World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Pre-expansion Patch Incoming

With the Dragonflight expansion for World of Warcraft launching next month, Blizzard Entertainment is getting ready to release the big pre-expansion patch on October 25, 2022. This patch will allow you to experience the overhauled talent system, experiment with the new UI, and more. It will then be followed by another patch introducing Dracthyr Evokers, new quests, areas, and pre-expansion events.

You can find the update notes over here and check out an overview of the new stuff below:

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.
• Accessibility Features: A variety of new features that will include “press and hold” spellcasting, interact keys, gamepad support, and more.
• Rated Solo Shuffle: First introduced as a PvP Brawl, we up the stakes by adding the ability for players to earn (or lose!) rating with the introduction of Rated Solo Shuffle. Players will be able to earn seasonal rewards and achievements, credit toward Vicious Mounts, weekly great vault progress, and Conquest similar to Rated Battlegrounds and Arenas. Cross-faction play will also be enabled. Dragonflight-specific ratings and rewards will become available with the start of Dragonflight Season 1.
• New Class and Race Combinations: The rogue, priest, and mage classes will become available to all races to create and play.

Phase Two: November 15

• New Race/Class: Dracthyr Evoker Available: Players will menace their foes (or empower their allies) as the new dracthyr Evoker, World of Warcraft’s first-ever race and class combination. Able to switch between a humanoid visage and a fearsome draconic form, the dracthyr are highly mobile, and their unique Evoker class can specialize in ranged damage-dealing or in aiding their allies as a healer by harnessing the mystical gifts of dragonkind.
• New Zone: The Forbidden Reach: Play through the starting zone for WoW’s newest hero class, the Dracthyr Evoker
• New Dungeon: Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr: Located in the Badlands within the Eastern Kingdoms, players will venture into Uldaman to lay claim to a legacy of knowledge left behind by the titans. This ancient titan facility is where, long ago, allies of the heroic Keeper Tyr hid the Discs of Norgannon.
• In-Game Events: Primal Storms: Ward off attacks from the Primalists with new quests and world events, setting the stage for Dragonflight’s launch.