The new battle royale game mode in World of Warcraft, called Plunderstorm, doesn’t really interest me. I think I waited a week or two before even giving it a try but of course I was going to try it. Even though I might not enjoy all aspects of World of Warcraft I do enjoy the overall world of Azeroth. I think Blizzard has done a great job with the art style, which has aged wonderfully over the years, and the classes are all fun to play. So eventually I jumped into Plunderstorm and something unexpected happened, I won!
This happened back on March 27th but I still wanted to write this post because I thought it was pretty cool. Don’t go thinking I played this game mode all the time either. I just checked and I’m still only renown level 9. Although a good foundation of a game mode, I didn’t see myself sinking a ton of time into it for just some transmogs I’ll never use. With that out of the way, let’s get into what happened.
In Plunderstorm you start with no abilities and pick up new ones by defeating mobs or looting chests. In this match I got lucky because one of the abilities I really like is a shard of ice you throw at someone and it slows them down. It’s also a targeted ability so you never miss, you just need to be in range. The beauty of this ability is it can be offensive or defensive. Slow an attacker so you can get away, or slow a target so you can catch up to them.
Another ability I had was the giant void bubble of death (my naming, not theirs). It can be difficult to land the ability unless a target is slowed or is in a confined space, as is the case at the end of the battle royale, but it does great damage if you hit your target.
The other two support abilities I had were bombs I could toss out and also a stealth ability that, just like the ice shard, could be offensive or defensive. Allowing me to stealth and sneak up on people or just get away to heal.
So with the abilities explained, how did I manage to defeat the other 59 players? It came down to four players remaining at the end. Two of us, including myself, were level 7 and the other two were level 10 (max level) and 8. The other level 7 player was just happy to be there.
If you’ve played the game before you know what I’m talking about. This player wasn’t very good in combat and they never really had a chance of winning. They basically hid all game hoping no one would see them and it was probably a personal win for them to make it to one of the last players standing. There’s nothing wrong with this as everyone is at different skill levels and I’m sure they were excited to be there.
The other two players are what was stopping me from winning. From my previous experience I knew that I wasn’t going to beat a level 10 player. No shot. They had probably played more than me and were higher skilled than I was in a 1v1 scenario. However, I’ve been gaming for a long time and I can quickly see strategies and more importantly opportunities as they present themselves. As I mentioned, there were four of us left so at this point it was a chess game.
Here’s where luck and seizing an opportunity intersect. The level 10 and level 8 dove each other and the level 7 ran and hid in a corner. I knew that this was going to be my chance and that if the level 8 can keep the level 10 distracted and do damage to him then I might be able to help take out the level 10. This wouldn’t guarantee a win for me but at least the 10 would be gone and it would just be me, an 8 and a 7. Much better odds.
There I was, targeting the level 10, watching the fight unfold as I made my way closer to them. They both leaped over to the edge of the arena in a heated battle. Lucky for me the level 8 was a great player and although the level 10 ultimately killed him he left the level 10 with probably 10-15% health. This was my opportunity.
As I B-lined it to the level 10 he knew what was coming and there was nothing he could do about it. He played his hand diving the level 8 and at that point he realized it was the wrong decision. He stood there, back against the edge of the arena, his leap and other abilities on cooldown and he just stared at me as I quickly closed the gap. It was done, the level 10 had been eliminated and all that remained was two level 7’s.
I turned around, thrilled that my strategy had worked so well and looked at the final player standing between me and my victory. At this point, before even engaging the other player, I knew the odds were in my favor. I’m not the best player but I am a good player and I felt that with an even level matchup, and considering this other guy was just hiding the whole game, I could take them.
I made quick work of them. The void ball of death ended them and my screen was a flurry of notifications. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t let out a giant “Woooo!” that I’m sure people outside could hear through the walls. There is something so exhilarating, almost primal, about going up against 59 other players and coming out victorious.
There is so much that goes into getting a victory on this scale and so many variables can tip the scales. Does it mean that I was the most skilled player in the match? No, but I did have to be a good player who could see an opportunity when it presented itself and use it to my advantage. It also meant that the other players who were more skilled in one-on-one combat needed to make mistakes. All of that, and more, went into me achieving my Plunderstom victory. What a great feeling.