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The Burning Crusade Anniversary Phase 3 Overview
Phase 3 is the patch every Outland veteran has been circling on the calendar. This is where The Burning Crusade Anniversary finally shifts into the Tier 6 era and cracks open the doors to Illidan Stormrage himself. If the earlier phases were about finding your footing in Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep, this one is the payoff — the endgame you actually came back to Outland for.
The headline additions are two brand-new 25-player raids: the Black Temple with its nine bosses, and the Battle for Mount Hyjal with five, for a combined fourteen fresh encounters to grind through. On top of the raids, Phase 3 stacks in the Netherwing reputation grind and its collection of drake mounts, the long-awaited Epic Gems for your best sockets, and a whole new Arena Season 3 for the PvP crowd. Whether you live for progression raiding, mount collecting, or ladder climbing, there is something here with your name on it.
Below we will walk through everything Phase 3 brings, when it is (probably) landing, how the attunements shake out now that they are account-wide, and exactly what you should be doing today so you show up ready on launch night instead of scrambling.
Key Takeaways
Short on time? Here is the whole phase in a handful of bullets before we dig into the details.
- Two new raids, 14 bosses. Black Temple (9 bosses) and Battle for Mount Hyjal (5 bosses) go live together.
- Illidan at last. Black Temple ends with Illidan Stormrage, who drops the legendary Warglaives of Azzinoth.
- Tier 6 arrives. The first five T6 slots come from Hyjal and Black Temple bosses.
- Attunements are account-wide. Unlock them once and every character on your account benefits.
- Netherwing drakes. A full reputation grind that pays out up to six drake colors.
- Epic Gems. The best sockets in the game finally open up, and 375 Mining makes them far easier to get.
- Arena Season 3. Vengeful Gladiator gear plus a fresh rating reset.
- Rumored date. A since-deleted Blizzard post pointed at August 13, 2026 — treat it as a strong rumor, not a promise.
Phase 3 Release Date
Here is the honest version: Blizzard has not officially locked in a Phase 3 date. What we do have is a Blizzard blog post that briefly went live and was then quietly pulled, which listed August 13, 2026 as the launch day. Leaks like that are usually accurate — a date does not end up in a published post by accident — but until it shows up on the official calendar and stays there, treat it as a very well-informed rumor rather than a guarantee.
Practically speaking, if you plan around mid-August you will not be caught out. Blizzard has generally given a week or two of notice before a phase drops, so keep half an eye on the launcher and the official forums as summer rolls on. And if the date does slip, it almost certainly will not slip far: the content is finished, the PTR testing is largely done, and the community has been ready for this one for months.
Phase 3 Features at a Glance
Phase 3 is a lot more than two raids bolted on. Here is the full slate of what unlocks when the patch goes live.
| Content | Type | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Black Temple | 25-player raid | Nine bosses ending in Illidan Stormrage; the flagship raid of the phase. |
| Battle for Mount Hyjal | 25-player raid | Five bosses fought across defensive trash waves inside the Caverns of Time. |
| Tier 6 Armor | Gear set | The first five T6 slots, bought with class tokens from both new raids. |
| Netherwing | Reputation grind | Daily quests that lead to up to six Netherwing Drake mounts. |
| Epic Gems | Itemization | Top-tier prismatic gems for your best gear sockets. |
| Arena Season 3 | PvP season | Vengeful Gladiator sets and a fresh rating reset. |
| Heroic Loot Update | Loot refresh | Refreshed Badge of Justice rewards and Heroic drops to speed up catch-up gearing. |
The New Raids: Black Temple and Mount Hyjal
Two raids drop on day one, and together they define the phase. Both are 25-player, and most guilds will run them side by side for the full Tier 6 experience.
Black Temple
Perched in the eastern hills of Shadowmoon Valley, the Black Temple is Illidan's fortress and the centerpiece of Phase 3. It is a nine-boss gauntlet that runs from High Warlord Naj'entus through Supremus, Shade of Akama, Teron Gorefiend, Gurtogg Bloodboil, the Reliquary of Souls, Mother Shahraz, and The Illidari Council before you finally face Illidan Stormrage himself. Every boss you clear here builds your Ashtongue Deathsworn reputation, which unlocks a class trinket you will absolutely want (more on that below). If you want a pull-by-pull breakdown before you step inside, read our full Black Temple raid guide.
Battle for Mount Hyjal
Tucked inside the Caverns of Time, the Battle for Mount Hyjal is a very different beast. It is a five-boss raid — Rage Winterchill, Anetheron, Kaz'rogal, Azgalor, and Archimonde — but the first four are each gated behind eight waves of trash you have to survive before the boss even shows up. It is an endurance test as much as a DPS check, and it rewards Scale of the Sands reputation, which feeds into a set of rings and gem rewards. Hyjal is generally the more forgiving of the two raids to start on, so plenty of guilds cut their Tier 6 teeth here first before committing to the Temple.
