Patch 4.2 Public Test Realms Coming Soon

We’re currently preparing to bring the first playable iteration of patch 4.2 to the Public Test Realms. A sizable portion of this content has been in development for some time, so let’s get it in gear! With a new raid, a legendary questline, the most diverse daily quest hub to date, major story developments, user interface enhancements, and much more, patch 4.2 is certain to have something for everyone. Check out some of the major patch features you need to know about, followed by the initial patch notes.

Through the Fire and Flames

Feast your eyes on the adventures that await when World of Warcraft patch 4.2 takes you through the fire and flames and into the Firelands.

The Firelands                                            

World of Warcraft patch 4.2 will offer hardy adventurers an opportunity to turn the tide in the Firelands, a huge outdoor raid of the highest difficulty, with 10-person and 25-person normal and Heroic modes. It will be a scorching opportunity to delve into this Elemental Plane, where six unique bosses stand between you and the reinvigorated Ragnaros.

A Legendary Engagement

Patch 4.2 introduces an epic quest that will challenge those daring enough to complete the legendary staff Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest. The great staff duplicates destructive magics, and also bestows upon its wielder the ability to transform into a member of the Blue Dragonflight. Those who complete the staff won’t be the only ones to receive a reward, though. As this task requires the dedication of an entire guild, upon completion of the staff all guild members will receive a unique non-combat pet to call their own.

The Regrowth and Molten Front

In patch 4.2, stalwart adventurers will have the opportunity to test their mettle at two new daily quest areas located in the fertile hillsides of Mount Hyjal and the burning depths of the Firelands. Known as the Regrowth and Molten Front, these areas will offer an unprecedented amount of daily solo content for level-85 players to enjoy -- including over 60 new quests, four "unlockable" iLevel 365 gear vendors, and a world that evolves right before your eyes.

Elemental Bonds

After the druids and their allies thwarted the invasion of Hyjal by the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros, an air of peace settled on the sacred mountain. As new growth bloomed across the region, members of the Earthen Ring and Cenarion Circle, along with the noble Dragon Aspects, convened at the ancient World Tree of Nordrassil. Among the gathered heroes were the legendary archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, the former Horde warchief and accomplished shaman Thrall, and his strong-willed companion, Aggra. Together, this illustrious assemblage was to unite its wondrous powers and restore the World Tree for the good of Azeroth.

Yet this auspicious event ended in tragedy. The details are still unclear, but word has spread that an incredibly powerful Twilight's Hammer agent, shrouded to hide his identity, interrupted the ceremony and struck down Thrall with dark magics... casting his spirit into the four domains of the Elemental Plane. If these terrible rumors hold true, the Earthen Ring -- indeed, all of Azeroth -- has potentially lost one of its greatest champions.

…Is this the end of the Son of Durotan?

BlizzCast 16 on Patch 4.2

We're excited to present the first-ever video BlizzCast, now in beautiful full-motion 2D! (Don't forget to wear your 2D glasses.) We've also jam-packed this episode with juicy information on World of Warcraft patch 4.2. Rob “The Voice” Simpson sits down with Game Director Tom Chilton to find out what the patch is all about, Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak lays out info on the new Firelands quest hub, and Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton spits and flows on Ragnaros and the upcoming raid content.

Now, wasn’t that some good, clean fun? On top of these features we're adding a new tier of armor and a nifty Dungeon Journal. I know I’m burning to join the Guardians of Hyjal in their fight against Ragnaros and his quest for flame and fortune. Now it's time for the patch notes. Please keep in mind that this isn’t the complete list of 4.2 features or the final patch notes. Stay classy. Stay tuned. Keep the joy alive.

World of Warcraft Patch Notes

World of Warcraft PTR Patch 4.2

Notes for all World of Warcraft patches can be found here.

Table of Contents

Click a link to be directed directly to the corresponding section of the patch notes.

 

• Classes: General
  • Druids, Mages, Paladins, Priests, Rogues, Warlocks, Warriors
• Dungeons & Raids
• Guilds
• PvP
• User Interface

 

Classes: General

• Crowd Control
  • Many crowd control abilities no longer cause creatures to attack players when they are cast. The creature will not attack the player when the crowd control wears off, and nearby creatures will not become hostile to the player either. However, if a visible player gets too close to the target creature, the creature will remember and attack the player when the crowd control effect wears off. The intent is to make it easier for dungeon groups to manage crowd control assignments and pulling packs of hostile NPCs. The abilities affected by this change are: Hibernate, Entangling Roots, Wyvern Sting (will still cause hostility when it begins to deal damage), Freezing Trap, Polymorph, Repentance, Shackle Undead, Blind, Hex, Bind Elemental, Banish, Seduction.

 

Druids

• Druids now gain 1 attack power per point of Strength, down from 2. They continue to gain 2 attack power per point of Agility while in Cat Form or Bear Form.
• Entangling Roots and the equivalent spell triggered by Nature's Grasp no longer deal damage.
• Innervate now grants an ally target 5% of his or her maximum mana over 10 seconds, but still grants 20% of the druid's maximum mana over 10 seconds when self-cast.
• Talent Specializations
  • Balance
    • Insect Swarm now generates 8 Lunar Energy for druids with Eclipse.
    • Moonfire now generates 8 Solar Power for druids with Eclipse.
    • Sunfire now generates 8 Lunar Energy for druids with Eclipse.
• Glyphs
  • Glyph of Innervate now causes the druid to gain 10% of his or her maximum mana over 10 seconds when Innervate is used on a friendly target, in addition to Innervate's base effect.

 

Mages

• Ring of Frost now has a 1.5-second cast time.

 

Paladins

• Talent Specializations
  • Holy
    • Beacon of Light can no longer be dispelled.
    • Speed of Light now increases movement speed when Holy Radiance or Divine Protection are cast.

 

Priests

• Priest Bug Fixes
  • Players will no longer prematurely cancel a channeled spell when clicking on the Lightwell.

 

Rogues

• Blind duration against enemy NPCs is now 1 minute, while the duration against players remains 8 seconds.
• Stealth now once again begins its cooldown once the rogue leaves Stealth.

 

Warlocks

• Warlock Bug Fixes
  • It is no longer possible to leave combat while channeling Drain Soul.

 

Warriors

• Overpower now has a 1.5-second cooldown and global cooldown (Taste for Blood's Overpower cooldown has not changed).
• Retaliation, Recklessness and Shield Wall no longer have stance requirements.

 

Dungeons & Raids

• Dungeon Journal is in the process of being implemented. While some UI elements may exist in the current Public Test Realm build, the feature is not yet complete.

 

Guilds

• The Reins of the Dark Phoenix, purchased from the Guild Vendor, has had its art improved. It's now less transparent and indisputably more awesome.

 

PvP

• Battlegrounds
  • Eye of the Storm has been added into the rotation as a 10-man Rated Battleground. The tug-of-war style capture points have been replaced with Arathi Basin style capture points to better support 10v10 competition. This change applies only to Rated Battlegrounds. Eye of the Storm is otherwise still a 15-player Battleground with tug-of-war style capture points.
  • War Games
    • Many improvements are being made to the War Games interface, though the changes are not yet fully functional.

 

User Interface

• Characters can now be reorganized at the Character Selection screen. This feature not yet fully functional and the reorganization of characters doesn't save at this time.
• The cast bar can now be moved to display below the Character frame.
• Move Pad is a mouse-click interface for movement which is now built into the base interface.