World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

Patch 7.0 included some server-side changes to the way our cross-realm and sharding technologies work. While these changes were made to improve system and server performance, they inadvertently affected Role Playing realms and communities in a way we did not intend.

We recognize the issue this has caused for the role playing community, and have been hard at work on some improvements to our tech that will allow us to disable it entirely in certain areas on RP servers. In those designated areas, players on RP realms will not be automatically mixed with players from other realms, nor will they be split into multiple “shards”. In other words, if you’re on an RP server, you won’t have trouble finding other people from your realm in these areas, and shouldn’t see very many (if any) players from other realms.

Additionally, it’s worth clarifying that our previous rules which prevented RP realms from being automatically CRZ’ed with non-RP realms have not changed, even outside of these designated areas. However, please be aware that our party-based cross-realm tech is still in place, so if someone from another realm groups up with someone on your realm, you might see them.

We’re currently applying these changes to Stormwind and Orgrimmar, and North American realms should be starting to see their effects. Realms in other regions will pick the changes up with their next restarts. Once we’ve had some time to see how these changes are working out in action, we’ll begin applying them to other common social hubs (such as other capital cities, Elwynn Forest, etc.), with the goal to eventually roll this out to the vast majority of the game world. The only exceptions will be a few very specific locations where sharding is needed to prevent major performance issues, particularly with the upcoming expansion launch.

Again, our goal was never to disrupt the role playing community, and we apologize for any distress or confusion this has caused those players.

"My son. A terrible darkness has returned to our world."

What is the price of peace? This is a question that Anduin Wrynn must answer as war against an ancient foe begins anew and hidden enemies threaten his very life.

In "Anduin: Son of the Wolf," a letter from Anduin’s father, King Varian, speaks of ill times ahead, prompting the young ruler to ponder leadership and responsibility. Anduin must face his fears and decide if he can defend Azeroth while still keeping true to his beliefs.
We invite you to read and download the free comic here. You can also experience the action and sound of this tale through the Madefire motion book, available on desktop, mobile, and Apple TV.

About the Comic
Written by Robert Brooks and illustrated by Nesskain, "Anduin: Son of the Wolf" is the fourth in a series of comics leading up to the Burning Legion's invasion of Azeroth.

Robert Brooks is a senior writer on Blizzard Entertainment's Creative Development team and has worked on various projects for Blizzard's game universes, including the World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor comic "Blackhand" and the Mists of Pandaria faction short story "The Untamed Valley."

Nesskain is a French comic artist residing near Paris. Mainly self-taught, he started his career in the comics field in his early twenties, working for publisher Delcourt on projects such as Le Cercle and R.U.S.T.

We’re pleased to announce the upcoming audio drama “The Tomb of Sargeras”, written by Robert Brooks, and narrated by Steven Pacey.



Subscribe now in iTunes to get each episode as soon as they're released.

Bug Fixes

Classes
Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Death Strike is now calculated at 45 Runic Power for purposes of abilities that base their functionality off of Runic Power spent.

Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Restoration Affinity now properly increases the healing done by Rejuvination.
• Prowl and Dash can now be activated while the Druid is in Cat Form or Bear Form.

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• The visual for Glyph of the Skullseye now properly disappears when the buff runs out.

Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Mages are now able to purchase Mystical Tome: Arcane Linquist, Mystical Tome: Illusion and Familiar Stone from Endora Moorehead in Dalaran as intended.

Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Chi Orbit is now only visible to the casting Monk and hostile players.
• The Jade Serpent Statue now properly assists the Monk when casting the Ancient Mistweaver Arts variant of Soothing Mist.

Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Fixed a bug preventing Divine Steed from working at the proper level.

Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Casting Riptide directly after a Chain Heal will now award two stacks of Tidal Waves.

Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Drain Life and Drain Soul now consider Mechanicals to be valid targets.

Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Anger Management should reduce the correct amount of the remaining cooldown on Battle Cry, with the corresponding amount of Rage spent by Execute.
• Pants and weapons are no longer changing appearances after entering Defensive Stance.

Dungeons

• In Razorfen Downs, Death Speaker Blackthorn and Amnennar the Coldbringer no longer respawn following their deaths.
• In Raid Finder, entering the second wing of Heart of Fear should place players in the proper instance with appropriate enemies spawned.

Items

• Chef’s Hat again speeds up cooking.
• Invisible fist weapons are now eligible to be transmogrified.

