Highlights

  • Two new battles in WoW Classic will grant gnomes and trolls new starting zones in Cataclysm Classic.
  • The battles will occur periodically in WoW Classic until the Cataclysm Classic pre-patch is live.
  • Players completing these battles will receive cosmetic rewards, toys, and banners.

Starting on March 26, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic will allow players to take part in Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall, two battles that will grant the gnomes and trolls a new starting zone in Cataclysm Classic. The battles will periodically occur in World of Warcraft: Classic until the Cataclysm Classic pre-patch goes live.

These battle scenarios will arrive nearly three months after Wrath of the Lich King Classic opened its final raid, The Ruby Sanctum. While the sanctum was not nearly as large as Icecrown Citadel, the raid pitted World of Warcraft players against Halion, The Twilight Destroyer. The great dragon served as the Herald of Deathwing, the main antagonist of the upcoming Cataclysm Classic, and rewarded players with trinkets and armor to use as catch-up gear. No exact release date has been given for Cataclysm Classic at the time of writing. However, Blizzard will soon give players two events to experience for the first time or relive again.

primordial glyph card from hearthston depicting a rock with a magic rune floating in an arcane circle
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Once weekly maintenance concludes on March 26, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic will host Operation: Gnomergan for Alliance players, and Zalazane's Fall for Horde players. According to Blizzard, the battles will be exclusive to Wrath of the Lich King Classic, meaning other World of Warcraft game modes such as Season of Discovery will not see them play out. Originally released in September 2010, Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall were faction-exclusive events in World of Warcraft that lasted approximately a month, and max-level players could take part in skirmishes that saw the gnomes and the trolls attempt to retake Gnomeregan and the Echo Isles respectively from threats that had plagued them.

World of Warcraft: Classic Limited-Time Events (Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall)

  • Starts Tuesday, March 26, and ends when Cataclysm Classic pre-patch goes live.
  • Operation: Gnomeregan (Alliance) and Zalazane's Fall (Horde) will allow players levels 75-80 to participate.
  • Cosmetic rewards are granted upon completing either battle.

Operation: Gnomeregan saw High Tinker Mekkatorque and the Alliance achieve a partial victory as they reclaimed the surface of Gnomeregan from Mekgineer Thermaplugg and his forces. Though total victory was within Mekkatorque's grasp, Thermaplugg lured the gnomish forces into a trap deep within Gnomeregan. In the end, Mekkatorque called for a retreat to the surface and chose to wait out Thermaplugg's threat. In Zalazane's Fall, Vol'jin made a bargain with the loa Bwonsamdi. After rallying the Horde, Vol'jin and the Darkspear tribe defeated the elusive troll warlock Zalazane, who gained a reputation for using decoys to evade capture for years. With Zalazane cornered, Bwonsamdi struck down the devious warlock for good. Both battles will grant gnome and troll players new starting experiences once World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic is released.

World of Warcraft: Classic players who complete either battle scenario will be rewarded with various toys and banners. It remains to be seen how much time players will have until Cataclysm Classic is released to take part in these limited-time operations.