies. For her help in restoring the Stormriders to their former glory, Lufsela is made the new Stormward with Olbarig as her second, making the Council of Dornogal whole for the first time in thousands of years. Wanting to assist with the war effort, Brinthe and Dagran travel to the Deepforge Golemworks, an abandoned facility that once produced war golems, only to find it overrun by the Darkfuse Enforcement, a goblin mercenary company. They work together to restore a hydropower plant and restart a mining operation, allowing them to reanimate dormant war golems that quickly disperse the goblins, and the facility is reactivated.
Seeking to uncover intel that would benefit her cause, the Weaver has her quartermaster Y'tekhi undergo ascension to infiltrate the City of Threads. After seeking assistance from the surface, Y'tekhi is joined by the forsaken Lillian Voss, and they sneak into the Transformatory, where the Ascended were created. They soon discover that the deposed nerubian queen Neferess was still alive but been turned into a monstrous abomination as part of a failed experiment. Y'tekhi is then possessed by Xal'atath, forcing Voss to subdue them and flee the area, only to discover a vast operation where nerubians were transporting Black Blood to Hallowfall.
With the reformed Stormriders and newly constructed war golems, the earthen join the Arathi in Hallowfall to defend against an impending invasion of nerubians led by Xal'atath. The Algari Offensive manages to defeat the invading nerubians, only for Alleria to discover that Black Blood was being channeled through Hallowfall toward the Priory of the Sacred Flame, where the Arathi worship Beledar, which had shifted into its Void state. Alleria, Anduin, and Faerin reach the priory where Neferess is compelled to attack them, but after she fights against Xal'atath's control, they spare her. Alleria then confronts Xal'atath, who had begun channeling energy from Beledar into the Dark Heart. She fires an arrow that strikes and cracks open the Dark Heart, angering Xal'atath, who hastily retreats. As Xal'atath portals away, Khadgar emerges from the portal and collapses, having been trapped inside the Dark Heart since Dalaran's destruction. As Beledar shifts back into its Light state, Anduin rekindles his Light abilities and heals the archmage. Alleria and Anduin then bring Khadgar to Dornogal to recover, and Neferess is brought to the Weaver in Azj-Kahet.
With Ansurek's forces weakened, many citizens in the City of Threads are abducted and forced into becoming Ascended. The Vizier investigates the disappearances and finds that the void ethereal Nexus-Princess Ky'veza, a new arrival to the city, was responsible. The Severed Threads conspirators, the Weaver, General, and Vizier, then launch a joint assault on Nerub-ar Palace, Ansurek's seat of power. They defeat the queen's monstrous experiments and army of Ascended before engaging Ky'veza, who is discovered to be an assassin sent to kill Ansurek as she had become too unstable. After the assassin flees the palace, Ansurek begins executing many of her subjects, suspecting them all to be traitors. The conspirators soon engage Ansurek herself who, in a final desperate move, attempts to undergo ascension but is defeated. Xal'atath then appears before the dying queen and informs her that their cooperation was only a means to an end before departing. Victorious in their campaign, the conspirators gather around Ansurek's corpse and plan for their kingdom's future. Following the queen's death, the General takes his revenge on Zev'kall and manages to kill his rival in a duel before succumbing to his wounds.

### Underminde(d) campaign
#### Expedition to Siren Isle

With Xal'atath having retreated following the disruption of her plans, Orweyna and fellow haranir Hannan investigate the remaining Black Blood in Hallowfall. Hannan and the other haranir in their group become frustrated with Orweyna for ignoring their people's isolationism before leaving her alone to return to their homeland. Orweyna then receives a vision from Azeroth that leads her to the Ringing Deeps, where Gazlowe is investigating the large goblin presence at the newly established Opportunity Point and is joined by the spy Renzik "The Shiv", who shares his concerns. Orweyna scouts the goblin operation and learns that Jastor Gallywix, the former Trade Prince of the Bilgewater Cartel who previously abandoned the Horde, was responsible and had been making illicit deals to expand his influence. Orweyna then asks Magni for advice regarding her visions of Azeroth before he and Moira depart Khaz Algar to return to the dwarven capital of Ironforge.
Meanwhile, Gazlowe's assistant Skaggit is put in charge of the expeditionary group Gazlowe's Greasemonkeys to investigate the mysterious Siren Isle after it was discovered by his goblin crew when they were drawn to a singing crystal at its center. Intrigued by the discovery, the earthen and Arathi send their own expeditions to the storm-lashed island, with the latter coming to revere the crystal. The earthen ordinant Bargus investigates a titan-forged vault on the island and learns of its history and what happened to the previous inhabitants. Despite their differences, the goblins, earthen, and Arathi agree to collaborate and share resources to uncover Siren Isle's secrets.
Still reeling from Dalaran's destruction, Archmage Aethas Sunreaver, one of the Kirin Tor's highest-ranking members, sends missives from Dalaran's crash site to rally the few remaining survivors and help decide the Kirin Tor's future. Kalecgos, Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight, is the first to respond and recovers magical artifacts stolen from the ruins, including a necklace that once belonged to the disgraced Archmage Kel'Thuzad, who was exiled from the Kirin Tor for practicing necromancy. Jaina then disposes of a dangerous mana bomb that had been preserved by the Kirin Tor, despite one having previously destroyed the human city of Theramore. Joined by the now wheelchair-bound Khadgar, the remaining mages hold a memorial at the crash site. Eager to put the Kirin Tor's past mistakes behind them, Khadgar proposes they restart the Kirin Tor by not rebuilding Dalaran and disbanding its ruling Council of Six, while Jaina and Aethas work to bring everyone back together.

