WoW 5.3 Survival Guide: All You Need to Know Before It Hits

It is hard to believe that the time has already come for World of Warcraft patch 5.3. The world’s first Ra-den kill was not even a month ago! Nevertheless, Blizzard is sticking true to their promise of releasing quality content in a timely manner.

If you have not been keeping up with the news or just need a refresher on what additions and changes will be taking place, I have got you covered. Let’s break it down:

Patch Notes

In these releases, you can find the majority of the new content that will be added in WoW 5.3, such as new heroic scenarios, a new battleground, as well as statistical changes to class talents and spells.

The patch notes summary will fill you in on the majority of the announcements, including spec based item rolls and changes to the leveling of mining and herbalism. This class change summary will get you filled in on some more of the class changes, added achievements and feats of strength, and more.

If you visit the spell changes page, you can see some more spell changes as well as get a better explanation on heroic scenarios. These patch notes cover a lot of information, but the key highlights are changes to pet battles, requirements for heroic scenarios, and more class changes.

This PTR page is where you will find the changes to dungeon level requirements, addition of heirloom shields, class changes, and a bit more.

The most recent PTR update reflects the changes to certain spells for Death Knights, Hunter Pets, Mages, and Shamans.

PvE

Everything you need to know about the addition of new content for PvE is in the previously linked patch note pages, but if you are looking for some spoilers, then this spoiler page you want to go to.

The link above will fill you in on the plight of the Darkspear Trolls and their rebellion in WoW 5.3. It covers the physical changes happening in Orgrimmar, Sen’jin Village, and the Barrens. It also has links to all the audio spoilers you will need.

PvP

There are a lot of changes coming to Player versus Player in WoW 5.3. Although you can gather what most of them are from the patch note pages, this quick summary is where you want to go to see the majority of the changes broken down and explained.

In addition to the changes to PvP stats and the like, WoW 5.3 will bring with it a new arena and a new battleground. Deepwind Gorge is the new battleground and it looks like it will make for some interesting PvP matches. Tiger’s Peak Arena is the new arena and it might have weather that has an effect on the match.

Profession Changes, Heirloom Item Price Reduction, Item Upgrades, Pet Battle Spectating, Brawler’s Guild, and Mounts

WoW 5.3 brings with it the simplification of gathering professions.

The heirloom items that were introduced in WoW 5.2 are seeing a price reduction.

WoW 5.3 reintroduces the concept of item upgrades. Players will be able to update the latest PvE items, but only older PvP items due to balancing issues. Monetary costs have changed, as well.

The latest patch brings with it the ability to spectate other players’ wild pet battles. While it is not a terribly impressive addition, it does make for an interesting watch. 

If you are into the Brawler’s Guild scene, there is a ton of new content being added for you, like better spectating and new bosses.

Lastly, for the mount collectors among you, I have compiled a near definitive list of all the new mounts that WoW 5.3 will introduce. I say almost because it was written before the Brawler’s Burly Mushan Beast was announced. It can be obtained by paying 1,200 gold after reaching rank 10 in the Brawler’s Guild.

World of Warcraft patch 5.3 brings with it a ton of changes to make up for the fact that there is neither a new raid nor new tier sets. It can be overwhelming, but if you read through the guides set before you, you will have what it takes to survive and help the Darkspear fight against Garrosh.