Mobs

• Razor Net Trap in Tanaan Jungle is now doing its intended amount of damage.

Pet Battles

• Flawless Battle-Stone can be used on Enchanted Broom, as intended.
• The Hunter’s Call toy no longer summons any pets that can be battled.

PVP

• PvP templates now grant level 100 characters stats on par with item level 740 gear (up from 700 gear).
• “Slay Them All” now rewards gold and a Fel-Touched Crate of Battlefield Goods.
• “Ashran Dominance” now rewards gold, a Fel-touched Crate of Battlefield Goods, and a Mark of Honor.

Quests

• Fixed an issue that could cause Big Pete in Hemet's Happy Hunting Grounds to become stuck and uninteractible.
• Lord Maxwell Tyrosus should now remain visible, allowing players to turn in "Argent Call: The Noxious Glade.
• The Twilight Sermon events are now properly initiating, allowing for the completion of the quests "Might of the Stonemaul" and "Might of the Sentinels".
• Kadrak is now present and the quest “Warchief’s Command: Ashenvale!” can be turned in.
• Restored some daily quests that had gone missing from the Molten Front.

Zones

• Cold Weather Flying now costs 50 gold, and is automatically learned at level 80.

Bug Fixes
Classes

Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Feral Affinity should increase the damage of Rake and Rip, as intended.

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Pets in the Oxen and Scalehide families now all have a basic attack.

Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• While the Flame Patch talent is active, it should tick during the casting and application of other spells.

Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• The talent Trail of Light should no longer incorrectly reduce the healing of Flash of Light.

Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)

• Chaos Bolt should no longer interfere with boss abilities when combined with the Reverse Entropy talent.
• Fixed a bug affecting the health of Warlock pets.

Dungeons

• Fixed an issue that could prevent players from receiving loot from Draenor Mythic dungeon bosses depending on their loot settings.

Items

• The monument awarded for the achievement "Chapter IV: Darkness Incarnate" is no longer missing.
• Crown of the Fire Festival should again appear as a valid transmogrification source if you’ve completed the quest “A Thief’s Reward”.

Quests

• The NPC Ultham Ironhorn is again available for Dwarf players attempting to complete "Learn To Ride".
• There are now Sunreaver Citizens available to complete the quest "It Starts in the Sewers"
• Players are now able to start and progress through the quest "Endgame".
• The quest “The Future of Rockpool” can again be completed.
• Mistcaller’s Charm, used to summon Mistcaller Yngvar for the quest "Mistcaller Yngvar", now functions properly.
• General Grimaxe should no longer despawn after he has dismounted during “Grimaxe’s Demise”.
• Players are now able to complete the quest “Unbroken Circle”.
• Halduron Brightwing should again allow players to turn in the quest "Journey to the Sunwell".

Zones

• Level 100 characters should be able to queue for Ashran via Group Finder.
• The NPCs who went missing from Hrothgar’s Landing have been returned.
• Players will now properly receive the Dungeon Preparation buff when entering a Timewalking dungeon.

As we prepare for a new chapter in Azeroth’s story, we thought it was an auspicious time debut an all-new World of Warcraft site. Consider it your future home for all things WoW, with an all-new home page, game section, new player and returning player guides, and much more.

As with any new undertaking, this site is a work in progress and we’ll be updating it regularly with a variety of features, including updated player profiles, PvP Ladder information, and more.

Once the new site goes live on July 26, you’ll also want to check out the updated forums, which can be accessed by clicking Forums at the top of the page. We’ve put a new coat of paint on things and tidied up a bit to give the forums a cleaner look. Don’t worry, though—all of your posts in the current forums will still be here for you when we transition over, so no packing for the move will be necessary.

Check out the images below to get an idea of how the site will look.


We look forward to getting settled into our new home with you.

Raids
What's the story with Nighthold? Tuned for and rewards same ilevel as Emerald Nightmare but releasing months after?
Tuned for Nightmare gear, will reward a tier up. Basically Highmaul->Foundry (after Foundry gear buffs) redux. (WatcherDev)

Items
Warglaive from pre-patch event is BoP, so appearance available to pre-purchase players only. Is that intended ?
Thanks everyone for drawing attention to this, will discuss. (Muffinus)

Questing
But if lvl 102 is a healer, can they heal lvl 108 properly? Rare for questing I know, but I'm curious.
yes healing gets scaled too (holinka)

In this new animated short, step inside the mind of Gul'dan and learn more of his story, directly from the warlock himself.

