The War Within Warbands Guide

The War Within expansion introduces Warbands, a new account-wide progression system for World of Warcraft. This innovative system aims to enhance the gameplay experience for players who frequently play with multiple characters (alts) by offering shared progression across all characters on a single account, regardless of faction. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the Warbands system, detailing its features, benefits, and the various changes it brings to the game.

Overview of Warbands

Warbands are designed to address several key objectives:

• Simplify the experience of playing alternate characters by providing a shared progression system.
• Allow players to switch between characters without losing significant progress.
• Making achievements and other progress account-wide.
• Make it clear which parts of the game are account-wide.

How Many Characters Can Be in Warbands?

The Warbands system in The War Within expansion allows all characters on a Battle.net account to be part of a single Warband without any restrictions on the number of characters. This account-wide system includes characters from any server, faction, or level, encompassing the entire account.

Account-Wide Progression Systems in the War Within

Warband Conversions

One of the most significant aspects of the Warbands system is the conversion of many character-specific progressions to Warband-wide progressions. Upon logging in after the pre-expansion patch, players will notice that various progression elements have been converted to apply to all characters on their account. This conversion process happens automatically and may take some time to complete, but it ensures that players do not need to log into each character individually to see their progress unified.

Warband Bank

The Warband Bank is an account-wide bank that all characters on an account can access. This feature eliminates the cumbersome process of mailing items between characters. The Warband Bank includes five tabs, each offering 98 inventory slots. Players will need to purchase each tab in-game with gold, with the cost increasing for each subsequent tab. This shared bank streamlines item management across characters, making it easier to transfer reagents and other items.

Gear

The Warbands system introduces gear with the “Warbound until Equipped” attribute. This type of gear can be freely transferred between characters until it is equipped, at which point it becomes Soulbound and can no longer be transferred. This system simplifies gearing up alts and makes the process more efficient. Warbound until Equipped gear will be available from raids, dungeons, and Delves, with a bonus chance to earn additional pieces as personal loot. The bonus gear will be one tier lower than the source loot and may be usable by any class, providing flexibility in gearing up various characters.

Transmog Collections

Transmog collections are also being revamped. In The War Within, transmog collections will become armor type-agnostic, allowing any character to unlock appearances for other armor types. For example, if a Priest loots a piece of plate armor, they will unlock that transmog for any plate-wearing characters on their account. Class-specific appearances will remain exclusive to their respective classes, but the majority of transmog collections will be more accessible. Additionally, players will be able to view appearances for any character within the appearances UI, making it easier to manage transmog collections across the account.

Achievements

Achievements are being significantly streamlined with the Warbands system. Many achievements will become Warband-wide, meaning once an achievement is earned, it will apply to all characters on the account. This change eliminates the need to earn the same achievement on multiple characters. A total Warband achievement score will replace individual character scores, providing a unified measure of achievement progress. Some achievements, due to their unique nature, will remain character-specific. Examples include achievements that are challenging or interesting to achieve on a single character. Rewards granted by achievements, such as titles and dungeon teleports, will also become Warband-wide.

Currencies

While currencies themselves are not entirely Warband-wide, the system for transferring currencies between characters has been improved. Shareable currencies can be directly transferred from one character to another within the current User Interface, simplifying the process and reducing the risk of spending the wrong currency on the wrong character.

Warband-Wide Reputation

Reputation systems introduced in The War Within expansion will become account-wide, allowing reputation progress made on one character to be shared across all characters on the account. This change eliminates the need to grind for Exalted status on multiple characters. When a reputation is converted to be Warband-wide, the progress will display as the furthest any character has achieved. Several reputations from the Dragonflight expansion will be included in this system. However, certain minor reputations, such as Winterpelt Furbolg and Glimmerogg Racer, will remain character-specific. Additionally, the Human racial Diplomacy, which grants a 10% bonus to reputation gains, will be removed from the game as it does not fit the new system.

Additional Changes

New Character Select Screen

The Character Select screen has received a visual makeover. Characters are now displayed around a campfire, while the main list of characters is shown via a drop-down menu. Although this change does not introduce new functionality, it provides a fresh look for the character selection process.

Rolling for Gear in Raids

There is a slight change in how gear rolling works in raids with the Group Loot system. For transmog purposes, uncollected gear will have a Transmog option instead of a Greed option, giving it a higher priority. Characters capable of equipping the gear will have a higher priority in Transmog rolls, ensuring that the gear goes to those who can use it immediately.

Conclusion

The Warbands system in The War Within expansion is designed to enhance the quality of life for players who manage multiple characters. By providing shared progression and simplifying various gameplay aspects, the Warbands system offers a cohesive and flexible experience across all characters on a Battle.net account. With features like the Warband Bank, Warbound until Equipped gear, account-wide achievements, and reputation, players can enjoy a more streamlined and efficient gaming experience. Explore Azeroth with the freedom to switch characters without losing progress, and make the most of the new Warbands system in The War Within expansion