Blizzard locks in dates for WoW 11.2, Season 3, and final The War Within raid

The War Within has been a stellar World of Warcraft expansion thus far, and what will be its final major update (bar an unexpected roadmap shakeup) is almost here. Update 11.2, Ghosts of K'Aresh, and WoW Season 3 were always slated to drop in August alongside the MMO's next massive raid, and now Blizzard has confirmed exactly when everything will drop. Things kick off on Tuesday, August 5, which sees the next story expansion to The War Within's campaign arrive alongside some new activities. Then, a week later, WoW 11.2, Season 3, and the higher difficulty modes of the new Manaforge Omega raid, will hit the game.

We already know a fair amount about what content is hitting World of Warcraft next month, but as for when, that's been up in the air. Now, Blizzard's unveiled its schedule for the final major update of The War Within - an expansion I'd say has elevated WoW to new heights, even if it was already worthy of a place on our best MMOs list. August 5 is the first date to have in your diary, as Chapter 1, 2, and 3 of the new story content arriving with Ghosts of K'Aresh will be playable from then.

Releasing alongside the story expansion is K'Aresh as a new explorable zone and Tazavesh, the Veiled Market, which has been "brought from the Shadowlands to serve as a home base for adventurers." The Eco Dome Al'Dani dungeon also goes live with this update. But all of that's just a warm-up for the main event.

WoW 11.2 and Season 3 will launch on Tuesday, August 12, bringing a whole host of new content, including the Manaforge Omega raid. Raid Finder Wing 1, Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulties will be live straight away. A week later, you'll be able to play Raid Finder Wing 2 and experience Manaforge Omega on story mode difficulty. Raid Finder Wing 3 releases a week after that.

Chapter 4 of the Ghosts of K'Aresh storyline will also be playable on August 12, as will The War Within's epilogue, which hopefully tees up more of what's to come in the next expansion, Midnight. Reshanor, The Unteathered, a brand new world boss, makes its debut. Blizzard is also refreshing the Mythic+ lineup - as well as acting as a player hub, Tazavesh, the Veiled Market returns to the dungeon lineup too.

To check out the full schedule of everything dropping next month, head here.

This is a very generous drop of content, and one that should keep players extremely occupied until the next big landmark event, the addition of player housing in the winter. It'll also conclude the story of what's been one of the best WoW expansions to date. Not long after all of the Ghosts of K'Aresh and Season 3 content goes live, we'll also get the reveal of the Midnight expansion, which is bound to cause a stir. The next few months could potentially be the most exciting period in recent WoW history, but only if Blizzard can meet fans' lofty expectations.

For more, check out our guide to the best WoW addons, or if you want to have a brief break from World of Warcraft before all this new content consumes you, head to our best PC games guide.

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