WoW: Plunderstorm Updates for Early 2025
World of Warcraft: The War Within is seeing the return of a much-loved previous temporary event…Plunderstorm! Plunderstorm was initially introduced in Patch 10.2.6 as a FOMO game mode, involving a renown track and awesome rewards obtainable by specialized characters for the event. The event was reminiscent of many battle royale games, with 60 players fighting to be the final one left standing amidst the carnage.
This rendition of Plunderstorm, in 2025, will see some changes to the event. These changes both impact the way the event works and the rewards dedicated pirates can receive from it. In this article, the changes to Plunderstorm as of this latest version of the event will be covered. The current Plunderstorm event will last until February 18th, 2025. Grab your gear, hat, and eyepatch, because it’s time to get started!
Table of Contents
Plunderstorm Basics for 2025
Much of the beloved Plunderstorm game mode for World of Warcraft has remained the same. For the sake of brevity (and to not beat a dead Invincible or any other horse), only some key features will be covered in this article. The majority of the focus will be on the changes coming in 2025.
To play Plunderstorm, your WoW account must be active, meaning that it has an ongoing subscription or Game Time on the account. 60 players will compete in a battle royale-styled mini-game, with separate progression from Retail World of Warcraft (The War Within). Highly accessible to newer players, you do not need intense knowledge of races, classes, or specializations to enjoy Plunderstorm. Your character will be ready to play immediately. As you engage in Plunderstorm, you will gain unique abilities, upgrades, and more–all exclusive to this event. Rewards are earned across your whole account. Three game modes exist for this event, including Solos, Duos, and a new Practice mode. Queueing for Duos will allow you to either play with a friend or a random player. Lastly, as a fun fact, Plunderstorm is set in the zone Arathi Highlands.
Once you’re ready to start plundering, log into modern WoW. Once at the game menu, select Plunderstorm from the appropriate drop-down menu. Create your character, choose your mode, and get ready to play. If you’d like to play with a friend, make a group before queuing from the Plunderstorm character screen. No judgment to those who prefer playing with strangers (or those who have no friends)!!
While a group of 60 players is forming, you will find yourself in Brew Bay, where you can experiment around and speak with the rewards NPC. Once the game is ready to begin, you’ll be given a choice as to where you’d like to start on the map. You can also let the game select for you. After a brief time, you’ll be able to glide and steer a parrot to your chosen crash landing spot. Be sure to plan out your landing, as you won’t have much time to think it through. Loot chests and other items, complete the Captain’s Orders quest, run through Plunder, and defeat enemies to be the last one standing!
Be careful, though. While you do have a self-healing ability for when your pirate life is about to walk the plank, a storm will close in on stragglers. Stay within the storm’s allowance to remain alive! Winning will grant you a buff that lasts until a loss (really, just bragging rights) and other various rewards, including a Retail World of Warcraft achievement.
New Utility Abilities and Offensive Abilities
Four new abilities have been added to Plunderstorm. Two of these abilities are meant as utilities, while the other two are offensive abilities. The abilities from the previous rendition of Plunderstorm remain the same. To explain these new abilities, an example from the original World of Warcraft we all know and love will be given.
In the base game of World of Warcraft, Retail, an example of an ability often considered a utility would be Stampeding Roar from Druids. Stampeding Roar causes the entire group to gain a buff that does not directly impact combat. An offensive ability could be any number of DPS abilities, including Charge, used by Warriors–really, anything with the key goal being to cause damage.
Hopefully, that will give you some idea of the categorization for these abilities!
Call Galefeather – Utility Ability Basics
- Instant
- 18-second cooldown
- Grounded target
- Knockback
- Persistent effect
- 60-yard range
Call Galefeather – Utility Ability Use
- Calls on Galefeather to knock back enemies with hefty forces of air, lasting for a short duration
G.R.A.V. Glove – Utility Ability Basics
- Instant
- 18-second cooldown
- Reposition
- Recast actons
- Slows
G.R.A.V. Glove – Utility Ability Use
- Tears into the void, placing a mark of void. Upon second cast, you instantly return to the mark
- Damages enemies and slows them down
- Can be cast during ongoing casting
Aura of Zealotry – Offensive Ability Basics
- .5 second cast
- 18-second cooldown
- Passive aura
- Caster AoE
- Melee Boost
Aura of Zealotry – Offensive Ability Use
- Increases movement speed of allies
- Casting will consecrate the ground
- Damages enemies
- While in the consecrated area, you have better mobility and hasty melee attacks
Celestial Barrage – Offensive Ability Basics
- Channeled (2 seconds)
- 18-second cooldown
- Line attack
- Hold to charge
- Extreme range
Celestial Barrage – Offensive Ability Use
- Brings a barrage of moonbeams to damage your enemies
- Can be held to increase range to ridiculous levels
Plunder, Don’t Blunder – How to Obtain Plunder and Where to Spend It
What is a pirate without booty? Flat, that’s what, and also unable to purchase the rewards Plunderstorm brings. Plunder, the currency used in the aptly named Plunderstore, can be obtained in many ways. While playing, you can find it just sitting on the ground, ready to run through and picked up. You can also collect it from enemy mobs and players that you slay. Chests also award Plunder, with larger chests taking longer to open but giving more of this currency. You can also obtain Plunder by completing Captain’s Orders quests daily (800 for the first completion of the day) and winning matches (500 Plunder per win). Dying will not subtract from your riches.
