World of Warcraft players, get ready to embark on a new adventure as the next major patch, Guardians of the Dream, is set to arrive on November 7. This exciting update brings a host of new content to the game, including a new zone, a new raid, fresh Mythic+ dungeon rotations, a new PvP season, and more. In this article, we'll delve into the details of what you can expect from this upcoming patch.

New Zone: The Emerald Dream

The centerpiece of Guardians of the Dream is the introduction of a breathtaking new zone known as The Emerald Dream. 

The Emerald Dream has been one of those zones that we have visited in bits and pieces over the years, and was even present in game files, in a very rough form, since the launch of World of Warcraft. The new zone has world quests, new dragonriding courses, dragonriding glyphs, public events, and more. Speaking of dragonriding, here those new abilities you can unlock.

  • Second Wind - Reach within for untapped reserves and instantly generate 1 Vigor.
  • Wind's Respite - After activating Aerial Halt, experience a brief moment of weightlessness as the effects of gravity are reduced for 4 sec.
  • Swift Skimming - Ground Skimming can now occur while affected by Thrill of the Skies.

New Raid: Amirdrassil, The Dream’s Hope

Raiders will be able to take part in the new raid starting on November 14. Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope, is a world tree that has been preparing to bloom and cross into Azeroth proper. The problem? Fyrakk and his molten minions need to get kicked out before they destroy the tree.

  • Raid Bosses: 9
  • Difficulties: Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic, Mythic
  • Level: 70
  • Raid Finder Minimum Item Level: 424

There are nine new bosses coming with the raid, and a Legendary Axe, Fyr'alath, the Dream Render, which we still don't know anything about other than it being wieldable by Paladins, Death Knights, and Warriors. Will Blizzard be announcing more about the axe at BlizzCon or will it be up for us to discover in-game for ourselves?

Additionally, Blizzard has released the LFR schedule for Amirdrassil.

  • Week of November 14—Raid Finder Wing 1: Incarnates Wake (Gnarlroot – Igira the Cruel – Smolderon), Normal, Heroic, Mythic
  • Week of November 21— Raid Finder Wing 2: Molten Incursion (Volcoross – Larodar, Keeper of the Flame)
  • Week of November 28— Raid Finder Wing 3: The Viridian Weave (Council of Dreams – Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle)
  • Week of December 12—Raid Finder Wing 4: Fate of Amirdrassil (Tindral Sageswift – Seer of the Flame, Fyrakk the Blazing)

Oh yes, there is also tier gear available with set bonuses so have fun!

New Mythic+ Dungeon Rotation

The Guardians of the Dream patch introduces a fresh Mythic+ dungeon rotation. Like the raid, Season 3 begins November 14.

  • Dawn of the Infinite: Galakrond's Fall
  • Dawn of the Infinite: Murozond's Rise
  • Waycrest Manor (Battle for Azeroth)
  • Atal'Dazar (Battle for Azeroth)
  • Darkheart Thicket (Legion)
  • Black Rook Hold (Legion)
  • The Everbloom (Warlords of Draenor)
  • Throne of the Tides (Cataclysm)

The keystone master season 3 achievement rewards the Verdant Armoredon mount.

New PvP Season

Starts November 14.

For PvP enthusiasts, a new PvP season will accompany the patch. Notably, a new brawl, the Battleground Blitz Brawl, brings 8v8 solo queue gameplay that is Blizzard's testing grounds for what a rated solo queue battleground system might look like.

  • You can duo queue if one player is a healer.
  • Each team has 2 healers.
  • There will be either 5 or 6 DPS characters per team, with a Tank if the former.
    • If your team has a Tank, the other team will as well.
  • If there are no Tanks present, you won't be queued for Capture the Flag maps.

The following maps will be present in Battleground Blitz. Note, this is the same pool as rated bgs.

  • Warsong Gulch
  • Twin Peaks
  • Temple of Kotmogu
  • Eye of the Storm
  • Silvershard Mines
  • Arathi Basin
  • Deepwind Gorge

Blizzard had some additional words about the mode.

Quote From Blizzard

In Battleground Blitz, there are some general mechanical changes made across all the maps.

  • On maps where you cast to take an objective, the cast time has been reduced from 6 seconds to 4 seconds.
  • On domination maps, control points are captured in 30 seconds after being contested (reduced from 1 minute).
  • On all maps, players will gain a buff that provides a large increase in mount speed.
  • On several maps, there are new power up runes.
    • Shield of Protection provides a large absorb shield.
    • Into the Shadows provides a player with stealth and increased movement speed.
    • Rune of Frequency increases cooldown rate.
    • Shadow Sight provides Stealth and Invis detection.

The goal with the changes above is to provide more moment-to-moment decision making while adapting maps to make sense for 8 player team sizes, while ensuring the macro strategy that players find to be fun in battlegrounds is still intact.

We looked at several factors for each map, including average game lengths, the size of the map, and individual mechanics to make some modifications to have them make sense in Battleground Blitz. Eye of the Storm, Arathi Basin, and Deepwind Gorge will have the most significant changes of the pool.

  • Eye of the Storm
    • 4 nodes available, only 2 capturable at a time (1 per side) which award points, with the middle flag being available to capture.
      • Mage Tower or Draenei Ruins and Fel Reaver Ruins or Blood Elf Tower.
      • When the middle flag is captured, previous nodes move to neutral and reset.
      • 2 nodes (1 per side) re-activate, alternating.
    • Points for capturing a flag significantly increased.
    • When a flag is captured, the existing available nodes will become uncapturable. After 15 seconds, the other set of nodes will become available.
  • Arathi Basin and Deepwind Gorge
    • 5 capturable nodes.
    • Increased resource acquisition.
    • After you capture a node entirely, you control it for 45 seconds. It then deactivates and can be captured again 5 seconds later.
      • To fully capture a node, you have to complete the 4 second cast then hold the point for 30 seconds without the enemy team recapturing.
  • Warsong Gulch and Twin Peaks
    • The flag carrier debuff, Brutal Assault, stacks 100% faster (each stack every 15 seconds, up from 30 seconds).
    • Maximum game length set to 12 minutes.
  • Battle for Gilneas
    • Increased resource acquisition rate.
  • Silvershard Mines and Temple of Kotmogu
    • No changes planned initially, these maps are fast-paced already.

Mark your calendars for November 7 as Guardians of the Dream descends upon World of Warcraft. With the new zone, raid, Mythic+ dungeons, and a fresh PvP season, this patch is going to be a big one and everyone seems to think it might be the last major patch of the expansion, which isn't crazy considering BlizzCon is right around the corner and we're expecting a new expansion announcement.

Stay tuned for more details as the release date approaches, and prepare to embark on a journey through the Emerald Dream which has been a long time coming.