It's only a few relatively short weeks away until World of Warcraft players around the globe can take the fight to the Burning legion to make Azeroth great again! In preparation of this, developer Blizzard Entertainment is releasing a pre-expansion patch that introduces some of the new gameplay features before the full expansion drops on August 30.
This news comes from an official news post on Battle.net:
This update will include a wide variety of features and content that set the stage for the expansion, including system changes, quality-of-life improvements, and major in-game events. Some of these features will be available immediately, while other content will be unlocked in the weeks leading up to the expansion’s launch.
Amongst these features are the revamped transmogrification system that allows players to more easily oversee the armor pieces they have collected over the years and makes it easier to manage what you're wearing without having to drag all sorts of items with you, taking up valuable bag space. Thew new system allows for sorting your collection by class or armor slots.
When this patch hits the live servers, players will also be able to test out the various nerfs, buffs and reworks coming to the classes with the release of World of Warcraft: Legion. These class updates are rather numerous and span every class available in the game. For a full list of everything you can check out the dedicated preview series right here.
One noticeable thing that is changing is how class specializations work with the group finder. This patch will make it possible to queue for a random dungeon or raid with the role you want to play, regardless of your current spec. When a group is found you will automatically respec to the designated role you chose for the duration of the dungeon or raid. Once you leave the group you will automatically be respecced to the spec you had before joining the group.
This patch will also introduce a variety of events that lead up to the prime demonic invasion that is central to the expansion's narrative. Players will be returning to familiar places in Azeroth to fight the vanguard of the Burning Legion. This fight culminates into the Battle on the Broken Shore, which is the prologue to Legion. Players who have prepurchased the expansion will also be able to get their hands on the new Demon Hunter class early, giving players access to the Demon Hunter starter experience. An exact date isn't given for the start of the events, but it is mentioned that they will unlock over the course of the weeks leading up to the expansion's release. All of these events, with the exception of the Demon Hunter early access, will be available to everyone playing World of Warcraft, regardless whether they own the expansion or not.
This sequence of events will start on July 19 when the patch gets deployed to live servers.
What do you think of the pre-patch? Are you looking forward to World of Warcraft: Legion? Let us know in the comments!
