World of Warcraft patch 7.3: Shadows of Argus

The next World of Warcraft patch is version 7.3 and possibly the last major update of the Legion expansion. It’s got the whole planet of Argus to explore, hung ominously in the sky above Azeroth after the events of the Tomb of Sargeras, with a new raid, dungeon, and loads (LOADS) more. Here’s all the info from Blizzard’s patch notes as well as the PTR itself.

If you’re looking for something else to play, here are the best MMOs on PC.

Here’s the basics of what’s inside:

Argus, the planet, and everything on it.

New spell animations for all casters.
A huge update to every profession
Artifact upgrades that change Relic customisation, via the Netherlight Crucible
More, obv.

We spoke to Blizzard about it at Gamescom:

Now you’ve watched that, let’s start with what’s important.

WoW Patch 7.3 release date

Patch 7.3 has hit PTR now, and is playable via the drop down menu you normally select WoW region from in Battle.net. It requires an account, but not an active one, if you’ve lapsed.

7.3 will release to live servers on August 29 for US, August 30 for EU. As for what time, it’s usually early in the morning server time. Expect 7.3.5 – if it’s happening – to be announced shortly afterwards.

Here’s what Blizzard have posted about the patch so far:

June 28– Initial PTR
July 6– More Argus content, Tier 21 set bonuses
July 12– New Troops and Missions, Invasion Points and more.
July 18 – Content complete besides the raid
July 25– Raid testing beginning, now in clean up.

WoW Patch 7.3 trailer

A full trailer was shown at Gamescom for Shadows of Argus – the full name of the patch. Here it is:

They also showed the first of the in-game cinematics that will play near the beginning of the patch:

WoW Patch 7.3 livestreams

As usual, there was a livestream to talk about 7.3 shortly before release:

General 7.3 stuff with Ion Hazzikostas

There’s also this survival guide with Blizzard’s standard, shouty voiceover, giving you a quick view of everything available:

WoW Patch 7.3 balance changes

7.3, as is the plan for major patches, isn’t supposed to include a huge balance patch, but there are a few changes:

The Avoidance stat has been reduced in effectiveness by 27% at all levels.
Death Knight

Frost

Dev comments:The synergy between Hungering Rune Weapon and Breath of Sindragosa has dominated the spec, leaving little room for variety. We’re adjusting this combo, and overall damage has increased to compensate. The result should be a more competitive talent picture. All three level 100 talents are tweaked for balance and to play more smoothly. Hungering Rune Weapon should still be hectic to use and require planning, but should not drastically overcap resources anymore.

All damage increased by 14%.
Hungering Rune Weapon has moved to the level 100 row, swapping with Glacial Advance, which is now on the level 58 row.
Breath of Sindragosa damage increased by 10%.
Hungering Rune Weapon duration reduced to 12 seconds (was 15 seconds) and additionally grants 20% haste.
Obliteration duration increased to 10 seconds (was 8 seconds).
Obliteration now causes Howling Blast to grant Killing Machine (in addition to Frost Strike).

Dev comments:These changes collectively reduce Frost’s propensity to be flooded with resources in many of its talent/legendary setups

Horn of Winter cooldown increased to 45 seconds (was 30 seconds).
Murderous Efficiency chance reduced to 50% (was 65%).
Koltira’s Newfound Will generates 1 Rune (was 2) and now causes Obliterate to deal 10% extra damage.

Dev comments:The following talents have shifted around in the talent tree to provide more choices and allow for better balanced options. This requires targeted balance changes.

Runic Attenuation is now level 56, Murderous Efficiency is now at level 57, and Frozen Pulse is now level 90.
Freezing Fog effect reduced to 20% (was 30%).
Frozen Pulse damage reduced by 39%.
Icy Talons bonus increased to 15% (was 10%).
Shattering Strikes bonus increased to 60% (was 40%).

Dev comments:The utility talent row on level 75 should now provide a better payoff in situations where Frost’s comparative lack of mobility is felt.

Volatile Shielding now causes Anti-Magic Shell to generate 100% additional Runic Power (was: removes Runic Power generation), and no longer deals damage.
White Walker replaced with new talent, Inexorable Assault: For every 1 second spent in combat with no enemy within 8 yards, you gain a stack of Inexorable Assault. Each stack causes your next autoattack to deal additional Frost damage.

Druid

All Specs

Mass Entanglement is now a 15-yard AoE around the target.
Prowl cooldown reduced to 6 seconds (was 10 seconds).
Rebirth is now castable in all forms.

Feral

Dev comments:Feral’s updates are focused on addressing two issues with the spec: reducing the dominance of complexifying talents such as Savage Roar, Jagged Wounds, and Bloodtalons, and reducing the damage gap between learning the spec and playing it perfectly. Feral has traditionally been a high skill-cap spec, and we have no intention of changing that, but this suite of updates should make the spec more approachable and less punishing for those still learning its nuances.

All damage increased by 33%.
Bloodtalons damage bonus reduced to 20% (was 50%), and now additionally procs from casting Entangling Roots.
Elune’s Guidance cooldown reduced to 30 seconds (was 45 seconds), and combo points granted reduced to 5 + 5 over 5 seconds (was 5 + 8 over 8 seconds).
Fixed a bug with Incarnation: King of the Jungle, where Ferocious Bite’s optional additional 25 energy cost wasn’t being reduced by 50% as intended.
Incarnation: King of the Jungle now only allows the use of Prowl while in combat once throughout its duration, and now reduces the cost of all Cat Form abilities by 50% while active (was 60%).
Jagged Wounds now causes your Rip, Rake, and Thrash abilities to deal the same damage as normal, but in 20% less time (was 33%).
Moment of Clarity’s damage bonus to affected abilities increased to 20% (was 15%), and now affects Brutal Slash.
Predatory Swiftness no longer affects or is consumed by Rebirth.
Sabertooth damage bonus to Ferocious Bite increased to 20% (was 15%).
Savage Roar duration increased by 50% at all combo point levels, and damage bonus reduced to 15% (was 25%).
Tear the Flesh (Artifact trait) now increases damage dealt by Rake by 6% (was 7%) per rank.

