Blizzard’s long-running MMO is back for its next new era. World of Warcraft: Midnight isn’t just another brick in a twenty-two year old wall, but the second chapter in the ambitious Worldsoul Saga and an introduction to some of the most requested systems in the game’s history. From fully realised player housing to sweeping combat accessibility changes, Midnight is set to deliver WoW’s most transformative update for years. Whether you’re a lapsed veteran wondering if now is the time to dive back in, or a current player deciding if the pre-order is worth it, here are fifteen essential things to know before buying World of Warcraft: Midnight.
11th Expansion Overall, and 2nd in the Worldsoul Saga
Midnight marks the eleventh full expansion for World of Warcraft, and the second instalment in the game’s multi-chapter Worldsoul Saga. Following 2024’s The War Within, World of Warcraft: Midnight continues the narrative threads established in the saga’s first episode, moving the story out of the subterranean depths toward a gripping encounter with the Void and the eventual trilogy-spanning climax. If you’re invested in Worldsoul’s lore, Midnight is a crucial middle entry.
Story is Driven by the Void’s Assault on Quel’Thalas
Narratively, Midnight centres on a Void-led invasion of the elven kingdom Quel’Thalas. With Voidstorm striking Eversong Woods, the blood elves’ homeland, Xal’atath, the Harbinger, unleashes chaos as she moves to extinguish all light. Visiting these settings again gives Blizzard space to reimagine Warcraft’s most visually iconic regions, as players unite the forces of Light to protect the Sunwell. Midnight is primed to deliver a high-stakes narrative, where conflict ties directly to the cosmic forces that are increasingly defining modern WoW storytelling.
New and Revamped Zones, Including a Reimagined Eversong Woods
As with any Warcraft expansion, fresh zones form the backbone for exploration and progression. Midnight comes with three new regions – the Alpine Zul’Aman, home of the Amani trolls; Harandar, the bioluminescent jungle homeland of new allied race the Haranir – more on them later – and the all-consuming Voidstorm, the harrowed place you’ll take the fight directly to Xal’atath. But, it isn’t just new territory; Midnight rebuilds the familiar too. Eversong Woods is expanded, combining with Ghostlands, with a shiny new hub at its centre: Silvermoon City.
Player Housing Arrives
Player housing is now, finally, a core World of Warcraft feature, with this Midnight addition redefining the MMO’s long-term progression and social interaction. And the good news: everyone can have a house. No exorbitant requirements, no downpayments, lotteries, in-game mortgage or financial upkeep, just a home shared between your Warband. Yes, all your characters, no matter their allegiance, are welcome. What’s more, decor rewards are shared between them, meaning furnishing earned by one character can be given to another.
Deep Housing Customisation Through Decor and Floorplans
Proving that housing is more than just a side system, Blizzard is providing a suite of design and customisation tools for your home. Building the interior in Basic or Advanced mode, a variety of home decor and dye select items can be resized and placed anywhere you see fit. And, property exteriors can be modelled from four initial templates: Blood Elf, Night Elf, Orc, and Human, with different windows, facades, towers, and more giving you deep customisations that truly reflect your own unique style and Azerothian achievements.
Neighbourhoods Create Shared Communal Spaces
Your home will be based in one of two neighbourhood zones: Founder’s Point, for the Alliance, or the Horde’s Razorwind Shores. Each residential area covers fifty plots of equal size, with some spots dotted on the perimeter, and others nestled together in tight cul-de-sacs; the idea being to choose the plot which fits your desired aesthetic and interaction potential. Residing in close-knit communities seems to be Blizzard’s intent, with monthly, neighbourhood-wide Endeavours setting communal tasks which reward themed decorations for the entire community when completed.
New Alliance Race: The Haranir
Playing through Midnight’s campaign brings you into the company of a new race, the Haranir. While first met in previous expansion The War Within, only now does the story of these reclusive rootway guardians take the main stage, where their trust needs to be earned through quest progression. Available to both Allied and Horde, this ancient race – adorned with bioluminescent paint and showing a deep reverence for nature – brings a suite of unique customisations and character designs, embedding them thoroughly in World of Warcraft’s ever-expanding lore.
