The World of Warcraft 10.1 update is nearly upon us bringing us season 2 of Blizzard’s Dragonflight expansion known as Embers of Neltharion.

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Dragonflight, Blizzard’s ninth expansion, saw the introduction of the Dragon Isles and perhaps unsurprisingly given its name, the ability to fly on the back of a dragon.

Released back in November 2022, we have exhausted all of the season 1 content, but this first update to the Dragonflight expansion will be bringing plenty to the tavern-table for us to get lost in. But when can we get started? Read on and we shall tell all about WoW 10.1 and Dragonflight season 2.

When is the WoW 10.1 release date?

The WoW 10.1 release date is 2nd May 2023 in the USA, or 3rd May if you are playing on EU servers.

Dragonflight season 2 will follow suit shortly after, taking effect with the next week’s reset on 9th May or 10th May for EU servers.

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You can check out the update early on the Public Test Realm if you can’t wait till then. This has been available since 9th March, so most bugs will be squashed by now, but some may still remain in the lead up to the full release, so definitely hold off if you want as unadulterated of an experience as possible.

WoW 10.1 news: what will be in the patch notes?

Embers of Neltharion is absolutely jam-packed with new content and we won’t waste any time getting to it. Here's what you've got to look forward to.

New Zone: Zaralek Cavern

Buried deep in the rock beneath the Obsidian Citadel is a new zone, Zaralek Cavern. Accessible from the Azure Span, the Ohn’ahran Plains and Thaldraszus, this underground maze is big enough to fly dragons in and really, is there any better way to get around?

Inhabiting Zaralek are our soon-to-be favourite moley pals the Niffen and gentle giants the Drogbar. As well as these two will be new enemies for us to fight and treasures to plunder.

Zaralek will also be the setting for an upcoming raid that is part of the WoW 10.1 update.

Cross-Faction Guild Inclusivity

For those more mature than us who have friends in opposing factions, frenemies can now join the same guild and reap the benefits of conveniences such as shared chat and guild repairs.

The Guilds are still affiliated to their parent factions, the Horde and Alliance, and depending on the guild leader, contributions made by an opposing faction member may not contribute to guild achievements. You will still be able to benefit from unlocked shared perks however.

More Dragonriding talents and mounts

You may already have unlocked all the dragonriding abilities brought about originally by Dragonflight, and so we are pleased to let you know that a new dragonriding talent will be coming with the WoW 10.1 patch – Ground Skimming.

Ground Skimming allows you to fly close to the ground whilst still generating vigor which is essential to keep your dragon airborne. This is great news because since dragonriding is so suitably rad, anything that keeps us up in the air for longer is most welcome.

As if new abilities weren’t enough, a new reptilian of the flying variety will be gracing our rumps, the Winding Slitherdrake. The jury is still out on how they might be unlocked but we’ll be sure to let you know how the second we know ourselves!

New Raid

The second season of Dragonflight brings a new raid, Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible. Taking place in the aforementioned Zaralek Cavern, this secret laboratory will see us battling the Primal Incarnates and the Sundered Flame, both of whom are vying for control. As if they weren’t enough, we will have to deal with the monstrous experiments of the lab itself.

Details are light at the moment on the exact details of what we can expect with this new raid but we do have the names of the nine bosses we will have the pleasure of annihilating.

  • Kazzara
  • Molgoth
  • Experimentation of the Dracthyr
  • Zaqali Invasion
  • Rashok
  • Zskarn
  • Magmorax
  • Neltharion
  • Scalecommander Sarkareth

You might recognise the boss Neltharion. That’s because ol’ Neltharion only went on to become Deathwing after he went mad from breaking under the power of the Old Gods’ voices at none other than the Crucible, so it only makes sense that we’ll be bumping into him in the depths of Zaralek.

Mythic+ Dungeons

Dragonflight season 2 introduces dungeons old and new as was the case with season 1. Eight dungeons will feature in season 2, four from Dragonflight and four from prior expansions in the longstanding MMO.

  • Brackenhide Hollow
  • Halls of Infusion
  • Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
  • Neltharus
  • Freehold (Battle for Azeroth)
  • The Underrot (Battle for Azeroth)
  • Neltharion’s Lair (Legion)
  • Vortex Pinnacle (Cataclysm)

There will also be many fixes and balances relating to all aspects of the games. Be sure to check out the patch notes to see if your favourite abilities have been buffed or nerfed!

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