Blizzard's Midnight pre-patch for World of Warcraft lands January 20, 2026. The expansion itself follows on March 2.
This update packs in the Devourer Demon Hunter specialization, Void Elf Demon Hunters, WoW's fourth stat squish, rebuilt UI systems, transmog changes, player housing features, and class reworks touching every spec in the game. The Twilight Ascension pre-patch event begins January 27, bringing catch-up gear, exclusive rewards, and the Winds of Mysterious Fortune XP buff.
Devourer Demon Hunter
Demon Hunters gain their third spec with this patch. Devourer uses Void power instead of Fel, setting it apart from Havoc and Vengeance.
Blizzard describes it as a "glaive-wielding, soul-harvesting, and planet-crushing spellcaster." The spec plays at mid-range as an intellect user, demanding aggressive resource management and sharp timing. It keeps the mobility Demon Hunters are known for while letting players dive into melee for burst combo attacks.
Every Demon Hunter unlocks the spec automatically when the patch drops. Vengeance players will also find their Fel-Scarred Hero Talent tree swapped for Annihilator, a new tree shared with Devourer.
Void Elf Demon Hunters
Void Elves can now become Demon Hunters. Unlocking the combo takes two questlines.
Players need a Level 80+ Void Elf to complete the "In Search of Darkness" chain from K'aresh first. It starts with "A Common Cause" and ends with "Hunger of the Void."
From there, "The Pursuit Continues" picks up in Dornogal (or Silvermoon after Midnight launches) and wraps with "Trial of Wrath." The Void Elf racial Spatial Rift pairs nicely with Demon Hunter mobility.
Stat Squish Number Four
Midnight brings WoW's fourth stat squish. Item stats, damage numbers, and health pools all scale down algorithmically starting with this patch.
Power relative to enemies stays the same. Only the on-screen numbers shrink for better readability.
Transmog Overhaul
Transmog picks up several changes players have wanted for years.
Outfits: Appearances now attach to outfit slots, not individual gear pieces. Equipping new gear keeps the active outfit's look. Two free slots come standard, with 18 more purchasable for gold. All slots are Warband-wide. Outfits can sit on action bars for instant, free swaps anywhere.
Situations: A new feature that auto-swaps outfits based on context. Different looks for mounted travel, dungeons, raids, delves, PvP, specs, or Dracthyr/Worgen forms are all possible.
Set Collection: Grabbing every appearance from a class set at one difficulty now unlocks all lower variants. Complete a Mythic set and the Heroic, Normal, and LFR looks unlock too. This applies retroactively to legacy content.
Housing Additions
Midnight Housing Early Access players will find new features waiting. Players new to housing can jump in immediately after upgrading to Midnight. The Decor Catalog tab in the Housing Dashboard shows all available items, sources, costs, and requirements.
Elven Exteriors: Alliance players can build with Night Elf moonlit stonework and purple-hued wooden structures. Horde players can use Silvermoon-inspired golden trim and red crystal accents.
Level Cap Increase: Houses now go to Level 9. Medium exteriors unlock at Level 8.
Endeavors: Monthly neighborhood activities where residents complete themed tasks (crafting, questing, dungeons) to unlock vendors, decorations, and Community Coupons.
Charter Neighborhoods: Custom neighborhoods without needing a guild or public neighborhood.
Misc Changes: House Chest now has a Catalog tab for previewing unowned decor. Plot boundary visuals appear in the House Editor. Advanced mode controls use color-coded axes. Many decor pieces cost less to place. Lumber drops more often and harvesting works in WoD zones now. Elwynn and Durotar Housing Campsites join Warband collections. Legion Remix housing items are sold by Val'zuun in The Underbelly.
UI Rebuilt
Interface changes hit multiple systems at once.
Built-In Damage Meters
Damage meters are now part of the base UI. No addons needed.
Tracked categories: Damage Done, DPS, Damage Taken, Avoidable Damage Taken, Healing Done, HPS, Interrupts, and Dispels. Up to three windows can run at once. The system tracks individual fights plus summaries of up to 30 encounters.
Clicking any entry opens a spell-by-spell breakdown. Data survives disconnects and logouts. Edit Mode handles customization for bar size, presentation, visibility, and class/spec display.
Boss Warnings
Two new alert types arrive for boss fights.
Boss Timeline shows upcoming casts in linear order with timing visuals. Text Alerts put Minor, Medium, and Critical warnings center-screen like raid warnings. Both have Edit Mode options for scale, orientation, and opacity.
