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Patch 8.2 - Experience Eliminated Aura

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Patch 8.2 - Experience Eliminated Aura
WarcraftSecrets pointed out that Patch 8.2 adds Experience Eliminated, which reduces XP from mobs and quests by 95% if anyone in the group has experience disabled. This was likely done to stop Level 110 characters from boosting players to 120 quickly.


WoW Classic Stress Test – June 19-21

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WoW Classic Stress Test – June 19-21
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We’ll have our next stress test for WoW Classic on June 19, 2019 4:00 PM EST. This stress test will be accessible to anyone with an active World of Warcraft game account in the Americas & Oceania region. For players who have not yet tested World of Warcraft Classic, the game will become available for download late tomorrow, June 18.

For this stress test, all races and classes will be available for creation, and the maximum character level will be capped at 15. In addition to the open world, there will be instanced content available at that level. This will include Warsong Gulch for PvP as well as Ragefire Chasm, Wailing Caverns, and Deadmines. Of course, Deadmines will be a challenge for players to complete at this level.

Please focus as much play as possible during the first three hours of the stress test. During this time, we’ll be looking for more issues to address under initial launch conditions. The stress test realm will remain available for 48 hours.

If you encounter any issues during the test, please let us know by using the in-game bug reporting tool. If there is anything you’d like to discuss further, feel free to post here in the Classic Discussion forum.

Thank you very much!

Do you have to have BFA on your account with the active subscription?
You do not have to have BFA to participate in this stress test. It’s available to everyone in the region with an active WoW subscription.

Patch 8.2 - Blizzard Responds to Experience Eliminated Aura, New Shirts, DLC #683

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Patch 8.2 - Blizzard Responds to Experience Eliminated Aura
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
I don’t want my XP to be 5% because some random troll que’d up on twink char and joined our group.
This won’t happen. The change only affects groups that manually invite player characters who have XP off. There is no impact on players who find themselves automatically grouped by the matchmaker while doing PvP or Group Finder dungeons.

This change also doesn’t affect anyone who has turned off XP for their own benefit, such as plundering old raids while keeping their level low enough to use their Aggramar’s Stride boots.

New Blizzard T-Shirts
The 2019 UNIQLO X Blizzard Entertainment Collection is now for sale!



Dark Legacy Comics #683
DLC #683 has been released!

Burning Crusade Timewalking, T'zane, Island Expeditions, Call to Arms: Nazmir

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Weekly Event - Burning Crusade Timewalking
Burning Crusade Timewalking is back this week. Don't forget to check out Black Temple Timewalking during the event! Black Temple awards base item level 385 gear.





T'zane - Nazmir Battle for Azeroth World Boss
T'Zane is the world boss for the week!


LevelTypeSlotNameModel Viewer
355TrinketTrinketKnot of Spiritual Fury
355TrinketTrinketSpiritbound Voodoo Burl
355TrinketTrinketT'zane's Barkspines
355ClothWaistCinch of All-Consuming Death
 Modelviewer
355ClothLegsWailing Terror Leggings
 Modelviewer
355LeatherShouldersDeathshambler's Shoulderpads
 Modelviewer
355LeatherWristsBindings of Eternal Fears
 Modelviewer
355MailLegsLegguards of the Barkbound Dead
 Modelviewer
355MailFeetSwampwalker's Soul-Treads
 Modelviewer
355PlateHeadPetrified Mask of the Afterlife
 Modelviewer
355PlateWaistDeath Devouring Girdle
 Modelviewer
355PlateWristsSoulplank Vambraces
 Modelviewer



Island Expeditions for Week of June 18th, 2019
The islands expeditions for the week are:

  • Molten Cay with Trolls
  • Jorundall with Vargul
  • Rotting Mire with Jinyu


Call to Arms: Nazmir
This week's Call to Arms is Call to Arms: Nazmir or Call to Arms: Nazmir. Head to Nazmir with warmode enabled to kill 10 players of the opposing faction. This will reward you with conquest and 75 reputation for either 7th Legion or The Honorbound.

The Eternal Palace Raid Preview and Schedule

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The Eternal Palace Raid Preview and Schedule
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Face Queen Azshara’s most devoted champions in an epic new raid—The Eternal Palace.

Ten thousand years ago, as the seas engulfed Zin-Azshari, Queen Azshara forged a dark bargain with N’Zoth that transformed her loyal subjects into the sinister naga. Through millennia of brutal conquest, Azshara has built a new empire from the ruins of the old and now holds dominion over the depths that once threatened to claim her. Ever the gracious host, she has invited the Alliance and Horde alike into her eternal palace to witness her glorious ascension… and their ultimate demise.

Raid bosses: 8

Difficulties: Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic, Mythic

Level: 120

Raid Finder Minimum Item Level: 380

Raid Unlock Schedule:

July 9 – Normal and Heroic Difficulties

July 16 – Mythic and Raid Finder Wing 1 (Abyssal Commander Sivara, Blackwater Behemoth, Radiance of Azshara)

July 30 – Raid Finder Wing 2 (Lady Ashvane, Orgozoa, The Queen’s Court)

August 13 – Raid Finder Wing 3 (Za’qul, Queen Azshara)


Abyssal Commander Sivara
A master of both martial and magical arts, Abyssal Commander Sivara has ruthlessly led Azshara’s vanguard to countless victories.


Blackwater Behemoth
Summoned from depths unknown, the Blackwater Behemoth lurks in an abyss so dark that not even the naga dare to venture into it. Only Azshara is capable of taming the beast, and she has trained it to faithfully guard her treasures.


Radiance of Azshara
Using her handmaiden as a willing sacrifice, Azshara has forged into being an elemental of storm and arcana. Powered by the soul of the devoted vassal, the resulting monstrosity is the avatar of Azshara’s radiance.


Lady Ashvane
Priscilla Ashvane’s relentless pursuit of power has ultimately led her to the Eternal Palace and into a dark pact with Queen Azshara. But what Ashvane receives in return for her loyalty may be more than she bargained for.


Orgozoa
Orgozoa tends to Azshara’s hatchery, preparing for the day her incubating horrors are unleashed upon Azeroth.


The Queen’s Court
For ten thousand years, the Queen’s Court has never failed to enforce the word of Azshara. Now, the queen’s most powerful servants stand ready to fulfill her final decree.


Za’qul, Harbinger of Ny’alotha
The harbinger for the end of days, Za’qul shreds the last vestiges of sanity from a world in chaos, laying the foundations for Azeroth’s new master.


Queen Azshara
Queen of the Naga, Empress of Nazjatar, and one of the most powerful entities Azeroth has ever known, Azshara has plotted and schemed for millennia in preparation for this fateful moment. Now, with all the pieces in place, the time has finally come to reveal her endgame.


New Achievements
Completing the following achievements will earn players the meta-achievement Glory of the Palace Raider and reward the Azshari Bloatray mount: You and What Army?, Fun Run, Intro to Marine Biology, Simple Geometry, If It Please the Court, A Smack of Jellyfish, Lactose Intolerant, ‘The Best of Us

All Difficulties
  • The Grand Reception: Defeat the following bosses in The Eternal Palace—Abyssal Commander Sivara, Blackwater Behemoth, Radiance of Azshara
  • Depths of the Devoted: Defeat the following bosses in The Eternal Palace—Lady Ashvane, Orgozoa, The Queen’s Court
  • The Circle of Stars: Defeat the following bosses in The Eternal Palace—Za’qul, Queen Azshara

Normal Difficulty and Higher


  • You and What Army?: Defeat Abyssal Commander Sivara in The Eternal Palace while all three of her lieutenants are alive and engaged in the fight on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • Intro to Marine Biology: Defeat the Blackwater Behemoth in The Eternal Palace after collecting 50 samples of sea life from within the Darkest Depths on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • Fun Run: Defeat Radiance of Azshara in The Eternal Palace after running eight consecutive complete laps around her arena on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • Simple Geometry: Defeat Lady Ashvane in The Eternal Palace after having each cast of Arcing Azerite pass through her on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • A Smack of Jellyfish: Defeat Orgozoa in the Hatchery in The Eternal Palace after incubating a baby Zoatroid on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • If It Please the Court: Perform various emotes to earn Queen Azshara's Favor in The Eternal Palace, then defeat the Queen’s Court on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • Lactose Intolerant: Defeat Za’qul in The Eternal Palace right after killing ten Twinklehoof Bovine on Normal difficulty or higher.
  • The Best of Us: Defeat Queen Azshara in The Eternal Palace with one player still alive who is currently affected by Essence of Azeroth on Normal difficulty or higher.

The Eternal Palace Meta-Achievement

Reward: Azshari Bloatray

Heroic Difficulty or Higher

Mythic Difficulty



Title Reward:The Eternal

Rise of Azshara arrives June 25!

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Rise of Azshara arrives June 25!
Rise of Azshara arrives June 25!







Patch 8.2 on the Background Downloader
Patch 8.2 is available on the background downloader!

Raid Testing, Mechagon Island, Off-Season Details, UI Changes, Essence Feedback

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Raid Testing Schedule: June 21st - 24th
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
On Friday June 21st, we will be conducting a raid test of Heroic Queen Azshara in The Eternal Palace. After Heroic testing has ended, the Eternal Palace will be available on Normal difficulty over the weekend.

June, 21st

Queen Azshara - Heroic Eternal Palace
13:00 PDT (16:00 EDT, 22:00 CEST)

Normal Eternal Palace
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 24:00 CEST)
All bosses will be available on Normal mode with the exception of Queen Azshara.

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a test environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the bosses being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Q: How do I get into the raid zone?
A: In Zuldazar, Boralus, Dalaran, Orgrimmar, or Stormwind, you may speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade III in order to teleport into the raid zone while it is open for testing. (The option to teleport into a zone will not be available when the zone is not open for testing.)

Q: What character should I use to test the raid?
A: Whichever you prefer. We will be scaling players’ effective level to 120 for raid testing, and their item level to an appropriate threshold for the encounter(s) being tested.

Q: How long does testing last?
A: The primary purpose of testing is to give us the information we need to balance the encounters, evaluate how mechanics are playing out in practice, and identify bugs. Once we’re satisfied that we’ve received that information for a given boss, we’ll be shutting down testing. Usually this takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but there are no guarantees.

Preview: Mechagon Island Visitor’s Guide
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Legends speak of a place off the craggy coast of Kul Tiras whose denizens have replaced blood and bones with bolts and brass: Mechagon Island, home of a society of mechanically augmented gnomes and their iron-fisted ruler King Mechagon.


Legends say that long, long ago, King Mechagon, set out on a journey to find a mythical land full of wondrous technological marvels . . . and was never heard from again. Centuries later, an astounding discovery sparks an expedition to find out what happened to the king and his subjects on the remote Mechagon Island.

Your adventure to Mechagon begins after establishing your hub in Nazjatar and powering up your Heart of Azeroth. Soon after, you will receive a summons from one of the most renowned tinkerers of Azeroth—Gazlowe for the Horde, and Tinkmaster Overspark for the Alliance—directing you to a newly opened vault in Tiragarde Sound. Inside, you will find technology that has never been seen on Azeroth, and the location of the fabled island.

Upon arriving in Mechagon, you’ll meet the scrappy and resourceful mechagnomes, whose fleshy forms have been improved with cybernetic enhancements. But as you’ll soon find out, this is not the technological paradise you may have been expecting. The mechagnomes on the island’s surface are fighting against a foe with twisted designs for Azeroth: the legendary King Mechagon himself, who rules the subterranean metropolis of Mechagon City with an iron fist. Within the wondrous city’s walls and workshops, the mad king has spent the past centuries consumed with an obsession to “cure” Azeroth of the Curse of Flesh—stripping away organic life and replacing it with purer, more efficient mechanical forms.

Welcome to the Rustbolt Resistance

At the forefront of the battle against the twisted tyrant is his son, Prince Erazmin, leader of the Rustbolt Resistance. As you learn more about what’s happening on the island, you’ll be recruited to join the fight to overthrow his tyrannical father and put an end to his mad designs. But you’ll need more than resolve to stand against King Mechagon’s might; if you have any hope of succeeding, you’ll need to bolster the resistance forces by taking part in the myriad events and activities you’ll discover around the island, including collecting scrap to build tools and weapons, assisting the island’s daily visitors with their personal quests, constructing a trinket to give you an edge in combat, and more.

Junkyard Tinkering

One of the many mechanical marvels you’ll encounter on the island is Pascal-K1N6, a giant iron robot who will help players craft an arsenal full of equipment, mounts, toys, consumables, and more in exchange for Spare Parts and Energy Cells found across Mechagon.

As you explore the island, you’ll discover blueprints that Pascal-K1N6 can use to craft these items. One particularly curious blueprint for can be found at the scrap heap known as Bondo’s Yard—pick up the plans for a Mechanocat Laser Pointer, and you’ll soon be able to call in a X-995 Mechanocat to ride around the island. As you continue sifting through the island’s scrap, be sure to keep an eye out for paint you can use to customize your new robo-kitty’s color.


Construction Projects

As you explore Mechagon, you’ll be able to contribute resources to Construction Projects that create a variety of powerful constructs. These projects provide a variety of bonsues to give you and your fellow adventurers an edge on the island, including experimental equipment weapons and equipement to wield while on the island, flame turrets that help clear an area of foes, a drill rig that can uncover a cave full of treasures (and maybe uncover something best left uncovered), and more.


