The final phase of WoW Classic has passed, and players are now moving on to the next step, WoW Classic TBC.
The WoW Classic TBC Beta is in full swing, now featuring Heroic Dungeons, the Eye of the Storm battleground and more.
And on top of it all, players are waiting to see the first hint of the WoW Classic TBC prepatch.
Here's everything you should know about WoW Classic TBC - including its release date, beta info, changes, and more.
Latest News - Is Pre Patch Coming This Week?
WoW Classic players with a keen eye have spotted that Blizzard's next server downtime is scheduled to be much longer - running from 7am PDT to 3pm PDT.
Many are speculating this could mean the WoW Classic TBC pre patch is finally coming!
The longer maintenance period does point to a WoW Classic update of some kind - but we expect more notice from Blizzard for the WoW Classic TBC pre patch, which means this is likely a smaller update coming to WoW Classic.
Either way, Tuesday is about to be very exciting for the game.
WoW Classic TBC Beta
Blizzard have officially revealed the WoW Classic TBC Beta has begun!
Here's how to get signed up for the WoW Classic TBC beta if you haven't yet.
Release Date
While we have no official info yet on WoW Classic Burning Crusade's release date, leaks have pointed to it arriving on 4 May.
With the new global string leak of 18 May, this could be a viable release date window.
READ MORE: WoW Classic: Naxxramas Scourge Invasion
Because these are entirely unconfirmed, we don't recommend getting your expectations too high.
Pre Patch
Soon mechanics from The Burning Crusade will be introduced to WoW Classic in the upcoming pre patch.
While we don't have an official release date for the WoW Classic TBC pre patch just yet, with the beta already here, we aren't far out now.
The pre patch will bring new talent trees, abilities, races, and new classes for each faction in WoW Classic.
This will mean those looking to level Draenei Shaman on the Alliance and Blood Elf Paladins on the Horde will be able to begin leveling, and those raiding Naxxramas can try out their new class changes in action.
WoW Classic TBC Update Increases Beta Level Cap, Adds PVP, Heroics
The WoW Classic TBC Beta has been active for over a week, and things are about to heat up with a brand new update!
This WoW Classic TBC Beta update increases the game's level cap to 70, adds the Eye of the Storm battleground for PVP testing, and adds Heroic Dungeons.
WoW Classic TBC Date Leaks
WoW Classic TBC leaks are in after some datamining of the Classic PTR.
This new leak is an ambiguous date, May 18th, 2021, with the global string "BURNING_CRUSADE_TRANSITION_DEFAULT_CLONE_DATE".
Since the leak, players have speculated many different possibilities for this May 18th date.
This could be the start of the WoW Classic TBC beta, pre-patch, or even the expansion itself!
Details Revealed at BlizzCon 2021
BlizzCon 2021 has officially confirmed WoW Classic TBC after accidental leaks from Blizzard.
You can read through the full breakdown of WoW Classic TBC features below.
Rediscover the Broken World of Outland
Flee the fel reavers who roam Hellfire Peninsula, dive deep beneath the swamps of Zangarmarsh to confront what lurks below, and clash with the demonic agents of the Burning Legion in the shadow of the Black Temple.
Join the Fight as a Blood Elf or Draenei
The ranks of the Horde and the Alliance grow! Fight for the Horde as the blood elves, seeking a new source of the arcane power that once sustained them, or join the Alliance as the draenei, exiles from Outland in search of a new home.
The Saga Unfolds Over Time
Content from the original game will roll out in phases, at a cadence paced for the WoW Classic community. Prepare for the opening of the Black Temple, gear up to confront the gods of Zul’Aman, and gather your allies to face the fury of the Sunwell.
Burning Crusade Features Reborn
Prove your prowess in the Arena PvP system, enhance your gear with the Jewelcrafting profession, take to the skies over Outland on flying mounts, choose whether to seek the aid of the Aldor or the Scryers of Shattrath, and much more.
Choose Your Era
Prior to Burning Crusade Classic’s release, WoW Classic players can decide whether to advance each of their characters to the Burning Crusade era with the rest of their realm, or to continue playing the original WoW Classic content on new Classic Era servers.
Included With Existing World of Warcraft Subscriptions
As with WoW Classic, anyone who subscribes to World of Warcraft can also play Burning Crusade Classic at no additional cost, giving players the freedom to enjoy multiple eras of Azeroth at their own pace.
TBC Class Picking Guide
The hardest decision players will face approaching WoW Classic TBC is choosing which class to main.
The Burning Crusade does a ton of work improving specs all around, meaning nearly every choice is viable to some degree, unlike the Vanilla WoW experience.
If you're looking to see how classes shake up in TBC, check out our ratings for each one in PVP and PVE settings.
Drums of Battle Will Be Nerfed in WoW Classic TBC
The BlizzCon 2021 Q&A for WoW Classic TBC has revealed some huge news!
We've learned that Drums of Battle, an item that is only usable by Leatherworkers, giving a massive haste buff to party members, will be changed for The Burning Crusade Classic.
This is massive for the PVE community, who would otherwise have likely been required to run Leatherworking as a profession to cycle the important haste buff.
While no specific changes have been revealed, we know some changes are coming, and Blizzard is looking to fix the problem.
WoW Classic TBC Boosts Revealed
BlizzCon 2021 has revealed that WoW Classic TBC will feature character boosts.
These boosts will be restricted to one per account, and will boost a character to level 58.
This boost will not be usable on Blood Elves or Draenai characters, and gives level 40 mount skill and some dungeon blue gear.
Classic WoW Update Could Remove Spell Batching for TBC
Classic WoW may not have any raid content left for players until moving on to the game's first expansion, but that doesn't mean it's out of impactful updates.
A new Classic WoW update, version 1.13.7, is currently being tested on the PTR. The update reduces the spell batching window from 400ms to 10ms, essentially getting rid of spell batching entirely!
This would be huge, as spell batching in The Burning Crusade would have massive implications in Arena PVP and new PVE content.
Read all about the spell batching changes here.
Changes
WoW Classic Burning Crusade will give Blizzard the chance to rework some of the most annoying parts of the first WoW expansion in its history, first being spell batching.
While the #NoChanges crowd will certainly come out in full effect, there are some things we'd like to see tweaked before WoW Classic Burning Crusade arrives.
The biggest of these changes is massively nerfing or removing Drums of Battle - a toxic raid use item that ensured all PVE players required Leatherworking, and would swap the use of this massive buff between parties to strengthen raids with 80 Melee, Ranged, and Spell Haste.
Blizzard revealed at BlizzCon 2021 that the Drums of Battle will be nerfed, but no specifics are available just yet.
WoW Classic TBC will also feature character boosts, per an announcement at BlizzCon 2021.
Burning Crusade Content
WoW Classic Burning Crusade will introduce a ton of new content to the game, from new dungeons, raids, zones, races, and massive changes to class balance!
Burning Crusade raids are some of WoW's most legendary, including Karazhan, Black Temple, and Sunwell Plateau.
READ MORE: WoW Classic: Naxxramas Attunement Guide
Some of the biggest changes for WoW Classic classes will be extension to the Ret Paladin rotation, improvements to other "underpowered" classes like Shadow Priests, and a swap of the status quo with classes like Warrior and Rogue taking a backseat to others.