Dev comments:The following talents have shifted around in the talent tree to provide more choices and allow for better balanced options.

Elune’s Guidance has moved to level 100 row, swapping with Brutal Slash, which is now on the level 90 row.
Jagged Wounds has moved to level 75, swapping with Savage Roar, which is now on the level 90 row.

Dev comments:The rhythm and pacing of AoE situations should now feel more consistent with the rest of Feral’s abilities.

Swipe Energy cost reduced to 40 (was 45).
Thrash Energy cost reduced to 45 (was 50).
Thrash Now generates 1 combo point if it hits a target.

Dev comments:Savage Roar is generally maintained at full uptime, so the “deals increased damage for their full duration” on it provided no gameplay, only added complication. In comparison, Tiger’s Fury and Bloodtalons still provide interesting gameplay due to their limited nature.

Savage Roar now increases the damage of Feral damage over time effects dynamically, based on whether Savage Roar is active or inactive at the time of dealing damage. Previously, Feral damage over time abilities dealt a set amount of total damage over their full duration based on whether Savage Roar was active or not when the damage over time abilities were cast. Tiger’s Fury and Bloodtalons functionality remains unchanged.

Hunter

All Specs

The Porcupine family has been re-named to Rodent.

Monk

Windwalker

Rushing Jade Wind damage increased by 22%.
Nearly all damage sources are now covered by Versatility, and these were two that didn’t need to be left out.
Touch of Death’s damage is now increased by Versatility.
Touch of Karma’s damage is now increased by Versatility.

Paladin

All Specs

The Paladin class mount vendor now offers a glyph that allows Paladins to transform their Divine Steed into their class mount.
Blessing of Sacrifice should now robustly prevent against reducing the casting Paladin below 20% health.

Dev comments: This is a bugfix to Blessing of Sacrifice to eliminate the issue with it reducing you to below the listed health amount, and even occasionally killing you. It should now be safe to rely on it to perform as expected.

Retribution

Dev comments:Traits and legendaries that buff Crusade should still be attractive, but not as far ahead of the pack as they previously were.

All damage abilities increased by 6%.
Chain of Thrayn now correctly, additively stacks with Crusade.
Wrath of the Ashbringer trait bonus reduced to 2 seconds per rank (was 2.5 seconds per rank).
Mastery’s effect on Judgment damage increased by 46%, and Mastery’s effect on Judgment debuff strength increased by 17%.
Execution Sentence damage increased by 17%.
Righteous Blade trait bonus reduced to 4% per rank (was 5% per rank).
Unbreakable Will is no longer triggered when you’re under the effect of Sleep Canister.

Protection

Dev comments:There should now be much less DPS and survivability swing between Seraphim and non-Seraphim builds. Non-Seraphim builds now do better damage, and Seraphim builds do not sacrifice as much defense as they previously did.

Seraphim cooldown increased to 45 seconds (was 30 seconds)
Damage increased by 8%: Avenger’s Shield, Judgment, Hammer of the Righteous, Blessed Hammer, Consecration, Shield of the Righteous, Eye of Tyr.
Bulwark of the Silver Hand now gives 35% Armor (was 20%).

Shaman

Elemental

Earthquake damage increased by 19%.
Static Overload redesigned: After using Stormkeeper, your next Chain Lightning causes Elemental Overload to trigger on every target.
Elemental continues to have strong AoE capabilities, but we want to help make their single target damage a bit more attractive.

All damage abilities increased by 6% (with the exception of Chain Lightning).
Earth Shock damage increased by 7%.
Frost Shock damage increased by 13%.

This set of changes gives Elemental much more room to benefit from their mastery stat before reaching the hard cap of 100% proc rate.

Elemental Blast damage increased by 7%.
Elemental Blast now provides 2000 stats at level 110 (was 2400).
Elemental Overload now does 85% of base damage (was 75%) and its proc rate has been reduced by 17%.
Totem Mastery: Storm Totem bonus reduced to 5% (was 10%).

Warlock

Healthstone now heals 25% of the user’s health at all levels.

Dev comments: Healthstones should be more useful at current endgame health amounts.

Warrior

Fury

Juggernaut damage bonus reduced to 3% per stack (was 5% per stack).
Execute damage increased by 20%.

WoW Patch 7.3 raid: Antorus, the Burning Throne

We very much doubt that the similar naming convention to Azeroth’s icey seat is accidental. This is, as far as we know, the final raid of Legion and the last bastion of the big bads. It’s in Argus’ Antoran Wastes region (more on that down below). Here’s the boss list:

Garothi Worldbreaker
Hounds of Sargeras
War Council
Portal Keeper Hasabel
Eonar, the Lifebinder

According to the dungeon journal, we’ll be protecting rather than directly fighting Eonar.

Imonar the Soulhunter
Kin’garoth
Varimathras
The Coven of Shivarra
Aggramar
Argus the Unmaker

You can tell it’s a big, important raid because a lot of the bosses have servers named after them. What’s been datamined so far from the dungeon journal is available on Wowhead, they’ve also got various maps and loading screens for the area.

Why is there a boss (who looks like a Titan according to datamined models) with the same name as the planet, with a blank dungeon journal? Grab nine friends and find out. There’s also this kill video via one of the Chinese guilds doing heavy testing on the PTR:

They explained what was going on in a Reddit post.