Cooldown Manager Additions
Multiple layout saves with import/export support are now possible. Sound and visual alerts (up to 3 per cooldown) can trigger on specific events. Text-to-Speech works for audio alerts.
Target debuffs display with color-coded borders by type. Pandemic indicators show when DoTs can refresh without losing damage.
Nameplate Rework
Enemy nameplates now better highlight dangerous casts. Interrupt popups show who stopped the spell. Threat indicators have updated color transitions.
Buffs and debuffs appear on nameplates directly. New style options let players emphasize health, text, or casts. Non-target nameplates dim to cut clutter. Overlap and positioning improved. Clicking nameplate text targets that unit. Rare, Elite, and Rare Elite icons got visual updates.
Raid Frame Updates
Dispellable debuffs show colored borders and icons matching spell type. Bleed now counts as dispellable.
Updated textures cover heal absorbs, incoming heals, and shields. Edit Mode includes template layouts. Options exist for role debuff display, centered defensives, and dispel indicators.
Addon Compatibility Warning
Blizzard's changes to combat automation mean addons not updated for Midnight won't load. Developers got advance notice, and many compatible versions are already available.
Addons lose access to most real-time combat info. They now work by editing Blizzard UI elements. The base Cooldown Manager, Raid Frames, and Nameplates all have expanded functionality. Popular addons like Deadly Boss Mods will build on Blizzard's systems going forward.
Training Grounds: PvP vs. Bots
A new mode teaches battleground fundamentals against AI opponents. Training Grounds runs in Arathi Basin, Silvershard Mines, and Battle for Gilneas.
The bots aren't pushovers. Skill and coordination are still required. But the mode offers a safer space to learn PvP mechanics and class roles without facing veterans. It has its own achievement set.
Class Changes Across Every Spec
All 39 specializations receive combat design updates. Talent trees are rebuilt with more build variety. Here are the biggest changes by class.
Death Knight
Blood's Consumption becomes an Empower ability. Blooddrinker, Bonestorm, and Tombstone are gone. Frost's Obliterate splits into two-handed and dual wield versions. Unholy's Festering Strike, Scourge Strike, and Clawing Shadows are all redesigned. Army of the Dead's cooldown drops to 1.5 minutes (was 3). Apocalypse is cut.
Demon Hunter
Sigil of Flame becomes Vengeance-only. Havoc's Desperate Instincts and Essence Break are reworked. Eye Beam's cooldown falls to 30 seconds (was 40). Vengeance's Calcified Spikes, Feed the Demon, and Revel in Pain are redesigned. Demon Spikes lasts 12 seconds (was 8). Spirit Bomb now has a 25-second cooldown.
Druid
Heart of the Wild is rebuilt with form-specific effects. Balance's Eclipse merges Lunar and Solar modes onto one button. Mastery now boosts Nature and Arcane damage equally. Feral picks up Chomp and Frantic Frenzy. Guardian's Berserk is reworked; Survival Instincts has two charges baseline. Resto's Flourish becomes a passive Tranquility upgrade. Grove Guardians are redesigned.
Evoker
Augmentation's Ebon Might grants 8% primary stat (was 5%) and hits all damage dealers within 100 yards. Devastation's Shattering Star becomes passive. Preservation's Dream Simulacrum lets Verdant Embrace send a copy instead of making the caster leap.
Hunter
Hunter's Mark increases damage taken by 3% (was 5% above 80% health). Beast Mastery loses Multi-Shot; Wild Thrash is the new AoE. Marksmanship's Aimed Shot cast time drops to 2.5 seconds (was 3). Survival can equip one-handed axes, swords, and daggers. Hatchet Toss replaces Arcane Shot. Coordinated Assault is removed.
Mage
Mirror Image lasts 15 seconds (was 40). Arcane Pulse replaces Arcane Explosion; Arcane Barrage replaces Fire Blast. Fire loses Phoenix Flames; Kindling now cuts Combustion's cooldown by 60 seconds flat. Frost picks up a Shatter system where Frostbolt and Flurry stack Freezing debuffs that Ice Lance consumes. Mastery becomes "Freeze and Shatter." Icy Veins is gone.
Monk
Brewmaster swaps Rising Sun Kick for Stagger. Invoke Niuzao's cooldown drops to 2 minutes (was 3). Mistweaver's Sheilun's Gift replaces Vivify; Thunder Focus Tea's cooldown rises to 45 seconds (was 30). Windwalker loses Storm, Earth, and Fire. Zenith becomes the new major cooldown.