Did You Know?: Angling for Parts
The parts you need for Construction Projects can be salvaged from a variety of sources around the island—including through fishing in Mechagon’s rust-tainted waters . You'll often be able to gain Spare Parts and even sometimes fish up Energy Cells along the way. Just keep an eye out for malfunctioning creations among other less than welcoming denizens of the island.


Pocket-Sized Computation Device

One of the most fascinating pieces of technology waiting to be discovered in Mechagon is the Pocket-Sized Computation Device, a trinket that players can customize to suit their adventuring needs. The device houses three Punchcard Sockets, into which players can insert one Red, Yellow, and Blue Punch Card. Punch Cards provide a variety of different bonuses, and can be collected by questing, exploring the Mechagon zone, and advancing through the new Mythic-only dungeon Operation: Mechagon. Players will receive their Pocket-Sized Computation Device after completing the Upgraded quest, available shortly after landing in Mechagon.

New Dungeon: Operation Mechagon

Once you’re feeling properly upgraded, it’s time to begin your bid to shut down King Mechagon once and for all and free the mechagnomes from his tyranny. Get ready for Operation Mechagon!

Operation Mechagon


Prince Erazmin leads a group of unlikely allies on a desperate mission into the heart of Mechagon. In a race against time, they must overcome King Mechagon’s army of mechanized monstrosities and defeat the mad genius before his doomsday device purges all organic life from Azeroth.

Dungeon Bosses: 8

Difficulties: Mythic

Level: 120 for Alliance and Horde

King Gobbamak: Obsessed with hoarding dangerous technology found amongst the scrap, King Gobbamak sits upon a pile of doomsday weapons that he lacks the intelligence to operate or understand.

Gunker: After years of coalescing into a concentrated cesspool. Mechagon's toxic waste has gained malevolent sentience. With the sanitation systems disabled, Gunker is free to ooze across all of Azeroth.

Trixie & Naeno: Trixie and Naeno, two of Bondo’s top lieutenants, have a turbulent relationship. While Trixie prides herself on ruthless efficiency, Naeno is the embodiment of chaos while behind the wheel. The only thing they have in common is their penchant for senseless violence, which they enjoy dispensing on anyone foolish enough to wander into their territory.

HK-8 Aerial Oppression Unit: Predator of the skies, the HK-8 Aerial Oppression Unit soars over the yard executing its prime directive, disintegrating all trespassers. With impenetrable armor and a lethal host of weapons, it annihilates all who are caught in its shadow.

Tussle Tonks: Mechagon’s premier mechgineers test their mettle (and metal) by building customized combat robots. While these tonks typically battle each other for glory, they combine their efforts to repel foolhardy organic intruders who dare venture into Mechagon.

K.U.-J.O.: As the repository for the city’s refuse, the Under Junk is a prime target for gnomes from Bondo’s gang who intend to steal valuable mechanical components. While Trash Mistress Wendy Cogsworth ceaselessly sorts the city’s junk, her loyal guard dog, K.U.-J.0., keeps out unwelcome intruders—mechagnomes and adventurers alike.

Machinist's Garden: Beautiful and dangerous, Head Machinist Sparkflux's metallic gardens are designed for both recreation and retribution. With a flick of a switch, the idyllic scenery transforms into a death trap from which no interloper can escape.

King Mechagon: As maniacal as he is brilliant, King Mechagon despises all organic life. With his mechoriginator primed and ready, nothing stands in the way of his scheme to purge the curse of flesh from Azeroth and mechanize the entire world.

Get ready to face the danger within beginning July 9.


There’s plenty to discover as you make your way through Mechagon Island. Get ready to rally the resistance, turn one gnome’s junk into another gnome’s treasure, and put an end to the mad king’s mechanations once and for all when Rise of Azshara arrives on June 25!

Battle of Dazar’alor Raid Achievements and Off-Season Details
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Some additional information for PvP over the next few weeks:

When Season 2 ends with the content update next week, players will no longer be able to turn in their Quartermaster’s Coins to receive Battleborn Sigils. Quartermaster’s Coins can be sold for 50 gold.

When Season 3 begins the week of July 9, players will begin receiving Quartermaster’s Prize items from their Conquest schedule rewards, Call to Arms quests, and the Nazjatar world PvP event.

In Season 3, a missed Bonus Roll in PvP will award Azerite Power, but a missed Bonus Roll will not award a Quartermaster’s Prize. Completing the weekly “Quartermaster’s Bounty” quest by trading in Quartermaster’s Prize items will award a Warlord’s Trophy (not a Battleborn Sigil).

UI Changes in Rise of Azshara
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
In the Rise of Azshara content update, we’ve developed several user interface changes that we’d like to call your attention to.

Accessibility Features
First, we’ve added several slash commands intended to provide more options for vision-impaired players. Some of these commands will allow the player to enter and leave voice channels without having to physically click the voice button in the channels list:
  • Enter voice channel for your guild: /voice guild
  • Enter voice channel for the officer channel for your guild: /voice officer
  • Enter general channel for the given community: /voice
  • Enter a particular channel for the given community: /voice
  • Leave the current voice channel: /voice leave

We’ve also added some other new commands are intended to facilitate creating and joining communities and Battlenet clubs:

  • Open the Add Community Dialog with the invitation link edit box selected. Just paste in the link and hit : /community join
  • Open the create wow character community dialog with the Name edit box selected. Type in a name, then , then enter a short name, and hit to finalize the creation: /community create wow
  • Open the create Battlenet club dialog with the Name edit box selected. Type in a name, then optionally hit and enter a short name, and hit to finalize the creation: /community create battlenet

Frame Anchoring
We added new restricted frames system that affects frame anchoring:
  • Frames that are anchored to a restricted frame can only have their other anchors set to frames within that same anchor hierarchy
  • Added new API in the Line API: Line:ClearAllPoints();
    • This will clear the anchors on a line and must be called to clear the restricted flag off of the frame.
  • New restricted frames include:
    • Nameplates
The following APIs are now blocked from being called on restricted frames:

  • GetCenter()
  • GetLeft()
  • GetRight()
  • GetTop()
  • GetBottom()
  • GetRect()
  • GetUnscaledRect()

Tooltip Add Texture
We added the ability to have multiple customizable textures per line.
Usage:

Tooltip:AddTexture(fileDataID/”filename” [,minx, maxx, miny, maxy])– will be deprecated soon


Tooltip:AddTexture(fileDataID/”filename” [,TooltipTextureInfo])
– new way

TooltipTextureInfo is a table that describes how to apply the texture:

{
width = 12, – can be 0 to use actual texture width
height = 12, – can be 0 to use actual texture size
anchor = Enum.TooltipTextureAnchor.Left,
region = Enum.TooltipTextureRelativeRegion.LeftLine,
verticalOffset = 0,
margin = { left = 8, right = 8, top = 0, bottom = 0 }, – empty space around the texture, can be negative
texCoords = { left = 0, right = 1, top = 0, bottom = 1 },
vertexColor = { r = 1, g = 1, b = 1, a = 1 },
}

The values above are the internal defaults. The table may be partially filled out and any unspecified settings will be used at their default values.
Added optional left and top padding.
Usage:

Tooltip:SetPadding(right, bottom, [left, top])


Report System
In this content update, we’re going to put a restriction on a couple of functions. The C_ReportSystem.InitiateReportPlayer and C_ReportSystem.SendReportPlayer functions are no longer allowed to be called by addons. Addons can now open the normal ‘Player Reporting’ dialog by calling the new function C_ReportSystem.OpenReportPlayerDialog. The player will be required to interact with that dialog to actually send the report.

Texture Access
One more notable change: Accessing textures outside of the …/Interface directory no longer support paths, and now requires a file data ID. In order to support this change, we’re going through our Set Texture functions to make sure file data IDs are supported everywhere.
Please feel free to give us your feedback or questions on any of the above here in this thread.
Thank you!


Essence Feedback
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
A question we have seen come up in a few places regarding the Minor effect of Memory of Lucid Dreams that warrants some clarification:
If you use an ability like Templar’s Verdict which consumes 3 Holy Power, or Unstable Affliction consuming 1 Soul Shard, how is a 50% refund handled?

There’s no concept of half of a Holy Power, or half of a non-Destruction Warlock Soul Shard. For things that don’t cleanly have a 50% value we can refund, any partial resources are saved and granted to you when they accumulate up to a whole. Templar’s Verdict will refund 2 Holy Power, or 1 Holy Power, alternating. Unstable Affliction will refund 1 full Soul Shard every other time the proc occurs.

Some Essence tuning changes that are in the process of being hotfixed:

Ripple in Space
  • Major effect cooldown lowered from 90 to 60 seconds at all ranks.

Memory of Lucid Dreams
  • Major effect cooldown lowered from 180 to 120 seconds at all ranks.
  • Major effect at rank 1 duration increased to 12 seconds, up from 10 seconds.
  • Major effect at rank 2 is now +3 additional seconds, up from +2 additional seconds. This means the whole buff effect will now last 15 seconds at rank 2 or higher, up from 12 seconds.
  • Minor effect rank 3 Versatility buff reduced by 35%

These changes should be on the PTR soon.

Another hotfix that is on the way regarding Vision of Perfection.

Talents or Azerite traits that were increasing the base duration of the specific cooldown that is being activated by Vision of Perfection are no longer incorrectly being counted when determining the duration of the buff granted by Vision of Perfection.

For example, a Holy Paladin with Sanctified Wrath talented will receive the same duration of Avenging Wrath from Vision of Perfection as another Holy Paladin with a different talent chosen on that row.

A hotfix is in process for some tuning on the Condensed Life-Force Essence:
  • The damage that the Guardian of Azeroth deals when casting Azerite Spike has been reduced by 35%.

Rise of Azshara Survival Guide and Content Update Notes

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Rise of Azshara Survival Guide


Rise of Azshara Content Update Notes
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

New Zone: Nazjatar

During a high-stakes chase across the seas, the Alliance and the Horde are waylaid by an ancient enemy who’s been lurking beneath the depths: Queen Azshara and her fearsome naga army. The naval forces of both factions are destroyed in the ambush, and the survivors find themselves stranded in the ancient naga domain of Nazjatar.

Soon after they arrive in Nazjatar, Alliance heroes will come upon a new faction of deep-sea warriors, the Waveblade Ankoan, while Horde heroes will meet the Unshackled, a group of races who have escaped the naga’s clutches. Both sides offer champions who offer their services as combat allies and grow in power over time as players prepare for their epic confrontation with Queen Azshara.

Adventurers who are level 120 and have unlocked Battle for Azeroth World Quests, completing the quest “Uniting Kul Tiras” or “Uniting Zandalar," will receive a summon from either Genn Greymane or Nathanos Blightcaller, kicking off the events that bring them to Nazjatar.

Benthic Gear

Increase your power with Benthic gear, new upgradable armor that can now be collected in Nazjatar. As you explore Nazjatar, you’ll collect Prismatic Manapearls—a soulbound currency that can be spent on Benthic tokens and upgrades. These bind-to-account tokens can be used to gain a piece of upgradable Benthic gear specific to your armor type (cloth, leather, mail, plate), starting at item level 385. With enough time and effort, players can dedicate their hard-earned Manapearls to upgrade pieces to ilvl 425, just shy of Heroic-level raid gear (ilvl 430). Harnessing the power of the sea, each piece of Benthic gear boasts a thematic bonus that activates in Nazjatar and the upcoming Azshara’s Eternal Palace raid. These bonuses might provide effects that boost your damage, slow down your foes, or even increase your mount speed while adventuring through this perilous region. Put together pieces to create a powerful set for combat, collect a set optimized for exploration, or mix and match to have the best from both worlds.

Prismatic Manapearls

Defeating powerful enemies, completing quests, and plundering the treasures of Azshara’s minions may yield Prismatic Manapearls, concentrations of magical energy highly prized by Nazjatar’s denizens. Spend this new currency on many different items within Nazjatar including Benthic tokens and upgrades for Benthic gear, pets, and a mount. Earn Prismatic Manapearls by completing a variety of activities such as World Quests and daily quests, looting treasure chests, and slaying rare enemies.

New Zone: Mechagon Island

Legends speak of a place off the craggy coast of Kul Tiras whose denizens have replaced blood and bones with bolts and brass: Mechagon, home of a society of mechanically augmented gnomes and their iron-fisted ruler King Mechagon. Heroes who arrive upon Mechagon’s shores will soon meet Prince Erazmin and the Rustbolt Resistance, and after completing a series of new faction-based quests, they’ll join their fight to overthrow Erazmin’s tyrannical father and put an end to his mad designs.

Players can rise in power and earn the trust of their new allies by participating in new daily quests and other activities unique to Mechagon. These include collaborative Construction Projects that allow players to contribute resources to create a variety of powerful constructs, including experimental weapons, flame turrets, a drill rig that can uncover a cave full of treasures, and more.

After establishing a hub in Nazjatar and empowering their Heart of Azeroth, players will make their way to Mechagon by starting the quest “The Legend of Mechagon” which can be accepted by Alliance players in Boralus and Horde players in Dazar’alor near each city’s respective Flight Masters.

