It’s almost time to revisit the next expansion in World of Warcraft Classic. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Classic is nearly here, and I’ve whipped up a rundown of what you can expect if you’re interested. First of all, the pre-expansion update (or “pre-patch”) for Mists of Pandaria Classic is expected to launch during the week of July 1st, 2025. Note that this is not the launch of the full expansion, though the pre-patch will include a few major aspects of Mists of Pandaria Classic. It appears that the pre-patch will add the new playable Pandaren race and the Monk class, for example.

The pre-patch will also include the Theramore’s Fall world event. Participating in this event and its associated instanced scenario will give players context for major story events that play a role in the Mists of Pandaria expansion. I should clarify two things for players who aren’t familiar with Mists of Pandaria’s content. Firstly, Pandaren characters can choose to join the Alliance or the Horde after completing their unique starting area. Secondly, assuming nothing changes from when Mists of Pandaria was current, the Monk class will not be exclusively available to Pandaren characters. Both factions’ races (except Worgen and Goblins) can be Monks.

Mists of Pandaria Classic will raise the maximum character level from 85 to 90. Mists of Pandaria Classic will also reintroduce the rather divisive major overhaul of the class talent system. I don’t want to get sidetracked by sharing my opinions on that, so suffice it to say I’m glad Blizzard has since reverted to “old-fashioned” talent trees in modern World of Warcraft. On what’s likely a much more positive note, Mists of Pandaria Classic will additionally bring Area-of-Effect (“AoE”) looting to WoW Classic. That’s the ability to loot all nearby enemies at once as opposed to having to do so individually.

Mists of Pandaria Classic is scheduled to launch in full at 3 PM PDT on July 21, 2025, or your regional equivalent of that time. That means players will have almost a full three weeks to get to grips with everything changed and added in the pre-patch. From now until July 1, Cataclysm Classic players can take advantage of the “Joyous Journeys” buff. This buff increases experience gains from all sources by 50% up to Cataclysm’s level cap of 85. This can help players ensure their characters can begin playing Mists of Pandaria Classic when it launches.

It must be noted, however, that the Joyous Journeys buff is only available in Cataclysm Classic. That is to say, the buff doesn’t exist in World of Warcraft: The War Within (aka “Modern WoW”), Season of Discovery, or “Vanilla” WoW Classic. Speaking of Season of Discovery, players have the opportunity to earn a single level 85 character boost for Mists Classic if they defeat the final boss of the Scarlet Enclave raid within Season of Discovery. Blizzard emphasizes that only one character boost can be unlocked by doing this. If you want any additional character boosts, you’ll have to purchase them with real-world currency.

There are two optional packs of goodies for Mists of Pandaria Classic available on the Battle.net shop. One of these packs includes a level 85 character boost alongside its other contents. This is another topic on which I won’t bore you with my personal opinions. Instead, I’ll just direct you to the appropriate page on the Battle.net shop if you’re interested. Note, however, that you don’t need to buy either of these packs to play Mists of Pandaria Classic. All versions of WoW Classic are included with any purchased game time or subscriptions to modern World of Warcraft.

Moving on, everyone who mainly plays modern WoW will soon have a limited-time opportunity to unlock an exclusive Skyriding mount by playing Mists of Pandaria Classic within a certain window of time. Anytime between July 1 and July 30, 2025, you’ll earn this mount if you create a Pandaren character within Mists of Pandaria Classic and complete the Pandaren starting zone, including choosing your character’s faction. Doing so will grant you the Shaohao’s Sage Serpent mount for use in World of Warcraft: The War Within and (presumably) any future expansions.

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