The clock has almost struck Midnight in World of Warcraft. The highly-anticipated expansion officially arrives on March 2, bringing with it a stunning revamp of both Quel'Thalas and Zul'Aman, two additional brand-new zones, the Haranir allied race, and tons of dungeons, delves, and raids. While The War Within was a solid expansion, many fans have been looking forward to this second chapter of the Worldsoul Saga since it was originally announced. It is no exaggeration to say this may be the most important World of Warcraft expansion in a long time.
Unfortunately, there is just about one month left until Midnight's launch, and while the World of Warcraft: Midnight Pre-Expansion Update has been live for a couple of weeks now, it is a little undercooked. Between an underwhelming Pre-Patch event, the lack of a fourth raid season for The War Within, and little more than repeat events to pass the time, World of Warcraft is in a liminal space between expansions right now. It is a good thing February is the shortest month of the year because World of Warcraft: Midnight's Pre-Patch has about as much excitement in it as a doctor's waiting room.
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World of Warcraft: Midnight's Pre-Patch Event Is Pretty Boring
The Pre-Patch event for World of Warcraft: Midnight is called Twilight Ascension. There are three major aspects of this activity:
- A short questline that leads players to the Twilight Highlands as a prelude to Midnight.
- World quests, one or two of which spawn each day.
- A rotating cycle of rare spawns that can be slain for gear and event currency.
That’s it. Beyond two weekly quests that can be completed via the repeatable activities above, a collection of World of Warcraft cosmetics and catch-up gear, and two easily-obtained achievements, there’s not much to write home about. The questline was fun, and it gives fans a closer look at the relationship between Umbric and Rommath, two prominent characters in Midnight. Otherwise, the Pre-Patch event is forgettable. It isn’t necessarily bad, but neither is it particularly good.
What Makes a Good Pre-Patch Event in WoW?
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
If someone asks a dozen World of Warcraft players what makes a good Pre-Patch event, they would get a dozen different answers. Some will praise the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Pre-Patch due to how unique and fun the Zombie Infestation was, while others will deride it as being overly invasive. With its widespread demonic invasions, doomsayers, and dark whispers, some claim Legion was the best of all Pre-Patch events. Others still look to Battle for Azeroth as the ideal, as the Burning of Teldrassil and Battle for Lordaeron were story-rich and deeply set up the narrative of the expansion, despite its many flaws.
However, no one is going to look at Shadowlands, Dragonflight, or The War Within Pre-Patch events in World of Warcraft when choosing which ones are top tier. This is largely because they all follow the same general format: a short story intro into a rare spawn train, possibly with some other small repeatable activity or weekly quest. It is a repetitive formula that World of Warcraft has fallen into for many years now, and one that Midnight has unfortunately repeated.
The Shadowlands Pre-Patch arrived in October 2020, right at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. WoW: Dragonflight’s Pre-Patch in November 2022 hit after major foundational changes in a post-pandemic world, which led directly into the faster release cadence of The War Within. It is not a leap of logic to imagine these factors impacted the quality of the last few expansions’ Pre-Patch events and updates.
Faster Releases Mean Weaker WoW Pre-Expansion Updates
Comparing The War Within and Midnight's Pre-Patch Limbos
Unfortunately, it isn’t just the lackluster Twilight Ascension event that has made the Midnight Pre-Patch feel empty. Though it also only had three raids, WoW: Dragonflight had a Season 4 that served as a “greatest hits” for the expansion, providing Awakened raids, new rewards and achievements, and more. The War Within had no such thing, as Season 3 ended right when the Pre-Expansion Update began on January 20. This means fewer goals and endgame milestones to focus on, and only a lukewarm Pre-Patch event otherwise occupy players' time.
World of Warcraft: The War Within was the first expansion of the Worldsoul Saga, which signaled a drastic shift in speed and priorities. Most expansions last for about 24 months, give or take. While Dragonflight’s 21-month duration was fast, The War Within only lasted for about 18 months—a whole half-year faster than average. Less time between content drops reduces development time, meaning some things are going to suffer as a consequence. For The War Within, that manifested in skimpy 11.x.5 patches with no new World of Warcraft story content, the lack of a Season 4, and now, a boring Pre-Expansion Update for Midnight.
There's Still Some Stuff To Do Before World of Warcraft: Midnight
Luckily, there are still some things gamers can do before Midnight, even without considering the Pre-Patch event. Though Season 3 achievements are gone, evergreen achievements for The War Within are still available, as are the special mounts from the Heroic and Mythic Manaforge Omega raid, delve progress, and the Brawler's Guild. What’s more, fans can easily lose hours fiddling with new UI options like Boss Warnings, trying out the drastic class changes, decorating their house, or messing with World of Warcraft's new Transmog system.
Beyond that, the month before Midnight is chock-full of events. World of Warcraft's latest Turbulent Timeways ends on February 10, just in time for Love is in the Air to begin on the 9th, the Lunar Festival on the 16th, and the Outland Cup on the 24th. Additionally, the Winds of Mysterious Fortune event is ongoing, providing a fantastic way to level up ahead of the expansion. Even so, none of these things are particularly exciting, and a few new holiday rewards won’t be enough to shake things up much.
- Turbulent Timeways: Now–February 10
- Winds of Mysterious Fortune: Now–February 24
- Love is in the Air: February 9–23
- Lunar Festival: February 16–March 2
- Cataclysm Timewalking: February 17–23
- Hatching of the Hippogryphs: February 23-24
- Outland Cup February 24-March 10
- Midnight Early Access: February 26
- Midnight Launch: March 2
Luckily, March 2 is right around the corner, and early access for users with the Epic Edition starts on February 26, nearly a week ahead of time. The waiting might be agonizing, but luckily, there isn’t much time left before the receptionist calls our names. World of Warcraft: Midnight looks to be full of awesome content, but hopefully the Pre-Expansion Update for The Last Titan, due in about a year and a half, will be a little more exciting than its predecessor.
- Released
- 2026
- Base Game
- World of Warcraft
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary
