Blizzard Entertainment

Get ready to soar through the Dragon Isles when the Dragonflight Pre-Patch goes live. Take a peek at Shadowlands Post-Season as Season 4 comes to a close. Follow along as Nozdormu delves into the ancient past of the Dragonkind in Dragonflight: Legacies. Catch the first-ever Classic WoW® raid race in the Wrath of the Lich King Undying Challenge. All this and more in this week's News and Development update.

Dragonflight News and Development

The Dragonflight Pre-Expansion Patches Go Live Beginning October 25

Every new adventure begins with a single step. The journey to the Dragon Isles is nearly here when the first of two pre-expansion patches go live with the completion of regional realm maintenance beginning October 25. Lear...

The dragonflights of Azeroth have returned, called upon to defend their ancestral home as long-dormant forces begin to stir in their sacred homeland. On October 25, join Nozdormu, Aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight, as he delves into an ancient past that holds the key to saving their uncertain future.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is now available for pre-purchase in-game and through the Blizzard Shop. ...

The Wrath of the Lich King Classic™ Undying Challenge begins this weekend!  Get ready to watch the first-ever Classic WoW® Raid Race as some of the top guilds in the world duke it out through gearing, grinding, and raiding!  Watch live on YouTube and Twitch beginning Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 am PT.

It’s time to reunite and stand with your fellow heroes as you fight for a better future—in style.

To celebrate Overwatch 2’s launch, we’ve added a slew of new character-themed goods to the gear store. Want to flex your Genji main pride? Feel like getting a bit foxy with some kitsune-themed swag? Are you keen to devour the latest character lore? With over ...

Overwatch’s latest Push map takes us on a journey to the beautiful city of Esperança, Portugal. 

Esperança is a sunny, coastal city that highlights the rich culture found across Portugal and the bright, hopeful future of Overwatch. Today, we’re joined by Sound Designer Felipe de Mello Pereira and Principal Environmental Artist, Helder Pinto to talk about how sights and sounds came together to bring the spirit of Portugal to Overwatch 2!

Our goal was to create another Push map for Overwatch 2’s launch alongside New Queen Street and Colosseo, so we started to uncover inspiration and map out the creative direction for a new map. That’s when Pinto stepped up to set our next destination in Portugal. “We felt confident we could understand the cultural and architectural languages of the country with me being Portuguese and growing up there,” Pinto explains.“By playing to our team’s strengths, we began putting something together quickly while also maintaining the highest...

Scale up with a fangtastic motley crew of Azeroth’s most fearsome, majestic, and adorable dragons during our sale.

This time-limited* Dragon Pack bundle contains some Azeroth’s most clever and enchanting companions—five fabulous mounts and two precocious pets—at a discount worth soaring over! If you already own one or more items from the Dragon Pack, its price will automatically adjust.

WHAT’S INSIDE

Two Faithful Companions

Blinky: This cheerful companion with a playful demeanor will not only faithfully flutter by your side but will also ad...

Every new adventure begins with a single step, and the journey to the Dragon Isles is nearly here when the first of two pre-expansion patches go live with the completion of regional realm maintenance beginning October 25.

Phase One: October 25

• Talent System Revamp: Dragonflight contains major updates to World of Warcraft classes, centering on the re-introduction of talent trees. The new talent system empowers players to make creative and meaningful talent choices without compromising their effectiveness—and most importantly, it gives them meaningful options at every level.
• Heads-up Display User Interface (HUD UI) Changes: Players will experience an updated User Interface (UI) and Heads-Up Display (HUD), allowing customization of the base UI and providing a modernized appearance to the layout and view while maintaining the original design’s charm and personality.
...

Since the launch of Overwatch 2, we’ve welcomed millions of both new and returning heroes to the game. While most of our updates so far have been about our efforts to address game servers and stability, we also know players are eager to hear about what we are working on for gameplay and other topics. We’ve seen Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko completely rock the landscape of the game, blasting and slicing their way into many victories on the battlefield. Today, we want to look back at the first week of this brand-new chapter for Overwatch and share with you our team’s current thinking on hero balance and gameplay. 

