Battle for Azeroth Pre-Purchase is Here!

The Battle for Azeroth Pre-purchase has finally arrived and with it a whole bunch of goodies for us to enjoy now.  The next expansion wont be out until "on or before September 21, 2018" but we can still enjoy some goodies now.

Pre-purchasing the expansion will get you access to the four of the six Allied Races IF you meet the requirements.  For the Horde we have access to the Highmountain Tauren and the Nightborne Elves and for the Alliance you have access to the Lightforged Draenei and the Void Elves.  The other two Allied Races will be available after the launch of the expansion.

If you purchase the Deluxe edition you will also have access to several items including a mount for both Horde and Alliance, a pet, and several other goodies associated with the other Blizzard Games.  Perhaps the coolest, though, is the Horde mount...a Gilded Ravasaur!

And the new pet is pretty cute too...

As of right now, the rush to even purchase the pre-expansion is unbelievable with wait times being estimated in hours--or in my case, days!  Everybody wants the access to the newest expansion.

* as a note, the time fluctuates constantly, as of ten mins later I only have to wait eight hours...because the expansion doesn't actually come out until September you have plenty of time to level up your new toons--I recommend waiting until later on in the week to make your purchase.

Frozen Wrath [Death Knight]

"Death is like ice; cold and uncaring"

Trained on the ancient glacier of which the dead wander aimlessly; these Death Knights are the epitome of the Frost of which they wield.  With the chilling touch of the grave these Knights take the battle to all foes both living and dead.  Death knows no bounds and these frozen Knights are truly unstoppable as the death they wield.

A mix and match of different armor from different expansions always leads to something interesting and fun.  The shoulders are my favorite and finding a transmogrification that helps lend to the ferocity of Death Knights.  Adding more items that were blue tinged or with skulls on them helped complete the final outfit seen here.  Wielding the Blades of the Fallen Prince, especially with the icy weapon skin, totally completes this look.  So go out there and freeze your enemies blood…in style.

Peacebreaker's Heavy Helm (Quest: Nazgrim's Command - The Jade Forest)

Wrathful Gladiator's Dreadplate Shoulders (PvP - Season 8)

Dreadwake Bonecage (Eonar - Mythic Antorus, the Burning Throne)

Hemet's Armored Legguards (Quest: Stalker Mastery - Valley of the Four Winds)

Narsong Handwraps (Quest: Why So Serious - Krasarang Wilds)

Runescriven Demon Collar (Hagara the Stormbinder - Dragon Soul)

Stompers of Brazen Terror (Kilrogg Deadeye - Normal Hellfire Citadel)

Shroud of the Drowned Adherent (Mistress Sassz'ine - Tomb of Sargeras)

Like with most Tauren transmogrifications; no bracers are needed.

Defender [Warrior]

"Halt!  Who goes there?  Just kidding."

They are the guards and the watchers; dedicated to keeping their homes and families safe.  They are the keepers and defenders; willing to risk their own lives for others.  They spend long hours under the hot sun in faraway places and frequent the many taverns while not on duty.  They are the ones that respond the quickest the threats in the heart and borders of Horde territory.  They are the defenders of the Horde and they are here slay the Alliance which would threaten the Horde--at all costs.

The belt helps to bulk up the body of an already bulky Tauren which make the character appear massive...perfect for a warrior.  The helm was very hard to chose for this transmogrification...that is why I went with no helm.  This set started with the chest, legs, and belt and moved on from there--eventually adding in the spiky features of the PvP gear.  The items for this transmogrification should be easy to get if you haven't gotten them already--with the exception of the belt which can only be dropped by Aggramar on mythic difficulty.

Ferocious Gladiator's Plate Shoulders (PvP - Legion)

Blackrock Chestpiece (Level 2 War Mill in your Garrison)

Blackrock Legplates (Level 2 War Mill in your Garrison)

Ferocious Gladiator's Plate Gauntlets (PvP - Legion)

Grond-Father Girdle (Aggramar - Antorus, the Burning Throne (M))

Ferocious Gladiator's Plate Warboots (PvP - Legion)

Nightmare Shroud (World Drop - Broken Isles)

Like with most Tauren transmogrifications; no bracers are needed.

Patch 7.3.5 is Here!

Patch 7.3.5, the last patch of this expansion, is upon us.  Sadly, for us it doesn't look like the Highmountain Tauren will be playable until Battle for Azeroth is available (but we didn't really get our hopes up, did we?).  However, while there are no new Tauren to play there are several good things about Patch 7.3.5 that we can take advantage of now.

Antorus, the Burning Throne.  Now open for Raid Finder is the final wing of the last raid in this expansion.  While those with guilds have already finished up the Burning Throne; those without raiding guilds or, perhaps, without a lot of time for raiding, will have access to the final wing.  This is a great opportunity for the rest of us to finish the storyline of The Burning Throne and move on in the final story of Legion.

Level Scaling.  Now it is easier to level your characters in the world of Azeroth.  The same level scaling that we saw in Legion is now available throughout the world.  This, arguably, makes it much easier to level up a character that you haven't gotten around to yet.  The fact that you can enjoy the storyline in a certain zone or skip areas altogether is wonderful and exciting.  The level scaling worked wonderfully for the Broken Isles and it is nice to see it happening everywhere else where the leveling experience was definitely outdated.

