- Author: Luxrah
- Date: January 9, 2025
- Updated: January 10, 2025
- Expansion: WoW Classic
It’s a new year and a new day in WoW Classic, with the first major content patch arriving on live realms. Phase 2 brings a plethora of new content to the game for both PvE and PvP.
This is the only phase that doesn’t include an instanced raid, but we do get the first World Bosses of the game as Lord Kazzak will begin spawning in Blasted Lands and Azuregos will spawn in Azshara. Unlike their instanced versions in Season of Discovery, the original versions of these world bosses are on a long spawn timer and only the most dedicated raid groups will be able to claim their powerful loot.
The last three dungeons of Vanilla WoW will open with the three wings of Dire Maul: Dire Maul East, Dire Maul West, and Dire Maul North. A slew of other content becomes available along with these dungeons, including:
- The epic sword Quel’Serrar and a new trinket for every class
- New enchantments for the Head and Leg slots
- The epic mounts for Paladins and Warlocks
- Rank 7 Conjure Water for Mages
- The Dire Maul Tribute buffs: Mol’dar’s Moxie, Fengus’ Ferocity, and Slip’kik’s Savvy
Finally, the Honor System arrives for PvP, giving players an incentive to engage with enemy players (and avoid fighting civilian NPCs, who grant Dishonorable Kills). Ranks and titles can now be earned and with them, some powerful PvP gear. Honor will cap at Rank 11 until the release of Phase 3, when the max rank of 14 will be available.
The first two battlegrounds, Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley, will be added to the game next week on January 16th. Both of these battlegrounds come with their own reputations and rewards to earn.
Ring in the new year with the updated Honor System, the opening of iconic battlegrounds Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley, and the release of Dire Maul and the world bosses, Azuregos and Kazzak.
Release Timetable:Â
- 1/9: Phase 2 including the updated Honor System, Dire Maul, and world bosses Azuregos and Kazzak.
- 1/16: Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley Battlegrounds Open
Phase 2 of the Anniversary Edition introduces the updated Honor System currently in use on both WoW Classic Era realms and in Season of Discovery. At the launch of the phase, the Honor cap will be set to Rank 11, with it extending to Rank 14 shortly after the release of the Blackwing Lair raid dungeon at a later date.
This phase also marks the release of Dire Maul dungeon and the world bosses Azuregos and Kazzak, offering even more exciting encounters to dive into.
Get Ready for the Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley Battlegrounds
We’ve learned a lesson or two since we launched the original Honor System in 2019. With that launch, we saw a lot of great chaotic outdoor PvP engagements between players. But this chaos also led us to adjust plans so that we released battlegrounds slightly earlier than expected. This time, with the new Anniversary Edition realms, we’re leaning into the excitement and embracing the chaos—for one week only! (Southshore vs. Tarren Mill anyone?) We will be opening the Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley battlegrounds on January 16 at 2:00 pm PST globally, one week after the updated Honor System goes live.
We can’t wait to see everyone’s adventures unfold in this next chapter!
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