Paladin
Holy Power spenders deal 20% more damage and healing. Holy Shock replaces Crusader Strike with a 6-second cooldown (was 9.5). Light of Dawn heals in a 40-yard radius. Protection's Last Stand triggers with Shield Wall; Guardian of Ancient Kings' cooldown drops to 180 seconds (was 300). Retribution's Execution Sentence picks up an AoE component. Final Reckoning is cut.
Priest
Mind Blast moves to the class tree (Holy uses Holy Fire instead). Discipline's Atonement heals for 50% of damage (was 28%); Evangelism is reworked. Holy's Prayer of Mending replaces Power Word: Shield at level 11. Symbol of Hope is gone. Shadow's Devouring Plague becomes Shadow Word: Madness; Shadow Crash becomes Tentacle Slam; Void Eruption becomes Voidform.
Rogue
Cheap Shot now has a 12-second cooldown. Assassination's Venomous Wounds and Deathmark are redesigned; Serrated Bone Spikes is cut. Outlaw's Roll the Bones is rebuilt with tiered bonuses; Ghostly Strike is gone. Subtlety's Shadow Dance cooldown drops to 20 seconds (was 1 minute); Flagellation is removed.
Shaman
Earth Elemental lasts 30 seconds (was 1 minute) on a 3-minute cooldown (was 5). Elemental loses Fire Elemental and Primordial Wave. Enhancement's Maelstrom Weapon is reworked (stacks to 5, each stack cuts cast time and adds 20% damage); Ice Strike and Hailstorm are gone. Restoration's Healing Wave cast time drops to 2 seconds (was 2.5); Wind Shear's cooldown jumps to 30 seconds (was 12). Cloudburst Totem is removed.
Warlock
Affliction's Unstable Affliction can stack now; Malefic Rapture is cut. Demonology's Hand of Gul'dan replaces Corruption and summons 3 Wild Imps; Grimoire: Felguard is gone. Destruction's Shadowburn works below 20% health with no cooldown; Rain of Fire is removed from the talent tree.
Warrior
Champion's Spear picks up a chain effect and leap. Arms' Mastery gives bonus damage with two-handers; Warbreaker is merged into Colossus Smash. Fury's Rampage replaces Slam; Onslaught is cut. Protection's Last Stand triggers with Shield Wall; Bolster is gone.
Twilight Ascension Pre-Patch Event
The event runs January 27 through March 2 in Twilight Highlands. The Twilight's Blade cult (formerly Twilight's Hammer) is invading.
Getting Started
Complete the introductory questline starting with "The Cult Within" (both factions). Finishing it unlocks:
- Weekly Twilight Ascension quests
- Twilight's Blade Tabard
- "[Name], Definitely Not a Cultist" title
- Twilight's Blade World Quests in Twilight Highlands
Currency: Twilight's Blade Insignia
Earned from event activities:
- Rare Elite Events: 1 per kill
- World Quests: 10 each (refresh every 12 hours)
- Weekly Quests: 40 each (Disrupt the Call/Twilight's Dawn, once per Warband weekly)
Rare Spawn Rotation
Rares spawn every 10 minutes in a fixed order. A zone-wide message announces: "The Twilight's Blade have begun summoning more forces. Defeat their ritual leaders!"
Each spawn has three phases: kill camp forces, slay three shielding ritualists, then burn down the vulnerable rare.
The 18-rare rotation: Redeye the Skullchewer → T'aavihan the Unbound → Ray of Putrescence → Ix the Bloodfallen → Commander Ix'vaarha → Sharfadi, Bulwark of the Night → Ez'Haadosh the Liminality → Berg the Spellfist → Corla, Herald of Twilight → Void Zealot Devinda → Asira Dawnslayer → Archbishop Benedictus → Nedrand the Eyegorger → Executioner Lynthelma → Gustavan, Herald of the End → Voidclaw Hexathor → Mirrorvise → Saligrum the Observer
At the top of every hour, an Ephemeral Void spawns at rare camps. Destroying Disparate Ephemera around the area summons Voice of the Eclipse, an exclusive rare needed for the "Two Minutes to Midnight" achievement.
Event Vendors
Armorer Kalinovan (catch-up gear) and Materialist Ophinell (cosmetics) sit at the elven resistance camp in southern Twilight Highlands (/way #241 49.6 81.2).
Achievements
Two Minutes to Midnight (Feat of Strength): Kill all rares including Voice of the Eclipse. Rewards the Light-Forged Mechsuit mount.
Crunching for Cultists: Win the Twilight's Blade tic-tac-toe game 50 times at the camp.
