World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

Make your way through the icy skies of Northrend in a chilly, new dragonriding racing event.

The Riders of Azeroth invite dragonriders to compete in races throughout Northrend! Talk to Lord Andestrasz in Valdrakken for more information..

When: April 30–May 13
Where: Begins in Valdrakken


With thirteen races spread across Northrend, dragonriders will have a skyfull of options for challenging courses in Normal, Advanced, and Reverse variations. Trek to Valdrakken and speak to Lord Andestrasz near the Rostrum of Transformation to pick up the initial quest for Riders of Azeroth Badges, which can be exchanged for unique items and rewards from Maztha, also in Valdrakken.

Blackriver Burble (Grizzly Hills)	Citadel Sortie (Icecrown)
Coldarra Climb (Coldarra)	Crystalsong Crisis (Crystalsong Forest)
Daggercap Dart (Howling Fjord)	Dragonblight Dragon Flight (Dragonblight)
Geothermal Jaunt (Borean Tundra)	Gundrak Fast Track (Zul’drak)
The Maker’s Marathon (The Storm Peaks)	Scalawag Slither (Howling Fjord)
Sholazar Spree (Sholazar Basin)	Zul’drak Zephyr (Zul’drak)

Rewards For a Fancy Flight

Complete all Norhtrend Cup races on Gold to earn the Northrend Racing Completionist: Gold achievement, Northrend Racer title, and the Ruby Riders of Azeroth tabard. In addition, some rewards you can choose include a Manuscript of Endless Possibility that randomizes mount customizations each time you mount, pieces to build the fashionably adventurous Icy Drake Racer's set, and more!


Icy Drake Racer's transmog set:

• Icy Drake Racer's Helmet
• Icy Drake Racer's Scarf
• Icy Drake Racer's Shoulderpads
• Icy Drake Racer's Jersey
• Icy Drake Racer's Handwraps
• Icy Drake Racer's Belt
• Icy Drake Racer's Leggings
• Icy Drake Racer's Boots
• Drake Racer's Scarf

Dragon customizations:

• Renewed Proto-Drake: Dual Horned Crest
• Windborne Velocidrake: Curled Horns
• Highland Drake: Swept Spiked Head
• Cliffside Wylderdrake: Large Tail Spikes

Miscellaneous:

• Vial of Endless Draconic Scales
• Checkered Pennant

If everything else has been purchased, you can repeatedly buy:

• Valdrakken Accord Insignia

---

The sky's the limit (unless you're trying to beat the timer); may the winds be at your back as you go for the Gold.

Dungeons and Raids

• Algeth’ar Academy
  
  • Fixed an issue where Vile Lasher’s Detonation Seed was not spawning on the ground.
• Neltharus
  
  • Lava Flare’s Melt now goes on cooldown after the cast is interrupted.
  • Chargath, Bane of Scales
    
    • Fiery Focus's Fire damage reduced by 25%.
• Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
  
  • The Mythic+ timer increased by 1 minute.
• Vault of the Incarnates
  
  • Cuzolth now provides their item upgrade services to players in Vault of the Incarnates.
  • Terros
    
    • Fixed an issue where Explosive Reaction was hitting pets on Mythic difficulty.

Items

• Libergo, Head Librarian of the Azure Archives Annex in Valdrakken, has been watching your actions closely and now offers to reacquaint you with your legendary weapon if you happened to misplace it.
• PvP staves now properly filter for Warlocks on vendors.

Season of Discovery

• Shaman
  
  • Rolling Thunder can now trigger from Overload versions of Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.
• Warlock
  
  • Felguards summoned by Warlocks will now have their appropriate demon names, instead of just 'Felguard'. This name will not be permanent like other Warlock pets, and the Felguard's name will change upon every summon.

As Deathwing approaches, we want Classic progression players to know about some features from original Cataclysm (4.0.3a) that are going to differ in the Cataclysm Classic pre-patch (4.4.0).

Hunter Pets

Hunter pets will function differently in the 4.4.0 Cataclysm Classic Pre-patch than they did in original Cataclysm patch 4.0.3a.

In original Cataclysm, Hunter players were able to place 5 pets in their stable and summon them anywhere in the world.

Initially in patch 4.4.0, Hunter pets will work the same way they do in Wrath Classic. Hunters will continue to be able to summon 1 pet and will need to go to a Stablemaster to switch to a different one. We will update this Hunter functionality with the Cataclysm Classic expansion content launch (or sooner).

Additionally, original Cataclysm launched with Pet Aggressive stance, and Pet Assist stance later replaced Pet Aggressive stance in patch 4.2.0. We plan to have Pet Aggressive stance in place with 4.4.0, and then add Pet Assist stance in a future update.

Void Storage

Void Storage was originally added to World of Warcraft in the 4.3.0 patch. In Cataclysm Classic, we’re implementing a new Collections feature, as well as account-wide Transmogrification. This makes Void Storage largely unnecessary for holding your Transmog items.

It is our intention to not add the Void Storage feature to Cataclysm Classic.

Guild Perks

The Guild Perks system has been streamlined for Cataclysm Classic. Guilds themselves do not gain levels, and item rewards are granted as players level up their guild reputation. In Cataclysm Classic, many perks are granted to guild members immediately upon joining a guild, and many perks that were associated with Guilds in original Cataclysm are now granted to all players by default.

Two perks from original Cataclysm will not be available in Cataclysm Classic: Have Group, Will Travel and Cash Flow.

Guild Finder and Guild Events Calendar

In original Cataclysm patch 4.1.0, a Guild Finder system and a Guild Events Calendar were added to World of Warcraft. We intend to add the Guild Finder and the Guild Events Calendar to Cataclysm Classic in a future patch, after the launch of Cataclysm content.

Barbershop Closed Temporarily for Worgen

At the start of pre-patch, Worgen will not be able to access the Barbershop. Access will arrive in an update soon.

Increased Drops in Wrath Classic Dungeons

As detailed here, these increased drop rates for Wrath Classic dungeons will continue throughout the Cataclysm Classic pre-patch (and possibly thereafter).

Hello!

As we head towards our Cataclysm Classic launch in late May, we’re planning some special test weekends in the Cataclysm Beta.

May 3-6 – Cataclysm Raids Test 1

We’re opening the doors to the new raids that will launch shortly after the expansion, and your testing will help to ensure it’s a great experience.

• Take on the pit Lord Argaloth deep in the prison of Tol Barad.
• Battle the cult of the Twilight’s Hammer in Bastion of Twilight.
• Storm the personal lair of the Windlord in Throne of the Four Winds.
• Survive the gruesome draconic experiments and the reanimated Nefarian, son of Deathwing, in Blackwing Descent.

May 10-13 – Tol Barad Battleground

Tol Barad, once an outdoor PvP zone, has been reimagined as an instanced 80 v 80 battleground, similar to Wintergrasp in Wrath Classic.

• We’re also planning a Brawl with the Blues event for Tol Barad. We’ll let you know exactly when.

May 14-17 – Cataclysm Raids Test 2

We’re planning a second raid test to make sure we’re ready for raids to open shortly after launch.

• This weekend will include the same raids as weekend 1.

Thank you for all of your testing and feedback. We hope to see you there!