World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor's first raiding content will officially launch tomorrow. Level 100 players will have nine powerful bosses to challenge in exchange for new loot.
Seven of these bosses can be found in Highmaul. This ogre city, located in western Nagrand, is the first full raid zone of the expansion. By defeating Imperator Mar'gok and his minions, players will receive new epic gear ranging from ilevel 640 to 685 depending on the difficulty level. Players can also finish the next step of the new Legendary quest and get an ilevel 690 ring appropriate to their character.
Highmaul, like other raids in Warlords of Draenor, is available in four difficulty levels. Looking for Raid is the easiest setting, intended for groups of 10-25 created through matchmaking. Normal and Heroic are the next steps up in difficulty but also allow for raid groups of 10-25 players. The most difficult level is Mythic, designed for hardcore teams of 20.
Blizzard is staggering the release date of Highmaul over the next few weeks based on difficulty (via Blizzard):
- December 2, 2014 - Highmaul opens with Normal and Heroic difficulties accessible.
- December 9, 2014 - Mythic difficulty and the first wing of Raid Finder (Kargath, Butcher, Brackenspore) unlock.
- December 16, 2014 - Raid Finder Wing 2 (Tectus, Twin Ogron, Ko’ragh) unlocks.
- January 6, 2015 - Raid Finder Wing 3 (Imperator Mar’gok) unlocks.
If you don't have a group for Normal or Heroic difficulty, you'll still be able to do some raiding tomorrow. Tuesday also marks the debut of two world bosses, Drov the Ruiner and Tarlna the Ageless. Both are giants that make their home in Gorgrond. Drov can be found in the Gronn Canyon, while Tarlna resides in the southern end of the zone. Both spawn regularly in the world and can be attacked by any players brave enough to test their luck.
The loot these world bosses drop is ilevel 650, so these two are a good way to gear up for Highmaul. An organized guild group shouldn't have too much trouble with them. World bosses tend to be less complicated than normal raid bosses these days to account for the fact that players are usually attacking them with groups of strangers.
Warlords of Draenor's second raid Blackrock Foundry will launch in early 2015. Blizzard estimates that Blackrock Foundry's debut will happen 8 weeks after Highmaul's. If they keep to that schedule, that means the Normal and Heroic versions of that raid will be available in late January.
Draenor, the fifth expansion pack for World of Warcraft, arrived on November 13th. The expansion allows players to travel to the orc homeworld to undertake quests ranging from level 90 to 100. While questing in Draenor, they also take control of their own garrison with upgradeable buildings and helpful NPC's.