About the Animated Shorts:
Harbingers is an exciting series of animated shorts bringing to life the tales of several key figures in the lead-up to the Burning Legion's invasion.

Credits: Directed by Doug Gregory. Art by Jake Panian. Written by Andrew Robinson and James Waugh.

Bug Fixes
Account Services

• Level 90 boosts were temporarily disabled, and should be again useable.
• (Work in progress) Fixed multiple issues affecting WoW Token redemption.

Dungeons and Raids

• Enemies have been weakened in all encounters in Warlords of Draenor dungeons and Hellfire Citadel on all difficulties.
• Oregorger once again can hold a maximum of 100 Ore.
• Hellfire Citadel
  
  • Gripping Shadows damage on Mannoroth reduced by 40% in Mythic difficulty.
  • Overflowing Fel Energy damage on Mannoroth reduced by 50% in Mythic difficulty.
  • Focused/Wrought Chaos damage on Archimonde reduced by 30% in Mythic difficulty.

Items

• A number of items should no longer provide Legion materials when disenchanted.
• The Eagletalon Spear can be upgraded using Ancient Heriloom Scabbard, as intended.

Quests

• The questgiver Lord Maxwell Tyrosus should not disappear after you accept the quest “Argent Call: The Trial of the Crypt”.
• Malfurion Stormrage should be visible and interactive for Grove Warden turn-in quests, as intended.
• Corrected an issue that could reset progress on the Shipyard quest “Naval Domination” and restored previous quest progress.
• The Therazane quest “Controlling the Elements” should again be obtainable for characters who are level 80 and up, and have trained Enchanting.
• Characters who have a War Mill should now be able to accept quests for Seals of Inevitable Fate while they already have 10 or more Seals.
• (Work in progress) Fixed a bug that was preventing the Worgen quest “Endgame” from being available.
• Players should again be able to access Ashran and Ashran quests at level 100.

Transmogrification

• Crown of the Fire Festival cannot be used as a transmogrification source.
• (Work in progress) Transmogrification items related to the Warcraft movie should be granted to players who logged in during the promotion.

User Interface

• You should no longer be prompted to select Honor Talents until you reach level 110.

Zones

• Alterac Valley and Isle of Conquest were temporarily missing from the random battleground playlist.
• (Work in progress) Cold Weather Flying should be granted to characters who previously obtained it.
• Dalaran (Northrend) should again have a Trade Chat channel.

Just to clarify, there are more than two loot options here. No one's forcing raids to use Personal Loot, just because Master is off the table. (Though I am requesting that people give it a try and let us know what you think, since there have been significant improvements. Or don't. Your choice.)

As a player, in my own guild raids, we've used Need/Greed for as long as I can remember, sometimes just passing on contested stuff, figuring out who should get it, and then having them loot it. Uncontested stuff just gets Needed and ends up in the player's hands immediately. It always seemed simpler than manually assigning each piece. But maybe we're weird.

If you aren't a guild group, other Group-Loot-based methods remain available for your use in raids (both Need/Greed and FFA). Obviously that opens the door to ninja-looting, which is why I asked about that concern in my first post. But if you aren't worried that one of your friends/guildmates is going to steal something and vanish, then the only loss is the slight of inconvenience people needing to loot items off a corpse, or having someone trade items around to whoever's awarded them. I of course understand the desire to avoid any inconvenience, and we've tried to minimize the impact on static raiding groups, but we feel that curbing harmful uses (and abuses) of Master Loot in pickup groups is a benefit that offsets those costs.

Update on Ashran
Thanks for making this thread. We're working on getting Ashran back up and running properly and I want to give you an update on some of the issues you mentioned.

1) Maps are not working - mini map and the big map are bugged. if you press M you will see stormshield and not ashran, you will need to click to see the ashran map even then it doesn't always work.
We're working on a fix for this.

2) Rares are like raid bosses now, takes long to kill them, so you cant solo it or with 2-3 people because that can take you 30+ minutes lol
The target item level for PvP templates was set too low. Players were given stats on par with someone in 700 item level gear. We've already bumped that up to 740. This change should help a bit with this problem.

4) When you join, you will need to enable pvp by clicking on ur portrait, everyone will need to do this or healers cant heal you. they can only heal the people who have pvp enabled.
We have a fix in testing for this problem.

5) You cannot bring any premades in, if you try to join someone by grouping up with them you will be thrown in another ashran
We'll investigate this one. It should follow the same behavior as battlegrounds. You should be able to enter with a party of up to 5 people.

