#1 - Dec. 19, 2017, 10:16 a.m.
In-Game Additions
The year started off right out of the gates with release of Patch 7.1.5 in January featuring the re-opening of the Brawler’s Guild, brand new Micro Holidays (did you bust a move in the Auction House Dance Party or strut something fierce in the Trial of Style?), as well as the release of the Nighthold raid, climaxing in the defeat of Gul’dan and the return of Illidan Stormrage!
Patch 7.2: The Tomb of Sargeras was released on March 28th where heroes of the Alliance & Horde returned to the Broken Shore to aid the Legionfall Campaign, venturing to the top of the Cathedral of Eternal Night dungeon and breaching the entrance to the tomb. 7.2 also added the first Pet Battle dungeon, PvP brawls, class challenges to unlock new artifact appearances, and the final steps needed to unlock flight on the Broken Isles! Patch 7.2.5 landed in June resulting in the opening of the Tomb of Sargeras raid, leading to the defeat of Kil’Jaeden and a significant change to the skies over Azeroth – Argus was waiting!
The end of August heralded the release of Patch 7.3: Shadows of Argus. Having halted the brunt of the Legion invasion, it was time for the heroes of Azeroth to take the fight directly to the Burning Legion’s seat of power on Argus, all leading up to the Antorus, the Burning Throne raid.
Events
The drums of war, and heavy metal, thundered at Hellfest this year! World of Warcraft had a presence at the epic festival, with guest cosplayers in attendance and live streams of some of the sets! Some of the bands even took the time to answer questions submitted by Warcraft players on Twitter!
Argus was the word of the show at gamescom 2017, with the unveiling of the 7.3 cinematics ahead of the patch launch. The show floor also featured a Darkmoon Faire area, where attendees could ride a real life X-52 Touring Rocket and show their faction pride, as well as a demo area where groups of 5 could get a first-look at the Seat of the Triumvirate dungeon. The World of Warcraft Arena Championship European Final also took place at gamescom, with Method Triforce emerging the victors in a tournament full of upsets! We will see you in Cologne next year?
BlizzCon 2017 was chock-a-block of World of Warcraft! The development of a World of Warcraft Classic server option was announced. EU team ABC were crowned the champions at the Global Finals of the World of Warcraft Arena Championship! The big highlight was the reveal of the next expansion, Battle For Azeroth, the introduction of long-requested Allied Races, Kul’Tiras, Zandalar and more! Will you be fighting for the Alliance, or the Horde?
The Wider Community
If you aren’t already, you should definitely be following us on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss out on any of our Bad Joke Friday’s with puns so bad even Khadgar would be jealous! We’re also now on Instagram, an account dedicated to highlighting great scenic screenshots taken from within World of Warcraft – your screenshots could even be featured!
In the Fine Art of Fan Art series, we’ve been taking a look at the talents of some European artists inspired by World of Warcraft. There’s more of this series to come in 2018! If fan creations are your jam, then we’ve got a great collection of some community created content in our 2017 Thank You Europe gallery over on Facebook.
You may have even seen some of your favourite, or up and coming, WoW streamers promoted on the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App. Be sure to keep an eye out as streamers such as Anniefuchsia and Treckie regularly help their viewers through heroic raids and Mythic Keystone dungeons!