World of Warcraft: Everything You Need to Do Before the Midnight Pre-Expansion Update

by

World of Warcraft has announced that Season 3 of The War Within will end on January 20th. This means players have less than a month to earn difficult achievements like Ahead of the Curve and Astral Legend before they disappear. While not everything will be removed with the upcoming World of Warcraft: Midnight update, many achievements and their associated rewards will no longer be obtainable.

Blizzard recently announced that the pre-expansion update for World of Warcraft, called the Midnight Pre-Patch, will launch on January 20th. This major update includes significant changes to all character classes, introduces the new Devourer Demon Hunter, adds a built-in damage meter, and revamps the transmog system, among other improvements. A week later, on January 27th, two events – Winds of Mysterious Fortune and Twilight Ascension – will begin and run until the official Midnight expansion launch on March 2nd.

World of Warcraft: The War Within Season 3 Ends January 20

Image via Blizzard

While the new features are exciting, some rewards from The War Within will soon be unavailable. Specifically, you won’t be able to earn the Cutting Edge and Ahead of the Curve achievements for defeating Dimensius on Heroic and Mythic difficulties after January 20th. However, you can still get the Royal Voidwing mount from the Heroic version of the fight until World of Warcraft: Midnight launches on March 2nd. The Unbound Star-Eater mount from the Mythic version will have a higher drop rate until that date as well, after which it will become much rarer.

Image via Blizzard

The rankings for Mythic+ dungeons will be finalized shortly before January 20th. Specifically, positions will be locked on January 19th at 10 PM Pacific Time, just before a major update to the game. Players aiming for the top .1% – which earns them the “Unbound Hero” title – need to achieve that rank before the rankings close. Other achievements from Mythic+ Season 3, like Keystone Hero, will likely disappear with the update, although some might still be obtainable for a short time afterward.

Image via Blizzard

With the end of Season 3 for The War Within, all PvP rewards will also become unavailable. This includes achievements like Astral Gladiator and Astral Legend, the Fel Bat mount, PvP outfits, titles, and a special weapon enchantment. However, you’ll still have until the very end of the season to earn the Vicious Void Creeper mount—either the Alliance or Horde version—by playing rated PvP.

World of Warcraft: The War Within Season 3 Checklist

  • By January 20 (Midnight Pre-Patch)
    • Ahead of the Curve: Dimensius, the All-Devouring (Feat of Strength Achievement): Defeat Heroic Dimensius
    • Cutting Edge: Dimensius, the All-Devouring (Feat of Strength Achievement): Defeat Mythic Dimensius.
    • Mythic+ dungeon season, including “the Unbound Hero” title
    • Seasonal PvP rewards, titles, rankings, and achievements, including:
      • Astral Gladiator: The War Within Season 3 (Feat of Strength Achievement): Top .1% in 3v3 arena ladder, rewards the “Astral Gladiator” title
      • Astral Legend: The War Within Season 3 (Feat of Strength Achievement): Top 0.1% of the Solo Shuffle ladder
      • Astral Gladiator’s Fel Bat mount
      • Arcane Weapon Enchantment Illusion
      • Season Three PvP weapon/armor transmog sets
      • Combatant/Challenger/RIval/Duelist/Gladiator titles
    • World of Warcraft: Legion Remix
    • The War Within Season 3 Delve achievements (possibly available until March 2 or later)
  • By March 2 (Midnight launch)
    • Royal Voidwing mount from “A Twilight Oath’s End” quest item drop from Heroic Dimensius
      • Unavailable after Midnight
    • Unbound Star-Eater mount drop from Mythic Dimensius
      • Drop rate significantly reduced after Midnight
    • Faction-themed Vicous Void Creeper mount

Interestingly, the blog post about this didn’t mention what would happen with Delves after January 20th. Delves in World of Warcraft: The War Within Season 3 also has limited-time goals, like the Delver’s Journey, Undercoin rewards, and fighting Ky’veza. It’s likely these will still be available until March 2nd, but it’s a good idea to try and complete them by January 20th just in case.

Image via Blizzard

It’s logical that World of Warcraft is concluding its current seasons for Raids, Mythic+ dungeons, and PvP with this pre-expansion update. The significant changes to character abilities and the introduction of the new Devourer Demon Hunter class would create imbalances on their own. On top of that, the game is also undergoing its fourth stat adjustment and third level squish, which will likely cause some balancing issues. Keeping the current content available during these changes could have unexpectedly made some challenges too easy or too difficult.

With the upcoming Midnight update for The War Within, WoW: Legion Remix will also be ending. Players should take advantage of this time to complete the difficult achievements, get limited-time rewards, and level up some characters before the game mode is no longer available.

Read More

2025-12-24 06:05