What War Mode is
War Mode lets players on any realm join open-world PvP with others who want it, as part of the endless war between the Horde and the Alliance. Switching it on gives you the Enlisted buff and a set of rewards that make up for the risk of being attacked by the other faction.
It replaced the old split between PvP realms, where players could always be attacked, and PvE realms, where they flagged themselves on or off. Blizzard's aim was that nobody should feel locked into one play style by the realm they picked, for example because their friends were there. Everyone with War Mode on shares one shard, and everyone without it shares another; the sharding is ignored inside Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
Turning it on and off
The War Mode button sits at the bottom right of the Specialization & Talents window once your character reaches level 20. You can only switch it on in one of these cities:
- Stormwind City and Orgrimmar (from the start)
- Valdrakken (since patch 10.0.5)
- Dornogal (since patch 11.0.0)
- Silvermoon City and Masters' Perch
Turning it off is easier: since patch 8.1.0 you can do it in any rested area, including inns and other cities, which also lets you rejoin friends who are not enlisted.
Bonuses
| Bonus | Details |
|---|---|
| +10% | Experience from quests and monster kills, and gold, currency or Azerite Power from world quests |
| Up to +20% more | War Mode: Call to Arms, given to the faction that has fewer War Mode players (added in patch 8.1.0) |
| Extra quest | Against Overwhelming Odds, offered to the smaller side when participation is very one-sided |
| PvP talents | Active in the open world while War Mode is on |
| Bloody Tokens | A currency from world PvP activities that can be traded for gear |
Air drops and bounty hunting
Battle for Azeroth added two world PvP features to Zandalar and Kul Tiras for players in War Mode:
- Air drops: now and then a flying machine or zeppelin crosses a zone and drops a War Supply Crate. Both factions fight over it, and once one side controls it, its players nearby have a short time to open it for a piece of personal loot.
- Bounty hunting: kill 10 players of the other faction without dying and you become an Assassin, with 15% more damage and healing. The more you kill, the more likely you are to be marked on the zone map with a bounty, and whoever kills an Assassin earns Conquest and other rewards.
Sources
Game pictures: © Blizzard Entertainment · worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com