Attunements Explained
Good news first: on the Anniversary realms these attunements are account-wide. Do the work on one character and every alt on the account walks straight in. That is a massive quality-of-life upgrade over how it worked back in the day, when every raider ground the chain solo.
| Raid | Requirements | Final reward |
|---|---|---|
| Battle for Mount Hyjal | Reach Revered with the Keepers of Time, then complete The Vials of Eternity, which requires killing Lady Vashj in Serpentshrine Cavern and Kael'thas in Tempest Keep. | Access to the Hyjal Summit portal. |
| Black Temple | Complete the Akama questline out in Shadowmoon Valley, and be able to clear both Serpentshrine Cavern and Mount Hyjal. | The Medallion of Karabor — your key into the Black Temple. |
Notice the dependency chain here: Black Temple sits on top of Mount Hyjal, which itself sits on top of Vashj and Kael'thas. If you are not already killing those two, that is your first job — everything else in the phase stacks on top of it.
Rewards and Loot
This is the part you actually care about. Phase 3 brings four big reward tracks: Tier 6 armor, the Warglaives, the Ashtongue trinkets, and the Scale of the Sands rings.
Tier 6 Armor
Phase 3 opens the first five slots of your Tier 6 set. Bosses drop class tokens — Forgotten Conqueror, Forgotten Protector, and Forgotten Vanquisher — which you hand to Tydormu at the Caverns of Time in exchange for the actual armor piece. Here is where each early slot comes from.
| Slot | Boss | Raid |
|---|---|---|
| Gloves | Azgalor | Battle for Mount Hyjal |
| Helm | Archimonde | Battle for Mount Hyjal |
| Shoulders | Mother Shahraz | Black Temple |
| Legs | The Illidari Council | Black Temple |
| Chest | Illidan Stormrage | Black Temple |
Warglaives of Azzinoth
The crown jewel of the entire phase. Illidan Stormrage drops the two halves of the Warglaives of Azzinoth — the main hand and off hand roll separately, so you will usually need multiple kills before one lucky rogue or warrior completes the set. Equipping both grants a legendary dual-wield loadout that is still one of the most iconic looks in the game, and being the first on your realm to swing them is a serious flex.
Ashtongue Deathsworn Rewards
Grinding Black Temple builds your Ashtongue Deathsworn reputation, and at Exalted you can pick up your class-specific Ashtongue Talisman trinket for a token 28g 81s 56b. There is exactly one per class, so grab the right one.
Scale of the Sands Rewards
Mount Hyjal feeds your Scale of the Sands reputation, and the payoff here is the Band of Eternity ring line sold by Indormi. As you climb from Honored to Revered to Exalted, the ring options improve — and they come in role-specific flavors for tanks, healers, and damage dealers. Pick your path deliberately, because you are choosing based on your main spec and re-grinding for a different variant is a genuine slog.
Chasing every token, trinket, and ring at once is a serious time commitment. If you would rather spend your evenings actually raiding instead of grinding reputation on the side, our WoW boosting and gear services can help you close the gap.
Netherwing Reputation and Drakes
If raiding is not your only love, the Netherwing grind is the collector's headline of Phase 3. It is a pure reputation chain that ends in one of the most sought-after mount lines in TBC — the Netherwing Drakes, in up to six different colors.
The grind kicks off with Mordenai out in the Netherwing Fields of Shadowmoon Valley. You will want to be level 70 with Artisan Riding before you get serious, because epic flight is what lets you push past Neutral and actually keep pace with the daily quests. From there it is a steady rhythm of dailies and egg turn-ins until you hit Exalted.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Start the chain | Find Mordenai in the Netherwing Fields and complete his intro quests to reach the Dragonmaw camp. |
| 2. Sort out flying | Train Artisan Riding — you need real flight speed to pass Neutral, reach the mines, and keep up with the dailies. |
| 3. Grind the dailies | Run the rotating Netherwing daily quests every day; this is the bulk of your reputation. |
| 4. Turn in eggs | Hand in Netherwing Eggs you find (or buy) around the Ledge for chunky reputation boosts. |
| 5. Hit Exalted | Claim your first Netherwing Drake for free, then buy the remaining colors — six in total. |
Netherwing Eggs can sell for a small fortune on the auction house when everyone is racing to Exalted, and the daily grind quietly eats a lot of hours. If you want the drakes without the daily-quest marathon, our WoW Classic Anniversary gold and services can bankroll the eggs or handle the grind for you.
