World of Warcraft is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a massive in-game event: one that will allow players to get new, modernized versions of the game's iconic Tier 2 armor sets.
Whereas WoW anniversary events in the past have run for a few weeks in November, the 20th anniversary event is the star of the game's 11.0.5 update and will run for over two months. That's good news, because the event is chock-full of new activities and rewards that look to celebrate 30 years of Warcraft as a franchise and 20 years of Blizzard's MMORPG.
The biggest prize players will want to seek out are the updated Tier 2 armor sets. Originally found in the vanilla version of WoW, the sets for each of the game's original nine classes are still some of the most iconic armor sets in the game: the gold standard by which all of its subsequent tier sets are measured. Blizzard is giving each of them a visual upgrade for the anniversary event to look more in-line with the game's modern visuals. For classes that didn't exist back when Tier 2 was originally available--Death Knights, Monks, Demon Hunters, and Evokers--Blizzard is introducing all-new sets inspired by WoW's early days.
As for what new activities will be available during the event, Blizzard is looking back to some of WoW's most iconic dungeons and raids for inspiration. Blackrock Depths is coming back as a raid, for starters, and Blizzard is looking to capture the spirit of the game's iconic Gates of Ahn'Qiraj event with new outdoor activities in Silithus. The anniversary update will also see a handful of original WoW dungeons get the Timewalking treatment, allowing players to venture into iconic dungeons like the Deadmines, Zul'farrak, Dire Maul, and Stratholme to earn updated rewards. For PvP enjoyers, the Korrak's Revenge brawl is coming back once more as well.
Participating in the new activities, as well as Season 1 content (which will still be in full swing by the time the anniversary update arrives) will earn players a new currency. That currency can be used to buy the aforementioned Tier 2 armor sets as well as new mounts, pets, and other cosmetics, including a set modeled off Blizzard's real-life service rewards granted to longtime Blizzard employees. A fairgrounds of sorts for the event will be set up outside the game's Caverns of Time location, where players can enjoy other festivities like dressing up as iconic WoW characters, listening to stories from WoW's past as told by Lorewalker Cho, or a new Mount Mania minigame where players will be able to show off their mount collection.
Outside of the event itself, patch 11.0.5 will allow Dracythr players, until now restricted to being the Dracthyr-exclusive Evoker class, the option of being some, but not all, of the game's other classes. Dracthyr will be able to play as Rogue, Warlock, Hunter, Priest, Mage, and Warrior come the update. Shamans will also see an update to their Ascended forms that channel the various elements that Shamans wield in battle.
Blizzard hasn't announced a release date for WoW's 11.0.5 patch just yet, but said it will be available for testing on the game's public test realm soon. Previous anniversary events have happened in November, so expect the update to arrive somewhere around that time. Meanwhile, WoW's latest expansion, The War Within, just launched. In GameSpot's WoW: The War Within review, we called the MMO's 10th expansion one of its best. WoW: The War Within Season 1, which introduces the expansion's first raid and kicks off its Mythic+ dungeon and PvP seasons, begins September 10.
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