WoW The War Within Patch 11.1
03.12.2024 - 03:08:56
Game Guides , World Of Warcraft
WoW The War Within patch 11.1, also called Undermine(d), is the biggest content drop for the expansion since it launched earlier this year. There are lots of new things to get into in the update, and players are excited to see what’s next for them in this patch.
In this guide, we’re going to give you a quick overview of what to expect in patch 11.1, as well as in future patches for the game.
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General Info & Release Date
First up, mark your calendars: Patch 11.1 officially drops on December 17. That’s right—next month, we’ll be jumping into the Siren patch with all its activities and story developments.
If you’re already hyped for 11.1, you’ll be pleased to know there’s also a roadmap for the entire year. Blizzard gave us a sneak peek of what’s to come, promising a steady drip of updates to keep us engaged.
Now, before we get carried away, it’s worth mentioning that the PTR (Public Test Realm) for 11.1 is expected to roll out soon, meaning we can start testing this content ahead of its official release.
For long-time players, this is the perfect opportunity to help refine these new features and systems.
New Zone: Undermine
The centerpiece of Patch 11.1 is the long-awaited Goblin city, Undermine. Fans have speculated about this zone for years, and we’re finally going there!
Zone Highlights:
- Explore Undermine, a bustling Goblin city filled with quests and activities.
- Discover the surrounding areas, featuring Titan ruins and mysterious black blood that ties into the patch’s campaign storyline.
Dynamic Ground Mount System:
Undermine introduces a groundbreaking new mount system called Dr. Drive, exclusive to this zone.
Features:
- Customizable handling (grip, acceleration) and colors.
- Significantly faster than traditional mounts, with top speeds 3-5x higher.
- Ground-only traversal, as flying is restricted in Undermine.
- Dynamic ground mount races similar to Dragonriding races.
New Renown System:
Undermine’s renown system features the overarching Undermine Renown, split into mini-reputations for four Goblin cartels:
- Steamwheedle
- Blackwater
- Bugeater
- Venture Co.
You can expect world quests, rares, and more. Initial previews suggest Undermine may be accessed via Zandalar or Kezan, though the exact location will be confirmed with the PTR.
Delve Updates
Delves return in 11.1 with Season 2 of the Delver’s Journey.
Companion: Brann Bronzebeard stays as your delve buddy, now with a tank role alongside DPS and healing options.
New Delves: Two Goblin-themed delves set in Undermine, plus a solo challenge delve akin to Zeek.
New Raid: Liberation of Undermine
Prepare for an explosive 8-boss raid, Liberation of Undermine, where the final encounter pits you against Gwick.
Early previews showcase unique bosses like a mechanized gorilla and Roboyo, with colorful, chaotic Goblin-themed arenas.
Expect void-related shenanigans, as Gwick’s story intertwines with larger cosmic threats.
New Dungeon: Operation: Floodgate
Season 2 introduces Operation Floodgate, a new dungeon where players thwart a goblin scheme to destroy the Ranging Deeps.
This dungeon, set in an open-world-inspired environment, is a standard dungeon (not a mega-dungeon) with three to five bosses.
Additionally, Mythic+ players can look forward to the following dungeons in the Season 2 rotation:
- Priority of the Sacred Flame
- Cinderbrew Cemetery
- The Rookery
- Darkflame Citadel
- Operation Floodgate
- Motherlode (from Battle for Azeroth)
Two more dungeons remain unannounced, leaving room for speculation. Which dungeons would you like to see added? Share your thoughts!
The War Within Season 2 Updates
Mythic+ Dungeon Pool:
Season 2 introduces eight new dungeons, including:- Operation: Floodgate
- Cinderbrew Cemetery
- Darkflame Cliffs
- The Rookery
- Prior of Sacred Flame
Legacy dungeons making a return include:
- The Motherlode (Battle for Azeroth)
- Theater of Pain (Shadowlands)
- Operation: Mechagon Workshop (Battle for Azeroth)
Crest Renaming: Gearing changes are in the works, with crests receiving new names for clarity.
PvP Updates
Season 2 introduces a new PvP arena set in Undermine, designed around one of the raid’s boss areas. Details on additional PvP updates remain scarce, but the arena itself is an exciting addition for competitive players.
Patch 11.1 promises a wealth of content, from the dynamic Undermine zone and its innovative ground mount system to thrilling updates in PvE and PvP. Once the PTR drops, we’ll have a clearer picture of what’s in store, so keep an eye out for more guides and updates.
Class Updates
With this update, several classes are stepping up as clear winners, offering fresh opportunities to explore new builds and rediscover specs that may have fallen by the wayside. In this video, we’ll highlight the biggest winners and losers of this patch, explaining how these changes impact gameplay and performance.
If you want to stay in the loop with regular The War Within updates, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel. Now, let’s dive in!
Frost Death Knight: Breath Takes a Hit, Apocalypse Rises
The first notable changes target Frost Death Knights. Breath of Sindragosa has been nerfed by around 10%, which shakes up the meta without eliminating Breath builds entirely.
It remains a dominant playstyle, especially in raids and Mythic+, thanks to its high-priority damage. However, this nerf gives some breathing room (pun intended) for other builds—particularly Rider of the Apocalypse—to shine.
The Rider of the Apocalypse build, featuring Obliteration and Frost Strike, has received buffs, making it a more viable alternative. While it’s still slightly behind Breath builds in single-target encounters, the gap is now narrower.
The Rider build also excels in AoE situations, offering better cleave damage than Breath-focused setups. For Death Knights who don’t enjoy the Breath playstyle, this is great news. Rider provides a fast-paced, mobility-friendly alternative that can hold its own in Mythic+ and certain raid encounters.
