World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

In just a few weeks after the release of Shadowlands, Season 1 will begin and the gates of Castle Nathria will open as the expansion’s first raid experience.

Castle Nathria
Infiltrate the iron-barred walls of Castle Nathria, a 10-boss raid located in the shadowy realm of Revendreth. Face off against unfathomable horrors in a race to uncover a sinister plot and save these lands from a dark and twisted future.

Raid Unlock Schedule (North America):

• November 10 – Normal and Heroic difficulties
• November 17 – Mythic Castle Nathria, Raid Finder Wing 1
• December 1 – Raid Finder Wing 2
• December 15 –Raid Finder Wing 3
• January 5 – Raid Finder Wing 4

Shadowlands Season 1
Once the gates of Castle Nathria open on November 10, Shadowlands Season 1 will also begin which introduces a new seasonal affix in Mythic Keystone dungeons along with a new season of PvP action.

Beyond Azeroth’s shattered sky, a realm of infinite afterlives awaits: the Shadowlands, where mortal souls go to reckon with their pasts, discover new purpose . . . or suffer an eternity of torment. Seize your destiny beginning October 26.

Upon entering the Shadowlands, Azeroth’s champions will encounter an otherworld in disarray. Virtuous souls are being wrongfully cast into the eternal darkness of the Maw, while the Covenants—powerful factions who hold dominion over the afterlife’s disparate realms—face ruin and strife as the flow of the Shadowlands’ essential anima mysteriously dwindles. As an ancient, long-bound evil gathers the strength to break its chains, players must carve their path through the uncharted reaches of the beyond, forge a pact with the Covenant that most aligns with their own principles and purpose—and ultimately restore balance to the hereafter.

Join the Global Launch

World of Warcraft’s next expansion will launch in the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and Australia/New Zealand at the same time. Wherever you live and whatever path you choose to take, you can be part of one global adventure beyond the shattered sky.

Check the details below for the exact time you can begin playing and begin your journey into the Shadowlands.

• Americas (PDT) - 4:00p.m. - October 26*
• Europe (CET) - 12:00a.m. - October 27
• Taiwan (CST) - 7:00a.m. - October 27
• Korea (KST) - 8:00a.m. - October 27
• ANZ (AEST) - 10:00a.m. - October 27
• UTC - 11:00 p.m. - October 26

Pre-Purchase Now

Shadowlands is now available for purchase in three digital editions: Base, Heroic, and Epic.

Base edition Contents

• The complete Shadowlands experience.

Heroic Edition Contents

• The complete Shadowlands experience.
  
• Shadowlands-level character boost, available on pre-purchase.
  
• Ensorcelled Everwyrm Mount, which grants access to a questline that awards the Vestments of the Eternal Traveler transmogrification set.

Epic Edition Contents

• All content from the Heroic Edition
  
• Anima Wyrmling pet
  
• Wraithchill cosmetic weapon effect
  
• Eternal Traveler’s Hearthstone
  
• 30 Days of game time

All bonuses from the Heroic and Epic Editions are unlocked immediately upon pre-purchase.

Begin your path into World of Warcraft’s eighth expansion by pre-purchasing Shadowlands now! For more information on World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, visit the official site.

*To align with other regions, the Americas will launch slightly ahead of October 27 in local time.

In this week’s build of the Shadowlands Beta, health potions now have a 5 minute cooldown. Additionally, they are no longer limited to one use per encounter.

Similar to the recent change to combat potions, this is intended to make potion use less of a hassle, less expensive, and more decision-oriented in various situations throughout the game.

Health potions will continue to be in a separate cooldown category from Healthstones and combat potions. Additionally, the Kyrian Phial of Serenity is now on a separate cooldown from health potions, and has been updated to restore 20% health, with a 3 minute cooldown. However, Phial of Serenity is limited to one use per encounter.

With this week’s update to the Shadowlands Beta, players will have new options and availability for transmogrification of their Legion Artifacts.

Now, Legion Artifact appearances for all specs of your class are now available in their respective weapon categories. For example, Doomhammer will be found in “One-handed maces”.

The new Artifact appearances obey the usual transmogrification rules. For example, you can use the Ashbringer appearance on your two-handed mace, but not on a one-hand shield. Main-hand and off-hand Artifact appearances are granted independently in these tabs, so you can use Oathseeker appearances independently from Truthguard ones.

Now, a long as you possess the required proficiencies, there are no restrictions on duplicate appearances, and there are no restrictions on which hand they can be used in. For example, you can dual-wield Doomhammers or even Fury of the Stonemothers.

The existing transmogrification system for Legion Artifacts is entirely retained – the “Artifact Pair” tab still contains your spec-specific appearances, and you can still use the special rules allowing you to apply them over most other weapon types and combinations.

We look forward to hearing what you think of it after you’ve tried it out!