Remember Keg Leg’s Crew? Yeah, who could possibly forget? This system of renown for Plunderstorm has been removed and replaced with the Plunderstore, allowing players to purchase the rewards they want, when they want, rather than tediously leveling renown to get their chosen prize.
To maintain brevity so that you may begin pirating away as soon as possible, only the newly added rewards will be covered. Pirates were never known for patience, after all. Thirty-nine thousand Plunder will be needed to purchase all of the new rewards.
Mounts
- Plunderlord’s Midnight Crocolisk
- 5000 Plunder
- Ground exclusive. A large crocolisk toned with dusky shades of purple adorned with silver-plated armor and a luxurious seat
- Hooktalon
- 5000 Plunder
- Flying available. The recolored parrot model features deep purple, light blue, and a gorgeous pink on the tips of his wings
Pets
- Sparklesnap
- 2000 Plunder
- Summonable in Plunderstorm by Da’kash Grimledger. A shiny crustacean that has a flair for collecting golden ornaments
- Parley
- 2000 Plunder
- Also summonable in Plunderstorm by Da’kash Grimledger. A sized-down version of Hooktalon with a ferocious appetite for crackers (and hopefully NOT for your fingers!)
Transmog Set
- Plunderlord’s Stormridden Set
- 7,500 Plunder in total (varying prices per piece)
- A devilishly delectable palette of toned darks and a hint of vibrant lavender make this transmog set well worth the price tag
Transmog Hats
- First Mate’s Dashing Cap/Headgear
- 1000 Plunder
- Featuring a feather and slight fedora-ish shape, these hats might make you look fancier than most pirates if you use your manners while wearing them!
- Plunderlord’s Old Eyepatch/Hat
- 2000 Plunder
- You aren’t going to look fancy in these. Who did you even get them from? Don’t tell me you went fishing after the latest plank walker! Actually…no judgment. These transmog pieces are pretty cool
Transmog Weapons
- Plunderlord’s Stormridden Hand Cannon/Neck Severer/Rapier/Cutlass/Sigil
- 1500 Plunder
- Black and vibrant purple color schemed weaponry transmogs to fit a wide range of weapon types–goes well with the new transmog set!
- Swabbie’s Shovel/Swabbie’s Oar
- 1000 Plunder
- Simple, rustic transmog appearances for one-handed weapons and two-handed maces, respectively
Achievements for Excessive Plundering
Before this article is finished, the newly added achievements must be mentioned! If you’re a tad too addicted to Plunderstorm, WoW has a way to motivate you to quit your day job and rot away til the event is over. The new achievements are as follows.
- Lub and Plunder
- 2000 Plunder collected
- Swabbie Swag
- 10000 Plunder collected
- Decked Out
- 25000 Plunder collected
- Buckled Up
- 50000 Plunder collected
- Plunder Siege
- 100000 Plunder collected
- Lord of the Bling
- 150000 Plunder collected
- It’s a Plunderful Life
- 250000 Plunder collected
Try to see how many puns and allusions you can spot above. Trust me, there’s plenty.
Concluding Thoughts
Plunderstorm has made a much-welcome return to WoW. As a PvP event with PvE elements, all players have a chance to obtain Plunder while playing their preferred way. Whatever your goals may be, know that the pirate’s life is one route there. Whether you are a mount hoarder, pet collector, or transmog enthusiastic fashionista, Plunderstorm has something for you! With no knowledge needed of races, classes, or specializations, this FOMO version of World of Warcraft is highly accessible, even if you never win a match. Lasting until the middle of February, 2025’s rendition of this event is going strong. So, why wait a second more? Log into WoW and get plundering!