Junkyard Tinkering

As they traverse the zone, players will have access to Pascal-K1N6, a giant iron robot who will help players craft equipment, mounts, toys, consumables, and more in exchange for Spare Parts and Energy Cells found across Mechagon. Recipes to craft more items can be found around the island.

Pocket-Sized Computation Device

The Pocket-Sized Computation Device is a trinket that players can customize via three Punchcard Sockets, into which players can insert one Red, Yellow, and Blue Punch Card. Punch Cards can be collected by questing, exploring the Mechagon zone, and advancing through the new Mythic-only dungeon Operation: Mechagon. Players will receive their Pocket-Sized Computation Device after completing the “Upgraded” quest, available shortly after landing in Mechagon.

New Raid: Azshara’s Eternal Palace

Battle against Nazjatar’s worthiest champions, face down unfathomable monstrosities from the deep, and confront the legendary Queen Azshara herself in this sprawling 8-boss raid.

Learn more about the bosses guarding Azshara’s Eternal Palace here.

Azshara’s Eternal Palace Normal and Heroic difficulties will open on July 9, two weeks after Rise of Azshara goes live on June 25. Raid Finder Wing One and Mythic will open the following week on July 16.

New Dungeon: Operation: Mechagon

Level 120 players will unite with Prince Erazmin and the Rustbolt Resistance to help overthrow his deranged father and destroy his Mechoriginator doomsday device in this new 8-boss “mega-dungeon.” This Mythic-only instance will be open to players after they complete new faction-based quests for the Rustbolt Resistance. Great rewards await you in Mechagon, but bear in mind that gnome-crafted loot might have some surprising properties. . .

Operation: Mechagon will open to players at the start of Season 3, July 9, after accepting the quest “Operation: Mechagon – The Mechoriginator.”

Heart of Azeroth System Update: Essences

Infuse the might of the Titans into your Heart of Azeroth with Essences. These powerful active and passive abilities allow you to customize your playstyle in a whole new way. Each Essence possesses a Major Power (usually a new active ability) and a Minor Power (which is always passive). The Heart of Azeroth has slots for one Major and two Minor Essences. Place an Essence in the Major slot to activate both its Major and Minor Powers, and place up to two in the Minor slots to activate their Minor Powers. Adapt to conquer any situation by applying or swapping them out within rest areas, cities, or when using items such as the Tome of Quiet Mind.

Grow in power each time you unlock one of four ranks for your Essence. At Rank 1, an Essence’s Major and Minor effects are available, while Rank 2 and Rank 3 enhance those Major and Minor effects. Rank 4 adds a flashier cosmetic effect to an Essence’s Major Power, providing a distinctive appearance that will make its wielder stand out from the crowd. Earn Essences by completing specific activities, including PvP, raiding, or engaging in World Quests. Some Essences are specific to a role (damage dealer, tank, or healer), and some are usable by any role. After acquiring an Essence, you’ll be able to hover your mouse over the Essence in the user interface to see information about the next rank and how to acquire it.

Players will need to complete a new quest line to unlock the Heart Forge before infusing Essences into the Heart of Azeroth. This will unlock the Major slot, and will reward them with their first Essence. The two Minor slots will unlock at Heart of Azeroth levels 55 and 65 respectively. Players with a Heart of Azeroth below level 35 will have it raised to level 35 upon unlocking the Heart Forge.

Level 120 players who have established their new hub in Nazjatar will be invited to join Magni at the Chamber of Heart in Silithus to start the new quest line to unlock the Heart Forge, beginning with the quest “Essential Empowerment.”

Mount Equipment

Have you ever wished that your favorite mount could carry you across the water without sinking? Give most of your mounts more speed, daze prevention, a parachute, or water walking with mount equipment! Upon reaching level 100 on one character, a new mount equipment slot will become available in the Mounts interface on all characters. Mount equipment can be crafted by Enchanters, Tailors, and Leatherworkers and can be listed in the Auction House or purchased directly from the artisans themselves. Players that already have Water Strider mounts should check their mailbox for one free piece of water-walking mount equipment.

Note that mounts do not benefit from mount equipment in battlegrounds or Arenas and that some do not benefit from mount equipment at all such as the Sky Golem.

New Quests

A host of new stories and adventures are now available across Azeroth.

Magni Bronzebeard

Mysterious magics have awakened across Azeroth. Among them are the essences of the five dragonflights, which Magni Bronzebeard suspects can unlock the full potential of the Heart of Azeroth. Level 120 players should heed Magni’s call to continue the story and earn their first Essence, which grants a new, powerful ability tailored to their character’s role (damage dealer, healer, or tank) or all roles.

War Campaign: Stay of Execution

Upon learning of Sylvanas’s plans to execute Baine Bloodhoof for treason, the Alliance and the Horde send strike teams to infiltrate the Kor’kron Barracks and rescue the noble tauren chieftain—meeting up with an old orcish ally along the way.

The latest episode of the War Campaign is available to level 120 players who have completed the previous chapters and finished the quest “Clearing out the Cache.” Speak to Lady Jaina Proudmoore or Lor’themar in Nazjatar to begin this perilous mission.

New Heritage Armor: Gnomes and Tauren

Delve deeper into the lore of the gnomes and the tauren and unlock Heritage Armor that reflects their legacies. Level 120 tauren or gnome players who are Exalted with their faction (Gnomeregan or Thunder Bluff respectively) will be able to embark on a quest line that explores their race’s history. Once completed, players will gain a new Heritage Armor transmogrification set usable by all their characters of the same race.

Eligible gnomes and tauren can begin the quest by speaking with their race’s ambassador in their faction’s Embassy in Stormwind or Orgrimmar. Those seeking the tauren Heritage Armor will additionally to be tasked with freeing Baine in the War Campaign quest “Stay of Execution” (on any character on their account) before beginning their quest line.

New Epic Battleground: Ashran

Once home to a mighty ogre empire, the ruins of Ashran hold ancient artifacts infused with great power that could turn the tide of war. Return to Draenor and fight on familiar turf in a brand-new 40v40 Epic Battleground: Ashran.

Starting at level 100, players can clash with the enemy faction on the main road of Ashran, carving a warpath into the enemy’s stronghold. After either slaying 700 enemy reinforcements or successfully invading the stronghold, players will come together to bring down the enemy faction leader—the Alliance’s Grand Marshal Tremblade or the Horde’s High Warlord Volrath. Collect Ancient Artifacts, Artifact Fragments, Class Spellbooks, and other items to improve your chances of victory. Gathering Artifact Fragments from fallen foes will allow you to summon elite allies, Fangraal and Kronus, to lead your faction’s charge into battle.

Players will find and be able to queue for Ashran in the Epic Battleground section of the Group Finder (default hotkey: i).

New Island Expeditions

Set sail and discover two new Islands: Crestfall and Snowblossom Village. New loot including armor, weapons, and pets awaits players, but beware: you’re not alone. Faction rivals will want to hoard the spoils for themselves. Take them down!

New Missions and Mechanics

New Missions and Troops

As you take the fight to the seas, your loyal followers will be with you every step of the way. You can now enlist Boat Captains and other skilled seafarers to fight your battles.

Event and Holiday Missions

Send out your followers to embark on new holiday- and event-themed missions. Spoils will include special currencies to spend during holidays and events, including Brewfest and Timewalking, along with rewards that are only available during those periods.

Flying in Kul Tiras and Zandalar

The once-forbidden skies of Kul Tiras and Zandalar will soon be open to heroes eager to take flight. The achievement Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part Two will allow daring adventurers to take to the skies in Battle for Azeroth’s zones, including in the new ones, Mechagon and Nazjatar. Hardy adventurers will need to earn Revered reputation with the Rustbolt Resistance and with their new Nazjatar allies (The Waveblade Ankoan or The Unshackled), explore Mechagon and Nazjatar, and complete the first part of the meta-achievement, Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part One.

Adventurers who complete these requirements and unlock flying will also be rewarded with a mechanical parrot mount: Wonderwing 2.0.

Mounts

Ride through Nazjatar and Mechagon in style as you collect several new aquatic- and mechanical-inspired mounts. Six of them are listed below, but there are even more waiting to be discovered!

Azshari Bloatray

Raised in captivity, these yellow aquatic creatures’ gas organs are harvested by the naga to allow them to breathe air more easily. Players will rescue one to use as their personal mount after earning the achievement Glory of the Palace Raider.

Crimson Tidestallion

These blood-red, spirited creatures gracefully flit through the water, carrying heroes swiftly through the sea. Crimson Tidestallions can be purchased from Murloc Trader Mrrl in Nazjatar in exchange for several eclectic items after completing the quest “A Safer Place.”

Royal Snapdragon

Fierce and loyal companions, blue Royal Snapdragons are snatched from the wild at a young age and raised to serve naga hunters. Claim your own by vanquishing high-ranking naga in Nazjatar.

X-995 Mechanocat

Crafted through Junkyard Tinkering, these robotic cats can be painted a variety of colors, which players can collect during their adventures in Mechagon.

Scrapforged Mechaspider

Planet-conscious players who complete the quests given by Recycler Kerchunk in Rustbolt will be rewarded with this mount.

Mechacycle Model W

This mechanical marvel is the pinnacle of supercharged street performance in mechagnome travel. Boasting the best in aerodynamic performance, this gorgeous wheel will be gifted to players who complete the achievement Mecha-Done.

Pet Battles

A new challenge awaits your army of fierce little companions in Rise of Azshara.

Pet Battle Dungeon: Stratholme

It’s time to marshal your menagerie and put your best battle pets forward within the halls of Stratholme, a new Pet Battle Dungeon with Normal and Challenge difficulties. Those who prove themselves to be the very best will earn an Ultimate Battle-Training Stone after defeating the dungeon on Normal difficulty. Completing it on Challenge difficulty will grant the achievement Pet Battle Challenge: Stratholme along with the Minimancer pet. To get started on your journey, you’ll need to have earned the achievement All Growns Up! (have one level-25 pet) for Normal difficulty or Pro Pet Group (have 15 level-25 pets) for Challenge difficulty. Seek out Tizzy Gearjolt in Boralus or Radek Fuselock in Dazar’alor to get started.

Transmogrification Updates

Players can now make all armor slots hidden, except Legs. Let’s keep it classy.

Additionally, several items are now eligible for transmogrification, including Cookie’s Tenderizer, Direbrew’s Shanker, and Nat’s Hat.

Brewfest Update

Get ready to crack open a cold one with friends new and old during our revamped Brewfest! Sample brews across Azeroth and beyond with representatives of every playable race, including your newest Kul Tiran and Zandalari allies. Brawl with alementals, Dark Iron dwarves, and cheeky hozen to keep the peace during the booziest time of year. Prove just how gutsy you are by entering the Brewfest Chowdown sausage-eating contest or playing other mini-games to win spectacular prizes, including a Bottomless Brewfest Stein, Garland of Grain, Tabard of Brew, Brewfest Chowdown Trophy, or the Brewfest Reveler’s Hearthstone.

Brawler's Guild

  • The Strange Thing encounter is now easier to defeat.

Classes

  • Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)

    • Frost

      • Runic Empowerment has a 2% chance to proc per Runic Power spent (was 1.5%).
      • Icecap now reduces Pillar of Frost cooldown by 2 seconds (was 1 second).
      • Frost Fever’s chance to generate Runic Power increased to 30%.
        • Chance now diminishes on targets beyond the first.

      • Frost Strike damage increased by 15%.
      • Breath of Sindragosa damage reduced by 10%.
      • Breath of Sindragosa now generates 2 Runes when cast, and another 2 when the effect expires.
      • Breath of Sindragosa costs 16 Runic Power per second (up from 15).
        • Developers’ notes: Frost was starved of resources too often, especially when using Breath of Sindragosa. This increases Frosts’ Rune income baseline and includes a further change that returns many extra Runes while using Breath of Sindragosa. Breath builds will now be able to fill more global cooldowns with casts of Obliterate to make up for the lost Frost Strikes. The cost of Breath itself is increased to keep its overall duration roughly unchanged.


    • Unholy


  • Demon Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Havoc
      • Mastery: Demonic Presence damage bonus increased by 20%.
      • Chaos Strike and Trial of Ruin damage reduced by 4%.
        • Developer’s notes: Previously Mastery was relatively weak when compared to other secondary stats. By increasing Mastery’s effect for Havoc, it should now be a more desirable stat on gear. To balance this upcoming power increase, we’ve slightly reduced the damage output of Chaos Strike and Trial of Ruin.


    • Vengeance
      • Demonic Wards damage reduction increased to 15% (was 10%).
      • Demonic Wards armor bonus increased to 100% (was 80%).
      • Demon Spikes armor reduced to 60% of Agility (was 85%).
      • Soul Cleave damage increased by 40%.
        • Developers’ notes: More so than other tanks, Vengeance Demon Hunters are currently dealing with the problem of low mitigation when their active mitigation is down. These changes provide a substantial increase to physical mitigation when Demon Spikes is down, and a neutral-to-very-slight increase when Demon Spikes is active. The changes also provide some overall passive reduction to magic damage. Overall, the amount of sustained damage Vengeance takes will be lower, and the periods of vulnerability outside of Demon Spikes should be less dramatic.

