In recent days, Blizzard has been publishing more about the garrisons that will await you in the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft, “Warlords of Draenor.” In the current developer blog, various followers have been discussed, and they’ve shared a bit about what these can do. We have summarized the most exciting announcements for you.
My little private army wants to be leveled up first
At the beginning, you will only have very few followers in your garrison; a barracks is essential to even encounter them. Your followers have different traits and abilities and can – just like yourself – reach level 100, but they need to complete missions for that. Depending on the abilities your underlings possess, they are suited for different tasks: Some are, for example, better blacksmiths, while others you prefer to send on combat missions.
In total, you will be able to have 20 (or 25 with a Level 3 barracks) active followers, but you can also collect more and freely exchange the inactive ones for the hardworking colleagues. Similar to pets and items, followers have a rarity level ranging from uncommon to epic (“green” to “purple”), and this also determines the number of their abilities. But don’t worry, even a “green” Leeroy Jenkins can become epic, as once he reaches level 100, excess experience will be invested in improving his rarity level.
Bodyguards – “Pets” for everyone?
A small number of followers have the trait “bodyguard,” which means, simplified, that this companion will also follow you into quest and leveling areas and fight by your side – similar to the pets of warlocks and hunters. Whether these specific followers can be given direct commands or whether they will act completely automatically is still not conclusively determined – but they are likely to act independently and utilize their characteristic abilities (Millhouse Manastorm will probably drink – a lot).
But that’s not all: Your bodyguard has its own reputation bar and gets to know you better over time as it helps its hero secure or unsettle the expanses of Draenor. At certain reputation levels, it gains new, useful abilities that you can access: it can summon other players to your position, serve as a mailbox, act as a repair station, or even open a portal to your garrison.
New followers – where do they come from?
The majority of followers can simply be found in the game world – they will join you after certain missions, can be “hired” for a gold amount (I prefer the term “recruited,” but who am I to say?) or become available through certain achievements, like Nat Pagle, whom you will undoubtedly bind to you once again through persistent fishing skills.
However, if you are looking for an NPC with very specific traits, you should acquire an inn or tavern (level 2) as soon as possible, where you can send out an agent once a week who will then present you with three suitable candidates, one of whom you may choose.
You can view the complete developer blog on battle.net in its entirety here: Preview of the Garrison, Part 3 – Who are your people, anyway?
