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This is it ! The last and final BFA update, Vision of N'Zoth, is ready to be released on Sethraliss. We wanted to make extra sure this would be happening as softly as possible: you can now mark down on your calendar the Monday, March 22nd ! The realm will be shut down for a short period of time while we update it, but do not worry we will keep you posted on Discord, Facebook and Twitter so as soon as it's back up and updated, you are notified.

Since this update includes a client change, you will need to do something on your side as well ! 

HOW TO DOWNLOAD / UPDATE TO 8.3.7 CLIENT: Whether you already have an 8.2 client or not, everything is detailed in this quick & easy tutorial we've made for you! 

BORIS

To celebrate this release, Boris will be back on Firestorm !

From Thursday, 25th March 5PM until Tuesday 30th March 10AM server time, Boris will be available in all capitals & starting zones on all of our realms!
Speaking with him will allow you, once per account and per expansion, to get a free boost to the max lvl (110 on BFA instead), fully geared and ready to start exploring the continents, and discovering the content!
 

NEW CONTENT

The last content that was released on Sethraliss was the 8.2.0 one, and we're gonna update the client straight to 8.3.7: you might think that between those 2 there were several content patches, but in reality only the 8.3.0 was really relevant. We have a habit to release the content "in order", but here we won't separate the 8.2.5 and 8.3.0 ones: you will get everything right from the start !
A few exceptions are the raid, which will be released wing by wing as always, and some additions that retail introduced later in the patch, which we will delay as well to ensure that the content is experienced as it should.

This post is here to help you get a first look at the changes and the new things that will be waiting for you, namely:

• Horrific Visions & the Legendary Cloak !
• N'Zoth Assaults in Uldum & Vale of Eternal Blossom
• Mythic & PVP Season 4
• Ny'alotha Raid
• The new allied races
• The Corruption system 

Below you will find more details about each of those main features.

HORRIFIC VISIONS & LEGENDARY CLOAK

Those 2 new systems are deeply intertwined which explains why we're regrouping them in the same section:

• The first questline you will be able to do from the 8.3 content will grant you an upgradable legendary cloak: Ashjra'kamas, Shroud of Resolve, which will help you fight the corruption of N'Zoth, both inside the visions, and on your equipment (that part will be covered in a later section below). It starts at Rank 1 at item level 470, and upgrading it will increase its power while adding other unique effects including some new spells ! More details on it are available here.
   
• Horrific Visions are instances challenges for 1 to 5 players happening in either a Stormwind, or an Orgrimmar twisted future where N'Zoth's corruption reigns. You will constantly lose sanity inside, putting a clock on your journey. Completing objectives inside them will grant you resources used to upgrade the cloak, which will help you better counter the sanity loss and thus allowing you to progress further into the Visions, and earn greater rewards. Entering a vision will cost a vessel (that can be obtained in various ways) which means you won't have limited tries per week. A thorough guide is available here, and we suggest you read it !

As you can see, it's a pretty simple combination: the cloak helps you survive in visions, where you get the necessary reagents to upgrade it, which in turns makes it even more effective inside the visions allowing you to get even deeper and get better rewards: upgrading your cloak will thus be one of your main focus in this patch.

ULDUM / VALE OF ETERNAL BLOSSOMS ASSAULTS

N'Zoth has been freed from his titanwrought prison, unleashing destruction and terror across Azeroth ! His forces are gathered to lay siege on the titan facilities in Uldum and Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Each week, one of the 2 zones will be overwhelmed by the Old God's minions, giving you plenty of contents to do: defeating them of course (including rares and World Bosses !) but also looting treasures, participating in events and completing various objectives. Once you've drawn back their forces enough, you will have to face the lieutenant leading them: defeating him will reward you with powerful gear, and a Vessel to enter the Horrific Visions.

While you're taking parts in those Assaults, you will also earn progress towards 2 new reputations: Uldum Accord & Rajanni, which provide new rewards to purchase. You will also be able to enter Lesser Visions alone or with friends which will, not unlike their horrific counterparts, put your sanity to the test for a chance to obtain rewards ! You will find a lot of additional details in this guide.

