The final phase of Cataclysm Classic now has a release date: February 18th, just a little under two weeks from now.
The patch will go live with three new heroic dungeons, End Time, Well of Eternity, and Hour of Twilight. The Dragon Soul raid will open a couple of days later on February 20th, bringing the new Fangs of the Father legendary weapons with it. The new boss Alizabal will appear inside Baradin Hold the following week on February 25th.
This phase will conclude the expansion and is expected to last for a few months. The pre-patch for Mists of Pandaria Classic is due out sometime in the spring.
In Hour of Twilight, Deathwing’s reign of terror will finally come to an end. Featuring a new raid, unexplored dungeons, a legendary rogue quest line, the latest raid tier armor sets, major story developments, and much more. Hour of Twilight has something for everyone.
Key Dates:
- Hour of Twilight Patch: 02/18 with regularly scheduled maintenance.
- Dragon Soul Raid Dungeon: 02/20 at 3:00 p.m. PST globally.
- Baradin Hold: Alizabal: 02/25 with regularly scheduled maintenance.
In the wake of the Cataclysm, Azeroth’s champions rose up to thwart the forces of the maddened black Dragon Aspect, Deathwing. Thus far the world’s defenders have shattered the power base of the Twilight’s Hammer cult and defeated the raging elemental lords Al’Akir and Ragnaros. Yet despite these victories, as long as Deathwing is free to pursue his twisted goals, Azeroth will remain under threat.
No one is more aware of this fact than the great Dragon Aspects Alexstrasza, Nozdormu, Ysera, and Kalecgos. Together with the wise shaman Thrall, they have devised a plan to vanquish Deathwing with a weapon of his own design: the infamous Dragon Soul.
Thrall and the noble Aspects will call upon the Horde and the Alliance to help them retrieve the artifact–no longer in existence–from the distant past.
Those brave enough to face the challenge will embark on a perilous journey from Azeroth’s apocalyptic End Time to the Dragon Soul’s point of origin during the catastrophic War of the Ancients. If the heroes succeed, an even more harrowing battle awaits them in the present….
Dungeons
Hour of Twilight introduces three Heroic dungeons which set the stage for the final confrontation of Deathwing. Players will need to have at least a 365 item-level to queue for the Dungeon Finder.
End Time
One of an infinite number of potential outcomes, this timeway depicts the desolate future of Azeroth should its defenders fail to stop Deathwing. In this bleak future, Nozdormu has identified an anomaly that bars access to both the past and the Dragon Soul: a powerful creature from out of time, living alone amid time-twisted echoes of the past.
Where: Tanaris; Caverns of Time
Bosses: 5
In this 5-player Heroic dungeon, adventurers travel back 10,000 years in a brazen attempt to retrieve the Dragon Soul.
Well of Eternity
Ten-thousand years in the past, the night elven capital city of Zin-Azshari was a magnificient, sparkling metropolis. Situated on the shores of the Well Eternity, it was here that the aristocratic Highborne first opened a portal into the Twisting Nether and invited the Burning Legion to invade Azeroth. Under the command of the night elven queen Azshara, they now pour their energies into the portal, preparing it for the terrifying and glorious entrance of the demon god Sargeras.
Where: Tanaris; Caverns of Time
Bosses: 3
This 5-player Heroic dungeon begins the quest to save all with a look at the desolate future of Azeroth, should its defenders fail to stop Deathwing.
Hour of Twilight
With the Dragon Soul retrieved from the past, the Heroes of Azeroth now prepare fo the final confrontation with Deathwing. In the frozen wastes of Northrend, the towering spire of Wyrmrest Temple is under the assault of Deathwing’s Twilight forces. In order to save Azeroth, Thrall must arrive safely at the temple with the Dragon Soul in hand.
Where: Tanaris; Caverns of Time
Bosses: 3
This 5-player Heroic dungeon sets the final stage by bringing players face-to-face with the Twilight’s Hammer in present-day Dragonblight, where Thrall and the Dragon Soul must be safely escorted to Wyrmrest Temple so that the assault on Deathwing can commence.
Dragon Soul Raid Dungeon (February 20)
Forged by Deathwing during the War of the Ancients, the Dragon Soul harnessed the power of the other dragonflights, until it was ultimately destroyed. After recovering a version of the artifact from the Caverns of Time, Thrall and the allied dragonflights now rally at Wyrmrest Temple in a desperate bid to use its might to defeat Deathwing.