For a better look at the raid, and much of what is seen below, have a check of this Imgur albumfrom Redditor Teir2plus3 or WoWhead’s zone preview. Raid testing has now been announced, starting at the end of Julyand continuing in August. Mythic testing has now also started. Here’s a Twitch archive of the first phase. Remember that the raid won’t be launching at the same time as the patch – likely further down the line and closer to a theoretical patch 7.3.5.

Patch 7.3 Tier 21 Armour Sets

New raid, new armour. Here’s MMOC’s postof what they look like, and you can see the datamined stats below. Just a reminder: these change the most out of almost anything in a patch. Don’t expect them to stay the same for long, and where things are non-specific or blank, it means those numbers or effects have not yet been implemented. They’re also likely to change between the patch going live and the raid going live.

Death KnightDreadwake Armor:

Blood:

2P:When a charge of Bone Shield is consumed, the cooldown of Dancing Rune Weapon is reduced by 3.0 sec.
4P:When Dancing Rune Weapon fades, your Rune regeneration rate is increased by 15% for 10 sec.

Frost:

2P:Obliterate and Howling Blast deal 15% additional damage.
4P:When you deal Frost damage, you have a chance to release a barrage of icy spikes at your target.

Unholy:

2P:Death Coil causes the target to take an additional 25% of the direct damage dealt over 4 seconds.
4P:Death Coil has a 20% chance to deal damage a second time.

Demon HunterFelreaper Vestments:

Havoc:

2P:Eye Beam damage increased by 30%
4P:When Eye Beam finishes fully channeling, your Haste is increased by 15% for 8 sec.

Vengeance:

2P:While Demon Spikes is active, your parry chance is increased by an additional 5%
4P:When you parry an attack, the cooldown of Metamorphosis is reduced by 5 sec. This can only occur once per second.

DruidBearmantle Battlegear:

Balance:

2P:Increase the damage of Solar Wrath by 15% and Lunar Strike by 10%
4P:When you cast Starsurge or Starfall, the damage of your Moonfire and Sunfire spells is increased by 10% for 6 sec.

Feral:

2P:When Rip deals damage, there is a 20% chance for it to deal damage again.
4P:When Rip deals damage, you have a 4% chance to cause your next Ferocious Bite to be free and count as if you spent the maximum amount of Energy.

Guardian:

2P: When Gore is consumed, the cooldown of Barkskin is reduced by 1 second.
4P:When Barkskin fades, all healing done to you is increased by 10% for 20 sec.

Restoration:

2P: Ysera’s Gift now applies Dreamer to the target, healing them for (100% of spell power) over 8 sec.
4P: When you cast Wild Growth, you have a 100% chance to cause Ysera’s Gift to heal a target 400% more frequently for 5 sec.

HunterSerpentstalker Guise:

Beast Mastery:

2P:Kill Command damage increased by 10%
4P:When you use Kill Command, the cooldown ofAspect of the Wild is reduced by 2 sec.

Marksmanship:

2P:Your Focus generating attacks deal 30% more damage and generate 25% more Focus.
4P:Marked Shot has a 15% chance to fire at the target an additional time.

Survival:

2P:Flanking Strike has a 10% chance to increase the critical strike chance of your next Raptor Strike by by 100% and the critical strike damage of Raptor Strike by 50% within the next 20 sec.
4P:Each cast of Mongoose Bite increases the damage of your next Raptor Strike by 10%. Stacks up to 6 times.

MageRunebound Regalia:

Arcane:

2P:Each Arcane Charge you spend increases your damage dealt by 2% for 8 sec.
4P:When you generate an Arcane Charge, you have a 4% chance to increase your haste by 20% for 6 sec.

Fire:

2P:Increases the duration of Combustion by 2 sec.
4P:Combustion also increases your critical strike damage by 50% for 14 sec.

Frost:

2P:Each successive ice bolt of a cast of Flurry deals 25% more damage.
4P: When you consume Brain Freeze, the damage of your next Frostbolt is increased by 75%

MonkChi’Ji’s Battlegear:

Brewmaster:

2P:Breath of Fire has a 100% chance to generate an additional stack of Elusive Brawler for each target hit.
4P:When you dodge an attack, you have a 25% chance to reset the cooldown of Breath of Fire.

Mistweaver:

2P:When Gust of Mists heals a target, they have a chance to gain Tranquil Mist, which heals them for (320% of Spell power) health over 8 sec.
4P: When you cast Renewing Mist, you have a 50% chance to send a bolt of healing Chi at all targets affected by Tranquil Mist, healing them for (50% of Spell power).

Windwalker:

2P:When you gain the Blackout Kick! effect, the damage of your next Blackout Kick is increased by 150%
4P:When you consume Blackout Kick!, you have a 100% chance to generate 1 Chi.

PaladinLight’s Vanguard Battleplate:

Holy:

2P:Flash of Light and Holy Light transfer 40% additional healing to your Beacon of Light target.
4P: Holy Shock has a 30% chance to increase the critical healing of your Flash of Light, Holy Light, and Light of Dawn by 100% for 10 sec.

Protection:

2P:You gain Vindicator’s Shield, increasing your block chance by 10%.
4P: While not affected by Shield of the Righteous, the effect of Vindicator’s Shield is increased by 100%.

Retribution:

2P: Judgment damage increased by 60%.
4P:When you use Judgment, the cost of your next Holy Power spending ability is reduced by 1.

PriestGilded Seraph’s Raiment:

Discipline:

2P:Reduces the recharge time of Power Word: Radiance by 2 sec.
4P:When you cast Power Word: Radiance, the damage of your next Penance is increased by 30%.

Holy:

2P:Prayer of Healing increases the healing done by your next Flash Heal, Binding Heal, or Heal by 30%.
4P: Your Flash Heal, Binding Heal or Heal spells increase the healing amount of your next Prayer of Healing spell by 30%.