Rewards
Mounts:
- Retrained Skyrazor (teal and pink): 100 Insignia
- Light-Forged Mechsuit: Two Minutes to Midnight reward
Battle Pets (30 Insignia each):
- Scruff (brown/blue baby hyena)
- Emerald Sporbit (green sporbit)
- Rhay'Dahr (olive/pink baby beholder)
Housing Decor:
- Silvermoon Wooden Chair: 50 Insignia
- Enchanted Blood Elven Candelabra: 50 Insignia
- Sin'dorei Winged Chaise: 75 Insignia
Transmog:
- Arsenal: Weathered Twilight's Hammer Armaments (sword, axe, greataxe, longbow, ritual knife, rifle, hammer, greatmace): 40 Insignia
- Ensemble: Well-Worn Twilight Cultist's Attire: 40 Insignia
Toy:
- Twilight's Blade Top Secret Strategy Training Guide (summons the stratagem game): 30 Insignia
Catch-Up Gear
Item Level 121 (Champion 1/8) gear costs 40 Insignia per piece from Armorer Kalinovan. It upgrades to iLvl 144, matching early Manaforge Omega Normal bosses. The gear also drops from event rares.
Sets cover cloth, leather, mail, and plate (8 pieces each), plus four cloak variants, two necklaces, two rings, and weapons (axe, mace, cudgel, spear, staff, greatsword, censer, shield, warglaive, dagger).
Dungeon and Raid Tuning
Enemy health and damage are reduced throughout Season 3 M+ dungeons and Manaforge Omega. These cuts are separate from the stat squish and make the content easier overall.
Dungeon Fixes:
- Encounter timelines added to all Season 3 M+ bosses
- Ara-Kara: Avanoxx's Gossamer Onslaught and Ki'katal's Cosmic Singularity lose their energy costs
- Halls of Atonement: Lord Chamberlain's cooldowns reset after Ritual of Woe
- Priory of the Sacred Flame: Captain Dailcry's Savage Mauling and Prioress Murrpray's Inner Fire lose energy costs
Manaforge Omega:
- Soul Hunters: Consume and Soulcrush healing absorbs cut by 10%
- Fractillus: Timing and damage adjustments on multiple mechanics
- Dimensius: Conqueror's Cross summons fewer adds; Crushing Gravity damage down 50% on Mythic
PvP Changes
Elite Rank drops to 2300 rating (was 2400). Legend, Strategist, and Gladiator requirements shift accordingly. Gladiator's Distinction trinket bonus grants 15% less stamina in PvP.
Battleground Blitz (Eye of the Storm): Map mechanics revert to standard four-base mode. Swift Pursuit grants 100% mount speed, increasing to 150% on bridges after 30 seconds.
Healing Nerfs: Holy Paladin healing down 20% in PvP. Restoration Shaman healing down 20%. Mistweaver's Enveloping Mist loses its 50% PvP bonus.
Multiple class-specific PvP talents are added, changed, or removed. Evoker Preservation picks up Emerald Communion. Priest picks up Psychic Shroud.
Content Going Away
Manaforge Omega:
- Ahead of the Curve: Dimensius, the All-Devouring
- Cutting Edge: Dimensius, the All-Devouring
M+ Season 3:
- Keystone Conqueror: Season Three ("[Name] the Unbound" title)
- Keystone Master: Season Three (Azure Void Flyer mount)
- Keystone Legend: Season Three (Scarlet Void Flyer mount)
Rated PvP Season 3:
- Astral Gladiator's Fel Bat mount
- Astral Gladiator and Astral Legend achievements/titles
- Arcane Weapon Illusion
- Season 3 PvP Elite Sets
Accessibility Additions
Combat Audio Alerts: A new Text-to-Speech system reads combat events aloud. Covered events include player/target health, spellcast states (including interruptible), primary resources, party health, new targets, and combat start/stop. Settings control voice, volume, speed, formats, throttles, and thresholds.
Text-to-Speech Updates: Overlap support allows multiple voices at once. Embedded XML tags adjust rate, volume, pitch, and emphasis mid-line. Speech timing bugs are fixed.
Other UI Additions
- New Journeys tab in Adventure Guide tracks Renown, Delves, Prey, and Great Vault progress
- Delves tab removed from Group Finder (config moves to Journeys)
- Premade Group Finder Playstyle options standardized: Learning, Fun & Relaxed, Fun & Serious, Experts Only
- External Defensives buff tracker added to Combat section of Edit Mode
- Personal Resource Display added to HUD Edit Mode
- Currencies work directly as crafting order reagents
- Reporting categories adjusted for activity context
Between major class reworks, UI rebuilds, and housing updates all landing at once, players should expect some adjustment time before the expansion hits March 2.