6) Legendary rings/Trinkets/Gliders no longer work in Ashran but nukes still work for some weird reason
Engineering toys like gliders will have their functionality restored in a future patch. Sorry no ETA on that. It is a complicated fix. The other items you mentioned are not intended to work.

Not sure how long it will stay this way, but for now this is what is going on in Ashran, you can still play in Ashran the rewards are 200 honor, gold & a box, but you don't really get honor.
We have a fix in testing to change the rewards to a strongbox similar to what you get from a battleground and a Mark of Honor (useful for buying old PvP gear sets). (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Collecting Appearances
So it seems not all the items you have equipped in the past are showing in the appearances tab. My warrior raided through out wrath, yet not all the sets I collected or weapons I had are showing on him. Also some of the old PvP sets from that era are missing.
You'll only have those appearances unlocked if your Warrior still has those items in their inventory, bank or void storage. If you've long since vendored those items, then their appearances won't have been unlocked.

What was the point in mentioning old quest rewards then? I can't imagine many held onto those? So we can't use them? not good.
Quest rewards should be unlocked as we can track what quests you have completed.

While historically we can see which bosses you've killed and how many times you've killed them, the period of time for which we can check which items dropped, and who got what, is not something we track indefinitely. The same goes for items purchased from vendors.

He got whirlwind axe back though
Yep, because that weapon is a quest reward.

I heard that rewards from removed quests would be added as well. However when I logged my other hunter who's here from vanilla times, it doesn't seem to be the case. Is it the way it should be or they will be added in the near future?
We are aware that some appearances haven't been added, this is something we're working on. If you can remember any specific items you're missing then the best thing to do would be to submit a Bug Report detailing the missing items.

(Note: you won't get a reply to bug reports but it will help us hone in on the items.) (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Wardrobe Fill Throttling
Is anyone else having an issue with several items not populating in the wardrobe?
You may have to wait a few minutes upon logging in for things to populate. If all else fails, log out and back in after a few minutes.

If it's gear you had at one point, but no longer have in your Void Storage, bank, etc., then that gear won't be added - those you would need to find again. If it's gear across multiple characters, make sure to log in to every character.

PS: 10/10 title (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Mythic Dungeon Cap
What is the highest amount of mythic that you can do? I thought it was like Eight, but Im seeing youtube videos of like 10-11?
The system is virtually endless (ok, technically there's a cap, but if you somehow reach it we're probably banning you...). Achievements currently go up to +15. Loot currently stops improving past +10, and everything past that is for bragging rights or cosmetic unlocks. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Transport Issues
We've received a few reports about the zepellins and boats not arriving or functioning as they should. We're looking into this now and would like to apologise for any inconvenience this is causing.

For the time-being, please seek portals from friendly neighborhood mages or (if you have them unlocked) utilise the portals available to some destinations from Orgrimmar/Stormwind. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Character / Items
idk if this was answered, but are primal spirits becoming boa/ non bop in legion?
Not immediately, but we plan to make some changes in a later patch to simplify Draenor crafting. (WarcraftDevs)

Is it intended that me as a enchant/jeweler are supposed to get scribe recips from bosses as loot? Just got that!
Some recipes are unbound and drop for everyone. Give it to an alt, drop it in the guild bank, or sell it! (WarcraftDevs)

What's the intent behind Potion of Deadly Grace? It seems to do nothing at all for casters...
Rather than granting stats, it grants a proc that deals extra damage. Numbers will be buffed in the next Beta build. (WarcraftDevs)

PvE
Will we be able to access the LFR versions of Warlord's raids in Legion like we can with Pandaria's?
Yep, once you level past 100. That will be Seer Kazal's new purpose once Weekly Events move to Legion. (WatcherDev)

a lot of the current nerfs/buffs do not reflect the reality of the power of each class, what data is this based upon?
.Internal and external testing. Remember that during beta, individuals' views of the overall state of things is very limited. (Celestalon)
Is it fair to balance a spec based on gear they won't have until well over a year into the expansion though?
No; we are not doing that. (Celestalon)

Will there be a Mistwalker achievment equivalent for Warlords?
No, as mentioned in the original announcement of the Mistwalker title: (WarcraftDevs)

Mobs in Legion zones scale just by character level and not item level correct? Some misnformation has been going around.
Legion's world scaling is only based on player level. (WarcraftDevs)