World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King's infamous pre-patch event has returned once again for Classic. We're of course talking about the Zombie Invasion event.
Zombies and scourge galore have begun invading Azeroth's major cities as the Lich King has made his first move—and sent his regards—in order to cripple and slow down Azeroth's heroes from mounting their expedition to Northrend.
It'll be a two-pronged assault, first beginning with the Zombie Infestation, and later followed by a Scourge Invasion.
UPDATED - The Scourge Invasion has arrived early!
Coming in as a surprise to both Blizzard and the players, the Scourge Invasion has arrived in Azeroth considerably early.
The Scourge is trying its best to overrun the cities of Azeroth leaving its natives to defend it. With its arrival, players will be able to keep working on and completing quests but also will have to take the fight to enemies at key locations, taking down bosses in dungeons.
For more information on the Scourge Invasion event scroll below.
WoW Classic WotLK Zombie Infestation Release Date & Time
The Zombie Infestation begins on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, at 11 am ET and will last until Tuesday, September 13, 2022, the following weekly server reset.
Players can expect the Zombie Infestation to have started following the weekly reset maintenance which is scheduled to start at 10 am EST to end at 11 am EST. The length of this server downtime is a rough estimate based on previous releases, meaning that servers could go live before or after the time allotted by Blizzard.
To make sure you don't miss out on it, follow along with our countdown below!
Zombie Infestation
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WoW Classic WotLK Zombie Infestation Details
The WoW Classic WotLK Zombie Invasion event begins first with the Zombie Infestation.
This first part of the event will have a total of five phases, here are some small tidbits about each:
- Phase 1 - Trouble in Booty Bay
- Conspicuous Crates have begun to show up in Booty Bay. These crates, covered in green-like smoke, are filled with deadly diseases that if a player stands too close will infect them. The only way to get rid of the debuff is by talking to any Argent Healers in capital cities or by having a class that can dispel them get rid of it.
- Phase 2 - Roaches!
- The same Conspicuous Crates from before have kept showing up and it's gotten worse, arriving in every capital city in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Filled with contaminated grain, rats, and other vermin have taken a liking to their contents and, have made the plague spread even further.
- Phase 3 - Welcome to Zombie Town
- Thanks to the rapidly spreading plague, Plagued Residents have begun showing up across Azeroth, terrorizing low-level zones, and making it nearly impossible to traverse the world. They spare no player and even no NPC.
- Phase 4 - Quests, Bosses... And More Zombies
- With the disease and plague running rampant, the Zombie Infestation has grown worse. In response, members of the Argent Dawn have sprung into action giving players quests and tasks to complete. To top it all off, the plagued vermin continue to wreak havoc in Azeroth's major cities, the Scourge has begun to fly necropolises, and a completely new boss has arrived in Karazhan.
- Phase 5 - The Darkest Hour
- The plague is reaching a point of near incurability, leading to the Argent Healers leaving their posts. Zombies have begun doing more damage, and the Plagued Vermin are taking down and infecting the cities' guards. This, in turn, has forced Azeroth's heroes to utilize Shattrath as a base of operations.
- This phase is expected to last one day.
- Phase 6 - The Final Phase (Recovery)
- Apothecaries have managed to find a cure for the plague, putting an end to the zombie infestation. Plagued Vermin and other types are nowhere to be found; infection has been reduced to a minimum.
Blizzard hasn't officially clarified the exact release times of these phases but they are expected to begin upon server restart. All of these phases are expected to last about one day going up until Tuesday, September 13, 2022.
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WoW Classic WotLK Scourge Invasion Release Date & Time
The Scourge Invasion has begun earlier than expected on Friday, September 9, 2022, at 11 am ET and will last until Tuesday, September 26, 2022 (WotLK release day), the following reset.
Players can expect the Scourge Invasion to have started following the weekly reset maintenance which is scheduled to start at 10 am EST to end at 11 am EST. The length of this server downtime is a rough estimate based on previous releases, meaning that servers could go live before or after the time allotted by Blizzard.
To make sure you don't miss out on it, follow along with our countdown below!
Scourge Invasion
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WoW Classic WotLK Scourge Invasion Details
The second part of the event, the Scourge Invasion, is when the fun truly begins.
Adding onto what already has been hell on Azeroth, the Scourge has begun invading key points around Azeroth, even infiltrating some older and more recent dungeons.
In each invasion point, players will engage with rare undead who each have a chance to drop various helpful items. Players can return these items to the Argent Quartermaster located outside of Light's Hope Chapel in Eastern Plaguelands in exchange for various rewards. There will also be more quests added to the already-existing ones.
As for the invaders in dungeons, they can be found in these locations:
- Revanchion inside Dire Maul
- Lady Falther'ess inside Razorfen Downs
- Scorn in Scarlet Monastery
- Lord Blackwood in Scholomance
- Sever in Shadowfang Keep
- Balzaphon in Stratholme
Additionally, players can obtain a raid quest in any capital city that tasks them with hunting down Prince Tenris Murkblood in Karazhan. He's most famously known for awarding players with the infamous Arcanite Ripper two-handed axe and a Vampiric Batling pet.
This will all be in preparation for WotLK's release at the end of the month.
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