The latest WoW Dragonflight patch 10.2, the Guardians of the Dream, dropped the biggest World of Warcraft bomb this year, including the new Emerald Dream zone, Amirdrassil: The Dream’s Hope raid, and serious class changes.

Hold onto your mounts, though, as WoW developers aren't done yet! Next on the horizon is WoW Dragonflight patch 10.2.5, the Seeds of Renewal. These changes are already live on the Public Test Realm (PTR), ready for players to explore. Even though it's smaller than 10.2, the patch notes spill the tea on several notable updates and changes for the Dragon Isles and beyond - think Worldwide Dragonriding, Follower Dungeons, class changes, and more! Get the full scoop below.

WHEN WILL WOW PATCH 10.2.5 BECOME LIVE?

The exact release date for the next WoW patch, 10.2.5, is unknown. Going by the WoW developers' recent patch schedule, we can guess it'll be around three months post 10.2's launch. This puts us in the ballpark of the third week of January 2024 or maybe sliding into early February.

Whenever a new WoW patch launches, players on NA servers will have the luxury of playing through it first, around 7AM PDT. Unfortunately, EMEA players and others worldwide must wait for the typical Wednesday morning server reset to play through the new patch 10.2.5 when it eventually goes live.

WHAT'S NEW WITH WOW PATCH 10.2.5?

Follower Dungeons

Borrowing a move from the playbook of another popular MMO, Final Fantasy 14 Online, players can roll solo or queue with up to four players in their party to hop into for a Follower Dungeon. Upon entering the dungeon, a Follower NPC will join the party and adopt any spare role not filled by other pre-existing party members.

The four possible NPC Followers are from the Dragonscale Expedition; players should recognize them from the Exile's Reach campaign.

  • Captain Garrick (Tank): Protection Paladin
  • Crenna Earth-Daughter (Healer): Restoration Druid
  • Meredy Huntswell (DPS): Fire Mage
  • Austin Huxworth (DPS): Beast Mastery Hunter with two pets, Nyx and Ash.

While inside a Follower Dungeon, players will get a new ability, Dungeon Assistance,. Toggle it, and you're in control of what the NPCs do: either leading the way or playing the sidekick. In the follow mode, NPCs will only attack mobs if the player attacks first. In leading mode, NPCs will progress naturally through the dungeon naturally. It's your call!

To begin with, Follower Dungeons will only be available for the Dragonflight normal dungeons. When using an NPC follower, all participating players will receive the same rewards they would at normal difficulty with a complete party of players.

Worldwide Dragonriding and Outland Cup

In the 10.2.5 patch notes, WoW developers are making Dragonriding available throughout Azeroth wherever flying is already available. Outside the Dragon Isles, Dragonriding speeds will be capped at 80% to avoid making regular travel methods and mounts obsolete.

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While Dragonriding outside the bounds of the Dragon Isles, why not test your competitive spirit in the Outland Cup? This event is active until November 29.

Thirteen new races are spread across the Outland and are available in Normal, Advanced, and Reverse-difficulty courses. These are: Hellfire Hustle, Coilfang Caper, Blade’s Edge Brawl, Telaar Tear, Razorthorn Rise Rush, Auchindoun Coaster, Tempest Keep Sweep, Shattrath City Sashay, Shadowmoon Slam, Eco-Dome Excursion, Warmaul Wingding, Skettis Scramble, and Fel Pit Fracas.

Completing all of these Outland Cup races within a Gold standard time gives players the Outland Racing Completionist: Gold achievement and the Outland Racer title.

The introductory quest for the Outland Cup has been changed for players to complete all the races first. Players that haven't unlocked Dragonriding can try their hand at the race courses using loaned Dragonriding mounts, with a fully maxed-out Dragonriding Talent Tree to balance the playing field.

Azerothian Archives

Ready to dig into the secrets of the Dragon Isles? The Azerothian Archives, a fresh weekly Public Event at Traitor's Rest, invites players to dive into solo and group activities. Hear ancient stories of legends and meet a whole cast of quirky characters - it's a history lesson you don't want to miss, with great rewards!

Players can kickstart their careers as Archivists by examining the advertisements in the Sapphire Enclave Library in Valdrakken. Please remember you can only test this event solo on the PTR, as group activities are unavailable.

WoW Patch 10.2.5: Customization and Class Changes

While WoW patch 10.2, Guardians of the Dream, saw changes to plenty of classes and their specializations, 10.2.5 is much tamer as a smaller-scale update. Evokers, Monks, and Shamans will see some small changes, but nothing game-breaking.

General

  • Multiple Class talents that were Shadowlands Covenant Abilities (like Convoke the Spirits, Divine Toll, Sepsis) will get their spell visuals modernized and updated to match their Class visual kit.

Dracathyr

  • New Passive Ability added: Empowered Soaring. Soar has now become equivalent to Dragonriding, granting access to Vigor and all Dragonriding abilities.
  • New Passive Ability added: Expedited Takeoff. Soar’s cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds.
  • Familiar Skies (Racial) has been removed.

Evoker

Preservation

  • Essence Burst may now trigger from casts of Reversion.
  • Mana cost of most spells increased by 10%.

Monk

Mistweaver

  • Dance of the Wind has been redesigned. Dodge chance now increased by 10% with an additional 10% every 4 seconds until an attack is dodged.
  • Ancient Teachings additionally increases Stamina by 5% while active.

Windwalker

  • Dance of the Wind has been redesigned. Dodge chance is increased by 10% and an additional 10% every 4 seconds until an attack is dodged.

Shaman

  • Earth, Fire, and Storm Elementals (as well as the Primal versions) will all have their visual size reduced inside instances for allies and enemies. For Shaman players themselves, the Elementals still appear their original large size.

Character Customization Options

  • Five new hair colors added for Trolls.
  • One new skin color added for Draenei.
  • New customizations for Warlock Tyrant and Darkglare demons

Final Thoughts

Those are all the patch notes for WoW patch 10.2.5, the Seeds of Renewal. These exciting changes will liven up the World of Warcraft scene as we begin the long countdown for the next expansion, The War Within. If any more proposed updates come to light, we'll update this article accordingly, so watch this space!

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