World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

We’ve been hearing the feedback from the community to lift the Conquest Cap for Shadowlands Season 4. We’re happy to announce that we will be doing so with next week’s resets (Wednesday, August 17), but also want to offer some explanation on why we were initially hesitant to do so.

• First, we understand the sentiment regarding how Valor is uncapped this season while Conquest remains capped. However, the two currencies are not exactly alike in design or purpose. For example, there is no Valor vendor where you can purchase the specific item that you want. While Conquest is used to acquire specific items at a vendor, Valor is used to upgrade items that have dropped randomly from the Great Vault or from running M+ dungeons.
• Second, we know that once the Conquest cap is removed, many players will set out to acquire a full set of gear as quickly as possible, creating a significant power gap between themselves and any characters that are new to the season. We generally do not remove the cap until later in the season when we feel many players who have been playing all season have had the opportunity to acquire a full set of gear. This allows the competitive environment to remain closer during the early part of the season.
• Finally, the Conquest cap serves to throttle gear acquisition to a rate comparable with the other main parts of the endgame, Raids and M+.

By lifting the cap early, we understand that some of the above issues may arise. But in this shortened and experimental final season of Shadowlands, we want to take an opportunity to be flexible and responsive to your feedback.

In addition to the Conquest cap removal, there are two more PvP changes that we want everybody to be aware of:

• The Spoils of War buff will be reactivated with next week’s reset, so players taking part in Battlegrounds and Arena will have their Conquest gains increased by 25% and Honor gains increased by 40%. This is planned to remain active for the rest of Season 4.
• For the Solo Shuffle Brawl, the minimum item level floor has been increased to 278 (is currently 252). This is already live.

Thank you for your feedback and we’ll see you on the battlefield!

Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord? With two starting zones to choose from, which one should you choose? You don’t have to choose just one. Both offer a fair amount of glorious adventuring for heroes of the Alliance and Horde. There are local factions for you to help, enemies to thwart, quests to be completed, achievements to be attained, and you can do them all.

Borean Tundra (68 – 72)

Located in the southwest corner of Northrend, Borean Tundra is primarily a large, flat glacial zone devoid of vegetation, with small areas of rimy grass and rock. To the north of this sprawling land is Coldarra, an intimidating fortress of ice and stone tucked in a pocket protected by ragged arctic cliffs.


The Horde and Alliance both have strongholds in this zone, and there are zeppelins and boats to get you where you need to go.

How to get here:

• From Orgrimmar, players can take the zeppelin just outside the main gate to Warsong Hold.
  
• Players can hop on the boat from Stormwind harbor to Valiance Keep from Stormwind City.

Warsong Hold


An impregnable fortress that is a testament to the Horde’s tenacity takes center stage. Heroes of the Horde who have flown here from afar will begin their journey through Northrend from this stronghold after diminishing the Nerubian numbers that plague it.

Valiance Keep


This Alliance stronghold is under constant turmoil as the Lich King’s army continues to lay siege. From this keep, our Alliance champions who have landed in Northrend face the first of their challenges—defense against a Nerubian threat.

Inhabitants

The tuskarr are prominent throughout Northrend, with their capital city of Kaskala located in the eastern part of the Borean Tundra. Kaskala is available to both the Horde and Alliance, and players will be tasked with helping the Kalu’ak tuskarr.

As you adventure and explore, you’ll meet other friends and foes along the way. Some of these are the blue dragonflight, the Drakkari tribe of ice trolls, the Undead Scourge, and the taunka, ancient relatives of the tauren.


Howling Fjord (68 – 72)

The Howling Fjord is in the southeastern part of Northrend and is home to the vrykul of Utgarde Keep. It hosts a coastline of treacherous cliffs, dark forests, open plains, and tree-covered outcroppings.


This zone is ripe with territorial disputes, and players will be tasked with aiding its denizens.

How to get there:

• Heroes of the Horde can take the zeppelin from Tirisfal Glades, just outside the Undercity, to Vengeance Landing.
  
