World of Warcraft: Warlords Of Draenor Will Add Flying Mounts, Mercenary Mode In September

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor won't be adding any more raids but there are some new features on the way. Patch 6.2.2, arriving next month, will bring back flying mounts along with a new PvP mode.

When the patch goes live on September 1st (September 2nd in Europe), a Mercenary mode will be available for Ashran and Battlegrounds. When your faction is experiencing a long wait time to get into these PvP events, an NPC will show up in your Ashran base. This NPC will give you the ability to join these PvP activities as a member of the other faction.

While fighting for the opposite faction, your character will be transformed into a race belonging to that side. No one will be able to tell that you're in disguise. Furthermore, you'll earn the same rewards you'd normally get from PvP. The best incentive of all, though, is that you'll be able to jump into PvP activities quicker than usual queue times would permit.

Patch 6.2.2 will also allow players to finally use their flying mounts in Warlords of Draenor zones. You'll have to work for this ability, though. Flying will only be unlocked for players who unlocked the Draenor Pathfinder meta-Achievement on one character. It's a lengthy process that involves a lot of questing and exploration in Draenor. Check out our full guide to Draenor Pathfinder for more information.

Blizzard originally planned not to include flying mounts in Warlords of Draenor. The development team felt that these mounts would hurt the outdoor exploration for the expansion's zones. However, following a huge backlash from gamers, Blizzard rethought their decision. They're going to allow flying in upcoming expansion Legion as well.

Timewalking events, which allow players to return to retro dungeons scaled up to higher levels, are due for some changes in Patch 6.2.2 as well. Whenever you complete a Timewalking dungeon, you'll now earn a Timewarped Badge. This currency can be given to new vendors for special rewards such as mounts, toys, and level-appropriate gear.

The Timewalking dungeons will also have a chance to drop rare collectibles once exclusive to the original low-level versions. For example, you can now get the the Reins of the Blue Proto-Drake while playing Utgarde Pinnacle during a Timewalking event.

Rounding out the update are a few balance changes. Racial abilities like the Orcs' Hardiness and Taurens' War Stomp have been buffed among others. A few classes like priests, warriors and druids also got some love. You can read the full patch notes here.

Blizzard admitted on their forums that the patch could get delayed due to some technical issues but that they're confident in the September 1st release date:

Please keep in mind that this release date is not set in stone, as we are continuing to iron out bugs with 6.2.2’s content, including some related to enabling flight in Draenor. That said, we are optimistic that we’ll be able to have everything ready by then, so we wanted to share the current plan. We know many players -- us included! -- are excited to take to the skies above Tanaan Jungle and the rest of the Draenor continent.

Pete Haas

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.