World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

Greetings and welcome to WoW Classic patch 1.13.3!

Below is a list of known issues for WoW Classic patch 1.13.3. Please note that this list is not comprehensive and is not a complete depiction of what we’re aware of, but a sampling of issues we believe players may encounter with some regularity. We hope to have fixes to these issues in place soon, but we cannot promise when or if any individual bug will be fixed.

• Battlegrounds
  
  • Alterac Valley: The Frostwolf Battle Standard and Stormpike Battle Standard are currently using models that do not match Original WoW
  • Warsong Gulch: The particle effects projected from the Alliance Flag are too bright
• User Interface
  
  • The “Toggle Keyring” option is missing from the Keybinds menu
  • The Oozeling’s Disgusting Aura does not display a debuff in the character’s debuff tray
• System Settings
  
  • Certain PCs may incorrectly default to integrated graphics adapters
    
    • Workaround: Open the System Menu via the Escape key and select System -> Advanced -> Graphics Card and select the correct GPU

Lastly, please also note that we do not list any issues here that we are aware of that could be considered exploitative, and as per the forums Code of Conduct, we would ask you not to post information in this forum about any potential exploits that you have discovered. If you believe you’ve found an exploit, please email hacks@blizzard.com directly with the relevant details.

Thank you!

Monday's Honor ?
We’ve found a process bug that caused a window of time where Honor appeared to go uncounted, and we’re repairing the missing honor. After the repair:

• If you got fewer rank points than you should have, we’ll increase your amount up to where you should be.
• If you got more than you should have, we’ll won’t change your amount.

And of course, we’re working to fix the bug. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Marks of Honor Are Lasting Way Too Long in the Mail
We’re working on a hotfix for this issue. After the hotfix is applied and certain servers are restarted, we’re going to try to modify your mail so that anyone who has these will not be able to carry them over into the next week.

And going forward, new Marks of Honor in the mail will have a 24-hour expiration.

Thank you for the report! (Official Forums)

Runeblade of Baron Rivendare
I wanted to take a second and clear up any misconceptions about the nature of this bug fix. The Runeblade of Baron Rivendare neither scaled with +healing nor snapshotted any +healing effects in Original WoW or the 1.12 Reference client. This behavior was a bug that was introduced into WoW Classic. As such, the fix that went into 1.13.3 that removed the +healing benefit and snapshotting restored this item to it’s original 1.12 state.

As this bug is now resolved we will be closing this thread now. As always, thank you for your reports and analysis! (Official Forums)

Gather your staunchest allies and head into the Firelands raid dungeon to take on the elemental lord Ragnaros and his cohorts—and take on six dungeons from Deathwing’s era— during Cataclysm Timewalking, running December 10–17.

The Firelands is the molten domain forged by the titans to house Ragnaros and his wayward minions. Following Deathwing’s emergence into Azeroth, Ragnaros and his servants surged onto the slopes of Mount Hyjal before being driven back by the sacred mountain’s valiant defenders. Now Ragnaros is rallying his loyalists to defend the Firelands from Azeroth’s champions.


When: The Firelands raid is available throughout the Cataclysm Timewalking event.
Difficulty: The difficulty is set to Normal and, like any Normal level raid, will not be available through Raid Finder.
Minimum Level: Players level 86 and above are eligible to participate.
Bosses: (7) Beth’tilac, Lord Rhyolith, Alysrazor, Shannox, Baleroc, the Gatekeeper, Majordomo Staghelm, Ragnaros

During Cataclysm Timewalking, you can assemble a raid group of between 1 and 30 players to step into the molten domain of Ragnaros. Don’t have a regular group? The Group Finder (I) can help. Create your own group in the Premade Groups section or search for like-minded adventurers.

Dungeons in Cataclysm Timewalking
Grim Batol
Don’t be fooled by Grim Batol’s humble exterior; many of this mountain fortress’s desecrated chambers are buried deep in the Twilight Highlands. Once the stronghold of the Wildhammer dwarves, and later seized by orcs as a prison for Alexstrasza, the city is now in the clutches of the Twilight’s Hammer cult.

The Stonecore
Within the Temple of Earth, locked in the heart of Deepholm, lies the Stonecore. It was inside these caverns that the Twilight’s Hammer toiled over Deathwing, hammering elementium plates to the Dragon Aspect’s body in an attempt to hold his tormented form together. With his renewal complete, Deathwing ascended into Azeroth, shattering the World Pillar and destabilizing the region of Deepholm.

