World of Warcraft Column: Waiting for Draenor

First, Here is what we know about the release of Warlords: When the pre-orders went live for the Warlords of Draenor expansion it was the first confirmation that the expansion would release sometime in the fall. For just about every WoW player this news was a giant bummer. Most of us were assuming we d have a summer release of the next expansion but unfortunately that Doesnot seem to be the case. However, there is one thing we need to be mindful of: It has been confirmed that in the weeks leading up to the expansion there will be some sort of in-game launch event so this means we could be seeing new content as soon as September, if not earlier. Now, on to five things you can do in WoW to prepare and bide time until the expansion hits. advertisement 1. Challenge Mode Dungeons The Challenge Mode dungeons are a good way to spend your time waiting for Warlords. The Challenge Mode Dungeons will test your skills and allow you to earn awesome transmog gear for your characters. The Challenge Mode is essentially a race to complete specific heroic dungeons as fast as possible attempting to earn bronze, silver and gold medals. In this mode, all gear is equalized to ilvl 463 so your gear can not carry you. If you are able to collect a gold medal in each dungeon, you well be able to acquire awesome looking gear with unique spell effects. you well want to be sure you complete these challenges as they will no longer be available once the expansion hits! 2. Pet Battles The pet battle system is practically a game of its own and if you havenot spent much time with it, give it a shot. Even if you do not want to battle, you can still try the collecting aspect by finding them in the wild or as drops from older bosses - it is a fun reward for delving back into older content. This applies for any mounts that drop from bosses as well. If you are into battling with your pets, the Celestial Tournament on the Timeless Isle is a great way to test your abilities and also acquire the four exclusive celestial pets. In order to participate in the tournament, you well need 15 max-level pets. If you are just starting out this may seem daunting but do not forget that with a few high level pets you can find higher level pets in the world, capture them and only need to level them a few levels before they hit the max-level of 25. 3. Toy and Heirloom Collecting For all the players who suffer from lack of inventory space due to a massive collection of toys, vanity items and heirloom gear, here is some good news: in Warlords there will be a new toy and heirloom item management system. Soon all these items will become account bound and accessible from any of your characters and the best part is these items will no longer consume our precious inventory slots. Instead, they will be accessed from their own type of inventory that resembles a players spell and ability book. Here is what the Heirloom inventory looked like when it was shown at BlizzCon: 4. Finish Legendary Questline Mists of Pandaria introduced an expansion-long Legendary quest chain in which players will ultimately earn a Legendary cloak specific to their class among many other rewards along the way. Buy cheap wow gold. The Black Prince puts you on this lengthy journey when you hit level 90 that sends you into dungeons, scenarios, raids and some battlegrounds. Not only does the cloak look cool but it well also give you an edge when leveling in Warlords. If that is not enough of a reason to set out on this quest then perhaps the storyline will be enough to nudge you out the door. There seem to be many discussions about what story hooks have been planted and where they will lead as we move into the next “era” of World of Warcraft. 5. Brawlers Guild I love spent a ton of time in the Brawlers Guild and really hope we see this type of feature in the next expansion. The Brawlers Guild is where players attempt to rank up within the guild by taking on increasingly more difficult solo PvE encounters. By climbing high enough you well be able to earn a variety of vanity items, titles and an exclusive mount. Many players have dipped their toes into this feature but I really implore you to take on the challenge and really see how well you can do. it is also a great way to meet new players as you spectate and cheer on strangers. How do you plan on spending your time in WoW before Warlords of Draenor releases? Let us know in the comments below! Follow me on Twitter @rezalackey This week is throwback item: Guise of the Devourer Heartstone card of the week: Dread Corsair Further Warcraft reading: BlizzCon 2014, Warlords Release & More The Best Tank Classes in WoW Reza Lackey / Reza is a giant nerd who loves video games, board games, film and way too many other things. Works in the film industry, on some startups and thinks science is cool. Also launches rockets.