World of Warcraft's The War Within Season 3 ends January 20, 2026 when the Midnight pre-expansion patch goes live. Players have less than a month to earn exclusive rewards, achievements, and titles before they're permanently removed from the game.
Multiple Deadlines in Late January
Blizzard Entertainment confirmed that Season 3 wraps up with the pre-patch launch rather than waiting for Midnight's full release on March 2. Early closure affects raid achievements, Mythic+ rankings, and PvP seasonal rewards across all regions.
Timing makes sense given the scope of changes arriving with the patch. Every specialization tree gets redesigned, the new Devourer Demon Hunter spec launches, and the game implements its fourth stat squish alongside a third item level squish. Running competitive seasons through these balance overhauls would create chaos for leaderboard integrity.
Raid Achievements Disappear
Manaforge Omega's most prestigious raid achievements become unobtainable when the pre-patch hits. Both are Feats of Strength tied to defeating Dimensius, the All-Devouring before the next raid tier releases.
Ahead of the Curve requires clearing Dimensius on Heroic difficulty or higher. Cutting Edge demands a Mythic kill. Players chasing these achievements need to find raid groups now, as there's less than a month before the cutoff.
Mount Drop Timeline
The raid mounts work on separate schedules from the achievements, creating some confusion around availability.
Royal Voidwing comes from completing "A Twilight Oath's End" quest after defeating Heroic Dimensius. The mount survives the pre-patch but gets removed when Midnight launches March 2. That gives players an extra six weeks to secure it.
Unbound Star-Eater drops from Mythic Dimensius runs. This mount doesn't disappear on January 20 or even March 2, but its drop rate gets significantly reduced when the expansion goes live. Players farming it should finish before Midnight's launch to avoid the nerfed drop chance.
Mythic+ Leaderboards
The Mythic+ season ends slightly ahead of other seasonal content. Leaderboards lock at 10:00 PM PST on January 19, right before regional maintenance begins. EU players hit the cutoff at 22:00 CET on January 20.
Once locked, the system records final ratings to determine who qualifies for "the Unbound Hero" title. The top 0.1% of Mythic+ rankings earn the achievement and title, distributed in the weeks after the season closes.
Other Mythic+ Season 3 achievements like Keystone Hero will likely disappear alongside the leaderboard closure, though Blizzard hasn't explicitly confirmed their removal.
PvP Season End
PvP follows the same schedule as Mythic+, ending at 10:00 PM PST on January 19 for NA and 22:00 CET on January 20 for EU. After that cutoff, players can't earn any Season 3 PvP rewards, titles, or rankings. Title distribution happens in the weeks following the season's end.
Two Feat of Strength achievements mark the highest PvP accomplishments this season. Astral Gladiator goes to the top 0.1% of 3v3 arena players who've won at least 150 games, granting the "Astral Gladiator" title. Astral Legend rewards the top 0.1% of Solo Shuffle players.
Exclusive PvP Rewards
Several cosmetic rewards and items disappear permanently after January 20.
Astral Gladiator's Fel Bat serves as the seasonal PvP mount. Arcane Weapon Illusion adds a unique visual effect to weapons. The Season 3 PvP Elite sets cover all classes with matching weapon and armor transmogs, including Shaman, Evoker, Mage, Monk, Paladin, Demon Hunter, Druid, Hunter, Priest, Warrior, Death Knight, Warlock, and Rogue.
Five rating-based titles also become unobtainable: Combatant at 1000 rating, Challenger at 1400, Rival at 1800, Duelist at 2100, and Gladiator requiring 50 wins at 2400 rating.
Rated PvP doesn't completely shut down after the season ends. Players can still queue for Honor, Conquest, and progress toward the faction-themed Vicious Void Creeper mount (available in Horde and Alliance versions). That mount remains earnable until Midnight launches March 2.
Legion Remix Ends
Legion Remix ends when the pre-patch launches January 20, closing out its 15-week revisit to the Legion expansion. The mode offered accelerated character leveling, unique bronze currency rewards, and exclusive achievements.
Blizzard's messaging describes the timeline collapsing, urging players to "say your goodbyes and embrace the chaos" before the mode disappears indefinitely. Players need to finish leveling any alts in progress, complete remaining achievements, and spend their bronze currency before the cutoff.
Delve Timeline
Blizzard's official announcement didn't mention Delves at all, leaving their January 20 status uncertain. Season 3 Delves include potentially time-limited content like Delver's Journey progression, Undercoin rewards, and the Nexus-Princess Ky'veza encounter.
This omission suggests these activities might stick around until Midnight's full launch on March 2. Still, players might want to wrap up Delve content by January 20 just to be safe, given Blizzard hasn't provided explicit clarity.
Pre-Patch System Changes
January 20's update delivers more than just Season 3's conclusion. Midnight's pre-patch introduces substantial game changes ahead of the expansion's March 2 release.
Devourer joins Demon Hunters as their third specialization. Void Elves can now roll Demon Hunters, opening a new race-class combination. Every spec in the game gets talent tree redesigns, while the UI receives updates including a native damage meter. The transmog system gets overhauled, and PvP Training Grounds launches as a practice space.
Players who bought any edition of Midnight can access early player housing starting with the pre-patch. Two limited-time events kick off January 27: the Winds of Mysterious Fortune returns, and the Twilight Ascension pre-patch event runs until Midnight launches March 2.
Complete Deadline List
January 19 at 10:00 PM PST / January 20 at 22:00 CET:
- Ahead of the Curve: Dimensius, the All-Devouring
- Cutting Edge: Dimensius, the All-Devouring
- Mythic+ leaderboard rankings for "the Unbound Hero" title
- Astral Gladiator achievement (top 0.1% in 3v3 arena)
- Astral Legend achievement (top 0.1% in Solo Shuffle)
- All Season 3 PvP titles (Combatant, Challenger, Rival, Duelist, Gladiator)
January 20, 2026:
- Astral Gladiator's Fel Bat mount
- Arcane Weapon Enchantment Illusion
- Season 3 PvP Elite weapon and armor transmogs
- All Legion Remix achievements
- All Legion Remix bronze currency rewards
- Season 3 Delve achievements (recommended, status unclear)
March 2, 2026:
- Royal Voidwing mount from "A Twilight Oath's End"
- Unbound Star-Eater mount (remains available but drop rate gets heavily nerfed)
- Vicious Void Creeper faction-themed PvP mount
Midnight launches worldwide March 2, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST for PC.