Shadow:

2P:Mind Flay and Mind Blast critical strike bonus damage increased by 50%.
4P:Each stack of Void Form increases your critical strike chance by 1%

RogueRegalia of the Dashing Scoundrel:

Assassination:

2P:When you envenom a target, your Deadly and Wound poisons have a 15% increased chance to critically strike the target.
4P:When your Deadly or Wound poisons critically strike the target, you have a chance to gain Energy.

Outlaw:

2P:Extra attacks from Saber Slash increase the damage of your next Run Through by 5%, stacking up to 4 times.
4P: Slice and Dice grants an additional 10% attack speed.Run Through has an 8% chance to grant you a Roll the Bones combat enhancement buff you do not already have for 10 sec.

Subtlety:

2P:Backstab damage increased by 30%.
4P:Nightblade and Eviscerate have a 10% chance to refund 100% of Combo Points spent when used.

ShamanGarb of Venerated Spirits:

Elemental:

2P:Each cast of Lava Burst increases the damage of your next Earth Shock or Earthquake or the damage bonus of your next Icefuryby 10%. Stacks up to 3 times.
4P:Earth Shock has a 30% chance to cause an Elemental Overload.

Enhancement:

2P:Rockbiter causes the target to take 10% increased Fire, Frost and Nature damage from your attacks for 4.5 seconds.
4P: Casting Stormstrike has a 15% chance to increase the damage of your next Rockbiter by 100%.

Restoration:

2P: When you cast Healing Rain, up to 6 allies within its area are immediately healed for (50% of Spell power)
4P:Healing Wave and Healing Surge casts have a 100% chance to heal a player standing in your Healing Rain for 30% of the amount.

WarlockGrim Inquisitor’s Regalia:

Affliction:

2P:When Drain Soul deals damage, there is a 15% chance to increase the duration of Unstable Affliction on the target by 1 sec.
4P:When Corruption deals damage, you have a 2% chance to increase the speed at which Drain Soul deals damage by 100% for 10 sec.

Demonology:

Increases the damage of your Call Dreadstalkers by 25%.
4P: When you cast Demonic Empowerment, your Dreadstalkers will immediately use Dreadbite again at 50% increased damage. This can only occur once per cast of Call Dreadstalkers.

Destruction:

2P:Chaos Bolt increases the critical strike chance of Incinerate on the target by 20% for 8 sec.
4P: Chaos Bolt will deal 10% of its direct damage caused to the target over 4 sec.

WarriorJuggernaut Battlegear:

Arms:

2P:When you use Colossus Smash, your critical damage is increased by 15% for 8 sec.
4P:Mortal Strike increases the damage and critical strike chance of your next Whirlwind or Slam by 15%, stacking up to 3 times.

Fury:

2P:Rampage causes the target to bleed for 30% of the direct damage dealt to the target over 4 sec.
4P:When you activate Battle Cry, the damage of your next Rampage is increased by 150%

Protection:

2P:When you cast Demoralizing Shout, the duration of your next Shield Block is increased by 6 sec.
4P: Blocking an attack increases the value of an existing Ignore Pain effect by (attack power*4). This can only occur once every second.

WoW Patch 7.3 dungeon: Seat of the Triumvirate

Much like 7.2, 7.3 will bring with it a new five-person dungeon. Expect Mythic+ versions to be just as dastardly hard as the Cathedral of Eternal Night, though game director Ion Hazzikostas hopes not quite as tough to get balanced. Here’s the boss list:

Zuraal the Ascended
Saprish
Viceroy Nezhar
L’ura

Wowhead have the dungeon journal entries. Loot is ilevel 825 for normal, 845 for heroic, 865 for Mythic, obviously rising for Mythic+. This matches with new loot rules for dungeons in general coming in the patch.

There’s also a quest as part of the Argus storyline to go in and beat L’ura for her Crest of Knowledge. Naturally, it also has various achievements attached but won’t be necessary for Glory of the Legion Hero, if you’re still working on that.

Here’s a full run-through from Fatboss:

WoW Patch 7.3 Argus zones

There are three new zones on Argus. These are no-fly areas, which you will need to use the new Vindicaar to move about in – a giant ship that grants various combat abilities too, like calling down a beam of holy light dealing damage and stunning all enemies in the area.

A brief descriptor of each of the new zones:

Krokuun, the main surface of the planet. Getting there involves taking a boat from your faction capital to the Exodar, and then flying over there.
Mac’Aree, which looks to be a more civilised area with the ruins of the old Draenei civilisation.
Antoran Wastes, where all the Legion ships are docked. Not a nice place.

There’s new factions too – scroll down for those. Batches of screenshots are available over on Wowhead. Interesting tidbit: spirit healers on Argus are actually Prime Naaru. Your Flight Master’s Whistle also won’t work on Argus until it’s upgradded to summon, um, tunnelers.

IcyVeins have a large playthrough of the first quests on PTR. Wowhead have a breakdown of the second zone, Mac’Aree. There are expected to be new cinematics along with a large number of quests, but what’s there so far is placeholder. They will be datamined on launch day or before.

There will be a lot of new story and NPCs on Argus, naturally. Already revealed through datamining is that Alleria and Turalyon – two characters absent from the lore for a long time – will show up, as was expected. Also present is a Draenei named Yrelka, baring a lot of similarities to fan-favourite Warlords of Draenor character Yrel who Blizzard previously said they weren’t planning on including in Legion. There’s a number of theories about whether it’s an alternate universe version of the character or simply a placeholder.

With new zones come new world bosses. Here’s the list:

Inquisitor Percontatum
Mistress Alluradel
Ovetigo
Sotanathor
Matron Folnuna
Keeper Aedis
Void-Blade Zedaat
Pit Lord Vilemus

And (you guessed it) Wowhead have the transcribed dungeon journal. You get to these through greater invasion points.

