Content:
Timeline at a Glance
The December 2025 version of this guide tried to predict how long the Burning Crusade pre-patch would last on the Classic Anniversary realms. The answer is known now: 23 days, from 13 January to 5 February 2026. This page is rewritten as a dated record, current on 12 October 2026, with a table at the end that checks each old forecast against what happened.
| Date | Milestone | What arrived |
|---|---|---|
| 13 January 2026 | Pre-patch (2.5.5) | Blood Elves, Draenei, Jewelcrafting, TBC talents and class changes |
| 5 February 2026 | Phase 1: The Burning Crusade | Dark Portal opens, level cap 70, Outland, Heroic dungeons |
| 19 February 2026 | Phase 1 raids | Karazhan, Gruul’s Lair, Magtheridon’s Lair |
| 14 May 2026 | Phase 2: Overlords of Outland | The raids Serpentshrine Cavern and The Eye (Tempest Keep), plus the start of Arena Season 2 |
| 27 August 2026 | Phase 3: Black Temple | Both raids, Black Temple and the Battle for Mount Hyjal, along with epic gems and Arena Season 3 |
| 22 October 2026 | Phase 4: The Gods of Zul’Aman | Zul’Aman, Badges of Justice from raid bosses, no TBC attunements |
| No date | Sunwell phase | Isle of Quel’Danas, Magisters’ Terrace, Sunwell Plateau |
Phase numbering differs between sources: some sites call the Zul’Aman patch Phase 4 and the Sunwell patch Phase 5, others number the Sunwell patch as Phase 4. The dates above do not depend on the numbering.
How Long the Pre-Patch Lasted
Pre-patch 2.5.5 went live on 13 January 2026. The Dark Portal opened on 5 February 2026 at 3:00 PM Pacific, which was 12:01 AM on 6 February in Paris. That is 23 days: three weeks and two days.
The December 2025 forecast was four weeks. It reasoned that Wrath Classic had a pre-patch of about four weeks and that leaving the launch date out of the first announcement meant a long window. The pre-patch ended up closer to the three weeks that the same text called “a very minor deviation”. The launch date was public by 15 January, two days after the pre-patch went live; we could not establish the exact day Blizzard first announced it, so the forecast that it would come a week before the pre-patch is unconfirmed.
The Dark Portal opening event ran through the pre-patch period and ended with the launch. Our overview of the Anniversary realms covers what players saw in that window.
What the Pre-Patch Changed
The pre-patch was a large update to the game that characters had been playing as Classic. For the 23 days before launch it included:
- Two new races. Blood Elves for the Horde, Draenei for the Alliance, with their starting zones.
- Jewelcrafting and TBC talent trees, plus class and stat changes and an honor system overhaul. Arena Skirmishes were available.
- Faster 1–60 leveling. Quests give more experience and levels need less of it. Blizzard’s figures are not quoted in the sources we checked, so we give no percentage.
- Cheaper mounts. The first ground mount is available at level 30 instead of 40, at 45 gold in total (35 for riding, 10 for the mount). The epic ground mount costs 700 gold in total (600 and 100).
- Meeting Stones that summon, so a group can gather without a Warlock.
- Boosting to level 58 remained possible on the Anniversary realms, including for the new races.
Anti-boosting rules arrived with the pre-patch and were relaxed on 5 February: crowd-control and speed immunity were softened, while the experience penalty for grouping with a much higher-level player stayed. The 14 April 2026 requirement to take part in a fight for dungeon XP and loot was reverted on 15 April because of bugs. For how to level under these rules, see the leveling guide.
Phase by Phase: Dates and Gaps
Phase 1 raids opened two weeks after launch. After that, the gap between phases varied a lot:
| From | To | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Launch, 5 Feb | Phase 2, 14 May | 98 days (14 weeks) |
| Phase 2, 14 May | Phase 3, 27 Aug | 105 days (15 weeks) |
| Phase 3, 27 Aug | Phase 4, 22 Oct | 56 days (8 weeks) |
- Phase 1. Tier 4 raids and Heroic dungeons came with different tuning: Tier 4 was post-nerf, Heroics were pre-nerf. See the Karazhan guide for the first raid.
- Phase 2. On 28 April Blizzard decided that Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep would be post-nerf as well. Several 25-player bosses drop 3 tier tokens or epics instead of 2.
- Phase 3. Black Temple needs an attunement at launch; Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep lose theirs, and players can skip to Lady Vashj and Kael’thas. Arena Season 3 begins on 1 September. See the Phase 3 overview.
- Phase 4. Zul’Aman is a 10-player raid with six bosses and no attunement. Black Temple and Mount Hyjal drop their attunements, the Heroic key needs Honored reputation, all Heroics get their final reduced difficulty, and Primal Nether and Nether Vortex become tradeable.
How the December 2025 Forecasts Held Up
| Forecast (30 Dec 2025) | What happened |
|---|---|
| Four-week pre-patch | 23 days. Three weeks was closer |
| Launch date announced about a week before the pre-patch | Not confirmed. The 5 February date was public by 15 January |
| A longer pre-patch as an experiment for “Classic+” | No evidence either way. Blizzard did announce WoW Forever, a separate game, at BlizzCon on 12 September 2026; beta ran 17 September to 22 October and launch is 4 November. Nothing links it to the pre-patch length |
| Faster phases, less downtime between raids | Mixed. Gaps of 14 and 15 weeks, then 8 |
| TBC lasting 10 to 12 months | Open. Ten months from 5 February is December 2026; Sunwell has no date |
| Anniversary “trilogy” ending in Wrath | We found no Blizzard announcement of a Wrath Anniversary |
The forecasting method was reasonable and the sample was small: one past pre-patch of about four weeks, one statement from Blizzard that four weeks “felt right”. The lesson is to treat a missing announcement as missing information, not as a signal.
What Is Still Unknown
- The Sunwell date. Blizzard’s roadmap says “later in 2026” and gives no day. Estimates of late October to December on third-party sites are guesses. BlizzCon on 12 September did not add a date, according to the coverage we found.
- Tier 6 tuning. We found no Blizzard statement on whether Black Temple and Hyjal were released in a pre-nerf or a post-nerf state.
- What follows TBC Anniversary. No announcement that we could find. WoW Forever is a separate product and does not replace the TBC realms.
Check Blizzard’s WoW news page for anything dated after 12 October 2026. If you are leveling for Zul’Aman, the Phase 1 best gear list is still the base for your first upgrades.
What to Do Now
- New to the realms. Level to 70 first. If you would rather skip it, a leveling service is available.
- At 70. Get the Heroic key at Honored, run Heroics for gear and Badges of Justice, then start with Karazhan.
- Raid-ready. Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep and, since 22 October, Black Temple and Mount Hyjal have no attunement requirement. Zul’Aman needs none either.
Karazhan is not named in the 22 October patch notes we read, so confirm its entry requirement in game.
FAQ
When did TBC Anniversary launch?
On 5 February 2026 at 3:00 PM Pacific. Pre-patch 2.5.5 started on 13 January 2026.
How long was the TBC Anniversary pre-patch?
23 days, from 13 January to 5 February 2026.
When did the Phase 1 raids open?
On 19 February 2026: Karazhan, Gruul’s Lair and Magtheridon’s Lair.
When is Phase 4 on the Anniversary realms?
22 October 2026, with Zul’Aman and the removal of attunements for Black Temple and Mount Hyjal.
When does Sunwell Plateau open?
There is no official date. Blizzard has said only that it comes later in 2026.