      • Metamorphosis
        • Health bonus is now 50% (was 30%).
        • Shear now generates 20 additional Pain and 1 additional Lesser Soul Fragment (was: generates 7 Pain per second).
          • Developers’ notes: This significantly increases the health bonus, damage mitigation, and self-healing potential of Metamorphosis, as well as the health buffer, making it a more reliable major cooldown against all types of damage.




  • Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Soothe, Remove Corruption, Moonfire, and Rebirth are no longer castable in Cat or Bear form by default.
    • Feral Druids now have a passive ability learned at level 22 that allows Remove Corruption and Soothe to be cast in Cat Form.
    • Guardian Druids now have a passive ability learned at level 10 that allows Soothe, Remove Corruption, Moonfire, and Rebirth to be cast in Bear Form.
      • Developers’ notes: Guardian Druid is limited in its practical ability to use some utility abilities while tanking, and we’re loosening that restriction by allowing Remove Corruption in Bear Form. We’re also cleaning up Druid shapeshifting rules slightly: the use of magical-themed spells in beast forms is allowed by passive upgrades given to Guardian and Feral specializations specifically. This represents their special mastery of their “home” form that allows for limited spellcasting, and from a gameplay perspective, this allows Feral and Guardian Druids to use spells in-form when there is a strong practical need. At the same time, in situations where there is no fantasy justification or gameplay need, it makes sense for spellcasting to be more restricted. For example, non–Guardian Druids can no longer cast Moonfire in Bear Form.

    • Guardian
      • Ironfur now has a maximum of 8 stacks.
      • Ironfur and Maul now cost 40 Rage (was 45).
      • Mangle now generates 10 Rage (was 8).
        • Developers’ notes: Ironfur is intended to be maintainable with high uptime (up to 100%) and have some overlaps on top of that. Currently, depending on talent configuration, Druids may only be able to barely maintain full uptime on Ironfur. Making Ironfur much more available should allow better control over timing and overlaps, as well as improving Guardian mitigation overall.

      • Shifting to Bear Form now gives 25 Rage (was 20).
        • Developers’ notes: It should now be much easier to get the first Ironfur activated promptly after engaging an enemy, due to the increased starting Rage and lower cost.

      • Mangle and Thrash direct damage increased by 15%.
      • Frenzied Regeneration (Rank 3) is learned at level 85.
      • Frenzied Regeneration’s healing has been increased by 33%.

    • Restoration
      • Casting Overgrowth while Soul of the Forest is active will now increase the healing of Overgrowth’s Rejuvenation, instead of its Regrowth heal over time effect.


  • Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Horridon is now tamable by Hunters of any specialization.
    • Beast Mastery
      • Barbed Shot damage is now affected by Bestial Wrath.
      • Barbed Shot damage reduced by 10%.
      • Oondasta is now tamable by Beast Mastery Hunters.
        • Developers’ notes: We are fixing a bug that caused Bestial Wrath to not affect Barbed Shot damage, and lowering the base damage of Barbed Shot to keep overall damage roughly unchanged.


    • Survival
      • Mastery: Spirit Bond damage bonus increased by 20%.
        • Developers’ notes: Previously Mastery was relatively weak when compared to other secondary stats. By increasing the power of Mastery’s effect for Survival, it should now be a more desirable stat on gear.



  • Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Frost
      • Mastery: Icicles damage bonus increased by 15%.
      • Glacial Spike base damage reduced by 7%.
        • Developers’ notes: Previously Mastery was relatively weak when compared to other secondary stats. By increasing Mastery’s effect for Frost, it should now be a more desirable stat on gear. To balance this upcoming power increase, we’ve slightly reduced the damage output of Glacial Spike.



  • Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Shadow
      • Auspicious Spirits now increases Shadowy Apparition damage by 50%.
      • Shadow Word: Pain damage reduced by 9%.
      • Vampiric Touch damage reduced by 9%.
        • We believe damage-over-time specializations that maintain a variety of DoT spells should in general output more damage in encounters with multiple targets than single-target oriented specializations. In addition to measuring class specializations against others, we must also balance them across the entire spectrum of content. Due to the types of encounters in Tides of Vengeance, Shadow Priests were especially strong in some contexts and correspondingly weak in very few situations when compared to similar DoT specializations. As such, we’re slightly pulling back on the abilities that proc Shadowy Apparition, which is the prominent contributor of making Shadow Priests significantly stronger than similar counterparts.



  • Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Outlaw

      • Developers’ notes: In very large packs of enemies, especially in dungeons, Keep Your Wits About You provides much more damage than one copy of one Azerite Trait was intended to provide. With this change, you’ll still feel this trait accelerate as you build stacks, but the size of the group that you’re fighting won’t affect how much damage the trait is giving you. This will be a damage increase against two targets, and a damage reduction against 3 or more targets.


  • Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Enhancement
      • The Molten Weapon buff from the Elemental Spirits talent now only modifies the Fire damage of your class abilities, instead of modifying all Fire damage dealt.
        • Developers’ notes: With the addition of the new Azerite Essences in the Rise of Azshara content update, many of which deal Fire damage, we did not want to make this talent feel mandatory. Prior to this change, the Molten Weapon buff from the fiery Spirit Wolf would have increased the damage dealt by several Azerite Essences. The buff effects from Elemental Spirits talent are intended to increase your class abilities, and still will after this change.



  • Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Arms
      • Execute, Mortal Strike, Rend, and Slam damage increased by 6%.
      • Mastery: Deep Wounds damage bonus increased by 12%.
        • Developers’ notes: Previously Mastery was relatively weak when compared to other secondary stats. By increasing the power of Mastery’s effect for Arms, it should now be a more desirable stat on gear.


    • Protection
      • Unstoppable ForceThunderclap damage reduced to 30% (was 100%).
        • Developers’ notes: Protection Warrior burst DPS with Avatar is extremely high for a tank. This talent was adding more damage than necessary, given that it also decreases Thunder Clap’s cooldown and synergizes well with certain Azerite traits.



Dungeons and Raids

Artifact Power

Several Mythic Keystone dungeons now award different amounts of Artifact Power based on their length.

  • Siege of Boralus, Temple of Sethraliss, The Motherlode!!, Tol Dagor, and Waycrest Manor AP rewards have increased by 30%.
  • King’s Rest and Shrine of the Storm AP rewards have increased by 60%.

Completing Mythic Keystone dungeons at +11 difficulty now reward players with increased AP, with +12 and above increasing that amount by an additional 20 AP per level (was 10).

  • Atal’Dazar, Freehold, and Underrot completed at +11 difficulty or greater now award 420 AP (was 290 AP).
  • Siege of Boralus, Temple of Sethraliss, The Motherlode!!, Tol Dagor, and Waycrest Manor completed at +11 difficulty or higher now award 540 AP (was 290 AP).
  • King’s Rest and Shrine of the Storm completed at +11 difficulty or higher now award 660 AP (was 290 AP).

Mythic Keystone Dungeon Updates

  • Freehold

    • Reduced dungeon completion timer to 33 minutes (was 36 minutes).

  • King’s Rest
    • Enemy Forces requirements increased by 10%.
    • Increased the Enemy Forces contribution of Animated Guardian.

  • Shrine of the Storm
    • Enemy Forces requirements increased by 5%.
    • Increased the Enemy Forces contribution granted by eliminating several non-boss enemies (Deepsea Ritualist, Windspeaker Heldis, Runecarver Skorn, Guardian Elemental, Living Current, Abyssal Eel).

  • Tol Dagor
    • Enemy Forces requirements increased by 15%.
    • Heavy Cannons now start with 100 Energy and Canon Blast costs 20 energy.

  • Waycrest Manor
    • Enemy Forces requirements increased by 5%.
    • Increased the Enemy Forces contribution of Matron Alma.

Hellfire Citadel

  • Hellfire Assault

    • The damage that Hellfire Reinforcements and Felfire-Imbued Siege Vehicles inflict to the Hellfire Cannons has been massively reduced for characters with a level of 104 or greater on all raid difficulties.
    • The number of Felfire Munitions required to defeat the encounter has been reduced to 5 for characters with a level of 104 or greater on all raid difficulties.

Island Expeditions Updates

  • Some powerful consumable items such as the Demolisher and Siege Engine have returned to PvP Island Expeditions. These items can now be collected, repaired, and fought over throughout the island.
  • The rotating Seafarer’s Dubloon vendors who previously sold these consumables now have new items to offer.

Items and Rewards

  • Artifact Power

    • Azerite values have been adjusted to allow players to get more of their total Artifact Power from the below sources.
      • Dungeons

        • Mythic Keystone Dungeon Weekly Cache now rewards 3800 AP (was 1900).

      • Island Expeditions
        • Heroic Island End-of-match now rewards 300 AP (was 225 AP).
        • Mythic and PvP Island End-of-match now rewards 450 AP (was 350 AP).
        • Island Weekly Quest now rewards 3500 AP (was 2500 AP).

      • Player versus Player
        • First Win of the Day Bonus now rewards 100% more AP.
        • 2v2 Arena now rewards 240 AP (was 120 AP).
        • 3v3 Arena now rewards 300 AP (was 150 AP).
        • Unrated Battlegrounds now rewards 300 AP (was 150 AP).
        • Epic Battlegrounds now rewards 600 AP (was 300 AP).
        • Rated Battlegrounds now rewards 1050 AP (was 525 AP).
        • Against Overwhelming Odds now rewards 2000 AP (was 1000 AP).



  • Gear Scaling
    • Most item effects that deal damage or healing now scale based off of a character’s secondary stat (was primary stat).
      • Developers’ note: We made some under-the-hood changes to how item effects that deal damage, healing, and shielding scale with item level. The net effect of these changes is that almost all items like this in Battle for Azeroth are now moderately stronger. The difference is greater the higher the item level of the item. This includes items from Battle for Azeroth dungeons, raids, and PvP rewards.


  • Heart of Azeroth
    • The Personal Absorb-O-Tron Azerite Trait will now absorb 50% of damage taken over 20 seconds (was 100%). The total amount of damage absorbed by this trait remains unchanged.
    • Paladin
      • Holy
        • Developers’ note: This build has gotten far enough ahead of other Holy Paladin options, as well as other healers in some cases, that we’re paring it back while leaving the gameplay generally unchanged.



  • Players in Nazjatar can now ride underwater mounts on land with Budding Deepcoral.
  • A Tiny Clockwork Key allows Pepe to sometimes dress up as mechanical bird.
  • Some heirlooms have been renamed to be more faction-specific.
    • Bolstering War Horn has been renamed to Dwarven War Horn (Alliance) and Orcish War Horn (Horde).
    • Bolstering War Horn has been renamed to Dwarven War Horn (Alliance) and Orcish War Horn (Horde).
    • Cloak of Hardened Steel has been renamed to Banded Gilnean Cloak (Alliance) and Stone Guard’s Bladed Cloak (Horde).
    • Dusk Powder has been renamed to Kaldorei Powder of Twilight (Alliance) and Deathstalker’s Gloaming Powder (Horde).
    • Enchanted Scroll has been renamed to Tidesage’s Warscroll (Alliance) and Loa-Touched Warscroll (Horde).

Leveling

  • Players who manually group with a player that has turned off experience gains will now receive 95% less experience.
    • Developers' note: This change does not impact players who find themselves automatically grouped by matchmaking for activities like Group Finder dungeons or Island Expeditions.

Player versus Player

  • Arena

    • Tiger's Peak has finished repairs and is once again available as an Arena map.
    • Team colors have been changed from gold and green to gold and purple.

  • Battlegrounds
    • Alterac Valley
      • UI now tracks progress for summoning Lokholar the Ice Lord and Ivus the Forest Lord.
      • Two seasonal quests have been added to Alterac Valley. These quests, similar to the ones offered in Wintergrasp, will reset and are repeatable each season.

    • Seething Shore
      • When the battleground begins, the same three nodes will always be in the first wave (Ridge, Ruins, and Tar Pits).
      • Players who use the jetpack’s Thrust ability while airborne now travel further.


  • Enlistment Bonus
    • Now rewards 50% more Azerite Power for participating in Random Battlegrounds and Epic Battlegrounds.
      • Developers’ note: Battleground queue times become exceedingly long when one faction has more people queuing than the other. When queue times exceed a certain threshold, Mercenary Mode becomes available for the faction with long queue times and the Enlistment Bonus becomes available for the less represented faction. Now, the Enlistment Bonus will increase the amount of Azerite Power from Random Battlegrounds and Random Epic Battlegrounds by 50%.


  • Items
    • Void Stone’s absorption ability has been reduced by 30% for healers and 60% for non-healers in PvP.
    • Diamond-Laced Refracting Prism personal absorption shield has been reduced by 30% for tank specializations and 60% for non-tank specializations in PvP.
    • Abyssal Speaker’s Gauntlets absorption shield is now reduced by 80% in PvP (was 66%).
    • Trident of the Deep Ocean absorption shield is now reduced by 75% in PvP (was 50%).
    • Mindthief’s Eldritch Clasp healing and self-damage effect is now reduced by 50% in PvP.
      • Developers’ note: Several Crucible of Storms raid items had a significant impact on the PvP meta in Season 2. We believe that raid items in PvP can be a meaningful source of gameplay variety that contribute to each season feeling a bit different than ones before it. Due to the nature of our PvP scaling system, which helps make PvP more accessible for more players, means the effects of these items will remain relevant longer than we’d like. Therefore, we’re reducing the effectiveness of these items in the new patch so players can feel good about transitioning to new items they acquire in Season 3.

