Complete Plunderstorm Guide – Everything You Need to Know
Plunderstorm Guide
Welcome to the Plunderstorm Guide for World of Warcraft! This is a 60-player Battle Royale mode in World of Warcraft that is available for anyone with an active subscription. In this guide, we will cover the basics of Plunderstorm, how to access it, the rewards, and more!
"Plunderstorm will be live from January 14th to February 18th, 2025"
An Introduction to Plunderstorm
As mentioned above, Plunderstorm is a 60-player Battle Royale game mode with abilities, combat, and rewards set in the World of Warcraft universe. Here's a short introduction to the basics of Plunderstorm:
- Plunderstorm requires an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time.
- Plunderstorm can be accessed from the World of Warcraft game menu.
- Player progression in Plunderstorm is unique to this event and will not affect character power in the base game.
- To play Plunderstorm, you will create a new, ready-to-play character exclusive to this event.
- You do not need to know anything about current races and classes to play.
- There are three game modes: Solos, Duos, and Practice. If you queue for Duos, you can play with a Battle.net friend, or the game will randomly select a partner for you.
- Discover abilities and upgrades as you plunder - abilities and mechanics in Plunderstorm are unique to this event.
- Rewards are account-wide - you can earn rewards available in both Retail and Classic World of Warcraft.
- Plunderstorm takes place in the Arathi Highlands.
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How to Get Started with Plunderstorm
If you're playing modern World of Warcraft, all you need to do is hit Play as usual:
- Select Plunderstorm from the World of Warcraft game menu.
- Create a new, ready-to-play character.
- Choose between Solos, Duos, or Practice.
- To play with your Battle.net friends, create a group from the Plunderstorm character screen and select Duos. If you queued for Duos without a partner, you'll be automatically matched with other players and a random teammate.
Practice Mode Coming to Plunderstorm: No More Trios?
Plunderstorm will now feature a Practice Mode, allowing players to practice before queuing against others. In the image below, you can see the Practice option where Trios used to be. At this time, we are unsure if Trios will return with Plunderstorm. Stay tuned!
Plunderstorm Setting and Gameplay
The objective of the game is simple:
- Defeat creatures and enemies to level up and acquire spells and abilities.
- Use the looted spells and abilities to defeat your opponents.
- All players start with a healing ability to use when their health is low.
- As the game progresses, a storm closes in, dealing damage to any player within it. Get to the safe zone before the storm hits you!
- To win, be the last one standing.
Once you have created your character and selected the Solos or Duos queue, you will zone into Brew Bay. Here, you can explore, experiment, and talk to the Rewards NPC while waiting for 60 players to fill your group.
Once all 60 players have loaded in, a countdown will begin to signal that the game is about to start. When the countdown hits zero, a cannon will land on your head.
The cannon will shoot you into the sky, where you’ll find yourself riding a parrot that will make a crash landing. You can steer it to some extent and have a few seconds to plan your landing.
Basic Gameplay Mechanics
Once you crash land, it’s game on. Players start at Level 1 with no abilities except for a basic attack and heal, and possibly one use of an escape item. There are 60 of you, and the last player standing (or the last 2 if you’re playing Duos) is the winner! Go go go go go...
- Players will receive a Captain's Orders quest to complete upon landing. Complete the quest to earn additional Plunder.
- Run through Plunder to loot it.
- Click on Chests and other objects to loot them.
- Abilities you find can be added to your Interface bar by clicking on them.
- Double-tap your space bar to double jump.
- To level up past Level 1, defeat mobs, Elite mobs, and other players using your abilities.
- Increasing your Level will improve your base attack damage and total health.
- If you are playing Duos, you can resurrect a dead partner by standing in the circle that appears around them.
- When all else fails, grab as much loot as you can!
- Killing and looting earns you Plunder and Experience.
While you could try to hide and sneak until the event is over, the Storm will thwart your plans. The Storm slowly shrinks the playing field, forcing you and the other survivors to battle it out.
Once you are defeated, you are done. You will be told your rank out of 60, and then you will be thrown into observer mode for another player in your group. You can watch them play or leave the match and try again.
Winning a Game of Plunderstorm
When you win, you will receive a few special bonuses to let everyone know you're the pirate to beat:
- The First Rate Mate buff, which doesn’t provide anything other than bragging rights!
- A red eye patch and matching tabard on your character model the next time you load into a Plunderstorm match.
These privileges last until you lose, so defend them well!
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"Squishei and Portergauge are honored first mates... until someone else takes the title!"
Winning also grants you the Plunder Wonder achievement in World of Warcraft, so you’ll remember your victory forever.
Note: World of Warcraft cosmetic versions of the Plunderlord's Monocle and Plunderlord's Tabard are available through the Renown track, so you don’t have to win to earn them for your base game characters.
Plunderstorm UI and Abilities
Your UI Action Bar includes 7 action buttons, which are mapped as follows:
- R - Your Basic Attack
- T - Your Healing Potion
- 1 - An Offensive Ability
- 2 - An Offensive Ability
- 3 - A Defensive Ability
- 4 - A Defensive Ability
- 5 - An Item
You can change your Keybindings at any time by accessing the Keybindings section in the Options Menu.
Your Experience Bar is located under your Action Bar, with your minimap and quests on the right side of the screen. Your chat window is in the bottom left corner. Additionally:
- M opens your map.
- F is used to interact.
- G is used to ping.
- Double-tap Space to double jump.
