WoW Classic new content roadmap: PvP, Ahn’Qiraj War Effort, more

World of Warcraft Classic launched on August 26 to a massive response from players eager to relive the game in its original, pre-expansion state.

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Thousands of players jumped in on day one – leading to some massive log-in queues – and the game has dominated Twitch since, peaking at over a million viewers in the category at launch.

Not everything that players might remember from “vanilla” WoW is available in Classic just yet, however. The game wasn’t the same when it first launched in 2004 as it was in the final days before the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, with plenty of content being added during the vanilla era. Likewise, some content has been held back from the Classic launch.

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In order to give players the full Classic experience, Blizzard will be rolling out new content in a similar order to the original schedule, both offering a look at the various stages the game went through, and also ensuring that the availability of later content prematurely doesn’t alter the game’s original balance.

• Read more: 3 must-know tips for new WoW Classic players

Blizzard have announced that this content will be rolled out in six phases, and while they haven’t given a specific timeline for when each phase will be released, it does give players an idea of what order they can expect to see things arrive in.

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When will PvP be added to WoW Classic?

When World of Warcraft originally launched, it had no formal PvP system – you could fight players from enemy factions while out in the world, especially in PvP servers, but the rewards for doing so were limited to whatever personal satisfaction you found in doing so.

This is also the case at the launch of Classic, and Blizzard plans to release various PvP content in the same order in which it was released. In Phase 2, the Honor system and first PvP Rank rewards will arrive, giving people an incentive to participate in world PvP.

Phase 3 and Phase 4 will introduce Battlegrounds and their respective vendors, while Phase 6 will bring World PvP objectives in Silithus and the Eastern Plaguelands, giving players more to fight over in the open world.

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Ahn’Qiraj War Effort server event

One of the most legendary features of ‘vanilla’ World of Warcraft was the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort, a server-wide event which players could contribute to in order to unlock the Ahn’Qiraj raid. The War Effort involved gathering huge numbers of supplies, completing an epic questline, and culminated in a 10-hour event that spanned the continent of Kalimdor.

How quickly Ahn’Qiraj is unlocked depends on how dedicated each server is to the War Effort. The 10 Hour War is launched by the first player on the server to complete the Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline and bang the gong, and that player also earns the legendary Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal and Scarab Lord title, as will any that manage to bang the gong within the 10 Hour War stage.

• Read more: Blizzard president proven wrong as WoW Classic becomes instant hit

The War Effort was an event of epic proportion, and nothing of such scale has ever been repeated – in part due to the technical issues suffered in the original, which hopefully shouldn’t be a problem with the more modern tech that Classic has at its disposal over a decade later – and the chance to participate in it will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of WoW Classic.

Fortunately, those who wish to experience the event to its fullest at max level – or maybe even join the race to become the Scarab Lord – will have plenty of time to prepare, as the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort and its raids won’t arrive until Phase 5.

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WoW Classic new content roadmap

The full roadmap for the addition of new content to WoW Classic can be found below. Blizzard have yet to announce a specific schedule for the release of each phase.

Phase 1 (Classic Launch)

PvE:

• Molten Core
• Onyxia
• Maraudon

PvP:

• World PvP, but no tracking, no formal rewards.

Phase 2

PvE:

• Dire Maul
• Azuregos
• Kazzak

PvP:

• Honor System (including Dishonorable kills)
• PvP Rank Rewards

Phase 3

PvE:

• Blackwing Lair
• Darkmoon Faire
• Darkmoon deck drops begin

PvP:

• Alterac Valley
• Warson Gulch

Phase 4

PvE:

• Zul’Gurub
• Green Dragons

PvP:

• Arathi Basin

Phase 5

PvE:

• Ahn’Qiraj War Effort begins
• Ahn’Qiraj raids open when the war effort dictates
• Dungeon loot reconfiguration: Tier 0.5 Dungeon gear, Relics, drop rates and location changes

Phase 6

PvE:

• Naxxramas
• Scourge Invasion

PvP:

• World PvP objectives in Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands