WoW Shadowlands patch 9.2.5: Potential release date & cross-faction instances

WoW will make history with Shadowlands patch 9.2.5; adding cross-faction instances and other changes. Here's the full patch notes.

• Posted on 12th May, 2022 10:30 AM
• 1427 Views

World of Warcraft Shadowlands’ highly anticipated patch 9.2.5 is set to make WoW history with its cross-faction instances and all-new Blood Elf and Dark Iron Dwarf quests. Here’s everything you need to know about the update; from its potential release date to all of the changes we can expect to see.

New mount and weapon appearances are available for both races, with Blood Elf Paladins also getting a new armor set.

Blood Elves rejoice! We have a new quest to sink our teeth into.

WoW Shadowlands patch 9.2.5: Full notes

Below are the PTR patch notes for WoW Shadowlands’ 9.2.5 update courtesy of Blizzard. Be aware that these may be subject to change as testing continues, but don’t worry, we’ll keep this page up to date!

ACHIEVEMENTS

• All Covenant Sanctum feature achievements are now visible and count towards your character’s total achievement points, regardless of which covenant your character currently belongs to. Nonetheless, all characters must belong to a Covenant to earn that Covenant’s specific achievements.

CHARACTERS

• Blood Elves can start a quest to earn a new mount, weapon appearance, and the Blood Knight armor set for Blood Elf Paladins by speaking to Liadrin in Oribos. Requirements: Level 60 and Exalted with Silvermoon.
• Dark Iron Dwarves can start a quest to earn a new mount and weapon appearances by speaking to Anvil-Thane Thurgaden in Shadowforge City, Blackrock Depths (accessed via Mole Machine). Requirements: Level 50.

CROSS-FACTION INSTANCES

• Players are now able to directly invite members of the opposite faction to a party if you have a BattleTag or Real ID friendship, or if you are members of a cross-faction WoW Community.
• Premade Groups in the Group Finder listings for Mythic dungeons, raids, or rated arena/RBGs are now open to applicants of both factions, though the group leader may choose to restrict the listing to same-faction applicants if they so choose.
• WoW Communities now have the option to be cross-faction, while Guilds will remain single-faction.
• Random matchmade activities like Heroic dungeons, Skirmishes, or Random Battlegrounds will all remain same-faction. [LEARN MORE 159]
• The following instances are not cross-faction:
  • Trial of the Champion
  • Trial of the Crusader
  • Vault of Archavon
  • Icecrown Citadel
  • Baradin Hold
  • Siege of Boralus
  • Battle of Dazar’alor
  • Darkmaul Citadel (Exile’s Reach dungeon)

ITEMS AND REWARDS

• Broker Mark of Distinction now increases the Renown of your currently active Covenant to 60 (was 40).
• Renown catch-up is accelerated through Renown 60 (was 48).
• These activities will now have a 100% chance to reward 1 Renown upon completion:
  • Mythic and Mythic+ dungeons
  • Torghast Layers 9-16
  • Defeating a Shadowlands raid boss encounter
  • Winning a Rated Battleground
• Reward boxes from Callings now contain twice as many Grateful Offerings, still scaling with your covenant sanctum’s Anima Conductor level.
• The Zereth Mortis weekly quest “Patterns Within Patterns” now awards Grateful Offerings.

PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

• The Enigma Arena has returned to the PTR with a new name: Enigma Crucible.
  • Developers’ note: Our intention was to release this map with a unique mechanic, a central button that allowed players to manipulate the pillar configuration throughout the match. Unfortunately, we encountered challenges during implementation that would have resulted in a poor quality experience. While we continue to work on this arena’s unique mechanic and evaluate it for a future release, we’ve decided to go forward with a version of the Arena that has a single pillar configuration that remains locked throughout the match.
• PvP Talents
  • Developers’ note: In 9.2.5 we’re planning adjustments to a few PvP talents for specs that could benefit from mechanical changes, beyond the scope of our standard balancing (which will continue separately, as needed). Since these will be limited and the changes are aimed at addressing specific concerns, feedback on your experiences with these classes and effects during 9.2.5 will be valuable for informing future development.
  • Death Knight
    • Anti-Magic Zone’s spell damage reduction increased to 50% (was 20%) in PvP combat.
    • Dome of Ancient Shadow (PvP Talent) has been removed.
  • Warlock
    • Demonic Embrace now increases your Stamina by 20% (was 10%) in PvP combat.
    • Demon Armor (PvP Talent) has been removed.
    • Affliction
      • New PvP Talent: Shadowfall – Gain the Nightfall talent with 100% increased chance to gain its effect. If you already have this talent, you may select another in the same row.

SHADOWLANDS SEASON 4

• Mythic+ Season 4 is currently mid-development and Mythic Keystones may behave strangely or not function at all until this work is complete. We’ll provide more details once Mythic+ Season 4 is ready for testing.

USER INTERFACE AND ACCESSIBILITY

• All search filter dropdowns now have a button that lets you easily remove all active filters.
• The default hand cursor now has new, higher resolution art for its larger sizes under Interface Options > Accessibility.
• The Report Player pane has been redesigned, with new categories added. (Available in a later PTR build)