    • Horde and Alliance Glider Kits now have a prideful new look.
    • All racial abilities that share a cooldown with Honorable Medallion now only display corresponding information when the talent is selected.

  • Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    • Frost
      • Chill Streak no longer deals damage based on the target’s (or caster’s) maximum health.
      • Chill Streak now deals an additional percent of Attack Power per bounce to applicable targets (up to 9%).
      • Chill Streak no longer adheres to the maximum health percentage PvP talent restrictions.
      • Chill Streak can now critical strike, scale with your increased damage modifications (e.g. Mastery), and benefit from damage taken debuffs applied on the target.
        • Developers’ note: We’re changing Chill Streak from damage based on the target’s maximum health to one based on the Death Knight’s attack power. This has the effect of dealing damage more equally against targets of any health range.


    • Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator
      • Restoration
        • Casting Overgrowth while Soul of the Forest is active will now increase the healing of Overgrowth’s Rejuvenation, instead of its Regrowth heal over time effect.
          • Developers’ notes: Overgrowth applies both Rejuvenation and Regrowth’s heal over time effect, but Soul of the Forest will only effect one of them. We’re adjust the interaction of these two spells to more accurately match players expectations of their synergy.



    • Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
      • Brewmaster
        • Hot Trub now splits its damage among all enemies hit.


    • Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
      • Protection
        • Unbound Freedom now grants its caster Blessing of Freedom when cast on a different target.
        • Unbound Freedom now prevents Blessing of Freedom from being dispelled when cast on the same target.
          • Developers’ note: Unbound Freedom is an underperforming talent that leans into a Paladin’s core strength of enabling their allies. By applying the benefit of Blessing of Freedom to the casting Paladin as well as their teammate, the spell becomes a powerful tool against enemy teams that rely on movement-impairing effects and control.


      • Retribution
        • Unbound Freedom now grants the Paladin Blessing of Freedom when it is cast on another target.
        • Unbound Freedom now prevents Blessing of Freedom from being dispelled when cast on the same target.
          • Developers’ note: Unbound Freedom is an underperforming talent that leans into a Paladin’s core strength of enabling their allies. By applying the benefit of Blessing of Freedom to the casting Paladin as well as their teammate, the spell becomes a powerful tool against enemy teams that rely on movement-impairing effects and control.



    • Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
      • Discipline
        • Mana regeneration is now reduced by 40% in PvP (was 45%).
        • Dome of Light reduces the cooldown of Power Word: Barrier by 90 seconds (was 60 seconds).
        • Dome of Light reduces damage taken by an additional 25% (was 45%).
        • Premonition now heals up to four friendly targets with your Atonement active (was all nearby friendly targets).
        • Premonition’s heal radius increased to 40 yards (was 30 yards).
        • Premonition now heals for 55% spell power (was 75% spell power).
        • Premonition now damages you for 35% spell power (was 46% spell power).
        • Premonition increases the duration of your Atonements on targets healed by 3 seconds.
        • Trinity now increases the healing transfer of Atonement by 20% (was 12%).
        • Ultimate Radiance increases the healing of Power Word: Radiance by 250% (was 200%).
          • Developers' notes: In Season 2, we increased the importance of healer mana management in Arenas and Battlegrounds by reducing mana regeneration in PvP instances. Due to Discipline’s healing style, the spec tends to run out of mana much faster in Arena compared to other specs. So, we’re buffing their mana regeneration in PvP and adjusting some of their PvP talents to increase their throughput. In addition, we’re adjusting Dome of Light to allow it to be used more frequently but with less damage reduction to give them an additional tool to recover after crowd control.



    • Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
      • Elemental
        • Lightning Lasso now deals 140% spell power per tick (was 8% of the target’s maximum health).
        • Lightning Lasso now deals damage to permanently stun immune mobs.


    • Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
      • Affliction
        • Endless Affliction no longer increases the duration of Unstable Affliction.
        • Endless Affliction now leaves a 10 second debuff on the target after the final Unstable Affliction runs its full duration.
        • Dispelling Endless Affliction will silence, damage, and increase damage taken by 10% to the target while active.
        • Casting Unstable Affliction on a target that has Endless Affliction active will remove it.
        • A new aura icon will indicate to healers that a target has Endless Affliction or Unstable Affliction active.
          • Developers’ note: Our intention with the Endless Affliction talent is to allow the Warlock to opt into longer dispel protection for their team’s damage over time spells and other debuffs. The previous version of this came at a cost of slowing down the rate at which they deal damage. We’ve broken the additional dispel protection off into its own debuff so that this talent doesn’t change the warlocks damage profile.



      • UI

        • The end-of-match scoreboard for Arenas and Battlegrounds now has a new look and provides more information about player rewards.



Professions

Many new items can be crafted by harvesting the corpses of the most dangerous fallen foes in Mechagon and Nazjatar.

  • All Battle for Azeroth professions (except Archaelogy) now have a maximum skill of 175 (was 150).
  • Players can now gain the first 25 skill points in each profession by disenchanting, milling, or prospecting items from the respective expansion.
    • Alchemy
      • An upgraded Alchemy Stone can now be crafted along with new Battle Potions, Flasks, and Cauldrons.

    • Blacksmithing
      • Forge new armor to protect you from the hazards you’ll encounter in Mechagon and Nazjatar.
      • Work together with an Engineer to craft a new hovercraft-style mount: the Xiwyllag ATV.

    • Cooking
      • New recipes, including a feast, are now available for the most skilled culinary experts.

    • Enchanting
      • Added new recipes for enchanting weapons and rings.

    • Engineering
      • With the opening of Mechagon, Engineers now have many new gadgets they can create.
        • Keep your eyes safe with the best Engineering goggles available to craft.
        • New Wormhole Generators can teleport players to random locations in Kul Tiras and Zandalar.
        • The new Blingtron 7000 is now available to build and offers players the Blingtron 7000 Gift Package, filled with an assortment of items.
        • Engineers can work together with Blacksmiths to create a new hovercraft-style mount: the Xiwyllag ATV.


    • Fishing
      • New species of fish can be caught from pools scattered across Mechagon and Nazjatar.

    • Inscription
      • Players can now make new item-level 400 Highborne Compendium trinkets, Contracts, and Vantus Runes to use in Azshara’s Eternal Palace.

    • Jewelcrafting
      • The precious ore in the newly discovered areas can be cut into the most powerful gems.
      • Higher level rings can now be crafted.

    • Leatherworking
      • Leatherworkers will now be able to turn the hides of the new beasts they encounter into a variety of armor pieces.

    • Tailoring
      • Stitch together new garments using cloth found in Nazjatar.


Quests and World Quests

  • Horde players can continue raising their direhorn with new Direhorn Training quests.

User Interface

  • Accessibility

    • Several slash commands have been added to provide more options for players with vision impairments.
      • Voice Commands

        • Enter voice channel for your guild: /voice guild.
        • Enter voice channel for the officer channel for your guild: /voice officer.
        • Enter general channel for a given community: /voice (community name).
        • Enter a particular channel for a given community: /voice (community. name:channel)
        • Leave the current voice channel: /voice leave.

      • Community Commands
        • Open the Add Community dialog with the invitation link edit box selected. Paste in the link and hit return: /community join.
        • Open the create wow character community dialog with the Name edit box selected. Type in a name, then hit tab, then enter a short name, and hit enter to finalize the creation: /community create wow.
        • Open the create battle.net club dialog with the Name edit box selected. Type in a name, then optionally hit tab and enter a short name, and hit enter to finalize the creation: /community create battlenet.



  • The Pet Journal will now indicate if you are unable to summon a pet.
  • Mount Equipment can be found and listed under Miscellaneous and below Mount.
  • A new option to lower game sound when voice chat is detected can be found under System > Voice Chat.
  • The map now indicates where players need to go to travel for transcontinental quests.
  • The friends list will now sort favorited RealID and BattleTag friends at the top.
  • Role count for damage dealers, tanks, and healers will now display in raid frames.
  • Dungeon entrance indicators on the map can now be toggled on and off.
  • Guild messages will now state the difficulty of the boss defeated.
  • Players who are Bounty Hunted will now display a distinctive icon on their nameplates.
  • Passive talents will now appear in the Spellbook.
  • Added dynamic scaling support for loading screens in ultra-wide resolutions.

World

  • New Audio Altitude System

    • As you take to the skies in Rise of Azshara, the ambient sound across all of Azeroth will now adjust to reflect the height at which you soar.

Companion App

  • Added new Rise of Azshara zones: Nazjatar and Mechagon.
  • Added support for new missions.
  • Updated and improved the Guild Roster function.
  • Made Community invite links able to be copied.
  • Added a new accessibility option – Community chat text size can now be changed.
  • Increased the usability of the Community and Calendar features.
  • Improved stability.

Bug Fixes

  • Achievements

    • The guild achievements Classy Draenei and Classy Dwarves are again earnable by level 120 Shamans.
    • Players can again earn the Darkmoon Race Enthusiast achievement after earning Darkmoon Racer Novice.
    • The guild achievements A Team Effort, Stick Together Team, and Now That’s Teamwork are again achievable on all Rated Battleground maps.
    • Wrecking Ball and Damage Control should now always be awarded to eligible players in Wintergrasp.

  • Allied Races
    • Blood Elves
      • Blood elf female characters’ eyes now glow as intended.

    • Dark Iron Dwarves
      • Dark Iron dwarf male Warriors no longer use the Nightborne voice line when using Charge.

    • Kul Tirans
      • Kul Tiran female characters now make sounds while blacksmithing and mining.
      • The Toy Train Set now plays the correct sounds when used by Kul Tiran or Zandalari troll characters.
      • Mounts summoned by Kul Tirans now scale correctly.
      • Kul Tiran male Arms Warriors now have an Execute animation.
      • Kul Tiran female characters now always play weapon sound effects during Mortal Strike.

    • Zandalari Trolls
      • The Zandalari troll Pterrordax Swoop racial no longer causes the pterrodax to orient off-center when cast while strafing.
      • The Toy Train Set now plays the correct sounds when used by Kul Tiran or Zandalari troll characters.
      • Spell visuals for Zandalari troll male and female characters now appear at the appropriate size when cast.
      • Zandalari troll Druids now play their Flight Form summon sound if they have Artisan or Master Riding unlocked.
      • The Zandalari troll and Kul Tiran Druid variants of Incarnation: Tree of Life now scale properly.
      • Zandalari troll Druids now display banners correctly in all shapeshifted forms.


    • Brawler’s Guild

      • Grandpa Grumplefloot’s Bad Luckydos ability now consistently triggers when it strikes the player.
      • Stitches’ Aura of Rot now applies to pets and guardians.


  • Classes

  • Dungeons and Raids

    • Battle of Dazar’alor

      • Lady Jaina Proudmoore

        • The Zandalari Ballista can no longer be fired while frozen by Frozen Siege.


    • Siege of Boralus
      • Players can no longer fall off the platform edge by Dread Captain Lockwood’s ship.

    • Shrine of the Storm
      • Brother Ironhull’s Hindering Cleave no longer deals damage to players outside of the ability visual.

    • Temple of Sethraliss
      • The orb used to open the path to Avatar of Sethraliss will no longer vanish if thrown or stolen.
      • Players will again be able to progress through the dungeon if they leave and reenter the instance.

    • Underrot
      • Sporecaller Zancha no longer has issues chasing players with threat.

    • Waycrest Manor
      • Gorestained Piglet should now always grant Enemy Forces contribution.
      • Infest no longer breaks players out of stealth.


  • Guild Bank
    • Guild banks will again display deposited items and allow players to withdraw them.

  • Items
    • Azerite Powers should now correctly function if the player equipped and unequipped the armor piece multiple times.
    • Doomsayer's Robes now alters the appearance of Kul Tirans and Zandalari trolls.
    • The Flight Master's Whistle should now work in the Tradewinds Market.
    • Heart of Azeroth
      • Arcanic Pulsar now always grants Astral Power from Celestial Alignment.
      • Reawakening’s Well Fed buff should now always apply to the target.

    • Ironspine Protocol now allows only the summoning Hunter to ride Hati, and Hati now has a smoother gait when ridden.
    • Mesmerizing Fruit Hat now fits on characters’ heads properly.
    • Relinquished Azerite Tokens should now always grant items.

  • Island Expeditions
    • Undead enemies in Havenswood are now properly categorized as such.

  • Player versus Player
    • Arena
      • Players now must always cast escape abilities before leaving combat (e.g. Vanish and Shadowmeld).
      • Hunter pets should always be able to enter Arenas even if commanded to move while in queue.
      • Players no longer travel through solid structures if they move while casting Fear.

    • Battlegrounds
      • Characters with experience turned off can no longer participate in Battlegrounds with characters that have experience turned on.
        • Arathi Basin
          • Players can no longer stand on top of unintended locations in Arathi Basin.

        • Seething Shore
          • Players no longer receive the Uncharted Territory debuff after launching off the airship.

        • Temple of Kotmogu
          • Healing power-ups will again spawn every 2 minutes as intended.