New Demon Hunter Specialisation: Devourer
The Demon Hunter’s class design is evolving in Midnight with its third iteration: Devourer, a new spec which utilises Void magic to deal damage. With distinct mechanics that hinge on your individual specialisation and Hero Talents, the Devourer – with its own Eye Beam-alike special attack Void Ray – is a mid-range operator with agile mobility and a devastating set of melee and combo chains.
A Suite of Fresh PvE Content
Rounding out Midnight’s fresh content is eight new dungeons to conquer, each with distinct environments and storylines; nine bosses split across three new raids, and twelve solo-focused missions. The breadth Blizzard are weaving into Midnight suggests they’re prioritising varied progression paths, catering to soloists, groups, and hardcore raiders alike. Elsewhere, ten new Delves, with new layouts, new enemies, and a debut NPC companion, bring renewed challenge.
Combat Possibly WoW’s Most Accessible Yet
Midnight is set to streamline the game for all skill levels, making World of Warcraft’s combat system more accessible for every player archetype. Class specialisations are being revamped, reducing their complexity by making buffs and rebuffs easier to track and introducing more visible prompts in the interface. Blizzard are also committing to reviewing the “cognitive load” when playing as each spec, all while reducing addon reliance to make the path to mastering any specialisation more intuitive, whether you’re a newcomer, returnee, or veteran.
New Opt-In Hunting System: Prey
Yes, there is a new hunting system that lets you pursue powerful targets across Midnight’s zones. When opted in to Prey, and with a target locked-in, you can travel as normal. Just ensure you’re alert; your target can appear at unpredictable times – during exploration, activity, or perhaps they’ll spot you first. With three difficulties to master, Prey-specific mechanics, and a variety of cosmetic rewards, this new hunting system is set to bring new meaning to Wow’s structure.
PvP Expands With New Battlegrounds and Training
Midnight is bringing Slayer’s Rise, a forty-on-forty, Horde versus Alliance battle set within the Voidstorm, with Blizzard confirming the new battleground takes inspiration from the epic, large-scale battlegrounds of Alterac Valley and Isle of the Conquest. Further, if you keep War Mode turned on you’ll be able to engage in further World PvP objectives throughout the Voidstorm. And, in keeping with Midnight’s renewed focus on approachability, the expansion ships with all-new Training Grounds, giving a process for novices to reach competitiveness.
Release Date and Pre-Order Rollout
World of Warcraft: Midnight releases globally on 2nd March at 11pm GMT. There are three digital editions, which we’ll get into next; if you’ve purchased any edition already then you’ll already know that you’ve had access to Housing Early Access since 2nd December. If you didn’t, then get on it – this incentive is a head-start on the expansion’s biggest system.
Multiple Digital Editions, and a Physical Release
This expansion launches with three digital editions: the Base Edition includes Midnight, plus The War Within, the aforesaid Housing Early Access, 500 trader’s tender, and enhanced level 80 character boost. Next up is the Heroic Edition, upping the trader’s tender to 1000 plus Lightwing Dragonhawk flying mount and Lightstrider Raiment transmog set. The Epic Edition includes everything mentioned so far, plus beta access and three days early access to the full expansion. There’s a substantial list of extras too, from pets and mounts to housing decor – best to check Blizzard’s website if you want the entire list.
The World of Warcraft: Midnight Collector’s Edition is the rather plush physical offering, shipping with a game key for the Epic edition plus a treasure trove of Midnight paraphernalia – expect an artbook and collector’s pins, with in-game pets, armour, housing items, and artefacts.
PC and Mac Requirements
Minimum PC spec, as per the Battle.net shop, lists an Intel Core 6 Core 4.0 GHz or AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 10 series, AMD RDNA 1, or Intel Iris Xe2 GPU, and 8GB RAM. To hit the recommended requirements, you’ll need an Intel Core Ultra Series CPU with 8 performance cores and 5.2GHz boost clock or AMD Ryzen Zen 5, Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series, AMD RDNA 3, or Intel Arc B-Series graphics, and 16GB RAM.
If you’re gaming on Mac, you’ll need to be running at least macOS12, but macOS15 is recommended. Elsewhere you’ll need a minimum Apple M2 or 9th generation Intel Core Coffee Lake processor, and a Metal capable 4GB GPU. Recommended hardware for both processing and graphics is the Apple M4 16GB. As with PCs, 8GB RAM is the minimum, while 16GB is best. Whichever platform, you’ll need 128GB storage space.
