World of Warcraft expansion Battle for Azeroth launched worldwide on August 13. Since then, players have been racing to reach the new level cap of 120, explore the island nations of Zandalar and Kul Tiras, fight their way through 10 new dungeons, and much more. And that's just the tip of the ridiculously large pauldrons. Soon, Battle for Azeroth will get its first Raid, as well as the brand-new Warfronts mode. In case you're new to the game or just want to know when to set your alarms, we're going to break it all down for you.
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What is the first Battle for Azeroth Raid?
Battle for Azeroth's first Raid is called Uldir. It is an ancient research facility built by a race called the Titans for the study and quarantine of parasitic lifeforms known as Old Gods. And yes, Lovecraft fans, they are basically the Warcraft universe's version of Cthulhu and friends. Long since abandoned, the facility is now home to several corrupted, synthetic beings, abominable experiments, and the blood god, G'huun (that's him up above).
When does Uldir go live?
Uldir will be available to play on Normal and Heroic difficulty starting sometime on September 4. World of Warcraft developer Blizzard resets and updates the game servers every Tuesday, 3pm UTC for the US, Latin and Oceanic servers and Wednesday, 7am UTC for the EU servers.
However, a different schedule is in place for this update. Below you'll find the time Blizzard has said it will take servers down, as well as the time it expects service to return:
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT): 5am (down) 6am (up), September 4
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): 8am (down) 9am (up), September 4
Central European Summer Time (CEST): 2pm (down) 3pm (up), September 4
British Summer Time (BST): 1pm (down) 2pm (up), September 4
If you're the hardest of hardcore and want to take on the Raid at its most challenging, you want Uldir at Mythic difficulty. That goes live a week later, on September 11 (US servers), September 12 (EU servers).
When does Uldir LFR go live?
First, a clarification for those wondering, "What is Uldir LFR?": LFR stands for Looking For Raid, and is basically a Raid on easy mode. Whereas other difficulties of Raid play require you to manually set up or join a group of players, LFR will automatically assemble a pick-up group, aka a PUG, just like you would for most dungeons.
To keep the experience challenging and rewarding for those who play at Normal or higher difficulty, LFR will break a Raid down into ‘wings’, which are released one at a time, over the course of several weeks. So if you want to experience this new content right away and get the best rewards from it, you'll want to jump in with the aforementioned Normal, then graduate to Heroic difficulty. But if you want to experience the Raid in a more casual environment, LFR is the place to go.
In the case of Uldir, the LFR schedule breaks down to:
Uldir LFR, first wing: September 11 (US), September 12 (EU)
Uldir LFR, second wing: September 25 (US), September 26 (EU)
Uldir LFR, third wing: October 9 (US), October 10 (EU)
Now, let's move on to World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth's other major content drop, the Warfronts feature.
What are Warfronts?
The Warcraft universe, as you're probably aware, got its start in the real-time strategy genre. Warfronts are, more or less, an attempt to capture that feeling and gameplay in an MMORPG. They are pieces of 20-player PvE content representing the conflict between the Alliance and Horde factions at strategic locations around the world of Warcraft.
Warfronts are triggered by players turning in a required amount of in-game resources. Once a Warfront has been launched, the faction that launched it will always win that Warfront. Then it will be the opposing faction's turn to gather resources and launch its own Warfront operation. On and on the cycle goes, allowing all players to reap the rewards.
What do I get from Warfronts?
What else? Sweet, sweet loot! Participating in a Warfront will let you earn unique armor and weapons themed to your faction (I myself am particularly fond of the Alliance's Plate set), as well as rare mounts, achievements, and more. But yes, you're primarily in this for the gear.
What is the first Warfront?
The first Warfront will be Stromgarde Keep in the Arathi Highlands. Long ago Stromgarde was a powerful city-state in its own right, but it has since fallen from grace. Even so, controlling the area presents tactical advantages in the war being fought by the Alliance and Horde. It rests far to the north in the Eastern Kingdoms.
When do Warfronts go live?
Battle for Azeroth's first Warfront, Battle for Stromgarde, launches alongside the expansion's first Raid, so it'll be available after the weekly reset. As mentioned above, that's:
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT): 5am (down) 6am (up), September 4
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): 8am (down) 9am (up), September 4
Central European Summer Time (CEST): 2pm (down) 3pm (up), September 4
British Summer Time (BST): 1pm (down) 2pm (up), September 4
Now go out there and show 'em what you can do! FOR THE <insert your faction here>!!
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