Lost City of theTol’vir
The Lost City of the Tol’vir is the stronghold of the Neferset, a faction of the cat-like tol’vir who swore fealty to Deathwing in exchange for a cure to the curse of flesh, which had turned their rocky hides to soft skin. With the affliction expunged, the tol’vir have rebelled against the benefactor, although they remain irrevocably twisted and hostile due to the dark pact they made.

The Vortex Pinnacle
The Vortex Pinnacle exists within the elemental plane of Skywall. Its elegant structures, crowned with bronze and gold, sit atop platforms bridged by pure air. Yet behind its exterior beauty, the pinnacle harbors Neferset tol’vir, as well as Al’Akir the Windlord’s merciless elemental legions. As long as the barrier between Skywall and Azeroth remains open, terror will rain down on Uldum from the skies.

Throne of the Tides
Deep within the Abyssal Maw’s fathomless expanses lies the Throne of the Tides. From here, the great elemental lord Neptulon the Tidehunter has surveyed and protected his aquatic domain for ages. He now faces his greatest challenge as a force of serpentine naga and malefic faceless ones threaten to depose him, leaving his realm and its secrets ripe for the plundering.

End Time
One of an infinite number of potential outcomes, this timeway depicts the desolate future of Azeroth should Deathwing fail to be stopped. Nozdormu has identified a powerful anomaly that exists in this moment and bars access to the past—and hope of retrieving the Demon Soul. The powerful creature from out of time lives alone amidst the time-twisted echoes of the past.

Just the Facts
Your character and items will be scaled down to a power level fitting for the challenge at hand, but bosses will yield loot appropriate for your regular level. Timewalking dungeons also have a chance to drop items that usually drop when you run them on Heroic, and you’ll earn reputation with a faction that is interested in the dungeon. For example, when you Timewalk through The Stonecore, Slabhide could drop the Reins of the Vitreous Stone Drake mount for you.

Look for the following all week long: Chronicler Shoopa in Zuldazar and Chronicler Toopa in Boralus have a quest for you. You can also start the quest from within the Adventure Guide (Shift- J).
Quest Requirement: Complete 5 Timewalking dungeons.
Rewards: Artifact Power and one loot box containing a piece of gear from Normal difficulty The Eternal Palace.

Every Week
The Bonus Events system consists of a rotating schedule of different activities, currently scheduled to run each week beginning on Tuesdays. Each Bonus Event grants a passive bonus to a particular game activity and offers a once-per-event quest with a noteworthy reward for accomplishing a related goal. The in-game calendar can serve as your one-stop reference for the event schedule. The Adventure Guide also offers a direct link to active Bonus Events, allowing you to easily accept any associated quests.

On Friday, December 13th, we will be continuing our raid tests in Ny’alotha, the Waking City. After the test is complete we will make the second wing of Looking for Raid available for the weekend.

Friday, December 13th
The Prophet Skitra - Mythic Ny’alotha, the Waking City
13:00 PST (16:00 EST, 22:00 CET)
Halls of Devotion - Looking for Raid Ny’alotha, the Waking City
14:00 PST (17:00 EST, 23:00 CET)

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.

With the patch and battlegrounds now live, we wanted to take a moment to look at the Warsong Gulch vendors. They worked in original WoW and now work in WoW Classic like this:

• Warsong Gulch vendor lists only appear when you have the required reputation. You should see the text “What items have I earned the right to purchase?” and, when you’re Neutral with your WSG faction, you should find that you don’t have the right to purchase anything.
• Warsong Gulch vendors will only sell items from their original list of consumables (and one tabard) for now.
• Additional items that were added to original WoW in patch 1.6 will become available when Blackwing Lair opens in 2020.

See you in the flag room!

The time has come to put your PvP skills to the test. The Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley Battlegrounds are now available in WoW Classic.

Warsong Gulch
Test your teamwork in this 10v10 capture-the-flag Battleground. The first team to capture three of the opposing team’s flags wins the match and earns Honor toward their PvP ranking.

To join the Battleground, you’ll need to be at least level 10 and visit the Battlemaster in one of the capital cities to queue or, if you’re feeling adventurous, travel to the Battleground in the Northern Barrens (for the Horde) or Ashenvale (for the Alliance).

You’ll be matched up with other players within a specific level bracket as follows:

• 10–19
• 20–29
• 30–39
• 40–49
• 50–59
• 60

Check out Wowhead’s complete guide for tips and strategies to help you and your team make the most of your time in this classic Battleground.