MYTHIC & PVP SEASON 4

Season 4 of Mythic will begin right away, while the PvP one will be put on hold until Wednesday, 31st March at 12PM (noon server time).

• in PVP, the Corrupted Gladiator season will begin, with updated rewards! To get more info, you can check this link.
  The conquest system you know since season 1 returns, with the new loots matching this table (note the extra 5 caps !):
  Spoiler

  

  

  
  
   
• in Mythic , the seasonal affix will now be Awakened (instead of Beguiling for the previous season). There will be 4 Black Empire obelisks throughout the dungeon: by clicking on one, you will enter N'Zoth's realm inside which you will skip the normal mobs, but will have to face a strong lieutenant instead ! For additional details regarding this new affix, you can click here.
  
  As usual, the rewards will also be updated and will follow this table: (please note that the chest generated on the 24th March week will still be a 'season 3' chest and won't fall into this table)
   
  Spoiler

  

   

Thaumaturge Vashreen, the Titan Residuum Vendor will be updated to sell increased ilvl Azerite gear, but you will lose all of your current titan residuum, therefore you should spend it now !
 

NY'ALOTHA, THE WAKING CITY

The fifth and final raid of the expansion will open its doors right on release ! The first wing 'Visions of Destiny' will be available in LFR, NM and HM difficulties. It includes the following bosses:

• Wrathion, the Black Emperor 
• Maut
• The Prophet Skitra.

If you're looking at a more general guide of the whole raid (including the following bosses !) here it is!
A peculiarity of Ny'alotha is that its entrance isn't static like the rest of the raids you're used to: it will be located in the zone currently under attack by the forces of N'Zoth, either Uldum or Vale of Eternal blossoms.

As usual, we plan on releasing a new wing every 3-4 weeks, and the full Mythic mode 3-4 weeks after the fourth and final wing is made available.

NEW ALLIED RACES

Two new allied races will be available right away, without any requirements:

• Mechagnomes for the Alliance
• Vulperas for the Horde

Each of them has its own racial spells, so be sure to check their guide to get the best out of them!

CORRUPTION SYSTEM

This one is important, so read carefuly !
With this update, the warforge / titanforge system that you've known for years will be gone: the items that you loot will always have their ilvl fixed, determined solely by the context in which you obtained them without any chance of having a higher ilvl.

Rest assured it's not just gone, it's actually replaced: instead of the chances to "proc" to a higher ilvl, gear (with the exception of trinkets and azerite gear) will now have a chance to become "corrupted", with added effects:

• A corruption effect that increases your power in some way when you equip the item
• An amount of "corruption stat" that will weigh in that stat's total for your character

This adds a risk / reward parameter into your choices of gear: the more corrupted gear or the more powerful the corruptions you equip, the higher your corruption stat will be, leading to increasingly negative effects on your character. If you remember the part about the legendary cloak that we covered earlier, upgrading it will grant you higher corruption resistances, meaning you will be able to equip more or stronger corrupted items as times goes by.

This whole system is pretty complex, but at the heart of this patch so we advise you to read a thorough guide like this one in order to take out the best of corruption ! 
 

Important Note: The Corruption vendor will not be available on release. This was something added later by blizzard to allow for faster catchup and we intend on keeping the same idea.
 

But those aren't the only improvements coming along with this update ! There will also be several smaller changes that you will discover on day one:

• The reworked Auction House will be there !
• The Operation: Mechagon dungeon will be split in 2 parts for the added Heroic and Mythic difficulties !
• Some older content received some love, and will keep on getting more throughout the patch ! Namely Pandaria and Draenor zones, including the infamous Hellfire Citadel, Blackhand in BRF and the dungeons Auchindoun, Everbloom and End of Time !
• Some new essences are added, and the Heart of Azeroth itself will be tweaked. More informations here !
• The ending of the War Campaign will be available on release: finish what you started at the very beginning of BFA !
• Darkmoon Faire has been rescripted !

With all this the Battle for Azeroth expansion will be fully covered on Sethraliss after just a little bit more than 2 years !
Its Bugtracker will also be wiped (since we're upgrading the client, and a lot of changes occurred, old reports might have lost their meaning).

Thanks for your patience, we will be monitoring the update closely to address any issue that arises!
See you on Monday!
The Firestorm Team