Blizzard has released the release schedule for World of Warcraft Dragonflight’s next raid: Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible. Just like the Vault of the Incarnates did back in December, Aberrus will have all four raid difficulties available at once. Traditionally, raids had a staggered release schedule, with Normal and Heroic difficulties being available before it was released on Mythic difficulty. But that’s been done away with in Dragonflight.
Aberrus will be available one week after the launch of the upcoming patch: Patch 10.1, Embers of Neltharion. Players will have access to almost all of the new content in Patch 10.1 on May 2, with the second season of Dragonflight (which includes the new raid and Mythic+ dungeon pool) launching one week later.
Here’s the full release schedule for WoW: Dragonflight’s next raid, Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible.
WoW Dragonflight Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible release dates
- May 9 – Aberrus releases on Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and Raid Finder difficulties. The first three bosses of the raid—Kazzara, the Amalgamation Chamber, and the Forgotten Experiments—will be available on Raid Finder difficulty.
- May 23 – Raid Finder wing two releases, giving players access to the next three bosses of the raid—Assault of the Zaqali, Rashok the Elder, and Zskarn.
- June 6 – Raid Finder wing three opens, with Magmorax and the Echo of Neltharion
- June 20 – The final wing of Aberrus releases on Raid Finder difficulty, with its final boss Scalecommander Sarkareth available to players.
WoW players will be able to decide on day one of the new season which raid difficulty is best for them and immediately start progression through Aberrus. It’s likely that most, if not all, guilds will have to do multiple run-throughs of Aberrus on Normal and Heroic difficulties before jumping into the Mythic version of the raid.
Related: How to prepare for Dragonflight Patch 10.1
With all four difficulties coming at once, the game’s highest-level players will have to carefully maneuver their split raids with Mythic progression during the Race to World First. During the Vault of the Incarnates race, a Mythic boss wasn’t taken down until over 48 hours into the raid’s lifespan.
Aberrus will open in full on May 9, with Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and Raid Finder difficulties all being available simultaneously.