Alterac Valley
Step into Alterac Valley and prepare to engage in a battle for every square meter across this Battleground. You’ll need to coordinate with your team in a 40v40 grudge match to see who will come out on top.

To queue for this Battleground, you’ll need to be at least level 51 at the Battlemasters within the capital cities or head out into Alterac Mountains to queue up there.

You and your team will need to coordinate to complete PvE and PvP objectives to win. You’ll control key locations such as mines, towers, and graveyards, which will help you push further into the map toward the main objective—the opposite faction’s general—Vanndar Stormpike for the Alliance or Drek’Thar for the Horde. You can make this task easier for you and your team by destroying enemy towers and killing the elites guarding the generals.

You’ll also be able to turn in resources that can be looted from mobs and players that can be turned in to gain additional bonuses and aid to your side’s cause of crushing the enemy.

Earning reputation within this Battleground for the Stormpike Guard of the Alliance or Frostwolf Clan for the Horde will open up access to new rewards. You can also gain additional reputation by undertaking a variety of quests within the Battleground.

For a complete guide on this classic Battleground, visit Wowhead.

What are you waiting for? Get in there!

With scheduled weekly maintenance in each region, we will update WoW Classic to version 1.13.3, which includes several updates to the game. We will deploy this patch with weekly maintenance starting at 7:00 a.m. PST (10:00 a.m. EST) on Tuesday, December 10.

World of Warcraft Classic Version 1.13.3

Battlegrounds
The fields of battle are open, and the Alliance and Horde are set to clash over Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley.

Warsong Gulch is a 10v10 game of capture-the-flag, with each faction attempting to carry their opponents’ flag all the way back to their own base, while preventing the opposition from doing the same. Players fight in level-ranges in Warsong Gulch: 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and level 60.

Alterac Valley is a large 40v40 tug-of-war zone, with many quests, objectives, and areas of interest. All players at level 51 and higher are placed into a single level-range in this epic struggle, with rewards via reputation as well as quest rewards. Some Alterac Valley rewards are highly sought, such as Don Julio’s Band, Lei of the Lifegiver, and Ice Threaded Arrows/Bullets.

The Alliance entrance to Warsong Gulch is in Silverwing Grove in Ashenvale Forest, and the Horde entrance is near Mor’shan Base Camp in the northern Barrens. The Alliance and Horde entrances to Alterac Valley are in northern Hillsbrad Foothills. Both Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley can also be entered by speaking with the appropriate battlemaster in your capital city.

Battlegrounds are cross-realm, which means you’ll fight alongside allies and against opponents from all of the realms in your region.

Elemental Invasions
Across Kalimdor, Blazing, Thundering, Watery, and Whirling Invaders now occasionally appear in Un’goro Crater, Azshara, Winterspring, and Silithus respectively. The elementals appear to be seeing just how far into these territories they can penetrate before being beaten back by the forces of the Horde or the Alliance.

Keyring
The key button in your micro menu now opens your Keyring, an additional bag for keys only, that scales up to hold 32 keys.

Additional Updates

• The lua API has been modified to prevent some addons from using communications channels in ways that are contrary to the spirit of the game.
• This patch includes client support for the Paid Character Transfer service, which may be enabled at a future date.
• The World of Warcraft Classic executable file on your PC has been renamed.
• Bug fixes.

With the release of World of Warcraft Classic 1.13.3, we’re making a change to disallow calling C_ChatInfo.SendAddonMessage with the CHANNEL ChatType. This will prevent addons from communicating over custom, player-created chat channels.

Addons will still be able to communicate using PARTY, RAID, GUILD, and WHISPER in the same ways that they can now. Additionally, we are going to test a change to permit C_ChatInfo.SendAddonMessage to be called with SAY and YELL, allowing your addons to communicate with players in your immediate vicinity.

We support using addons to customize your gameplay experience. However, we also want to ensure that we preserve the social dynamics that make Classic what it is. Ultimately, we decided that the ability for addons to send invisible messages to large, arbitrary groups of players all across Azeroth was something that risked undermining those social dynamics.

Thank you!

Celebrate your legacy with two new Heritage Armor sets—one for goblins and one for worgen—coming in the release of the Visions of N’Zoth content update.

Players with a maximum-level (120) goblin or worgen who are Exalted with their faction (Bilgewater Cartel or Gilneas respectively) will be able to embark on a new quest line for each race to learn more about their history. Once you complete your quest, you’ll gain a new Heritage Armor transmogrification set unique to your race and be able to show off your pride.


Begin your journey by visiting the embassy in Orgrimmar or Stormwind once Visions of N’Zoth goes live.