        • Wintergrasp
          • Wintergrasp Battleground statistics now consistently appear in the Achievement Statistics menu.
          • The Tour of Duty achievement should now always be awarded to players who complete “Victory in Wintergrasp” while in Battle for Azeroth zones.
          • Players can now build new catapults, demolishers, and siege engines in the Vehicle Workshop right after completing construction on another one.




  • Professions
    • Herbalism
      • Players can gather Siren’s Sting in several locations that were previously blocked off.

    • Fishing
      • Players are again able to fish out of the lava pools in Antoran Wastes and Frostfire Ridge.
      • Fishing will again offer multiple rarities of items in Krokuun and Mac'Aree.


  • Quests

    • The Alliance Airship now always appears while the player progresses through “Isolated Victory”.
    • Players now leave combat after completing “A Stitch in Time”.
    • Scrollsage Goji and Trader Kro no longer disappear when the “Naga Attack!” World Quest is active.
    • Players can now interact with Hexlord Raal during the War Campaign quest "Ride of the Zandalari".
    • General Marstone now deals less damage during "Sowing Discord”.
    • “Wild Mine Cart Ride” again completes when the cart ride ends.
    • Players can again share quests with party members anywhere in World of Warcraft.
    • Margrave Dhakar can again be slain during "The Flesh Giant Champion".
    • Players can now complete "Earthcaller's Abode" while Stormsong Incursion is active.
    • Players are no longer sent to the Barrens or Sentinel Hill graveyard if affected by Choking Fog while traveling in Stormsong Valley.
    • Players can again turn in and receive credit for "The Missing Blade".

  • UI

    • Transmogrification sets are again sorted by newest.
    • Guild vendor prices are again consistent.

  • Vendors

    • Allied Race characters again can make purchases at the Scarlet Quartermaster.

  • Voice Chat

    • Players can rejoin voice chat channels after exiting the client while in a party or group.




BFA Season 2 Rating Cutoffs, Tauren Heritage Armor and Arena Patch Note Clarification

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Rise of Azshara Survival Guide and Content Update Notes

BFA Season 2 Rating Cutoffs - NA
Originally Posted by blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Here are the BFA Season 2 ratings cutoffs for the Sinister Hero and Gladiator ranks.
As always, these ratings are not final, and they will change between now and the end of Season 2. This is a snapshot of what would have been if the season ended at:

1:00 p.m. PDT Thursday, June 20

  • Hero of the Horde: Sinister
    • Rating: 2348
  • Hero of the Alliance: Sinister
    • Rating: 2326
  • Horde Sinister Gladiator: Battle for Azeroth Season 2
    • Rating: 2816
  • Alliance Sinister Gladiator: Battle for Azeroth Season 2
    • Rating: 2855

BFA Season 2 Rating Cutoffs - EU
Originally Posted by blizzard (Blue Tracker)
Here are the BFA Season 2 ratings cutoffs for the Sinister Hero and Gladiator ranks.
As always, these ratings are not final, and they will change between now and the end of Season 2. This is a snapshot of what would have been if the season ended at:

10:00 p.m. CEST Thursday, June 20

  • Hero of the Horde: Sinister
    • Rating: 2494
  • Hero of the Alliance: Sinister
    • Rating: 2419
  • Horde Sinister Gladiator: Battle for Azeroth Season 2
    • Rating: 2830
  • Alliance Sinister Gladiator: Battle for Azeroth Season 2
    • Rating: 2911

Tauren Heritage Armor Unlock Clarification
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Hey all, so I have a 120 Tauren who is Exalted with Thunder Bluff. Thing is, he is an alt, so he has almost no quest-line progression through BFA. My question is, do I need to do the War-Campaign to a certain point with him to be able to unlock the new set? I don’t really want to do it again, but if I have to do it to unlock the set I will…I can’t seem to find a definitive answer on this. Any ideas?
You can use your main character to finish the Campaign questline, and then switch over to your Tauren and start the Heritage Armor questline.

Arena Patch Note Clarification
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
  • Arena
    • Players now must always cast escape abilities before leaving combat (e.g. Vanish and Shadowmeld).

How in the world is this listed under bug fixes? As if arenas since TBC should never have allowed people to get out of combat?? This is a major change and should be listed at the top of PvP changes with developer reasoning. This is a major deal and completely changes the meta of many comps in 2v2 and 3v3. Please can we get a post discussing this change? This is quite clearly being snuck in as a bug fix rofl.

We’re updating this note. It will now read:
  • Fixed a bug that could cause players who were actively participating in PvP combat to unintentionally drop combat.

Nazjatar Visitor's Guide, Summer Cup #2, Essence Tuning, Lament of the Highborne

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Rise of Azshara Survival Guide & Patch Notes

Preview: Nazjatar Visitor’s Guide
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
After a high-stakes chase across the seas, the Alliance and the Horde find themselves facing an ancient enemy who has long been lurking in the depths: Queen Azshara and her fearsome naga army. With their ships decimated by Azshara’s ambush, the Alliance and Horde must establish a new base of operations and join forces with new allies in the perilous realm of Nazjatar.


Before you can begin your journey to Nazjatar, you’ll need to reach level 120 and complete the quest Unlocking the World, which grants access to World Quests in Battle for Azeroth. When Rise of Azshara arrives, you’ll receive a summons from either Genn Greymane or Nathanos Blightcaller, setting in motion the events that will lead you to Nazjatar.

After Azshara’s catastrophic assault leaves your ship in ruins, you’ll wake up among the wreckage to an unfathomable sight: a massive hole in the sea where previously there was only ocean. Your first order of business will be to search for survivors—but Azshara’s army is still on the hunt, and before long you’ll need to traverse impossible cliffs and waterfalls in search of a safe haven. With the help of newfound allies known as the Unshackled, the Horde will find refuge in Newhome in the southern portion of Nazjatar, while the Alliance will join forces with the Waveblade Ankoan in Mezzamere just to the northwest.

Once you’ve established your base of operations, you’ll need to progress through the zone’s story line before you can engage in the wider array events and activites across Nazjatar. Shortly after Horde players reach the quest Down Into Nazjatar and Alliance players reach the quest A Brief Respite, you’ll unlock access to a vast amount of content throughout the zone—and Nazjatar is yours to explore.


Nazjatar is a dangerous and beautiful place, filled with coral forests and unfathomable deep-sea creatures skittering through passageways and clinging to rockfaces. Secrets that have remained submerged for millennia are now exposed to the surface world, including the ancient ruins of Zin-Azshari, the once-glorious capital of the kaldorei. Further in the depths, the beautiful and terrible city of the naga—and the palace of the Queen of Tides herself—awaits.


Meet Your New Friends
To help navigate the perils of Nazjatar, Alliance heroes will join forces with the Waveblade Ankoan, a faction of deep-sea warriors skilled in surviving the dangers of the ocean. Meanwhile, Horde heroes will find worthy allies in the Unshackled, a disparate group of makura, sea giants, and gilgoblins who have banded together to seize their freedom from enslavement by the naga.

As you provide aid to your new allies and prove your worth, your new friends will return the favor by offering the services of their most seasoned warriors and hunters. These special combat allies will journey alongside you as you face the hazards of Nazjatar, growing in power as you complete their special quests—and ultimately unlocking new abilities and rewards.

Earning reputation with the Waveblade Ankoan or the Unshackled will provide access to new items that can be purchased from their quartermasters using gold or Prismatic Manapearls. For example, Alliance players will be able to tame and ride the mighty Ankoan Waveray when reaching Exalted with their allies. You’ll be able to earn reputation and additional rewards by completing World Quests, taking part in daily activities, hunting rare and powerful creatures, and more as you explore the expanse of Nazjatar.

Did You Know? Just a Little Boost
Nazjatar is a dangerous area filled with strange and incredibly powerful creatures, but you can gain an edge by taking advantage of the many combat bonuses the zone has to offer. Some can simply be found on the ground, like the Poisonous Spiral Leaf, which increases your damage for a short duration. Others can be found by looting creatures during your adventure, or defeating powerful foes. Explore and find what’s waiting to be discovered!


New Bethic Gear
As you explore Nazjatar, you’ll collect Prismatic Manapearls, a new kind of soulbound currency you can spend to purchase Benthic tokens and upgrades. These bind-to-account tokens grant a piece of upgradable Benthic gear specific to your armor type (cloth, leather, mail, plate), starting at item level 385. With enough time and effort, players can dedicate their hard-earned Manapearls to upgrade pieces to ilvl 425, just shy of Heroic-level raid gear (ilvl 430). Learn more about Benthic Gear in our earlier preview.


New PvE Events
Summons from the Depths
While in Nazjatar, Queen Azshara will periodically rally her naga forces to summon forth a powerful creature from the depths for a zone-wide event. Each such event will occur in two phases: The first phase will require you to clear out some of Queen Azshara’s elite naga forces within a limited amount of time, while the second phase will require players to work together to defeat the monstrosity the naga have called. Keep an eye out for a skull-shaped icon on your map indicating that one of these events is underway.

Azshara's Elite Commanders
From time to time, players will be called upon to face five of Azshara’s elite commanders, who will appear in various locations throughout Nazjatar (available only when War Mode is off). Defeating any of these five formidable foes will provide you with Prismatic Manapearls—and the more you take down, the more Manapearls you’ll have to spend at your favorite vendor.



New PvP Event: Battle for Nazjatar
Players who have War Mode enabled in Nazjatar will be able to take part in a new PvP event to earn rewards and achievements. During the Battle for Nazjatar event, the Horde and the Alliance will need to coordinate their forces to capture and hold five points across the zone: Ala’thir Spire, Lemor’athra Spire, Thoras’tal Spire, Tidal Conflux, and Zin-Azshari.

Once towers are captured, the Horde and Alliance will begin to accumulate points for each tower under their control. The first faction to reach 10,000 points, or whoever has the most points at the end of 45 minutes, will claim victory.

If you’ve defeated at least one enemy player during the event, the first win of the day will reward 200 Conquest and 10 Nazjatar Battle Commendations, while the losing faction will still receive a small amount of Conquest and Nazjatar Battle Commendations, which can be exchanged for rewards including the imposing Inkscale Deepseeker mount.


New World Bosses
While exploring this dangerous new territory, keep your eyes out for two new World Bosses: Ulmath, the Soulbinder and Wekemara.

Ulmath, the Soulbinder: Ulmath, the Soulbinder, seeks to enthrall the restless spirits of Nazjatar. If left unchecked it will amass an unstoppable undead force bound to its malevolent will.

Wekemara: Summoned from the depths by an ancient naga ritual, Wekemara arises once more to wreak havok upon the surface.


New Raid Dungeon: The Eternal Palace
Your journeys in Nazjatar will ultimately lead to Queen Azshara’s seat of power in The Eternal Palace, a new raid featuring 8 new bosses, including the Queen of Tides’ most devoted champions. Learn more about this new raid and its release schedule in our preview.

In Nazjatar, you’ll experience the next chapter in the ongoing story of Battle for Azeroth, come face-to-face with long-forgotten legends, and earn a trove of treasures, mounts, pets, achievements, and more along the way. Prepare to brave the dangers of Nazjatar when Rise of Azshara arrives on June 25!

Arena World Championship – Summer Cup #2
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
The Summer Season of the 2019 Arena World Championship (AWC) continues on!

The world’s best PvPers in World of Warcraft will clash again this weekend, qualifying for the second LAN of the year: the AWC Summer Finals. At the Summer Finals, teams will compete for $100,000 and two qualification spots to BlizzCon. The first Cup concluded and the top 8 teams of Cup 2 have already been decided in NA & EU.

If you’re interested in catching some of the Open Bracket games, make sure to following GCDTV on twitch. GCDTV is an organization we’re partnering with to administrate and broadcast all these Arena Tournaments, they will be broadcasting the early rounds every Wednesday.

All Top 8 series will be broadcast on Twitch.tv/Warcraft on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the Summer Season. Each Top 8 broadcast day will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT / 7:00 p.m. CEST, live on Twitch.

These teams are not only competing for a $10,000 prize pool each week, but more importantly, AWC Points which qualify teams the Summer Finals.

Start Times
EU Top 8:
Friday: 10am PDT, 1:00pm EDT, 19:00 CEST

NA Top 8:
Saturday: 10am PDT, 1:00pm EDT, 19:00 CEST

Championship:
Sunday: 10am PDT, 1:00pm EDT, 19:00 CEST


Resources
WoW Esports Website
VoDs & Full Year Schedule
Sign up for the next Arena Cup in your region
Arena World Championship Summer Season: A Viewer’s Guide
Link to NA Cup #2 - Bracket
Link to EU Cup #2 - Bracket

Top 8 Teams




Schedule


Essences Feedback - Multiple Role Essences
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Essence of Focusing Iris Major Power is currently consuming all stacks from its minor power when it damages the target, is this intended?

This is a bug and it will be fixed. Thank you for the report.

Lament of the Highborne by Patty Mattson
The voice actor for Sylvanas Windrunner, Patty Mattson recorded her own version of "Lament of the Highborne".

New World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Comic – "Mechagon"

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New World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Comic – "Mechagon"
A new comic has been released! We've updated our Warcraft Literature Chronology to include it.


Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
No one is immune from death—no one except the people of Mechagon. At least, that’s what the stories say. Most gnomes think Mechagon is just a far-fetched legend, but not the old, scarred explorer Kervo. After years of obsessive research, he has set off on what might be his final adventure: a daring gambit to find Mechagon and uncover the secrets of immortality before his own time runs out.

