World of Warcraft: Tides of Vengeance
By Neilie Johnson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
New expansion enhances story, adds fun high-level gameplay.
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World of Warcraft: Tides of Vengeance
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Based on 1 parent review
This is part of the BfA expansion, and is not recommended
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What’s It About?
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: TIDES OF VENGEANCE is a free content update that builds on the popular fantasy MMORPG World of Warcraft. It puts players at the forefront of the continued War Campaign between the Alliance and the Horde as betrayals mount and battle lines become more entrenched. Players fight for their factions, earning new armor, weapons, and cosmetic upgrades from a new Darkshore Warfront and new quests, Island Expeditions, and high-level raids. New players get a leg up on reaching this high end content with a new 25% reduction in leveling requirements. Players wanting to test their pets' mettle can explore the new Gnomeregan Battle Pet Dungeon, and lore-hounds left on edge from The Battle of Azeroth expansion finally get some answers.
Is It Any Good?
This is an impactful update, with a new Warfront and two new Raids that really adds a lot of content for veteran gamers of this long running franchise. In World of Warcraft: Tides of Vengeance, a new darkness covers Azeroth as the Alliance and Horde battle for control of the former Night Elf region called Darkshore and the Zandalari city of Zuldazar. Former frenemies once again are all-out foes in a story-rich update that offers experienced players some serious fun. The new Warfront, Battle for Darkshore, is a nod to real-time strategy games and lets you try to capture (or hold) Darkshore by fighting and collecting and managing resources. It's chaotic cooperative fun and mostly free of player-to-player drama. If drama's OK with you though, the new 20-player raid, Battle of Dazar'alor, has your name all over it. This epic three-act dungeon's set in the Zandalari troll city of Zuldazar, pits players against some varied -- and seriously staggering -- bosses. The raid boasts some shocking reveals among its heroes and sets the stage for what promises to be an epic showdown between Alliance and Horde. As they say in the movies: “Now it's personal.”
While the new raids and new Warfront are the centerpiece of the update, Blizzard hasn't neglected the other areas of the game. Countless changes have been made to to skills, classes, rewards, and more, and battle pet fans will squeal with delight at the new Gnomeregan Battle Pet Dungeon. But there's a downside. To enjoy Tides of Vengeance (or in fact, even access it), your characters have to be very high level, so new players have a lot to learn and do before they can experience it for themselves. Fortunately, Blizzard's commitment to helping new players progress with the free base game download, free play to level 20, and the newly-implemented leveling speed increase should help them along. The downside for experienced players is the release schedule. Blizzard's decision to release the update piecemeal over a couple of months instead of all at once hasn't been popular; even so, time (and levels) pass quickly, so no matter what level you are now, World of Warcraft: Tides of Vengeance has quality gameplay in store for you.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
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Game Details
- Platforms: Mac, Windows
- Pricing structure: Free (Requires free base game World of Warcraft, but also requires purchase of paid expansion, The Battle for Azeroth @ $49.99.)
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Release date: January 22, 2019
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures
- ESRB rating: T for Fantasy Violence, Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Alcohol, Mildly Suggestive Content
- Last updated: December 15, 2020
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