Patch 7.3 Vindicaar

To get around – and indeed to – Argus you’ll have the Draenei spaceship the Vindicaar. It has four abilities that are unlocked during your time on Argus, giving you ridiculously powerful outdoor effects to nuke mobs with. They are:

Light’s Judgement – a massively damaging and stunning AOE blast.
Lightforged Warframe – mounts you in a powerful vehicle for 45 seconds, letting you deal crazy damage and leap around the place.
Fel Heart of Argus – Heals you for 10% every 2 seconds not in combat and every 30 minutes automatically resurrects you, stunning all nearby enemies.
Shroud of Arcane Echoes – Stealths you for 10 seconds. Gives you a 100% damage buff for five seconds after leaving.

These all come from story quests, and only one of them can be active at once.

Patch 7.3 factions

Two have been discovered so far, the Army of the Light and the Argussian Reach. Army of the Light seem to be a world quest centric faction that will have their own emissary box. As a side note, the Armies of Legionfall on the Broken Shore will have their own Emissary Cache now as well, in rotation like the others.

Argussian Reach has seven mounts as rewards – six Ruinstriders and one Maddened Chaosrunner. They and Army of the Light get rep through storyline quests as well as world quests.

Army of Light reputation vendor

Friendly:

Lightspawn Glyph recipe.
Mass Prospect Empyrium design.

Honored:

Embroidered Lightforged Drape cloak transmog.

Revered:

Boon of the Lightbearer – Shoulder Enchant that lets you loot Primal Sargerite.
Various rank 2 recipes for new Argus progression items.

Exalted:

Lightforged Augment Rune – a permanent version of the defiled augment rune.
Faction tabard.
Lightforged Warframe mount (costs 500,000g so, y’know, save up)

Paragon Gleaming Footlocker:

Various Elekk mounts
A Holy Lightsphere mount that lets you throw glowing orbs around.

Argussian Reach reputation vendor

Friendly:

Formula to turn Chaos Crystals into Leylight Shards
Technique to mill Argus herbs

Honored:

A crystal campfire toy.
The faster mining pick mentioned below.
Two battle pets, the Orphaned Marsuul and Rebellious Imp

Revered:

Boon of the Steadfast – Shoulder Enchant that lets you loot Veiled Argunite, a new currency for purchasing ilevel 910 gear.
The rank 2 Astral Alchemist Stone recipe
An item to upgrade your flight master’s whistle to work on Argus (where you can’t fly)

Exalted:

A set of new Talbuk mounts.
A faction tabard
Various rank 3 recipes for alchemists.

Paragon:

Unknown, but there is another special Talbuk mount that hasn’t yet had its location datamined.

Patch 7.3 Invasion Points

As revealed in an interview with game director Ion Hazzikostas, Invasion Points are new events that will be accessible from Argus. They’ll teleport you to other worlds the Legion is invading where you can clear them out and help the locals. This will work through a system of riftstones, which have been datamined as letting you access “lesser” and “greater” rifts – exactly what the difference is we don’t yet know.

However, the types of Rift are available and have been playable on the PTR. Each comes with three variations on what you have to do and how you’ll be affected while inside. Being alien worlds, it can get a little weird. We’ll expand this section as more are played and summarised:

Blood

A world where the water is blood, for some reason. The Legion is attempting to drain the blood because, er, well, they don’t want it to be there.
Variants:

A Legion Command ship attacks the planet from orbit, dealing massive damage if you stand in the fire zone. Enemies can alert the command ship to attack you.
All enemies are buffed with Coalesced Power, putting stacking shadow DOTs on any target they attack.
If neither buff or a command ship are present, Deep Terrors (tentacle beasts) will attack from underground periodically. They’ll even attack other enemies.

Fire
Forest
Ice

Awful chilly, y’know? Constantly frozen over and full of Legion Braziers to keep them and you warm. They heal and remove debuffs.
Variants:

A debuff called Flash Freeze is applied every so often, reducing move speed. If you’re not next to a brazier when it expires, you’re frozen.
Buffeting Winds knock you and enemies back, dealing massive damage.
You constantly lose HP while not near a Brazier.

Islands
Marsh

Various videos of the invasion points, which don’t take particularly long and are played with up to three allies, are available on Icy-Veins. Blizzard also have an official preview.

Interestingly, this also has some fairly heavy lore implications when it comes to future expansions. Blizzard have effectively given us access to a vast amount of the cosmos now, where any expansion could theoretically be set. It’s even possible that this system could be the basis of an expansion itself, with crisis points throughout the cosmos forming different zones. Quite exciting.

Whispers of the Frightened World

This is a single-player scenario that went live some time before 7.3, and leads into the storyline of the patch itself – heading to Argus, taking out Sargeras, etc.

In a similar manner to the pre-Legion patch, Doomsayers have popped up all across Dalaran to explain why, actually, Argus is full of good guys, or isn’t real at all, or there are emerald dawns ready to consume us forever. Quite confusing. They’re probably wrong, anyway.

WoW Patch 7.3 Netherlight Crucible

The Netherlight Crucible is a new feature promised to continue the artifact progression track via relic slot customisation. It’s unlocked by finishing Argus’ main storyline.

What it allows you to do is customise and improve the relic slots in your artifact, but is partially governed by which relic is currently in that slot. This comes in three tiers and, before you dive in, it might be a little simpler to just read Blizzard’s preview. The exact effect numbers below are also non-final, but the unlock numbers are accurate.

Tier 1

This allows you to increase the item level of your artifact weapon

Tier 2 unlocks at Artifact level (not item level) 60, 63 and 66.