Fire Mage: A Comeback for Frostfire
Fire Mages are back in the spotlight! This patch buffs Frostfire Bolt and Sunfury, giving Fire Mages a chance to reclaim their place in the DPS rankings. Frostfire, in particular, is making a big return after falling off since the early beta days of The War Within.
What’s exciting about Frostfire? The build revolves around instant-cast Frostfire Bolts, empowered procs, and massive burst potential. It’s a highly mobile playstyle that combines single-target pressure with spread burn damage.
With an estimated 11% performance boost in single-target encounters, Frostfire may surpass Sunfury in many situations. This revival of Frostfire opens up creative talent combinations, allowing players to experiment with cleave-oriented builds or focus on pure single-target damage. If you’ve been a fan of Fire Mage but felt sidelined, now’s the perfect time to reignite (pun intended) your passion for the spec!
Subtlety Rogue: Deathstalker Finds Its Place
Subtlety Rogues are seeing some major shifts, with Deathstalker gaining traction over the previously dominant Trickster build.
Deathstalker buffs focus on enhancing plague-based damage and the potency of Eviscerate, offering significant burst potential during key cooldown windows.
While Trickster remains a flexible, reliable option for AoE-heavy content, Deathstalker is emerging as a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. It thrives in scenarios where managing cooldowns and debuffs aligns with fight mechanics, making it particularly potent in boss encounters that reward precise timing.
That said, it’s too early to tell if Deathstalker will fully dethrone Trickster in Mythic+. However, its newfound viability adds a layer of variety for Subtlety Rogues looking to experiment.
Windwalker Monk: Small Gains, Big Hopes
Windwalker Monks received some buffs, though they’re not as substantial as many players had hoped. Improvements to abilities like Fists of Fury and Blackout Kick bring Monks closer to other melee classes in terms of performance.
Talents like Flare of Xuen may also see more play in Mythic+, especially for AoE-focused builds.
While these changes are a step in the right direction, Windwalkers still hover around the middle of the pack. They’re no longer falling significantly behind but haven’t quite reached the top-tier status some fans are rooting for.
The Biggest Loser: Protection Paladin
Finally, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Protection Paladin nerfs. This patch hits Prot Paladins with a 5% single-target damage reduction and a 10% AoE damage nerf.
While this aims to narrow the gap between Prot Paladins and other tanks, it’s a significant blow to their dominance in Mythic+.
This change may open the door for other tanks to shine, but it also raises concerns about limiting the community’s ability to push high-level content. Here’s hoping Blizzard continues to refine tank balancing in future updates, ensuring all specs remain competitive and fun to play.
What’s Next After WoW Patch 11.1?
Patch 11.1.5: Nightfall & Horrific Visions
Patch 11.1.5 is an exciting one, as it will bring new content, including Nightfall, though we’re not sure exactly what that will entail yet. We might learn more once the patch hits the PTR realms.
We’re also seeing a return of Horrific Visions, which was a unique feature from the final update of Battle for Azeroth. These are a mix of delves and Torghast-like content.
In Horrific Visions, you enter a corrupted version of a familiar city (like Orgrimmar or Stormwind), where you’ll battle enemies and manage your insanity bar.
If you can manage it well enough, you can venture deeper into the vision to fight mini-bosses and collect rewards like mounts, pets, and cosmetics. It’s interesting to see the return of Horrific Visions—though for some, it could feel grindy as it did in BFA.
Still, we’re curious to see how the community reacts to this reintroduction.
Patch 11.1.7: More Story Quests
After Patch 11.1.5, Patch 11.1.7 will follow, adding even more story quests, likely setting up for Season 3 content. We’ll also get another Turbulent Timeways, bringing more catch-up opportunities so you can level up your alts and gear them up for new seasonal content.
Patch 11.2: Season 3
Patch 11.2 will bring Season 3 content, which will include a new zone (yes, you read that right, a brand-new zone!). This zone will feature new open-world content, seasonal updates, and all the usual seasonal activities, such as new raids, Mythic Plus rotations, and a PvP update.
We can also expect new open-world challenges and warband updates, as well as seasonal rewards.
World of Warcraft: Midnight Preview
After Patch 11.2, we’ll start getting information about the next expansion, Midnight, which will be part of the World Soul Saga.
There’s very little known about Midnight at this point, but one exciting piece of news is that player housing might finally be coming with this expansion—a long-awaited feature that many have dreamed of for years.
There’s also the possibility that we’ll get an early preview or even an alpha for Midnight sometime in 2025. So far, this expansion looks incredibly promising.
Patch 11.2.5 - 11.2.7: More Updates
In the second half of 2025, we’ll get Patch 11.2.5 and 11.2.7, bringing more content and system updates, as well as the World of Warcraft 20th Anniversary update. Patch 11.2.7 will bring more story quests and additional content, though details are scarce for now.
Could That Be Legion Remix?
Finally, there’s a cryptic icon and a green winter backdrop coming in 2025. Initially, this looked like it could be related to Warlords of Draenor, but the transition from gold to fell green in the map has many players speculating that a Legion Remix is on the way.
This would be incredibly exciting, especially with all the class legendaries and other features Legion brought to the table.
Only time will tell what this mysterious content will bring, but it's shaping up to be another exciting year for World of Warcraft.
Ready For The Next WoW Patch?
Patch 11.1 is shaping up to be one of the biggest updates for WoW in a long time. There’s still time to prepare and power up your characters before then. For a little bit of help doing so, check out our WoW store at RPGStash for WoW gold!