Created by the titans as a sanctuary for all Dragonkind, the crumbling Wyrmrest Temple is now the final hope for the forces allied against the black dragon Neltharion, once the Earth-Warder and protector of Azeroth, now Deathwing the Destroyer. It is here that the remaining aspects—Alexstrasza, Ysera, Nozdormu, Kalecgos, and Thrall—have gathered to empower the Dragon Soul—Azeroth’s last chance to stop the great behemoth. As they begin to charge the Dragon Soul with energy, Deathwing and his entire army assault Wyrmrest Temple. Players must thwart the attacking forces long enough for Thrall to charge the Dragon Soul.
Where: Tanaris; Caverns of Time
Raid Size: 10 and 25 Player
Difficulties: Normal, Heroic
Players have the opportunity to take the fight to Wyrmrest Temple and beyond, assisting Thrall and the Dragon Aspects as they seek to bring an end to the Black Dragonflight once and for all. Take on Deathwing himself, with two levels of difficulty to consider and epic gear to claim.
The Siege of Wyrmrest Temple Bosses:
- Morchok: The most powerful elemental still under Deathwing’s sway, Morchok— once a passive guardian—is now convinced that his only respite will come with Azeroth’s demise. Morchok rages against the foundation of Wyrmrest Temple, Azeroth’s last beacon of hope in the Hour of Twilight.
- Warlord Zon’ozz: Countless ages ago, Warlord Zon’ozz and his soldiers waged endless war against the forces of C’Thun and Yogg-Saron. Millennia have passed, but the warlord stills erves the chaotic might of the Old God N’Zoth. Death wing has now unleashed this legendary faceless one to crush the defenders of Wyrmrest Temple.
- Yor’sahj the Unsleeping: Since the fall fo the Bastion of Twilight, Yor’sahj the Unsleeping has eagerly assisted Deathwing, providing the Destroyer with the means to release more faceless ones from their prisons deep beneath the earth. Their numbers are endless and their power is beyond reckoning and Yor’sahj intends to reap a grim reward for his faithful service.
- Hagara the Stormbinder: Hagara, one of the first students of arcane magic under the Forsaken, showed surprising potential for one who had started learning so late in life. But in her undisciplined attempts to bind elementals into servitude, she was ensnared and twisted by the Windlord, Al’Akir. Now fiercely loyal to the Twilight’s Hammer, Hagara binds others for her elemental masters to torment.
Fall of Deathwing Bosses:
- Ultraxion: More an abomination of dark energy than a dragon, Ultraxion has spent his short life absorbing the essence of captured nether dragons. Ultraxion is the only twilight dragon Deathwing has praised, and his arrogance is overshadowed only by the crackling energies surging through his twisted form. Loyal to his master, Ultraxion swears to bring the fall of Wyrmrest Temple.
- Warmaster Blackhorn: Though once vast in number, only a few dozen twilight dragons now remain. Astride these hardened survivors are the last vestiges of the Twilight’s Hammer’s army: the elite drake riders of Deathwing’s personal escort. Led by the insidious Warmaster Blackhorn, they move with unholy purpose, driven to protect their dark master.
- Spine of Deathwing: When Deathwing first channeled the Dragon Soul’s power against the other flights, the massive energies that were unleashed threatened to break apart his very body. Rather than forgo this weapon he had admantium plates fused to his scales to hold his body together. Later reinforced with elementium, these plates are now his weakness—the sole vulnerability to deathwing’s lethal presence.
- Madness of Deathwing: A warped mass of molten hatred and unfathomable power, this formless, mindless horror cannot be stopped. Whatever was left of Neltharion the Earth-Warder is long gone, his mind and soul corrupted and devoured by his Old God masters. All this monstrous being desires is destruction, annihilation, and the end of all things.
New Legendary Item for Rogues: Fangs of the Father
The most deadly and experienced rogues will play a central role in the fate of the world the rogue’s way: by manipulating key events from the shadows.
Players will travel across continents to accomplish crucial missions of reconnaissance, burglary, infiltration and, of course, assassination. Rogues who succeed will receive a paired set of daggers that will become increasingly lethal as their bearer progresses along the legendary quest.
At the height of their strength, they will be imbued with the vile essence of the Old Gods, as well as the maddened fury of the Black Dragonflight — bestowing great power upon their bearer. These powers include a stacking increase to Agility which builds until dark wings unfurl from the rogue’s back, removing the combo point cost and increasing damage of finishing moves for a short time. In addition, the wings which can be spread on command (with no combat benefit) to slow a rapid descent, allowing the rogue to slowly fall to the ground… or enact a little death from above!
Your journey will begin with the quest “Proving Your Worth” in the Dragon Soul raid dungeon.
New Baradin Hold boss: Alizabal (February 25)
Alizabal presents an all-new boss challenge to player in 10- and 25-player arrangements who control Tol Barad. This boss will be available with the start of Season 11, one week after the release of the patch.
We’re looking forward to battling Deathwing together. For Azeroth!
About the Author