Here you are given two options, one Holy and one Shadow. Currently this seems to be pure RNG, but here are the options you get to select from:
Shadow

Chaotic Darkness: Your spells and abilities have a chance to deal 60,000 to 300,000 Shadow damage and heal you for 60,000 to 300,000.
Dark Sorrows: Your spells and abilities have a chance to afflict the target with Sorrow, causing it to burst after 8 sec, dealing 133,100 Shadow damage. 1 proc per minute (roughly)
Master of Shadows: Mastery increased by 1,000. Avoidance increased by 1,000.
Murderous Intent: Your Versatility is increased by 2,500 while Concordance of the Legionfall is active.
Shadowbind: Your spells and abilities have a chance to deal 166,000 Shadow damage and heal you for 166,000. 2 procs per minute (roughly).
Torment the Weak: Your spells and abilities have a chance to cause Torment, dealing 99,000 Shadow damage over 15 sec. This effect stacks up to 3 times. 4 procs per minute (roughly).

Holy

Infusion of Light: Your harmful spells and abilities have the chance to deal 116,000 additional Holy damage. Your helpful spells and abilities have a chance to heal for 116,000. 4 procs per minute (roughly)
Light’s Embrace: When you take damage, you have a chance to generate Light’s Embrace, stacking up to 5 times. Light’s Embrace heals for 29,000 damage over 6 sec. 8 procs per minute (roughly)
Light Speed: Haste increased by 650. Movement speed increased by 650.
Refractive Shell: Your spells and abilities have the chance to cause Refractive Shell, absorbing 200,000 damage. Lasts 10 sec. 2 procs per minute (roughly)
Shocklight: While Concordance of the Legionfall is active, your critical strike is increased by 2,500.
Secure in the Light: Your harmful spells and abilities have the chance to deal 155,000 additional damage and grant you Holy Bulwark, absorbing up to 77,500 damage over 8 sec. 3 procs per minute (roughly)

Tier 3 unlocks at artifact level 69, 72 and 75

Here there are three options, though as the tree is laid out like a pyramid, you can only take the middle one or the one that is on the side that you chose from Holy/Shadow. All three are extra ranks in the bronze artifact talents available, and again are decided by RNG.

As confirmed in the first livestream, this RNG is deliberate, if an unfortunate side effect of the way Relics are coded. Do see our interview above for more thoughts from game director Ion Hazzikostas about RNG. Blizzard say that some selection is better than none, and given you have one ability already on the relic and can pick from three, you have a good chance of hitting what you want.

What we’re also getting is more Artifact Knowledge levels, which will now be automatically granted once a week after the patch launches. All characters will be automatically moved to AK 41 on day one too, along with any that hit level 110 once the patch is live. Here’s the new ranks and their AP modifiers:

41 – 16,000,000%
42 -20,800,000%
43 – 27,040,000%
44 – 35,150,000%
45 – 45,700,000%
46 – 59,400,000%
47 – 77,250,000%
48 -100,400,000%
49 -130,500,000%
50 -169,650,000%
51 -220,550,000%
52 -286,750,000%
53 -372,750,000%
54 -484,600,000%
55 -630,000,000%

Class hall upgrade costs are also being changed:

The Tier 3 Class Hall research bonus now costs 1,000 Order Resources (was 2,000).
The Tier 4 Class Hall research bonus now costs 2,500 Order Resources (was 4,000).
The Tier 5 Class Hall research bonus now costs 5,000 Order Resources (was 8,000).
All research durations for changing a bonus have been reduced 1 day (was 3 days).
The cost to change the Tier 7 research bonus has been increased to 5,000 Order Resources (was 2,000).

WoW Patch 7.3 legendaries

While we’re talking artifacts, relics and other Legion-specific power upgrades, let’s think legendaries. Just the one on the way:

All classes

Insignia of the Grand Army – Stamina / Crit / Haste / Mastery Ring, with socket -Increase the effects of Light and Shadow powers granted by the Netherlight Crucible by 50%.

It’s acquired from the initial quest to defeat the new raid – obviously, this is completable on any difficulty.

WoW Patch 7.3 time-gating

Blizzard have been learning the limits and uses of time-gating through Legion, and 7.3 is a little less intense than previous examples. Here’s how it will work:

Argus is split into five chapters, with the first two unlocking the day the patch goes live.

This unlocks world quests in two zones, along with other content in those areas, with plenty of story stuff too.

Week two has the rest of the world content including a third zone.

This includes the Invasion Points and the rest of the world quests.

Week three is a quick step to unlock the Netherlight Crucible and the dungeon, Seat of the Triumvirate.

More world quests and invasion points are also included at this stage.
Remember that the raid will not unlock as part of this patch.

This was laid out in a blue post talking about the test periods too.

Of note, those final two elements are tied to account rather than character, meaning alts won’t have to do it all again. Other time-gating from previous patches is also being removed – new 110s won’t have to go through any quests to get their third relic slot or an empowered artifact.

WoW Patch 7.3 new spell animations

One of the major cosmetic changes coming in this patch is a huge overhaul of caster animations for a number of classes. Druids, Mages, and Priests are all getting touched up after melee classes got much more exciting with the initial launch of Legion. Blizzard put up a post all about this.

WoW Patch 7.3 professions

Huge changes across the board here, from alchemy to tailoring and back again. There’s also a new form of Primal Obliterum to upgrade your bits even further, created by combining Obliterum with Primal Sargerite, a new resource on Argus. Primal Sargerite is also used to craft all the new armours.

Patch 7.3 Alchemy

Astral Alchemist Stone – new!

A new trinket which is made out of the Infernal Alchemist Stone and is a strictly better version. Stats:
+1,036 Versatility
Equip: When you heal or deal damage you have a chance to increase your Strength, Agility, or Intellect by 5477 for 15 sec. Your highest stat is always chosen.
Equip: Increases the effect that healing and mana potions have on the wearer by 40%. This effect does not stack.