Arena Season 3
Phase 3 also flips the PvP world over to Arena Season 3. The new season brings the Vengeful Gladiator set — a fresh tier of arena gear with stronger stats — along with the usual rating reset, ladder scramble, and title race. If you have been sitting on Season 2 gear, this is your upgrade path, and the early weeks are the best time to farm rating before the field gears up.
The smart prep move is simple: keep earning and banking Arena Points in the run-up so you can buy Vengeful pieces the moment the season flips, and hang onto any unspent tokens and honor rather than dumping them on gear that is about to be outdated. A little patience right before a season change saves you a lot of grinding right after it.
How to Prepare for Phase 3
Launch night rewards the prepared. Here is your pre-Phase-3 checklist, roughly in priority order — knock these out now and you will be pulling bosses while everyone else is still doing homework.
- Finish The Vials of Eternity. This quest needs kills on Lady Vashj and Kael'thas, so get those farm clears rolling now — it gates your entire Hyjal access.
- Knock out the Black Temple attunement quests. The Akama questline in Shadowmoon Valley takes real time, so do not leave it sitting until launch week.
- Reach Revered with the Keepers of Time. It is required for the Hyjal attunement; run Caverns of Time instances if you are short.
- Build a Shadow Resistance set for Mother Shahraz. Aim for roughly 174 shadow resistance from gear, and Prayer of Shadow Resistance tops you up by another 70. She blankets the raid in shadow damage, so this is non-negotiable.
- Stock consumables and repair gold. Flasks, food, potions, and a fat repair buffer — progression nights get expensive fast.
- Level Mining to 375. Epic Gems are far easier to source when you can mine the new nodes yourself instead of paying market rates.
- Grind key reputations to Exalted. The Sha'tar, the Cenarion Expedition, and either the Aldor or the Scryers all pay off.
- Train Artisan Riding. Epic flight is basically mandatory for the Netherwing dailies and handy everywhere else.
- Bank Marks of the Illidari. With Exalted standing across the Sha'tar, Cenarion Expedition, and Aldor or Scryers, these unlock discounted raid flasks — a real gold saver over a full tier of progression.
All of that — the flasks, the gems, the repair bills, the egg money — adds up quickly. If your gold reserves are looking thin heading into the phase, topping up with WoW Classic Anniversary gold is the low-stress way to show up raid-ready instead of gold-poor.
Phase 3 FAQ
When does Phase 3 release?
Officially it is not confirmed. A since-deleted Blizzard post pointed to August 13, 2026, which is a strong signal but not a locked promise. Plan for mid-August and watch the official channels.
What raids come with Phase 3?
Two: the Black Temple (9 bosses) and the Battle for Mount Hyjal (5 bosses), for fourteen new encounters in total. Both are 25-player.
How do I get Tier 6 gear?
Bosses in Black Temple and Mount Hyjal drop class tokens, which you trade to Tydormu at the Caverns of Time for the armor. Phase 3 opens the first five slots of the set.
How do I get attuned for Black Temple?
Complete the Akama questline in Shadowmoon Valley and be able to clear both Serpentshrine Cavern and Mount Hyjal. The reward is the Medallion of Karabor, and the attunement is account-wide.
How do I get attuned for Mount Hyjal?
Hit Revered with the Keepers of Time, then finish The Vials of Eternity, which requires killing Lady Vashj and Kael'thas. This too is account-wide.
How do I unlock Netherwing?
Start with Mordenai in the Netherwing Fields of Shadowmoon Valley at level 70, then run the daily quests and turn in Netherwing Eggs. Epic flight (Artisan Riding) is strongly recommended before you commit.
What mounts can I get?
Up to six Netherwing Drake colors. The first is free when you reach Exalted, and the rest are purchasable from the Netherwing quartermaster.
When does Arena Season 3 start?
Alongside Phase 3. It brings the Vengeful Gladiator sets and a rating reset, so bank your Arena Points ahead of the flip.
What are the Heroic loot changes?
The Badge of Justice vendor and Heroic dungeon drops get a refresh, giving alts and fresh 70s a faster catch-up path into raid-ready gear.
Final Thoughts
Phase 3 is the emotional peak of the whole Anniversary run — the moment TBC has been building toward since launch. Between the Black Temple and Mount Hyjal you get fourteen bosses, your first real taste of Tier 6, the legendary Warglaives, a stable of Netherwing drakes, and Epic Gems to min-max every last socket. That is a mountain of content, and the players who prep now — attunements, resistance gear, gold, reputations — are the ones who will be standing over Illidan while everyone else is still farming Vashj for the Vials.
So sort your checklist, bank your gold, and get your raid team on the same page. When August rolls around, you will be very glad you did. Good luck out there — Illidan is waiting, and this time you get to be the one who showed up prepared.