You can customize your bar by dragging and dropping Offensive and Defensive abilities between their two available slots. Picking up an ability you already have at its maximum type will replace the existing ability. Picking up a duplicate ability will level up your current ability.
Offensive Spells
Upgrades increase the damage, range, and decrease the cooldown of abilities by 2 seconds each.
- Earthbreaker — Sunder the earth in an area around the caster, damaging and stunning enemies hit. (2-second cast, 12-yard range, 18-second cooldown)
- Fire Whirl — Engulf yourself in flames and rush forward, damaging enemies you pass through. (1-second cast, 8-yard range, 18-second cooldown)
- Holy Shield — Hurl a blessed shield forward, damaging enemies in its path before returning to you. Recast to trigger a holy explosion at the shield's location. (1-second cast, 40-yard range, 14-second cooldown)
- Mana Sphere — Conjure a Mana Sphere, then project it forward, damaging and knocking back enemies it passes through. Hold to increase sphere size. (1.8-second cast, 60-yard range, 14-second cooldown)
- Rime Arrow — Fires an icy arrow that seeks your current target, damaging them and nearby enemies. (0.5-second cast, 45-yard range, 10-second cooldown)
- Searing Axe — Slam down a molten axe, spewing molten lava forward that damages and knocks back enemies struck. (Instant, 15-yard range, 12-second cooldown)
- Slicing Winds — Envelop yourself in razor-sharp winds, then lunge forward, damaging enemies in your path. Hold to increase lunge distance. (1.4 second cast, 12 second cooldown)
- Star Bomb — Channel the cosmic void, compressing it into a bomb that explodes after a short delay. Enemies struck are pulled into the blast. (2.25 second cast, 40-yard range, 18-second cooldown)
- Storm Archon — Call forth elements, unleashing a destructive barrage in front of the caster. Recast Storm Archon to call another element. Can be cast twice. (Instant, 20-second cooldown)
- Toxic Smackerel — Smacks the target in front of you with a toxic mackerel, poisoning them and inflicting damage. Poison inflicts damage-over-time. If a target is already poisoned, Toxic Smackerel deals bonus damage.
Utility Spells
Upgrades reduce cooldown by 2 seconds.
- Explosive Caltrops — Evade backwards while spreading explosive caltrops that slow and damage enemies that trigger them. (Instant, 18-second cooldown)
- Fade to Shadow — Fade into the shadows, teleporting in the direction you are moving while entering stealth for a short duration.
- Faeform — Transform into a Fae creature, gaining immunity to harmful debuffs, increased movement speed, and damage reduction for a short duration. Cannot attack while transformed. (Instant, 18-second cooldown)
- Hunter's Chains — Chain yourself to your current target. While chained, recast Hunter's Chains to advance to your target's position. If your chained target moves out of the chain's range, they will be pulled towards you. (0.25 second cast, 35-yard range, 18-second cooldown)
- Lightning Bulwark — Raise a charged bulwark that negates damage taken briefly. Receiving an attack grants bonus movement speed, removes harmful debuffs, and harms enemies near the caster for a short duration. (1.25-second cast, 14-second cooldown)
- Quaking Leap — Leap forward in a large arc, then crash down damaging and stunning enemies you land on. Recast while airborne to crash down early. (0.5 second cast, 40-yard range, 14-second cooldown)
- Repel — Erect a powerful arcane barrier that repels all damage and harmful debuffs. Then, silence and knockback enemies around the caster. (Instant, 10-yard range, 22-second cooldown)
- Snowdrift — Create a snowy blizzard in an area around the caster, periodically affecting enemies with a stacking slow. (0.5-second cast, 15-yard range, 14-second cooldown)
- Steel Traps — Toss a cluster of steel traps directly in front of the caster, rooting and damaging enemies that trigger them. (Instant, 12-yard range, 18-second cooldown)
- Windstorm — Turbulent winds form in front of the caster that surge forward, damaging and stunning the first enemy struck. (Instant, 60-yard range, 14-second cooldown)
Plunderstorm Advanced Strategies
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll want to start achieving your goals, whether it’s earning specific rewards, gathering Plunder to purchase rewards, mastering the game and getting wins, or just having fun.
Plunderstorm Plunder
Pirates are nothing without their Plunder! This currency is scattered throughout the game mode, and you’ll want to grab as much as you can. There are several ways to collect Plunder:
- Plunder lies around on the ground waiting to be picked up.
- Plunder drops from enemy mobs.
- Plunder drops from other players when you kill them.
- Plunder drops from golden chests — there are 3 sizes of golden chests; larger chests drop more Plunder Plunder but take longer to open.
- You get Plunder for completing quests. The first Captain’s Orders quest of the day rewards you with 800 Plunder.
- If you win a match, you get 500 Plunder.
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New Plunderstorm Reward System: Plunderstore
Previously, Plunderstorm used a Renown-track system called Keg Leg's Crew, where players could rank up to level 40 to earn various rewards. This time around, instead of a Renown track, players will be able to earn Plunder and spend it on rewards in the Plunderstore! This new system offers players the flexibility to purchase rewards of their choice first, without having to progress through a specific Renown level.
Plunderstorm rewards include mounts and pets that can be used in both World of Warcraft Retail and Classic. The Renown track, Keg Leg's Crew, will still offer a variety of rewards, including cosmetics, pets, titles, mounts, Traders Tender, and Plunderlord Pepe. For players interested in all the rewards available through the Plunderstore, check out our rewards guide below:
