The upcoming patch for World of Warcraft is coming soon. We will reveal all the details about the big Patch 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth.
Blizzard apparently wants to end the expansion “Battle for Azeroth” with a bang, as the presumably final Patch 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth brings an old god as a raid boss and numerous new features.
To give you an idea of what to expect in the upcoming content update for WoW, this article provides an overview of all the important topics and leads to further articles with even more background information.
Note: This article will be updated regularly. It is currently up to date as of December 20, 2019. Articles newly added since the last update are marked with “(new!)”.
The Story of Patch 8.3
The story of World of Warcraft continues in Patch 8.3. Both the Horde and the Alliance are facing smaller conflicts and problems, overshadowed by N’Zoth.
Developments within the Horde
The storyline of the next update takes place immediately after the end of the Fourth War, which concluded with Sylvanas’ escape.
The Horde has abandoned the concept of the Warchief and instead established a Council that will make decisions in the future. Alongside Thrall, Baine, and Lor’themar, Lillian Voss is temporarily part of this Council. However, Gallywix is no longer found in the Council. He has disappeared, which now places the leadership of the Goblins in the hands of Gazlowe.
By the way, some romances are also developing. The First Arcanist Thalyssra is being quite proactive and is trying to arrange a date with Lor’themar Theron.
Developments within the Alliance
Even though the Alliance is generally satisfied with the end of the war, there are some disagreements. Tyrande is hunting Sylvanas and is seemingly beginning to doubt her faith in Elune. Genn Greymane, on the other hand, will only be pacified once Sylvanas is captured.
It falls to King Anduin to guide the peoples of the Alliance back onto a common path.
The Appearance of N’Zoth
Besides the disputes between the factions, Patch 8.3 mainly focuses on N’Zoth. He was freed at the end of Patch 8.2 and is now spreading across the world. This leads to the Titan forges being attacked and corrupted.
At the same time, madness spreads in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms (Mists of Pandaria) and Uldum (Cataclysm). Both areas are regularly overrun by N’Zoth’s forces and fall into madness. This also makes it almost impossible to fly in these areas (new!).
N’Zoth himself is back in the heart of the Black Empire, the city of Ny’alotha. From here he increases his power and attempts to corrupt the planet completely. He is also joined by Il’gynoth, who presents players with creepy quotes as riddles.
Especially cool: Those who remained loyal to N’Zoth will receive some special lines to read (new!).
The Raid Ny’alotha with 12 Bosses
The centerpiece of Patch 8.3 will be the new raid. This leads to Ny’alotha, the sleeping city. This is the center of N’Zoth’s power.
From there, he has led the Black Empire and sent his forces all over the world to fight against the other Old Gods and then the Titans. As befits a “final” raid, this raid also features a considerable number of bosses. A total of 12 bosses must be defeated in Ny’alotha.
Among them are some already known adversaries, such as Wrathion. The black dragon has been overwhelmed by N’Zoth’s corruption, just like his father Deathwing, and must be stopped. Il’gynoth, whom players already know from the Emerald Nightmare, is also back. During one boss fight, Azshara even appears, who is captured and tortured by N’Zoth’s forces. Azshara reveals the plan she originally pursued.
At the very end, the final battle against the Old God N’Zoth himself awaits. It can be assumed that defeating the Old God will again be accompanied by a cinematic and the narrative introduction to the next expansion (Patch 9.0). You can see a first cutscene from the battle against N’Zoth here.
Horrific Visions
One of the new features of Patch 8.3 are the Horrific Visions. These are distorted and corrupted reflections of Stormwind and Orgrimmar that have been completely corrupted by N’Zoth.
Players can only stay here for a short time, as the presence takes a toll on their character’s mental health. The effects of N’Zoth’s whispers become stronger until you are ultimately overwhelmed by them and forced to flee. Over time, however, you will become more resilient against these whispers, allowing characters to stay longer and make more progress to unlock new rewards.