• From Menethil Harbor, on the western shores of the swamp-covered Wetlands, heroes of the Alliance can take the boat to Valgarde.

New Agamand


Sylvanas and the Forsaken stand ready with the makings of a new plague, prepared to strike the Lich King; their staging ground is New Agamand. This is the beginning of the journey through Northrend for the Horde heroes who have landed here. They’ll be tasked with assisting the plague development efforts designed to bring an end to the Lich King.

Valgarde Keep


Despite attacks from the vrykul from land and sky, Valgarde Keep maintains a heavily fortified staging ground for the Alliance. Courageous Alliance heroes will be challenged to help learn more about the aggressive vrykul and why they have returned after being dormant for so long.

Inhabitants

The vrykul, an ancient race of half-giants, are the primary inhabitants of the Howling Fjord. Their architecture can be seen throughout the zone as they built their civilization. As you journey, you’ll come face to face with this once forgotten race, along with other denizens of this region.


Getting Around

There are plenty of flight paths, but why fly when you can hop on the shell of a colossal, carrot-loving turtle? These massive, water-bound turtles ferry riders between Unu’pe in Borean Tundra to Moa’ki Harbor in Dragonblight.

From Moa’ki Harbor, players can get a connecting turtle taxi to Kamagua in Howling Fjord if they choose. Remember to grab the flight paths whenever possible—sometimes, taking a turtle is slow-going.

Everything You Need, Almost

In each major hub, there is enough to get players what they need without continually traveling back and forth between the main capital cities. Most of what you’ll want can be accessed in Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord:

• Expedition Quartermaster
  
• Flightpaths
  
• Innkeeper
  
• Mailbox
  
• Reagents and Supplies
  
• Stable Master
  
• Trade Goods
  
• Trainers

If you need to get to the Auction House or Bank, hop on a boat or zeppelin for a quick trip back to your capital city, and don’t forget to speak to an Innkeeper and set your Hearthstone before you go.

We’re excited to bring this classic adventure to you, so don’t forget to sign up for the beta. And, for the latest information and updates, keep checking WorldofWarcraft.com/news and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

See you in Northrend!

Dungeons and Raids

• Fated Castle Nathria
  
  • Sludgefist
    
    • Adjusted the Fated Power cooldowns to better align with their ability cadence.
• Fated Sanctum of Domination
  
  • Guardian of the First Ones
    
    • Adjusted the Fated Power cooldowns to better align with their ability cadence.
  • Kel’Thuzad
    
    • Fixed an interaction where Protoform Barrier (Fated Power) could erroneously trigger after Kel’Thuzad’s health is depleted.
  • Sylvanas Windrunner
    
    • Adjusted the Fated Power cooldowns to better align with their ability cadence in Phase 2.
  • Shrouded Affix
    
    • Fixed an issue that could cause Zul’gamux to not cast Blood Siphon if she was moving.

Items and Rewards

• Increased all Cosmic Flux rewards from PvP, Mythic+, and Raids by 100%.
• Cosmic Flux will now be mailed to players when left un-looted.
• Trashmaster’s Mantle received from Mythic+ or the Great Vault can no longer be used to complete the “I Am the Trashmaster” quest.
  
  • Developers’ note: Players hoping to become the Trashmaster may do so by finding a Trashmaster’s Mantle in Operation: Mechagon on standard Mythic difficulty. Players who have received a Trashmaster’s Mantle from Mythic+ since the start of Season 4 may still use it to complete the quest, but should be aware that the Richly Appointed Drape quest reward will be awarded at item level 78.

Quests

• Fixed an issue that prevented “Tempting Fate” world quests from appearing.

Season of Mastery

• Naxxramas
  
  • Fixed an issue where bonus loot could not be rewarded when defeating a boss using Runes of Fortune.
    
    • Developers’ note: Raid groups should always receive an extra Set Piece Token, piece of Gear the boss normally drops, or Splinter of Atiesh per stack of Rune of Fortune the raid has active.