#### Liberation of Undermine

After they are alerted to a new cavern having been blown open at Opportunity Point, Gazlowe, Renzik, and Orweyna investigate. They find that the Venture Company cartel had begun harvesting vast amounts of Black Blood and were shipping it to the goblin capital of Undermine. The engineer Pamsy is revealed to have blown open the cavern as a cry for help after her crew was killed, and together they thwart the mining operation. Pamsy then helps Gazlowe and his allies get transportation to Undermine, only to find that Gallywix had assumed control of the city using his personal army of mercenaries, the Darkfuse Enforcement cartel. Gazlowe discovers that his own people, the Bilgewater Cartel, were being openly harassed by the Darkfuse after Gallywix killed the goblin that Gazlowe had left in charge. Seeking allies, Pamsy takes them to the Incontinental Hotel and introduces them to Grimla Fizzlecrank, a high-ranking member of the Venture Co. who opposes their chairwoman, Nikki the Fixer, who had willingly sided with Gallywix along with most of her cartel.
Gazlowe and Renzik learn from Grimla that the Blackwater Cartel, led by Trade Prince Revilgaz, had been smuggling the Black Blood through Undermine. After confronting Revilgaz, he informs them that he was being coerced into helping Gallywix and that the Steamweedle Cartel, led by Trade Prince Marin Noggenfogger, was also involved. After being contacted by Orweyna, Alleria arrives in the city and joins Gazlowe and Renzik in confronting Marin, who was also being forced to aid Gallywix against his will. He tells them of another mining operation on the subcontinent of Zandalar, where the valuable ore kaja'mite was being harvested as it could stabilize the Black Blood and create dangerous weapons. Gazlowe and Renzik take transportation to Zandalar to investigate and learn that Gallywix was using the stabilized Black Blood to repair the Dark Heart for Xal'atath. After they return to Undermine, a group of void ethereals led by Phase-Thief Azir launch an assault, seeking the Dark Heart, but are repelled. Marin then reveals to the others that high-value hostages were being used to control him and Revilgaz from a secret warehouse. Gazlowe and Renzik quickly free the hostages, but Azir steals the Dark Heart from Gallywix before departing. Now that Gallywix no longer has leverage over them, Marin and Revilgaz join forces with Gazlowe, Renzik, and Grimla, while Alleria leaves Undermine to continue hunting for the Dark Heart.
As Gazlowe plans his next move, Nikki attempts to assassinate him with a Black Blood-infused rifle, but Renzik dives in front of Gazlowe and is killed. Renzik's sacrifice makes him a martyr, and Gazlowe leads a revolution against Gallywix, liberating each district of Undermine from the Darkfuse and cutting off their supply of Black Blood weapons. Gallywix retreats to his personal casino, the Gallagio, and the citizens of Undermine march on it, demanding his removal. After Gazlowe avenges Renzik by killing Nikki, Gallywix begs Xal'atath for help, but she abandons him when she learns he gave the Dark Heart to the void ethereals, who are not actually working for her. Gazlowe and the revolutionaries storm the Gallagio, defeating the remainder of Gallywix's forces and confronting Gallywix, who is crushed to death by his own damaged mech, ending his reign over Undermine. In the aftermath of the revolution, Grimla assumes control of the Venture Co., while the remaining Darkfuse rebrand their cartel and plan to make amends. Gazlowe invites Renzik's closest friend to Undermine, the Alliance spymaster Mathias Shaw, and together they spread Renzik's ashes. With Undermine finally freed, Gazlowe, Marin, Revilgaz, and Grimla plan for the future of their city and its people.

## Development

World of Warcraft: The War Within was announced at BlizzCon on November 3, 2023 as the first entry in the Worldsoul Saga trilogy, led by Chris Metzen. Alongside The War Within Blizzard Entertainment also announced a further two expansions: Midnight, and The Last Titan with plans to release new expansions and patches faster than before.

## Reception

Aggregate score :
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | 85/100 |
The War Within received "generally favorable" reviews with a score of 85 on Metacritic, based on 35 critic reviews. Leana Hafer from IGN praised the expansion, stating that it represents "the best it's ever been" for the game, highlighting the story, environments, music, and new features. Robin Baird from MMORPG.com noted that the expansion sets a strong precedent for future content. Alex Avard from GamesRadar+ mentioned that while the expansion isn't groundbreaking, it does a great job of setting the stage for the Worldsoul Saga.