Image: Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft’s 20th Anniversary brings players an entire patch worth of nostalgia, as well as some exciting new additions.
On Tuesday, September 3rd, Blizzard released a teaser image via their social media pages, and many who played World of Warcraft for its long lifespan instantly knew what was to come. On September 4th, Holly Longdale, Leah Hwang, and Bret Cocking sat down with Community Manager, Bethany Stout, and discussed the teaser - and a whole host of upcoming features coming to the game in the 11.0.5 patch.
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of WoW, and it could not have come at a better time. With the launch of The War Within fresh in our minds, the epic Worldsoul Saga is set to take players on an amazing adventure. While they have been given a few hints of things to come, today it all solidified with the confirmation of a massive celebration taking place in the next few months.
Nostalgia brought into the present
One of the first aspects alluded to in their previous teaser was the Paladin Tier 2 set. Today, Blizzard confirmed that it would be modernising said sets, as well as adding new ones for classes that have arrived since then, and updating them to match the current graphics. Alongside this, players would get to return to Blackrock Depths, a favourite among many players who have stuck with the game until now. Gates of Ahn’Qiraj will also be included in this, as well as a return to Classic Dungeons via Time-Walking.
image courtesy of Wowhead
Blizzard went on to announce that certain pets and mounts from previous anniversary events would be making a return - leaving many players to wonder if the Spectral Tiger might also see the light of day soon. There is a whole lot more to unpack from the 12-minute-long discussion video, including Dracthyr being able to pick classes other than Evoker; with Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warrior, and Warlock in the cards.
Blizzard is definitely pulling out all the stops for this 20th anniversary, with a plethora of rewards to claim during the event. However, one thing that was stated near the end of the video is that this will not function like other “events”. Instead, the anniversary will function as the entire 11.0.5 patch, giving us something else to focus on during our Mythic+ and Raiding. This also allows everyone to get involved and does not keep certain players from getting rewards.
It seems as though almost every WoW player, new and old, will have something to gain from the 20th-anniversary event. We cannot wait until it rolls around - hopefully closer to November of this year. You can find more information on what is to come on Wowhead, where the site has been breaking down each and every new addition for the playerbase.