Lightblood Elixer – new!

Use: Increases damage by 100000 against demons. Only usable outdoors on Argus and the Broken Isles. Lasts 30 min. (3 Sec Cooldown)

Tears of the Naaru– new!

Use: Shows the location of all nearby demons on the minimap for 30 min. (3 Sec Cooldown)

Can now transmute Blood of Sargeras into Primal Sargerite

Patch 7.3 Blacksmithing

Felslate Anchor –new!

Use: Attach an anchor to your legs which sends you plummeting towards the ocean floor. Only usable in water. (30 Sec Cooldown)

New Empyrial Smithing is used as a catch-up mechanic for skill levels, and there’s a new Breastplate item to make (no specifc stats yet).

Patch 7.3 Enchanting

Can now break down Chaos Crystals into two Leylight Shards

Patch 7.3 Engineering

Gravitational Reduction Slippers –new!

Use: Affix the Gravitational Reduction Slippers to your current footwear allowing you to jump higher and fall farther.

A new wormhole generator to Argus, dropping you in a random location on the planet.

Patch 7.3 Leatherworking

Fiendish ShoulderguardsandSpaulders–new!

Shoulderguards are leather, spaulders are mail.

Also have a new quest item they can craft, likely related to crafting the above.

Patch 7.3 Herbalism

Can pick new herb Astral Glory. Improvements to harvesting it provide a HOT or rare materials, but you start out unable to pick it properly, much like the herbs in Suramar.

Patch 7.3 Inscription

Can mill the new herb in multiples.
Various glyphs that affect the appearences of:

Priest’s Shadowfiend
Priest’s Penance
Paladin’s Divine Steed

Patch 7.3 Jewelcrafting

Four new gems which provide 250 primary stat plus one secondary stat:

Deadly Deep Chemirine – crit.
Masterful Argulite – mastery.
Quick Lightsphene – haste.
Versatile Labradorite– versatility.

And four new headpieces:

Empyrial Crown of the Cosmos – cloth.
Empyrial Crown of the Depths – leather.
Empyrial Crown of the Elements – mail.
Empyrial Crown of the Titans – plate.

Patch 7.3 Mining

Can mine the new ore, Empyrium.
A new pick, acquired on Argus, allows for faster mining in Legion content.

Patch 7.3 Skinning

Can gather the new skin, Findish Leather.

Patch 7.3 Tailoring

Lightweave Breeches –new!

Cloth legs.

Patch 7.3 Cooking

Feast of the Fishes –new!

Well fed buff provides “all the powers of a fish.”

A new system of Recipe Scraps will also allow you to guarantee recipe discoveries.

Patch 7.3 Fishing

A Fishing Artifact Appearence called Underlight Emerald will be rewarded from maxing out reputation with all the Broken Isles fisherman factions.
Two new toys have also been added, from gaining friendly reputations with various fishermen:

Corbyn’s Beacon:Use on another player to search their pockets for shiny baubles. (20 Min Cooldown)
Trawler Totem:Summon a Trawler Totem, granting 10 Fishing skill to all nearby players for 2 min. (5 Min Cooldown)

An Argus-based fishing line will add six to fishing skill when appied to your fishing pole.

WoW Patch 7.3 mounts

Some of these are more than a little spooky, especially the Ur’zul fellow. Here’s the mount page of each:

The Ruinstrider and Mana Ray both have multiple colourations, as they come from vendors. The Shackled Ur’zul is confirmed as the drop from the final boss of the new raid. The Lightforged Warframe is particularly sexy, from getting Exalted with the new Army of the Light faction:

Wowhead also have videos for several other mounts, including one showing the Vile Fiend is rather larger than you may have thought.

It is also currently assumed, based on the drop location, that Lucid Nightmare will be another Riddler’s Mind Worm / Long-Forgotten Hippogryph style secret-search.

Exploring Argus will also give you a buff to mount speed on the planet. It is still currently a no-fly zone.

WoW Patch 7.3 followers

A batch of new follower items are being added in patch 7.3, including a load of legendaries. Here’s the list:

Legendaries:

Azurelight Candelabra: Increases success chance by 60% on missions shorter than 16 hours. Increases success chance of missions with Minions by 60%.
Censorite Staff: Increases success chance by 60% on missions shorter than 16 hours. Increases success chance of missions with Spells by 60%.
Darklost Claw: Increases mission success chance by 45%. Increases success chance of missions with Hazards by 60%.
Fel-Infused Effigy: Increases mission success chance by 45%. Increases success chance of missions with Spells by 60%.
Praetorium Tome: Increases mission success chance by 45%. Reduces mission duration by 25%.
Stygian Scroll: Increases success chance on missions longer than 16 hours by 60%. Increases success chance of missions with Minions by 60%.
Wrathguard Skull: Increases success chance on missions longer than 16 hours by 60%. Increases success chance of missions with Hazards by 60%.

Other:

Exalted Xenedar Hammer: Increases success chance on missions longer than 16 hours by 60%.
Impervious Shadowweave Hood: Increases success chance of missions with Spells by 60%.
Krokul Sledgehammer: Increases mission success chance by 30%.
Lightburst Charge: Increases success chance of missions with Minions by 60%.
Memento of the Lightforged: Increases mission success chance by 45%.
Pit Lord Tusk: Increases success chance of missions with Hazards by 60%.
Sanctified Armaments of the Light: Increases success chance by 60% on missions shorter than 16 hours.
Satchel of Lucidity: Reduces mission duration by 20%.
Viscid Demon Blood: Increases success chance on missions longer than 16 hours by 50%.
Void-Touched Blossom: Increases success chance by 50% on missions shorter than 16 hours.
Writ of Holy Orders: Reduces mission duration by 25%.
A set of catch-up items:

Krokul Armor Set: Set a Champion’s item level to 900.
Mac’Aree Armor Set: Set a Champion’s item level to 925.
Xenedar Armor Set: Set a Champion’s item level to 950.

