It’s BlizzCon weekend, which means there’s a ton of news for World of Warcraft fans. This time around, Blizzard Entertainment shared exciting news for retail WoW, Classic, and seasonal Classic content.
There was plenty of news this year, and in this article, you’ll find all the WoW-related news in one spot. Here’s a quick recap of all the most important WoW news from BlizzCon 2023.
WoW retail: Worldsoul expansion trilogy
WoW players have an exciting road ahead of them—three new expansions that are all part of The Worldsoul Saga. The expansions are The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan, and they will have one comprehensive storyline throughout.
The first chapter of the Worldsoul Saga, The War Within, is set to release in 2024. Blizzard didn’t share a specific release window, but it’s safe to assume it will launch in November or December 2024.
The next expansion, The War Within, will be set on the distant island of Khaz Algar where players will meet a new allied race, the Earthen. These are essentially Dwarves, but with a twist—they are a bit larger and gem-encrusted. Unfortunately, it’s still unknown which classes the Earthen will be able to play.
The Island of Khaz Algar will have four new zones for you to explore—the Isle of Dorn, the Ringing Deeps, Hallowfall, and Azj-Kahet. You will be able to use Dragonriding in these new zones, and you’ll meet various denizens there, including the Nerubians and the Arathi. Three of the zones are underground, but they shouldn’t feel claustrophobic.
Naturally, players are getting eight new dungeons, four of which will be leveling dungeons and the other four will be max level dungeons. Here’s the list of all dungeons in The War Within:
- The Rookery
- The Stonevault
- Priory of the Sacred Flame
- City of Threads
- Cinderbrew Meadery
- Darkflame Cleft
- The Dawnbreaker
- Old City
The first raid of the expansion will be set in the zone of Azj-Kahet, and it is called The Nerub’ar Palace. It will have eight bosses and will further advance the story.
But that’s not all The War Within has to offer. It will also introduce a Hero talent system that goes together with regular talents, Warbands that will make your transmogs and reputations account-wide, and Delves. Delves are a new role-agnostic outdoor content feature for one to four players. They’ll provide seasonal content for those who aren’t fans of raiding and Mythic+ dungeons.
WoW Classic: Cataclysm
After Wrath of the Lich King Classic, WoW fans are getting Cataclysm Classic. This means that designated WotLK Classic servers will progress to Cataclysm era and you can once again relive your memories of when Deathwing descended upon Azeroth. Cataclysm will largely be the expansion you know and love, but Blizzard will add beloved new dungeon difficulties and rewards, guild progression updates, account-wide transmogs, and faster patch cadence and leveling.
WoW Classic Hardcore: Self-found mode
Unlike other versions of WoW, Classic Hardcore is only getting one new feature: Self-found mode. In this mode, you’re all by yourself in the harsh world of Hardcore, and you can’t trade, use auction house, join a group, or send or receive mail.
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery
Blizzard had yet another treat for WoW Classic fans—Season of Discovery. This is a new server that will essentially work like Classic+, which has been highly requested for years.
Season of Discovery will release on Nov. 30 and won’t be available on the PTR, because Blizzard is putting the focus on players rediscovering the charms of WoW Classic. There are a couple of neat features coming with this mode—Discoveries, level-banded content that caps at level 25 for the first couple of weeks, Rune Engraving, and level 25 raid.
Essentially, you will level up to level 25 and won’t be able to progress further until Blizzard adds more content, and more content is coming further down the road. Along your journey, you’ll encounter different Discoveries, hidden secrets, and unlock additional spells never seen in WoW Classic before. These new abilities will be available through the Rune Engraving system that will unlock a new spell for each slot you have equipped. At first you’ll only have three slots to engrave (chest, legs, and hands), but this will increase with level caps.
Finally, Blackfathom Depths will be converted from a regular dungeon into a 10-person raid, where you can bring new specs like Mage healers or Shaman, Rogue, and Warlock tanks, and many other class/role combinations just waiting to be discovered.