Discover the mysteries that await in “Mechagon,” written by Matt Burns and illustrated by Miki Montlló. Download and read the latest standalone Battle for Azeroth comic here.


About
Matt Burns is a senior writer on Blizzard Entertainment’s creative development team who has helped create licensed and ancillary fiction for the World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch universes. His projects include co-authoring Book of Adria: A Diablo Bestiary and three volumes of the New York Times–bestselling illustrated history book series World of Warcraft Chronicle.

Miki Montlló is an artist born and living near Barcelona who has been working in animation (for studios including Filmax, Cartoon Saloon, and Laika), games, and comics for 12 years. His comic book series Warship Jolly Roger was published internationally (and translated into seven languages) by Dargaud and Magnetic Press. In addition to developing his own projects, he is now working on a comic adaptation by an award-winning Chinese science-fiction writer that will be published in 2021.

WoW Arena World Championship Cup

Midsummer Fire Festival Live, Healer Essences, Essence Hotfixes

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Midsummer Fire Festival Live
Midsummer Fire Festival is live once again and runs June 21st through July 5th.


LevelTypeNameModel Viewer
365BackIcebound Cloak
 Modelviewer
365BackShroud of Winter's Chill
 Modelviewer
365BackThe Frost Lord's Battle Shroud
 Modelviewer
365BackThe Frost Lord's War Cloak
 Modelviewer
365BackCloak of the Frigid Winds
 Modelviewer


This year there have been some changes:



Now is also a great time to take advantage of the hour-long 10% experience buff from Ribbon Dance. Visit any Midsummer Festival tent and /dance around the poll to acquire the buff.


Essences Feedback - Healer Essences
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Some tuning tweaks that will be on PTR soon, noting here because they’ll be coming in as PTR hotfixes at this point:
  • Artifice of Time, Minor: Haste/Speed bonus increased 13%
  • Ever-Rising Tide, Minor: Int bonus increased 20%
  • Ever-Rising Tide, Major: Duration (both active duration, and bonus duration) reduced to 8 seconds
  • Life-Binder’s Invocation, Major: Cooldown reduced to 2.5 minutes
  • Vitality Conduit, All: Transfer amount increased 15%
  • Vitality Conduit, Minor: Proc rate increased 25%
  • Vitality Conduit, Minor Rank 3: Absorb value increased 38%
  • Lucid Dreams, Minor: Proc rate for mana users reduced 20%

Essences Feedback - Multiple Role Essences
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Some additional hotfix balance changes have been made for a few Essences:

Crucible of Flame
  • Minor effect rank 1 damage and healing values increased by 35%.
  • Minor effect rank 1 proc chance increased for all healer roles.

Vision of Perfection
  • Major effect proc chance reduced for Holy Paladin.

Stress Test Has Concluded -- Thank You!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Following a final flurry of sudden-but-inevitable deaths due to bosses spawned in the starting zones and an impressively huge lineup of people in Goldshire, we’ve concluded the Stress Test.

Please feel free to leave your feedback on your experiences in this stress test in our Feedback thread. We’re particularly interested in your experiences after the initial four hours of the test. Please let us know what time-frame your experiences are from when you post feedback.

Again, thank you very much for participating!

BFA Season 2 Rating Cutoffs - Updated June 21 2019
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Here are the BFA Season 2 ratings cutoffs for the Sinister Hero and Gladiator ranks.

As always, these ratings are not final, and they will change between now and the end of Season 2. This is a snapshot of what would have been if the season ended at:

4:30 p.m. PDT Friday, June 21

Hero of the Horde: Sinister
Rating: 2356

Hero of the Alliance: Sinister
Rating: 2326

Horde Sinister Gladiator: Battle for Azeroth Season 2
Rating: 2827

Alliance Sinister Gladiator: Battle for Azeroth Season 2
Rating: 2870

Fan Art - Fall of the Lich King Remastered

Take to the Skies With Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part 2

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Take to the Skies With Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part 2
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
You’ve fought on the shores of Kul Tiras, explored the far corners of Zandalar, and faced the enemy at every turn. You survived the Battle of Dazar’alor, and aided Magni Bronzebeard in his critical quest to save Azeroth from her grievous wound. Soon, your journey will take you into the depths of Nazjatar and the wonders of Mechagon, where even more dangers await—but you don’t have to face them all from ground level. Once you complete the account-wide achievement Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part 2, you’ll be able to take to the skies . . . and earn a brand-new mechanical mount in the process!


To earn your wings in Battle for Azeroth, you’ll need to:

  • Reach Revered with the following factions: The Rustbolt Resistance and either the Unshackled (Horde) or Waveblade Ankoan (Alliance)
  • Earn the achievement Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part 1 (progress is account-wide)
  • Explore Nazjatar: Ashen Strand, Azsh’ari Terrace, Coral Forest, Deepcoil Tunnels, Dragon’s Teeth Basin, The Drowned Market, Elun’alor Temple, The Empress’s Approach, Gate of the Queen, The Hanging Reef, Kal’methi, Shirakess Repository, Spears of Azshara, Zanj’ir Terrace, Zanj’ir Wash, Zin-Azshari
  • Explore Mechagon: Rustbolt, Sparkweaver Point, Junkwatt Depot, The Heaps, Scrapbone Den, Western Spray, The Outflow, The Fleeting Forest

Completing Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part 2 will allow you to fly in Kul Tiras and Zandalar, as well as the new zones of Nazjatar and Mechagon—plus the new Wonderwing 2.0 mechanical parrot mount.

The wild blue yonder awaits!

Save on World of Warcraft and Digital Deluxe Items

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Take to the Skies With Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part 2

Save on World of Warcraft and Digital Deluxe Items
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
In Rise of Azshara, the Horde and the Alliance will confront an ancient enemy who’s long been lurking in the depths of Azeroth’s seas: the formidable Queen Azshara and her fearsome naga army. In honor of her majesty’s grand return, starting today you can get up to 50% off all Digital Deluxe items from World of Warcraft expansions Battle for Azeroth, Legion, and Warlords of Draenor.

With two new zones—Nazjatar and Mechagon—and a variety of ways to gear up and quickly get into the latest action, Rise of Azshara is an excellent time to join the Battle for Azeroth or bring your friends into the adventure. Upgrade to the latest expansion or introduce a friend to Azeroth by purchasing World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth or the World of Warcraft Complete Collection and save $20 through July 7, 2019.

Visit the Blizzard Shop today!

Patch 8.2 - Professions Overview

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Patch 8.2 - Professions Overview
Much like Patch 7.3 in Legion, Rise of Azshara offers a variety of new recipes and items to craft or gather.

  • All Kul Tiran and Zandalari professions have an additional 25 points added to the cap, for a total of 175 from 150.
  • New recipes have been added to each profession that require these new 25 points.
  • All gathering professions have new materials to collect.
  • There are items you can find in Nazjatar that unlock specific profession focused events. Activating these events will have you complete a task and provide a bounty of materials or benefits for your profession.


The Abyssal Focus
In Nazjatar, crafters will build up a new crafting station called the Abyssal Focus. This forge is used to craft the new raid gar instead of using consumables from the raid such as Sanguicell.

  • A series of quests increase the rank of the focus.
    • Restored Abyssal Focus - Crafts up to Item level 410 gear
    • Empowered Abyssal Focus - Crafts up to Item level 425 gear
    • Radiating Abyssal Focus - Crafts up to Item level 440 gear
  • Quests
  • Once you unlock the next rank, you can craft any gear at the focus of the allowed item level or below.


Notable Gathering Profession Additions

Mining - New Ore


Herbalism - New Herbs


Skinning - New Skins


Notable Crafting Profession Additions

Alchemy


Blacksmithing


Enchanting


Engineering


Inscription


Jewelcrafting


Leatherworking


Tailoring


Notable Secondary Profession Additions

Cooking


Fishing

Patch 8.2 - Rise of Azshara Live This Week!

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Patch 8.2 - Rise of Azshara Live This Week!
Patch 8.2 - Rise of Azshara is live this week!


What is Not Coming This Week?

Official Survival Guide



Official Patch Notes




Two New Zones - Nazjatar and Mechagon
Patch 8.2 adds two new landmasses to explore, the Naga capital of Nazjatar and the secret Mechagnome island of Mechagon. Click the banners below to see our preview of the zones. For detailed quest and exploring guides, check out Icy Vein's guides by clicking the banners below.




Heart of Azeroth - Essences
Essences are a new system for the Heart of Azeroth that will provide additional power customization options. You’ll collect these Essences by taking part in a variety of content, and infuse them into the Heart of Azeroth using the new Heart Forge in Silithus, giving you access to new abilities and bonuses.


For an in depth list and guide to essences, check out the Icy Veins guides below.

Heart of Azeroth - Magni Quest Chain
After doing the initial quests for Nazjatar, Magni and MOTHER will summon you to Silithus to do a series of quests to unlock essences. Click the banner for our preview of this quest chain.



War Campaign Continues
Patch 8.2 continues the war campaign with the "Stay of Execution Scenario" to rescue Baine.



Benthic Gear Guide
During your time in Nazjatar you will discover a new alternative method to gear up in the outside world with upgradeable Benthic armor. Click the banner for a full breakdown of this system.



Pocket-Sized Computation Device
The Pocket-Sized Computation Device is a trinket that players can customize to suit their adventuring needs.

  • The device houses three Punchcard Sockets, into which players can insert one Red, Yellow, and Blue Punch Card.
  • Punch Cards provide a variety of different bonuses
  • The Punch Cards can be collected by questing, exploring the Mechagon zone, and advancing through the new Mythic-only dungeon Operation: Mechagon.
  • Players will receive their Pocket-Sized Computation Device after completing the Upgraded quest, available shortly after landing in Mechagon.



Gnome and Tauren Heritage Armor
Gnomes and Tauren will be able to do a quest chain in 8.2 to unlock their very own heritage armor! You'll need to be Exalted with your respecitve faction and Level 120 to do so.



Unlock Flying - Pathfinder Part Two
Players will now be able to complete Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part Two to unlock flying in Kul Tiras, Zandalar, Mechagon, and Nazjatar!



Players that unlock flying will also receive the Wonderwing 2.0 mount!




Mount Equipment
Patch 8.2 adds an item slot to your mount collection tab that allows you to socket a mount ability to benefit all of your mounts.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Every hero has their favorite mount—whether it’s Baron Rivendare’s steed, Kael’thas Sunstrider’s beloved pet Al’ar, or the very first pony you purchased back when you earned Apprentice Riding skill. The Mount Equipment you earn, craft, and purchase in Rise of Azshara will make it so your choice of mount can be steered by your heart—not what’s most efficient.

These new Mount Equipment pieces can be applied to your mounts within the mount collection tab; they apply to most of your mounts,* and are available for anyone to use regardless of which professions they have (though note that they don’t work in Battlegrounds or Arenas). Take a look at the options you’ll have available!


Equipment Name: Anglers' Water Striders
What it does: Allows you to walk on water while mounted. Damage will cancel the effect.
Where to get it: If you’ve already earned the Water Strider, Nat Pagle will mail you the new Anglers’ Water Striders. They’ll bind to your Blizzard account and allow any of your mounts to make like a Shaman (or bug) and walk on water.
If you haven’t earned the Water Strider, you’ll need to reach Exalted reputation with The Anglers in Mists of Pandaria to pick these up.

Equipment Name: Light-Step Hoofplates
What it does: Increases your mount’s ground speed by 20%. Doesn’t stack with other mount speed effects.
Where to get it: Check with your local Enchanter or visit the auction house. Enchanters with a minimum Battle for Azeroth skill level of 155 can learn to create these speed-boosting items. Gotta go fast!

Equipment Name: Saddlechute
What it does: These life-saving devices install an emergency parachute that will automagically deploy whenever you’re dismounted while high in the air. Equip these and avoid those really embarrassing slip and falls!
Where to get it: Pay a visit to your neighborhood Tailor or look in the auction house. Tailors with a minimum Battle for Azeroth skill level of 150 can learn to create these airship captain–approved safety devices.

Equipment Name: Comfortable Rider's Barding
What it does: Never again will you have to utter the phrase “Don’t daze me, bro,” when you slap on this protective Mount Equipment option. It prevents you from being Dazed while mounted—like all Mount Equipment, they don’t work in Battlegrounds or Arenas, as that would provide an unfair advantage.
Where to get it: Look for your local Leatherworker or check the auction house. Leatherworkers with a minimum Battle for Azeroth skill level of 150 can learn to stitch these together.

Equipment Name: Inflatable Mount Shoes
What it does: If making friends with the Anglers isn’t in the cards for you, this is one more way to help your favorite mount walk on water, though damage will cancel the effect.
Where to get it: Barter with your local Blacksmith or head to the auction house. Blacksmiths with a minimum Batttle for Azeroth skill level of 150 can learn to forge these items.

More than 400 mounts are currently available in World of Warcraft—with even more to come—and we look forward to seeing which mounts you equip and bring along on your next adventure!

*Select mounts do not benefit from Mount Equipment such as the Sky Golem.