Hero Balance

While some heroes are performing better than others, and there are differences across player skill levels, we have been happy to see that no hero’s overall power level is far out of line with our goals. Every hero on the roster has a win-rate between 45% and 55%, and we are not planning any immediate balance changes based on what we are ...

Patch 24.4.3 is a data-only client patch, scheduled for October 13, that includes the following updates and bug fixes:

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: The meta is relatively stable right now, with just a few outliers. Our goal with this patch is to reduce frustration and give weaker decks a bit more breathing room by reducing the overall power level of Hunter.

The one notable outlier that is not getting changed, but which we are keeping a close eye on, is Prince Renathal. He is powerful and popular, but we don’t want this patch to completely shake up the meta, because we have something fun coming in Patch 24.6 and we want to see how Renathal performs in the next expansion before making changes to him.

The following cards have been adjusted down in power:

Theotar, the Mad Duke

• Old: Costs 4
• New: Costs 5

...

Hello, heroes! Since the launch of Overwatch 2, we’ve been blown away by your excitement, and incredibly moved by the sheer number of you experiencing our game. But we know we have run into some significant issues as well.

Launching Overwatch 2 as a live service comes with amazing opportunities and challenges, both anticipated and unexpected. We’ve largely stabilized the game overall, and we’ve made a lot of progress in fixing or improving issues some of you are facing. We're committed to consistently investigating issues as they arise, working quickly towards fixes, and being transparent with our community on the status of Overwatch 2.

The team continues to work to deploy further stability updates, with another patch planned for later this week, and we are monitoring the game closely for emergent issues and bugs. We’ve been keeping you all up to date on the forums with separate posts, but moving forward, our known issues will be track...

Join King Bagurgle and the rest of the Murlocs for this weekend’s Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends! With $50,000 (USD) on the line,16 of the top players from around the world will face off to see who is the best in the tavern during the seventh Lobby Legends of the year. We’re also continuing the excitement with the “Tavern Buddy” Twitch Extension on our official English Twitch broadcast, allowing viewers to challenge each other in a variety of games as they watch all the action.

You’ll also want to pay close attention to the strategies on display, as the top players on the Battlegrounds leaderboards at the end of October will have a chance to advance to the ninth and final Lobby Legends of the year. And to celebrate the incr...

Are you a gnome? Do you know a gnome? Would you like to BE a gnome? (And who wouldn’t?) Then rise UP to the challenge of The Great Gnomeregan Run from Gnomeregan to Booty Bay.

When: October 8
Where: The fun begins outside the gnome starting area and ends in Booty Bay
Who: Alliance-Only (Don’t worry, all players can create a level 1 gnome and join in the fun too.)

Whether you’re a level 1 gnome (highly encouraged), a level 48 Dark Iron dwarf, or a level 60 worgen, you’ll be able to join in this fun run beginning in the gnome starting area, winding through Dun Morogh, Ironforge, the Deeprun Tram, Stormwind, Elwynn Forest, Duskwood, and Stranglethorn Vale where the run culminates in Booty Bay.

Participants can begin their race by picking up the quest, “The Great Gnomeregan Run” from Mina Gleespanner in New Tinkertown which is located just outside of the gnome starting area. The event lasts all day so...

Welcome to the latest World of Warcraft news and update roundup. Read on to learn what’s happening in the Shadowlands, Dragonflight, and WoW Classic. Hop on the boat with fellow adventurers well on their way to Northrend in Wrath of the Lich King Classic, get ready to soar the Dragon Isles skies when Dragonflight arrives in November, grab the Winds of Wisdom buff, and more.

Dragonflight News and Development

Mark Your Calendars: The Journey to the Dragon Isles Begins November 28

Heed the dragons' call as their ancient homelands are revealed once more, beckoning adventurers and treasure seekers alike to unravel the many mysteries waiting for them. Learn more about World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, including the global release schedule ...

Steel your hearts, denizens of Azeroth, for the time has come to take the fight to the Lich King’s minions and unite the dragonflights of Azeroth in Wyrmrest Temple under one banner. Gather your friends and venture into the first three raids of Wrath of the Lich King, available now.