By the way, these visions scale with group size. Those who wish can tackle them completely alone, or team up with up to 4 other players to explore them as a group. The rewards remain identical, so you can also make progress alone.
At first glance, this resembles the “Chromie” scenario. Here, too, you only had a limited amount of time and had to gradually advance over several days until you could fully complete the scenario.
New Loot
A new patch naturally brings new loot that can be earned not only in the raid but also in other game content.
The most important of these is likely the new legendary cloak. We receive this from Wrathion, and it helps us to improve it further. This also means we can withstand N’Zoth’s whispers longer and not lose mental health so quickly. This should be helpful in both Horrific Visions and in the raid.
Blizzard is also trying something new and introducing a variety of interesting rings into the game. They carry a massive bonus of 2% to damage and healing, but come with interesting drawbacks that need to be balanced.
Also particularly exciting are the new weapons being introduced (new!). They have unique effects that are stronger than the set bonuses from previous T-Sets.
For mount fans, there are also new mounts to earn. Some of these have already been introduced here (new!).
But even fans of the Old God N’Zoth will receive a toy if they can find it. Those who wish can join the Old God and slay their friends (new!).
Changes to Game Mechanics
With each major update, some changes to existing game mechanics also take place. In addition to smaller adjustments for multiple classes, the Heart of Azeroth will be improved and expanded once again.
The current cap of level 70 will be lifted, and players can once again collect Artifact Power to raise their Heart to higher levels. This comes with new essences that can be placed in a fourth slot that must be unlocked. However, the endless grind for Artifact Power will soon come to an end (new!).
There will also be further improvements to Island Expeditions. In the future, you can buy small “lootboxes” with doubloons that can contain all items from various factions on the islands. So if you have enough doubloons and are still waiting for the pirate mount, you might quickly find your luck in Patch 8.3.
Additionally, Blizzard intends to replace the “Titanforged” concept with something new. The previous idea stated that items would no longer be upgradable in item level in Patch 8.3, but instead, there would be a chance that the items would be corrupted by N’Zoth. This system received a lot of criticism due to players fearing new RNG mechanics. However, Blizzard immediately explained many details about the planned design and justified it better.
One issue that will be resolved is the random appearance of sockets (new!). This will no longer be possible in the future.
Allied Races and New Classes
With Patch 8.3, there are also two new allied races joining the Horde and Alliance: Vulpera and Mechagnomes.
The fluffy Vulpera from Vol’dun finally find their way to the Horde, allowing the fox-like beings to fight under the red banner. We have explained how to unlock the Vulpera here. The Vulpera will be the perfect bank twinks (new!), as they have more bag space than any other race.
The Mechagnomes from Mechagon join their completely fleshy brothers and sisters under the Lion’s banner and will now fight for the Alliance.
Furthermore, hints have already been found in the game files that all allied races will be able to become death knights in the future. This has now been confirmed!
Changes to Classes
Every major patch also brings some changes to existing classes to restore balance. In particular, Priests with Shadow specialization will have to give up some of their power, while other classes can rejoice. Frost Mages will receive a significant buff, for example. You can see all the planned balancing changes here.
Other Changes in Patch 8.3
Apart from the many major changes, there are also numerous smaller adjustments that may not be relevant for all players but should not be overlooked. We will list these gradually here:
- The auction house will be revamped – Undercutting will become pointless
- Goblins and Worgen will get their heritage armor – Here’s what they look like
- Mythic Keystone dungeons (Mythic+) will now provide better rewards up to level 15 (new!)
- Timewalking will become more attractive again (new!)
- Titan Residuum will soon be reset – spend it quickly (new!)
Dates and Release of Patch 8.3
Just a few days ago, the release date of Patch 8.3 was revealed. The update goes live on January 15, 2020, closely followed by the raid openings (new!).
Some players are concerned that Patch 8.3 might have too little content. Others fear that Patch 8.3 has a huge problem with the current Patch 8.2 (new!).
Are you looking forward to Patch 8.3? Which feature are you particularly looking out for?
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