World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth – Rise of Azshara Update Arriving June 25

Rise of Azshara, the next major content update for World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth expansion, will be going live in less than a week, on June 25, 2019. The update will introduce two new zones to explore, revamp the current Heart of Azeroth system, unlock a brand new raid, and much more. Here’s a trailer that shows off Rise of Azshara’s major features:

And here’s World of Warcraft’s game director Ion Hazzikostas with half an hour’s worth of developer insights:

You can find a detailed preview of The Eternal Palace raid over here, and read a bit about the Mechagon Island here. A few paragraphs on the latter:

Legends speak of a place off the craggy coast of Kul Tiras whose denizens have replaced blood and bones with bolts and brass: Mechagon Island, home of a society of mechanically augmented gnomes and their iron-fisted ruler King Mechagon.

Legends say that long, long ago, King Mechagon, set out on a journey to find a mythical land full of wondrous technological marvels . . . and was never heard from again. Centuries later, an astounding discovery sparks an expedition to find out what happened to the king and his subjects on the remote Mechagon Island.

Your adventure to Mechagon begins after establishing your hub in Nazjatar and powering up your Heart of Azeroth. Soon after, you will receive a summons from one of the most renowned tinkerers of Azeroth—Gazlowe for the Horde, and Tinkmaster Overspark for the Alliance—directing you to a newly opened vault in Tiragarde Sound. Inside, you will find technology that has never been seen on Azeroth, and the location of the fabled island.

Upon arriving in Mechagon, you’ll meet the scrappy and resourceful mechagnomes, whose fleshy forms have been improved with cybernetic enhancements. But as you’ll soon find out, this is not the technological paradise you may have been expecting. The mechagnomes on the island’s surface are fighting against a foe with twisted designs for Azeroth: the legendary King Mechagon himself, who rules the subterranean metropolis of Mechagon City with an iron fist. Within the wondrous city’s walls and workshops, the mad king has spent the past centuries consumed with an obsession to “cure” Azeroth of the Curse of Flesh—stripping away organic life and replacing it with purer, more efficient mechanical forms.

WELCOME TO THE RUSTBOLT RESISTANCE

At the forefront of the battle against the twisted tyrant is his son, Prince Erazmin, leader of the Rustbolt Resistance. As you learn more about what’s happening on the island, you’ll be recruited to join the fight to overthrow his tyrannical father and put an end to his mad designs. But you’ll need more than resolve to stand against King Mechagon’s might; if you have any hope of succeeding, you’ll need to bolster the resistance forces by taking part in the myriad events and activities you’ll discover around the island, including collecting scrap to build tools and weapons, assisting the island’s daily visitors with their personal quests, constructing a trinket to give you an edge in combat, and more.

JUNKYARD TINKERING

One of the many mechanical marvels you’ll encounter on the island is Pascal-K1N6, a giant iron robot who will help players craft an arsenal full of equipment, mounts, toys, consumables, and more in exchange for Spare Parts and Energy Cells found across Mechagon.

As you explore the island, you’ll discover blueprints that Pascal-K1N6 can use to craft these items. One particularly curious blueprint for can be found at the scrap heap known as Bondo’s Yard—pick up the plans for a Mechanocat Laser Pointer, and you’ll soon be able to call in a X-995 Mechanocat to ride around the island. As you continue sifting through the island’s scrap, be sure to keep an eye out for paint you can use to customize your new robo-kitty’s color.