World of Warcraft launches the first season of The War Within

World of Warcraft‘s new expansion, The war withinhas introduced a new, subterranean expanse to Azeroth. Players have encountered Earthen on the Isle of Dorn, entered the Ringing Depths, discovered the remnants of the Arathi Empire in Hallowfell, and begun our siege against the Nerubian forces allied with the evil Void entity Xal’atath. On Tuesday, Blizzard announced that Season 1 is now liveand it opens up the endgame activities of raids and Mythic dungeons – meaning players can finally enter the Nerub-ar Palace and take down Queen Ansurek.

Nerub-ar Palace is an eight-boss raid; players can queue for it on Normal or Heroic difficulty. The first wing of the raid is also available on the accessible Looking for Raid difficulty. On September 17, the Mythic difficulty, Looking for Raid Wing 2, and Nerub-ar Palace’s story mode will go live.

Today’s update also introduces the Mythic Dungeon difficulty. Mythic Dungeons are one of the most popular endgame activities, allowing players to earn endgame gear by defeating bosses before the timer runs out. Players will have one week to jump into Mythic and Mythic +1; Mythic +2 and above will release on September 17. Additionally, The Great Vault, another way to earn endgame gear through various activities, will open on the 17th.

The Mythic dungeons available in Season 1 are Ara-kara, City of Echoes, City of Threads, The Dawnbreaker, and The Stonevault. There will also be two dungeons of Shadowlandsa dungeon of Battle for Azerothand one of Catastrophe.