World of Warcraft launches the first season for The War Within

World of Warcraft’s new expansion, The War Within, has introduced a new, underground expanse to Azeroth. Players have met the Earthen on the Isle of Dorn, entered the Ringing Depths, discovered the Arathi Empire remnants in Hallowfell, and began our siege on the Nerubian forces working with the evil Void entity Xal’atath. On Tuesday, Blizzard announced that season 1 is now live, and it opens up the endgame activities of raiding and Mythic dungeons – which means players finally get to enter the Nerub-ar Palace and take out Queen Ansurek.

Nerub-ar Palace is an eight-boss raid; players can queue for Normal or Heroic difficulty. The first wing of the raid is also available at the accessible Looking for Raid difficulty. On Sept. 17, Mythic difficulty, Looking for Raid Wing 2, and Story Mode of Nerub-ar Palace will go live.

Today’s update also introduces Mythic dungeon difficulty. Mythic dungeons are one of the most popular endgame activities, allowing players to earn endgame gear by defeating bosses before a timer elapses. Players will have a week to jump into Mythic and Mythic +1; Mythic +2 and up will release on Sept. 17. In addition, The Great Vault, another way to earn endgame gear through various activities will open up on the 17th.

The Mythic dungeons available in season 1 will be Ara-kara, City of Echoes, City of Threads, The Dawnbreaker, and The Stonevault. There’ll also be two dungeons from Shadowlands, one dungeon from Battle for Azeroth, and one from Cataclysm.

Season 1 also introduces four new World Bosses, a PvP season, and Tiers 4+ of the Delve feature. These endgame activities should keep players busy until Patch 11.0.5, which is confirmed to be a celebration of World of Warcraft’s 20-year anniversary.