World of Warcraft 10.2.5: Everything you can do in the new patch
The World of Warcraft 10.2.5 update has finally arrived in Dragonflight. The patch is officially called Seeds of Renewal, and while it brings the current storyline to a close, those Seeds have grown into a full-on farm full of new quests, content and rewards.
So what can you expect from this update? There are mounts and pets-a-plenty, full transmog sets, individual transmog items, dragon customization glyphs, new costumes for Pepe the head-sitting bird, and two new zone revamps await players, who’d like to wade through this wave of new in-game shenanigans in their free time.
With PVE activities in Season 4 of World of Warcraft looking to be mostly a best-of tour of the game’s raids and dungeons, this massive list of things to do might have to keep you occupied for a while. With that in mind, here’s your cheat sheet for what to see and do in WoW 10.2.5, one of the larger .5 patches in WoW’s history.
Quick hits in WoW 10.2.5
While the bulk of this guide contains more time-consuming activities, if your time is short, you can amuse yourself with the quick hits listed below to flesh out your collections:
- The Catalyst is now open weekly, so go turn your gear into tier set pieces.
- The Trading Post meta-reward this month is the nifty Golden Mobile Timepiece watch. It shows on the outside of many long-sleeve chest items, and pairs nicely with the Waist of Time belt and the Timelord title from reputation with Chromie.
- If you complete (or have completed) 12 months of the Trading Post meta and get your full Warden-style transmog sets, Patch 10.2.5 brings you separate versions in both the white-ish Night color and the green-and-gold Day color.
- Talk to the dragons atop the main spire in Valdrakken for a nice wrapup to all those adventures, including new cut scenes and a hint as to what Iridikron might be up to next.
- If you’re Troll or Draenei, hit the Barber Shop for new hair and skin options, respectively. Warlocks should pop in to see the new Darkglare and Tyrant pet customizations.
- If you have the ever-popular Pepe – the head-sitting bird first introduced in Warlords of Draenor expansion and decked out in new styles ever since – there are three new appearances to pick up in patch 10.2.5: Dragon Pepe, Explorer Pepe and the walrus-like Tuskarr Pepe.
Reclaim Gilneas and ride your (elf?) fox in style
Gilneas, the starting area for the werewolf-like Worgen race in WoW, was attacked by the Forsaken and left derelict and deserted. But in patch 10.2.5, that’s true no longer: Players will get a breadcrumb that invites them to start a series of quests to reclaim this stately Victorian-style city.
In the wake of the new cooperation between factions, the Forsaken have left Gilneas, but others have moved in. Players will evict the unwanted inhabitants, give Worgen leader Genn Greymane a little closure, and of course scoop up a nice formal transmog set and a very pretty white fox to ride on with… Highborne-style armor? Let’s not examine that too closely.
Pick up two Gilneas bonuses
Once you’ve completed the questline, take the time to obtain two bonus items. For players with Worgen characters, there will be a flower on Liam Greymane’s grave—collect it, and you’ll get Tess’ Peacebloom, a toy that allows you to port here every 30 minutes. (If you did the questline on a different race, the toy will automatically be in your toy box for use with your Worgen.)
For all races, there is a truly nifty new set of iridescent sunglasses—Lord Godfrey’s Old Spectacles—available by fishing the waters off the coast of Gilneas. You do not have to complete the questline, and it appears all levels of fishing skill can “catch” them.
For non-Worgen Alliance, there is no portal or flight path leading into or out of Gilneas—a disappointment, since it’s hella far from everything for Alliance players, and adding a portal here would have opened up this part of the game world to that faction.
Visit Bel’Ameth for a metric ton of Night Elf transmog items
If you’ve completed the 10.2 campaign storyline, you’ll get a breadcrumb in Valdrakken in 10.2.5 to find out what’s up with Tyrande Whisperwind, the leader of the Night Elves, leading to the new Night Elf home city of Bel’Ameth. A cut scene will reintroduce an old friend and set this storyline to rest, as well as set up the future path of Tyrande and the elves.
Bel’Ameth itself is a lovely town. Roleplayers in particular are going to have a field day with all the fully-furnished, yet empty, buildings of nearly every type. Trainers and vendors, including some familiar faces from vanilla WoW, abound. Even the wisps have names. Don’t forget to pick up the flight path while you’re there!
Explore those buildings during the quest chain and you’ll find a pile of night-elf-themed armor and weapon appearances in the form of treasure ground spawns. I found horns, pouches, a spear, a shield, a dagger, bedrolls, and a backpack from those treasures in a quick lap around town and in the questline itself.
New portals to the city have been added in the mage tower in Stormwind for Alliance and Nordrassil in Mount Hyjal for the Horde—take the portal to Mount Hyjal in the Western Earthshrine in Orgrimmar and you’ll pop out right next to the new portal.
Grab some followers and hit a dungeon
The new patch launched Follower Dungeons, which allows you to grab NPCs to form a party and do dungeons with, rather than having to queue up with strangers. Of course, the whole point of MMOs is to play with others, but if you’re pushed for time and don’t want to wait on a tank, or if you just want to get to grips with a dungeon’s layout or mechanics before jumping in with others, this is a good option.
You can queue for Follower Dungeons directly from the Looking for Group tool.
Compete in the Outland Cup and dragonride everywhere
Dragonriding has been added to all old-world zones, including outdoor dungeons, which is great news for players chafing at how slow old flying mounts feel these days in comparison. It also has the impact of making the old world feel remarkably small in places—good news when you’re flying down to the Cape of Stranglethorn, perhaps.
Dragonriding isn’t quite as fast in the old world as it is in Dragonflight zones, but it’s still a huge improvement. Dracthyr players will finally be able to spread their own wings fully and dragonride with their characters everywhere as well, without the need of a mount, which is a great addition.
This patch also brought us the latest old-world dragonriding challenges in the Outland Cup, held (appropriately) in Outland. Starter quests are located in Stormwind, Orgrimmar and Valdrakken. There are 13 courses for you to complete in normal, advanced and reverse variations, and they award Riders of Azeroth badges, which can be exchanged for transmogs and items with Maztha in Valdrakken.
Finishing all the races on Gold gets you Outland Racing Completionist: Gold achievement, the “Outland Racer” title, and a Ruby Riders of Azeroth tabard. You can buy the Outlandish Drake Racer’s transmog set with the badges, as well as dragon customizations and a new Manuscript of Endless Possibility that randomizes your basic dragonriding drakes’ appearances every time you mount one.
Dig up some Warcraft lore in Azerothian Archives
The new Azerothian Archives lore event rewards pets, two mounts, two transmog sets and a massive collection of individual items. It has an hourly public event as well as solo and group content. You’ll have an elemental doing your bidding and you’ll get to see scenes explaining WoW’s history.