Naxxramas

The giant Necropolis and the seat of the dreaded lich Kel’Thuzad, Naxxramas floats over Wintergarde Keep in Dragonblight, its undead master eager to aid the Lich King’s deadly machinations.

• Raid bosses: 15
• Level: 80 (10 and 25-player modes available)
• Location: Dragonblight

Eye of Eternity

Located in the center of Coldarra, the Eye of Eternity will challenge you to defeat the blue dragon aspect, Malygos.

• Raid bosses: 1
• Level: 80 (10 and 25-player modes available)
• Location: Borean Tundra

Obsidian Sanctum

Dragonblight is home to the Obsidian Sanctum w...

With the release of the Wrath of the Lich King Classic, it is time for more WoW Esports events! We are excited to showcase our first raid event for the Classic community in the Undying Challenge and a return to the Classic Arena Tournament for our amazing PvP community.

Undying Challenge

While many adventurers have conquered Naxxramas before, few are as fast and efficient as two of the top speedrunning guilds in their home realms: Progress (EU - Firemaw) and SPACEFORCE (US - Faerlina). 

But what if they didn’t have all the best items and near-unlimited time to gear up?  The Undying Challenge gives these two guilds basic level 80 characters, limited time to gear up, and then has them speedrun through Naxxramas.  Can these guilds conquer the challenge… without dying?

Watch them take on the Undying Challenge on October 22 & 23 live on ...

Updated October 13: Updated Dragonscale Expedition Renown UI image, Dragonscale Expedition tools, and Maruuk Centaur Grand Hunt requirements.

Dragonflight ushers in a unique way of experiencing outdoor progression with a system called Major Factions, boasting an additional way to experience the Dragon Isles and earn Renown ranks through Reputation.

How it Works

The four Major Factions in the Dragon Isles are the Dragonscale Expedition, Iskaara Tuskarr, Maruuk Centaur, and Valdrakken Accord, and each Major Faction’s progression is unique. As you build a reputation with your newfound friends, you’ll participate in content fitting a variety of playstyles to earn prestigious titles and special rewards. If you're the outgoing type, you can also work toward gaining the respect and adoration of all the Major Factions if you wish. For those who like the added challenge, reach the highest Renown ran...

The final Masters Tour of the year is this weekend, with players competing on the brand-new miniset, Maw & Disorder! More than 400 players from over 40 countries will battle to earn a share of the $250,000 (USD) prize pool. Players will also be fighting to gain as many points as they can toward the Masters Fall Championship on October 28-30, which will see 16 players compete in an online-only tournament for the final invite to the 2022 World Championship. Read on for everything you need to know to enjoy the action, only on YouTube.

What You Need to Know

• Dates & Broadcast Start Times: ...

To celebrate the launch of Overwatch 2, we’ll be giving away a Legendary Sukajan Kiriko skin, a Razor Sharp spray for Kiriko, and a Donut Weapon Charm via Twitch Drops! As a reminder, with the introduction of cross-progression, unlocking these items means you’ll have them on your account on any platform you choose to play on.

Regardless of whether you play on console or PC, all players must re-link their Twitch and Battle.net accounts to be eligible for Overwatch 2 Twitch Drops, even if you’ve participated in Twitch Drops in the past.

Here’s how to get started:  

1. Log in to your Battle.net account
2. Go to your ...

Below are the Arena leaderboards for July 1, 2022 - September 1, 2022. Arena rankings reflect players’ best 30 consecutive runs throughout a season. The players featured below have exhibited top-notch deckbuilding skills, in-the-moment decision making, and unyielding dedication to achieve a most noteworthy feat!

For an Arena run to be included in this season, its end time must have been between July 1, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. and September 1, 2022 at 9:59:59 a.m.

Dynamic ladder rankings are now also available for Standard and other game modes.

Americ...

Gather your friends and allies and make ready to soar into new adventures when the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight expansion goes live on November 28.

The ancestral home of dragonkind—the Dragon Isles are awakening, and many long-forgotten secrets are waiting to be uncovered. Heed the call of the dragons as their ancient homelands are revealed once more, beckoning adventurers and treasure seekers alike to unravel the many mysteries waiting for them.