WoW TBC Classic Anniversary Phase 2: 5 Things to Do Before Phase 3

Phase 3 brings Mount Hyjal and Black Temple. Both punish the unprepared with a special kind of cruelty that is, frankly, enjoyable to witness from the outside. Everything on this list is either a gate you must pass through or gold you will very much regret not having. WoW TBC Classic Anniversary Phase 2 preparation begins the moment you log in, not three days before the next phase drops.

Mount Hyjal Attunement: Kill Two Bosses, Collect Two Vials

Gaining access to the Battle of Mount Hyjal requires completing the quest The Vials of Eternity, picked up from Soridormi inside the Caverns of Time in Tanaris. The quest demands two items from two different raid bosses.

Both bosses are the final encounters of their respective raids. You cannot skip them. You cannot beg someone else to do it for you, unless you enjoy being carried and announcing it loudly. Once you have both vials, return to the Caverns of Time and turn in the quest. Congratulations: you are now attuned for a raid that does not exist yet.

This attunement also serves as your proof-of-progression for Phase 3. Without it, the Mount Hyjal attunement TBC gate simply does not open. There is no alternative.

The Black Temple attunement chain is long, Byzantine, and deliberately structured to waste your time across multiple content phases. You cannot finish it in Phase 2. However, you absolutely should start it, because the earlier steps are completely available right now and the chain does not pause and wait for you to feel like it.

Head to Shadowmoon Valley. Your faction determines your starting NPC:

Both versions of the quest ask you to loot 12 Baa'ri tablet fragments from the Ruins of Baa'ri. The chains then converge and walk you through a series of steps in Shadowmoon Valley that are entirely soloable or require a small group. Black Temple attunement chain WoW TBC Classic Anniversary progress made now means less panic later.

The chain eventually requires kills inside Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep, and eventually Mount Hyjal — none of which you can access until you have already completed step 1 above. Do the available steps. Stop when the game stops you.

Completing as far into this chain as Phase 2 permits rewards you with the Medallion of Karabor — a neck piece with stamina and meaningful shadow resistance, earned at a late step. It is also a requirement to set foot inside the Black Temple at all, once Phase 3 launches.

Shadow Resistance: Stack It Before Everyone Else Inflates the Price

Mother Shahraz in Black Temple hits the raid with a beam that deals Shadow damage so reliably that guilds wipe to it repeatedly while insisting they do not need resistance gear. They do. Shadow resistance gear TBC Black Temple is not optional for progression — it is the difference between a kill and a repair bill.

What to buy or craft now

• Shadow Armor Kit — adds +8 Shadow Resistance to chest, legs, hands, or feet. Four slots. Cheap when the demand is low, which is now.
• Shadow resistance gear from the auction house. It exists. Buy it when it is affordable. You will either use it or sell it for a profit when Phase 3 raiders panic-buy everything in sight.
• Epic crafted shadow resistance sets will be the actual standard for Black Temple progression, but the materials cost a significant amount of gold. Start accumulating that gold now.

The Medallion of Karabor, earned through the attunement chain above, contributes shadow resistance as well. This is not a coincidence. Blizzard designed the attunement to quietly gear you for the content it unlocks. Charming.

Investing in shadow resistance items now is straightforward economics. When Phase 3 drops and 5,000 people suddenly need the same kits, the price on the WoW TBC Classic Anniversary auction house flipping market will not be kind to procrastinators.

Phase 3 introduces two new raids populated primarily by demons. The Elixir of Demonslaying increases attack power specifically against demons. It is currently cheap because demand is low. Once Black Temple and Hyjal open and raiders start consuming these by the crate, the price will climb. Buy now. Store them.

In Phase 3 you will be able to exchange Marks of the Illidari for specialized flasks — but only if you reach Exalted with all three of the following factions:

All three Exalted requirements are grindable right now. WoW TBC Classic Anniversary reputation grind Phase 2 is not glamorous work, but neither is raiding Black Temple without flasks because you were not prepared.

PvP and Gear: Arena Points, BG Marks, and the Season 2 Window

Season 2 is the current PvP season. The gear it rewards is better than what Season 1 offered and worse than what Season 3 will offer. Spending your arena points on the best available Season 2 items before the season ends is straightforward. Not spending them is leaving stat budget on the table, which is the PvP equivalent of losing to a worse player because you refused to gear properly.

Stock up on WoW TBC Classic Anniversary PvP Season 2 gear marks from all available battlegrounds. When Season 3 launches, the new PvP gear can be purchased immediately if you have the marks and honor already banked. You will not spend a single extra second grinding what you should have done two phases ago.

Arena practice is not optional if you plan to climb in Season 3. Rating gates the best gear. Rating requires games played. Games played require not waiting until the week before Season 3 to queue your first match.

Druids Only: Swift Flight Form Is Available Now

If you play a Druid and have not started the Morthis Whisperwing quest chain, you are farming gold at 60% of the speed you could be. Swift Flight Form is the Phase 2 class-specific reward that gives Druids 280% flight speed without requiring a separate mount. It requires Artisan Riding (5,000 gold) and a quest chain ending in a Heroic Sethekk Halls run to summon Anzu.

The Druid Swift Flight Form quest guide TBC chain begins from any Druid class trainer. Every day you delay completing it is a day you are slower in Outland than you should be. The Cenarion Expedition Lower City Heroic key is required. If your reputation is not there yet, get it there.

While You Are At It: T5 Gear From SSC and The Eye

Both Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep drop Tier 5 tokens. SSC covers gloves, legs, and helms. The Eye covers shoulders and chest. A raid entering Black Temple with full Tier 5 is substantially more forgiving to play than one entering in Tier 4 holdovers. Phase 3 content will likely launch in a nerfed state — it did originally, but the Tier 5 gear progression WoW TBC Classic Anniversary is still meaningful. Clear both raids weekly. Take the tokens.