World of Warcraft Classic’s final in-game event begins on Thursday, Dec. 3. But if you were worried about fighting everyone on your server to participate, Blizzard has a solution for you.
The developer revealed the exact time that Phase 6’s Scourge Invasion will begin (4pm CT on Dec. 3) earlier today. But unlike how the event took place in 2006 at the end of WoW’s original expansion, players will have more time to experience the event and benefit from it.
The event’s original iteration nearly 15 years ago included zones across Azeroth where scourge would spawn with a “Necrotic Shard” and players were supposed to take them out in three stages.
By destroying scourge and shards, players could get Necrotic Runes that were used to obtain special “Consecrated Sharpening Stones” and “Blessed Wizard Oils” that granted significant buffs for the game’s final raid, Naxxramas. Once players destroyed a total of 150 Necrotic Shards, the realm-wide event would end and players could no longer farm Necrotic Runes.
Understanding that modern servers are more populated now and have a strong base of players doing end-game content, Blizzard is expanding how long players will be able to farm those items.
“We feel that it is pertinent to make several changes to the event,” Blizzard said. “We calculated that it would be easy for some realms to be completely done with the invasion portion of the event in less than five days, so our primary goal is to allow more time for players to participate and not feel rushed.”
Instead of 150 Necrotic Shards ending the invasion, it will take 300 Necrotic Shard destructions to complete the event. After that point, the invasion will continue for another week, allowing players to continue to farm Necrotic Runes and participate in the invasion.
This period of time can’t last past Dec. 31, though. That condition will prevent players from intentionally never ending the event.
Meanwhile, Blizzard is extending some of the event’s other benefits as well. In 2006, there were bonus dungeon bosses, quest NPCs, and vendors that were available for a three-week period. This time around, those will all be available for four weeks instead.
This adaptation by Blizzard is one of just a few times in which the developer has attempted to make Classic a more player-friendly experience for modern gamers with increased knowledge of the game.
Most recently, the team adjusted the spawn rates and locations of the rare Black Lotus herb that’s highly sought after by top players who like to speed clear end-game raids.