Many of the legendary items are awarded via quests for hitting various milestones – getting followers to certain ilevels, completing specific missions, etc.

Also attained through weekly quests are new troop types. They all counter the new Argus elite missions, as well as having individual special abilties:

Lightforged Bulwark have Forged in Light, increasing success chance against minions by 100%.
Void-Purged Krokul have Touched by Void, increasing success chance against spells by 100%.
Krokul Ridgestalker have Survival Instinct, increasing success chance against hazards by 100%.

On the missions side, there is a set of new ones that cost 2,500 order resources to go on, giving you something to do with your stockpiles. They grant 10k XP for followers, too. They are:

Darkfall Ridge Supplies – Chieftain Hatuun has requested that you recover supplies hidden in Darkfall Ridge. In return, Krokul Ridgestalkers will help your forces navigate Argus’ desolate landscape.
Gambit in the Wake – High Exarch Turalyon has requested your assistance for an audacious assault against the Legion war machine.
Inches From Madness – Alleria has asked you to search the Ruins of Oranaar for any Krokul not yet consumed by the Shadow.
Nath’raxas Breakout – The Krokul wish to rescue their brethren from Nath’raxas Hold before they are turned by the Fel. Should you succeed, the Legion’s influence in this region will diminish.
Shadowguard Dispersion – Wresting Argus from the Legion’s control will be for naught if the Void prevails. Expel the Shadowguard from Mac’Aree.

WoW Patch 7.3 Battle Pets

As with almost every new patch, the Battle Pet system is getting some love in 7.3. Here’s what’s been found so far:

New Trainer: Environeer Bert

Found in Gnomeregan with a set of mechanical pets for you to face, he’ll reward a Leprous Sack of Pet Supplies.
This sack can rarely include a new battle pet, the Mini Spider Tank

Summon Random Pet Button

This is, as it sounds, similar to the random mount button, only with pets. Select a few and the game will pick from them whenever this is pressed. This has existed for a while behind the scenes and could be triggered with console commands, but this is the first time it has had a UI element.

New pets:

Three new pets have been datamined.
Model D1-BB-L3R

Dibbler, the Spider Tank mentioned above.
Abilities:

Wind-Up (Level 1)
Drill Charge (Level 2)
Explode (Level 4)
Toxic Smoke (Level 10)
Storm Coil (Level 15)
Clamp (Level 20)

Ghost Shark

Dropping in an unknown location thus far, this pet has the following description: “Queen Azshara’s curse over the denizens of Azsuna did not only affect the night elves. This shark is doomed to an eternity of bottomless hunger.”

Naxxy

A miniature version of Naxxramas itself, ready to spew goo over enemies. It’ll cost you 150 Tricky Treats during the Hallow’s End event this year. It can also be traded, so you could just raid the AH for it.
“It’s just constantly barfing plague fluid. Where does it come from? Where does it go?”
Abilities:

Plague Breath (Level 1)
Sticky Web (Level 2)
Leech Life (Level 4)
Death Coil (Level 10)
Frost Nova (Level 15)
Drain Blood (Level 20)

In addition, Raiding With Leashes V: Cuteaclysm has been added, challenging you to collect various pets from Cataclysm raids. It rewards the Amalgam of Destruction. There are also various achievements for defeating corrupted pets on Argus.

WoW Patch 7.3 story

This is looking like a very story-heavy patch, given we’re heading to the Legion’s breeding ground and dealing with some of the most central villains in WoW’s mythology. While details are leaking very slowly – not least because this is the stuff Blizzard really like to keep underwraps even from dataminers – we do know some things.

Various models tell us we’ll be seeing the past of Argus, when Sargeras first arrived and corrupted Archimonde and others into the Eredar. You can see them in this imgur folder. There’s also evidence of a Sargeras Pantheon model, which presumably will be used under a similar circumstance, plus a Young Sargeras.

The datamined broadcast text from the raid also contains various massive spoilers for the probable end of the expansion’s storyline –read at your own risk. Alternatively, listenor have a look at Wowhead’s rundown of 7.3 cinematics.

WoW Patch 7.3 transmog

Naturally, there will be a huge batch of new armours to play dress-up with in 7.3. However, bigger news is two significant changes to the wardrobe function that allows you to preview your look. As shown in this Imgur album, there’s new class-specific backgrounds.

However, more interesting is the ability to change the size of the window within the basic UI. This is a much-requested feature as particularly large races – think Tauren – couldn’t see themselves properly.

As far as items go, the weapon of Aggramar, Taeshalach, and that of Argus, Scythe of the Unmaker, will be available as transmog options. They will drop from their bosses in the same manner the Maiden of Vigilance in Tomb of Sargeras dropped her hammer. A large number of Draenei-themed items were also added and can be seen in Wowhead’s gallery.

There’s also the Weapons of the Lightforged, awarded from defeating all the rare events on Argus:

WoW Patch 7.3 catch-up

As you’d expect, there are new catch-up mecahnics in 7.3. Along with the purchasable 910 ilevel gear (for a new currency looted on Argus) and everyone’s AK being set to 40, you’ll also get a new item called the Cube of Discovery. This will allow characters under level 110 to acquire artifact power items when looting.

That’s all we’ve found out about patch 7.3 so far. Expect much more as the patch develops on the PTR and more information is datamined. Wowhead and MMO-Champion will bring you the minutiae if you’re after more, and Blizzard have official patch notes.