Along with the leveling experience the upgraded Hero's Board will be a god-send, especially for new players.  The board will help you decide which zone to start in and give you a quest to get there.  The boards are not just in the capital cities, however, and can be found in the towns throughout the world. 

Ulduar Timewalking.  The most favorite raid of World of Warcraft is available as a Timewalking experience.  This changes some things, however.  All existing 10 and 24-player achievements have been moved to the Legacy tab and new achievements have been added.  However, the new Glory of the Ulduar Raider achievement now award both the Rusted Proto-drake and Ironbound Proto-drake mounts!

Silithus Storyline.  If you completed Antorus, The Burning Throne, you will get a quest to start the storyline that finishes up Legion and prepares us for Battle for Azeroth.  You should get this quest when logging on if you already completed the raid or when finally completing the raid.  The story will take us al the way to the middle of nowhere in Kalimdor—Silithus!

A New Battleground.  I love battlegrounds, especially new ones.  This new one takes us back to Silithus to the Seething Shore where we battle it out over Azerite, a new resource.  This battleground looks like a lot of fun and I am very excited to try it out.  Another exciting thing about the Seething Shore is the story behind it...we know why we are gathering resources, why we are killing the Alliance guys, and we know the battleground actually has place in the story of Battle for Azeroth.

Class Changes.  Along with all of this new stuff also comes some Class Changes.  Be sure to check out the link below for a full list of the changes coming to your class.  Some are great...some not so great.

Backpack Upgrade.  For the first time since the beginning of World of Warcraft we will have more Backpack space.  Granted, its only four slots and only available for accounts protected by an Authenticator and Blizzard SMS Protect (what if you don't have access to SMS?)—its still a nice deal and an improvement for many of us.  While four bag slots doesn't seem like a lot, that is four extra slots to put junk in...yay!

The final patch brings changes, both good and bad—but mostly for the good.  More importantly, however, this patch heralds the end of an exciting expansion.  While I eagerly await the next expansion I also look forward to enjoying the rest of this one and relishing in the adventure, the beauty, and collecting all the things.  To quote our good friend Khadgar..."there is much to be done."

The Sleeper [Druid]

"Hibernation does wonders the body and mind--but sometimes you wake up on the wrong side of the barrow..."

The Legion has disturbed their slumber and all shall pay the price.  These defenders of nature have awoken in time to help punish the enemies of Azeroth; armed with bladed weapons, natural healing, brute primal strength, and a strong desire to get back to sleep; the defenders of Azeroth have another ally watching their backs.  "Never wake a sleeping bear" is an apt saying, but you should fear waking a sleeping druid even more.

I love the Winterfin Patch of Honor...it makes any transmogrification a little more ferocious.  Add in bear claws and sharp armor bits and you have yourself a winner!  This set mostly came from the fact that I had some of the Gladiator transmog but not all of it and I still wanted to wear it and be fashionable in the streets of Dalaran.  Finding a good belt was a little difficult...leather belts are kinda boring sometimes.  However, in the end, this transmogrification looks dangerous and cuddly at the same time--perfect for when you are out of animal form (are druids ever out of animal form?).

Winterfin Patch of Honor (30 Winterfin Clams - Borean Tundra)

Ferocious Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders (PvP - Legion)

The Butcher's Apron (Hannval the Butcher - Stormheim)

Dominant Gladiator's Dragonhide Legguards (PvP - Legion)

Ferocious Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves (PvP - Legion)

Warhide Belt (Legion Crafted - Leatherworking)

Stormborn Treads (Quest - Regal Remains in Stormhiem)

Like with most Tauren transmogrifications; no bracers are needed.

Fel-Touched [Hunter]

"Fel burns more than flesh; it has a way of torturing the soul as well...be wary of it."

Fighting the Legion does have its benefits...as well as its drawbacks.  Hunting the unending hordes of the Legion seems to leave a bit of Fel with all it touches—even those brave heroes of Azeroth who have taken the fight to the Burning Legion.  Some, however, have accepted this change and embraced the Fel, much like the demon hunters have, and used the power of the corrupted energies to give them the extra edge to punish the demons for coming to the lands of Azeroth.

This set started with the gloves and the chest and developed from there.  The gloves are, by far, my favorite part of this set and the chest piece brilliantly ties them in to almost anything you can put together.  Yes, the main color scheme for this expansion is green (and I think many of us are getting tired of this color), but I fell that many elements of this transmogrification will translate into the next expansion armors as well.

Castellan's Blinders (Moroes - Return to Karazhan)

Feludius Mantle (Ascendant Council - Normal The Bastion of Twilight)

Enthralling Chain Armor (Greater Invasion -Sotanathor or Mistress Alluradel)

Fel-Linked Crushers (Greater Invasion - Sotanathor, Pit Lord Vilemus, or Inquisitor Metro)

Links of the Disintegrator (Durumu the Forgotten - Heroic Throne of Thunder)

Cloak of Stifling Brimstone (Goroth - Tomb of Sargeras)

While wearing pants and shoes are recommended for this transmogrification they are not visible and do not need to be changed.  Like with most Tauren transmogrifications; no bracers are needed.