World of Warcraft's 8.2 update, named Rise of Azshara, arrives on June 25, Blizzard announced today alongside a new trailer (above). For those frustrated by Battle for Azeroth's wonky Heart of Azeroth and Azerite Armor progression systems, Rise of Azshara should be a welcome update, as it introduces massive reworks that aim to make grinding for better gear a much more enjoyable process. And that's without even mentioning that Rise of Azshara will also introduce two gorgeous new zones, a new mega-dungeon, and, eventually, a new raid.
Wowhead has a great breakdown of everything coming, but this is Battle for Azeroth's second major update, and that means loads of exciting new things to discover. In addition to the two, distinct zones of Nazjatar and Mechagon that will be full of quests that push the main story forward, Rise of Azshara also adds flying for those who complete a long series of achievements, new equipment and armor—including stuff for your mounts so they can walk on water—and Heroic-difficulty Warfronts. Oh, and two new Island Expeditions too.
And then, on July 9, Season 3 begins with the Azshara's Eternal Palace raid, a new Mythic+ affix, and a reset of the PVP ranking system (but with new rewards to earn too).
It's a lot of exciting stuff, and even if patch 8.2 doesn't end up fixing everything that players don't like about Battle for Azeroth, it's always exciting to get some new areas to explore.
Rise of Azshara launches on June 25.