Nazjatar - Use Water Mounts on Land
The Budding Deepcoral is an item in Nazjatar that allows you to ride your underwater mounts like normal mounts in Nazjatar. This item costs 5 Prismatic Manapearl and can be purchased from the same vendors that sell the Benthic Gear in Nazjatar. The item is consumed on use and doesn't provide any indication that the item is active. It persists through log outs, but is removed the moment you leave Nazjatar and must be repurchased to use again.




Patch 8.2 - New Mounts
Patch 8.2 adds a lot of new mounts to collect!




Profession Updates
Kul Tiran and Zandalari professions are increasing to a skill cap of 175 and getting a bunch of new recipes and gathering materials.



New Reputation Factions
Nazjatar adds a new faction reputation for both the Alliance (The Waveblade Ankoan) and the Horde (The Unshackled) while Mechagon adds the Rustbolt Resistance, all of which have unique rewards to earn! Click the banner below to learn more.



New Rewards to Collect
Blizzard put together an official list of every single new reward available in the patch, including new pets, mounts, and toys. Click the banner below to view them all.




New Pet Battle Dungeon - Stratholme
Pet battlers will be able to explore a new Stratholme pet battle dungeon to collect a ton of new pets!

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
It’s time to marshal your menagerie and put your best battle pets forward in the undead streets of Stratholme, a new Pet Battle Dungeon with Normal and Challenge difficulties.

To get started on your journey, you’ll need to have earned the achievement All Growns Up! (have one level-25 pet) for Normal difficulty or Pro Pet Group (have 15 level-25 pets) for Challenge difficulty. This will open up a new quest from Tizzy Gearjolt in Boralus or Fuselock in Dazar’alor. You won’t need to complete the previous pet battle dungeons to gain access, and once the upcoming Rise of Azshara content update hits, you’ll be able to play through all four pet battle dungeons in any order.

You’ll find pets from the undead, dragonkin, and magic families in Stratholme. You’ll be able to heal and revive your pets between each of the 12 stages in Normal difficulty, but not in Challenge difficulty.

Defeating the dungeon on Normal difficulty will earn players an Ultimate Battle-Training Stone. You’ll also be able to avail yourself of Manapoof’s aid to teleport directly to Stratholme’s dungeon entrance as a part of the quest reward.

Those who prove themselves to be the very best on Challenge difficulty will earn the achievement Pet Battle Challenge: Stratholme along with the Minimancer pet. Completing Challenge difficulty will count toward a weekly quest that rewards Cleansed Remains, an account-bound currency that you redeem for an Unopened Stratholme Supply Crate filled with pet supplies, or four new pets—Ziggy, Crypt Fiend, Shrieker, and Gruesome Belcher. Speak with Sean Wilkers at the entrance of the dungeon to add one of these spooky fiends to your ranks.

Whether you’re new to pet battle dungeons or a companion-combat veteran, you’ll want to get in on the ongoing story as it unfolds. Who are the shadowy figures that keep appearing in each pet battle dungeon? What chilling experiment are they conducting in Baron Rivendare’s slaughterhouse? Will you come upon an opportunity to take the fight to them?

Discover what awaits your critter pals next in Stratholme!

Hunters Can Now Tame Oondasta and Horridon
A new addition to the patch is the ability for hunters to tame the Pandaria bosses Horridon and Oondasta. These are unique skins for both direhorns and devilsaurs!



Crestfall and Snowblossom Island Expedition Maps
Two new island expeditions have been added to the map rotation for Islands.

  • Crestfall - Island from Warcraft II
  • Snowblossom - A Pandaren village



Heroic Battle for Stromgarde Warfront
Rise of Azshara introduces Heroic Warfronts.

  • Initially heroic is only available for Battle for Stromgarde.
  • Heroic Warfronts are tuned for item level 415.
  • A team of 10 to 20 will be needed to que for a Heroic Warfront.
  • Heroic Warfronts will be much different from normal warfronts.
  • Heroic Warfronts will focus on the strategic aspects found in RTS games. Examples of new challenges include special units sent at your base that needs to be defended, the enemy commander appearing on the field, or where to best put resources at the moment.
  • You can lose a Heroic Warfront.




Caverns of Time Main Hub Portals
A portal to the Caverns of Time has been added to both the Stormwind and Orgrimmar Portal Rooms. The one in Stormwind is all the way to the right while Orgrimmar's room has received a new basement level with just this portal in it for now.




PvP Updates
Several new additions are making their way into PvP!

Robodrome Arena - A new arena is being added to the roster called Rododrome. It is a circular arena in Mechagon that features traps and mechanical obstacles.


Ashran Epic Battleground- Ashran is returning as an option in the epic battleground que.


New PvP Event: Battle for Nazjatar
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Players who have War Mode enabled in Nazjatar will be able to take part in a new PvP event to earn rewards and achievements. During the Battle for Nazjatar event, the Horde and the Alliance will need to coordinate their forces to capture and hold five points across the zone: Ala’thir Spire, Lemor’athra Spire, Thoras’tal Spire, Tidal Conflux, and Zin-Azshari.

Once towers are captured, the Horde and Alliance will begin to accumulate points for each tower under their control. The first faction to reach 10,000 points, or whoever has the most points at the end of 45 minutes, will claim victory.

If you’ve defeated at least one enemy player during the event, the first win of the day will reward 200 Conquest and 10 Nazjatar Battle Commendations, while the losing faction will still receive a small amount of Conquest and Nazjatar Battle Commendations, which can be exchanged for rewards including the imposing Inkscale Deepseeker mount.

Transmog Updates
Patch 8.2 will allow you to hide every slot except pants and weapon.



Zandalari Troll Druid Travel Form and Balance Form Dances
Patch 8.2 adds dance animations to both the Zandalari Druid Travel and Balance forms.



Gnome and Tauren Mount Size Update
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
With today’s PTR update, you might notice mount size changes for gnome and tauren player characters. For a very long time, we’ve had issues that stem from gnomes and tauren riding on mounts that appear larger than intended. We’re adjusting their sizing down on normal* mounts.

This allows us to correct many art and animation bugs with these specific races when mounted, and they look better. Gnomes and tauren now look more like they should, gnomes can actually reach their reins, and tauren can fit through more doorways when mounted.

Here’s an example of how a gnome character looks when mounted-

Before the change-


And after the change-


This new tech also means that it’s now possible for us to address issues where some mounts are too small on some races. We’re looking to find examples along those lines, so please keep your feedback coming.

Thank you!

*There are a few mounts that are not considered "normal"-sized to begin with. For example, Hyena mounts are considered "small", and we’re not sizing tauren differently on small mounts at this time.

Experience Eliminated Aura
WarcraftSecrets pointed out that Patch 8.2 adds Experience Eliminated, which reduces XP from mobs and quests by 95% if anyone in the group has experience disabled.

The change only affects groups that manually invite player characters who have XP off. There is no impact on players who find themselves automatically grouped by the matchmaker while doing PvP or Group Finder dungeons. This change also doesn’t affect anyone who has turned off XP for their own benefit, such as plundering old raids while keeping their level low enough to use their Aggramar’s Stride boots. This was likely done to stop Level 110 characters from boosting players to 120 quickly.



New Models
Patch 8.2 adds a ton of new models. Click the banner below to see a lot of them!



New Maps and Icons
Patch 8.2 adds a lot of new maps and icons!




Coming Soon

Azshara's Eternal Palace Raid
Starting on July 9th, players will be able to enter the new eight boss raid, Azshara's Eternal Palace. Click the banner below for the difficulty unlock schedule and Blizzard's official preview.




New Mega Dungeon: Operation Mechagon
A new eight boss mega dungeon is coming on July 9th with unique gear and rewards to earn.
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Once you’re feeling properly upgraded, it’s time to begin your bid to shut down King Mechagon once and for all and free the mechagnomes from his tyranny. Get ready for Operation Mechagon!

Operation Mechagon


Prince Erazmin leads a group of unlikely allies on a desperate mission into the heart of Mechagon. In a race against time, they must overcome King Mechagon’s army of mechanized monstrosities and defeat the mad genius before his doomsday device purges all organic life from Azeroth.

Dungeon Bosses: 8

Difficulties: Mythic

Level: 120 for Alliance and Horde

King Gobbamak: Obsessed with hoarding dangerous technology found amongst the scrap, King Gobbamak sits upon a pile of doomsday weapons that he lacks the intelligence to operate or understand.

Gunker: After years of coalescing into a concentrated cesspool. Mechagon's toxic waste has gained malevolent sentience. With the sanitation systems disabled, Gunker is free to ooze across all of Azeroth.

Trixie & Naeno: Trixie and Naeno, two of Bondo’s top lieutenants, have a turbulent relationship. While Trixie prides herself on ruthless efficiency, Naeno is the embodiment of chaos while behind the wheel. The only thing they have in common is their penchant for senseless violence, which they enjoy dispensing on anyone foolish enough to wander into their territory.

HK-8 Aerial Oppression Unit: Predator of the skies, the HK-8 Aerial Oppression Unit soars over the yard executing its prime directive, disintegrating all trespassers. With impenetrable armor and a lethal host of weapons, it annihilates all who are caught in its shadow.

Tussle Tonks: Mechagon’s premier mechgineers test their mettle (and metal) by building customized combat robots. While these tonks typically battle each other for glory, they combine their efforts to repel foolhardy organic intruders who dare venture into Mechagon.

K.U.-J.O.: As the repository for the city’s refuse, the Under Junk is a prime target for gnomes from Bondo’s gang who intend to steal valuable mechanical components. While Trash Mistress Wendy Cogsworth ceaselessly sorts the city’s junk, her loyal guard dog, K.U.-J.0., keeps out unwelcome intruders—mechagnomes and adventurers alike.

Machinist's Garden: Beautiful and dangerous, Head Machinist Sparkflux's metallic gardens are designed for both recreation and retribution. With a flick of a switch, the idyllic scenery transforms into a death trap from which no interloper can escape.

King Mechagon: As maniacal as he is brilliant, King Mechagon despises all organic life. With his mechoriginator primed and ready, nothing stands in the way of his scheme to purge the curse of flesh from Azeroth and mechanize the entire world.

Get ready to face the danger within beginning July 9.

Battle for Azeroth PvP Season 3
On July 9th, PvP Season 3 will start with all new rewards and gear to earn.






Mythic Plus Season 3
On July 9th, Mythic Plus Season 3 will begin and item levels of all dungeon rewards, world quests, and emissaries will increase.

  • Season 3 introduces a new seasonal affix to Mythic Plus:
    • Beguiling - Azshara's Emissaries are present throughout the dungeon.

Icy Veins has put together a nice guide to what to expect from this affix.




Miscellaneous Changes
  • New Missions and Troops
    • As you take the fight to the seas, your loyal followers will be with you every step of the way. You can now enlist Boat Captains and other skilled seafarers to fight your battles.
  • Event and Holiday Missions
    • Send out your followers to embark on new holiday- and event-themed missions. Spoils will include special currencies to spend during holidays and events, including Brewfest and Timewalking, along with rewards that are only available during those periods.

Rise of Azshara Now Live – Cinematic (Alliance)

Fabious Mount Solved, Rank 4 Essence Unlock, Nazjatar Quest Reward Weapon, App Update

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Fabious Mount Solved
The Secret Finding Discord has solved Fabious!

  • You'll need to break out your S.E.L.F.I.E. Camera MkII and head to 25, 29 in Nazjatar.
  • Once Fabious spawns, you'll need to take a selfie with the NPC and the mount will be yours!




Rank 4 Essence Required Rank 3 Before Unlock
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Earning Rank 3 of an Essence is a prerequisite to unlocking its Rank 4.
At the same time, some activities that that are required for Rank 4, such as earning a 2400 rating in PvP, can be accumulated while you’re still at Ranks 1 and 2.

Nazjatar Quest Reward Weapon Item Level
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
The quest reward weapons for one of the early quest in Nazjatar was 415 on ptr release build, but on life they’re only 370.

Mobile App Update with Rise of Azshara
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
There is an update to the app that came today with Rise of Azshara/8.2. It may take a while for the update to propagate out but we have confirmed that people are receiving it. Keep an eye out for updates on your device and you will be able to use the app again soon.

Thanks all!

Crossroads Cinematic, Essence VFX, Mike Morhaime Interviews

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Crossroads - Cinematic (Spoiler)
The Crossroads cinematic is unlocked as you progress through the War Campaign.


Essence Visual Effects
Luis Aguas, an Associate FX Artist with Blizzard, worked on the Azerite Essence visual effects. They uploaded some of their favorites to ArtStation.



Mike Morhaime Interviews
Mike Morhaime, co-founder and former President of Blizzard Entertainment, recently attended GameLab in Barcelona to accept an award. During interviews with VG247, he was asked about his non-compete contract and about why Heroes of the Storm failed.

  • His non-compete ended in April, and he is free to pursue whatever he wants.
  • He is currently in the brainstorming phase, and doesn't have anything concrete to share yet.
  • Some of his ideas are games, some of them are not.
  • He thinks the Heroes of the Storm team made a great game, but it was a little too late.
  • One of his biggest regrets was not pursuing Dota early enough.
  • There were more people playing Dota than Warcraft 3.
  • Blizzard had their hands' full supporting World of Warcraft.
  • If he could go back in time he would have had a team start doing something with Dota before the launch of Starcraft 2.
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