WoW’s Plunderstorm Battle Royale Mode Returns Today, Now With Less Grinding [Video]

World of Warcraft’s pirate-themed battle royale Plunderstorm is back for a limited time, this time with a revamped progression system and new rewards to fight over. The mode, which does require a WoW subscription but not the game’s latest expansion, will be playable January 14 through February 18.

Blizzard first introduced the experimental PvP mode last spring. It stood out thanks to how it played nothing like the genre-defining MMORPG players have come to know. Players create a class-less character, drop into the game’s Arathi Highlands map, and then scrounge for new abilities and gear upgrades while battling both NPCs and players alike to level up and become more powerful.

Combat is all skill-based, requiring proper position and timing rather than simply right-clicking on enemies and having attacks automatically hit. According to a datamine by Wowhead, it seems …