WoW TBC Anniversary – Phases, Dates & What to Expect

WoW TBC Anniversary brings players back into Outland with updated systems, faster leveling, and a refined progression flow. Blizzard’s second take on the Burning Crusade is woven directly into the World of Warcraft 20th Anniversary realms rather than launching as a separate project. This creates a smooth transition from Classic Anniversary Vanilla straight into Outland content.

Once the Classic Anniversary cycle ends and characters pass through the Dark Portal, WoW TBC Anniversary becomes the next stage, focused not on reimagining Burning Crusade, but on polishing it. Expect a refined honor system, no GDKP, balanced PvP realm rules, and early access to QoL features like Dual Spec, Chronoboon, and Guild Banks.

This guide provides you with the TBC Anniversary release date window, pre-patch timing, all phases, and roadmap, along with a practical preparation checklist, ensuring you're truly prepared when the pre-patch arrives.

WoW TBC Anniversary Release Date

This is the current high-level timing for Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary based on Blizzard’s official roadmap:

TBC Anniversary release date:
According to Blizzard's official roadmap, we can expect TBC Classic Anniversary to drop somewhere between Winter 2026 and Spring 2026.

Confirmed:

• TBC Anniversary pre-patch: January 13, 2026

On that day, every character on WoW Classic Anniversary realms chooses:

• Move forward into TBC Anniversary, or
• Transfer for free to Classic Era realms (offer available Nov 25, 2025 - Jan 12, 2026).

The full Outland launch (Phase 1) will land some time after pre-patch, inside that Winter 2025 / Spring 2026 release window. For players who prefer to hit Phase 1 at full speed instead of catching up later, our boost offers a smooth head start.

TBC Anniversary Pre-Patch

The TBC Classic Anniversary Pre-Patch is a mini-expansion packed with changes that happen before Outland goes live. On January 13, 2026, expect these exciting features:

1. New playable races:

• Blood Elves (Horde): Mage, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Warlock, Paladin
• Draenei (Alliance): Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Priest, Shaman, Paladin

2. New starting zones and capitals:

• Eversong Woods and Ghostlands lead to Silvermoon City
• Azuremyst and Bloodmyst Isles lead to The Exodar

3. Leveling up made easier:

• Faster journey from 1–60 (vanilla leveling speeds up)
• Less experience needed per level from 20–60
• More experience from quests around level 30, especially dungeon quests

4. Earlier and cheaper mounts
5. New profession: Jewelcrafting with up to 300 skill level in pre-patch
6. Full gem, ring, and amulet crafting loop ready before Outland opens

7. Systems turned on before the Dark Portal:

• Dual Specialization
• Chronoboon Displacer with up to 10 stored buffs
• Guild Bank with 8 tabs
• Improved Honor system (PvP starts later with Season 1)
• Buff/debuff limit removed
• Instant mail between characters on the same account

If you're keeping an eye on the Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary Pre-Patch, now's the time to roll Blood Elf/Draenei, level alts with buffed leveling, and prepare your Jewelcrafting skills before Outland opens!

TBC Anniversary Servers & Structure

The Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary servers are not brand-new – they are the existing 20th Anniversary Classic realms, progressing into Outland.

TBC Classic Anniversary Realm List

Hardcore realms (Doomhowl NA, Soulseeker EU) stay in Classic Era by default. You’ll only move into wow classic anniversary Burning Crusade if you are on the Anniversary progression realms.

PvP Realm Balance & GDKP

Key structural changes vs 2019 TBC:

PvP realm balancing

Blizzard actively prevents one faction from massively outnumbering the other.
If a realm starts tilting too hard, character creation for the dominant faction is locked until it stabilizes.

No GDKP in NA/EU

GDKP raids are explicitly disallowed on TBC Classic Anniversary realms in NA/EU.

This is a big shift vs older seasons and will heavily impact raid PUGs culture and gold markets.

If you care about TBC Classic Anniversary changes, these two points (plus dual spec / guild bank from day one) are the biggest strategic differences.

TBC Anniversary Roadmap – All Phases & Content

The TBC Classic Anniversary roadmap sticks close to the original Burning Crusade structure, but layered onto the new Anniversary progression.

All Phases - Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary Schedule

Dates after pre-patch are TBD, but the phase order and content are confirmed.

TBC Anniversary Phases

Phase 1 - Outland Launch & Intro Raids

This is the real start of the Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary experience: Outland zones open, the level cap jumps to 70, and attunement chains begin.

What Phase 1 includes:

Leveling & Zones

• All seven Outland zones
• Flying at level 70
• Reputation-gated Heroic keys (Revered)

Raids

Systems

• Arena Season 1 begins (Nagrand, Blade’s Edge, Ruins of Lordaeron)
• Profession resets (new craft recipes across Outland reps)
• Attunements become the main progression gating

Phase 2 – Serpentshrine Cavern & Tempest Keep (Tier 5)

Phase 2 introduces the first major difficulty jump of TBC.

Raids

Serpentshrine Cavern (SSC)

• Lady Vashj final fight
• Heavy coordination and add management

Tempest Keep: The Eye (TK)

• Kael’thas multi-phase endboss
• Legendary-quality weapons (iconic pre-WotLK items)

Progression

• Long, multi-step attunements return
• Strong BiS items for hybrid classes drop here

For many guilds, Phase 2 is the make-or-break point in the Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary progression cycle.

Phase 3 – Mount Hyjal & Black Temple

This is the height of the TBC era: Illidan, Archimonde, and the most iconic bosses of the expansion.

Raids

Battle for Mount Hyjal

• Wave-based raid
• Ties into Caverns of Time

Black Temple

• Illidan
• Enormous BiS value for nearly every spec

System Shifts

• Heroic key rep lowered to Honored
• Many attunements removed/bypassed
• Crafting recipes expanded (Shadow Resist, etc.)

Phase 3 is where the power curve spikes sharply upward.

Phase 3.5 – Zul’Aman

The mid-phase “catch-up” update.

Zul’Aman (ZA) – 10-Man Raid

• Designed for alts and late starters
• High-value badge gear
• Timed Bear Run for the Amani War Bear

ZA always causes a gear inflow that reshapes raid recruitment.

Phase 4 – Sunwell Plateau & Isle of Quel’Danas

The final phase of the TBC Classic Anniversary cycle.

Raid
Sunwell Plateau

• Brutallus, M’uru, Kil’jaeden
• Tightest DPS checks in TBC
• Final tier of gear

Dungeon
Magister’s Terrace

• High-value catch-up loot
• Strong trinkets and caster items

Zone
Isle of Quel’Danas

• Daily hub for Shattered Sun Offensive
• Island unlocks gradually for the entire server
• New badge vendors and crafting materials

How to Prepare for WoW TBC Anniversary

If you want to hit The Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary sprinting, here’s how to prep like a raid lead — without burning yourself out before Outland even opens.

Pre-patch Goals

Once the pre-patch lands, your first priority is setting up the characters you want to push into TBC. Horde players looking for strong meta picks should consider rolling Blood Elf Paladins or Warlocks, while Alliance gets huge value from Draenei Shamans or Paladins.

Aim to have at least one primary character in solid pre-TBC BiS so you can slam through Hellfire ramps on day one.

The pre-patch leveling buffs (reduced 20–60 XP, boosted quest rewards) make it the best time to power-level 1–2 additional alts. And don’t forget: the character you plan to raid on should be the one picking up Jewelcrafting, since that profession stays relevant through all phases.

Guild Setup

Pre-patch is the calm before the storm — use it wisely. Start by organizing your Guild Bank:

• Consumables
• Daily raid foods
• Resistance gear & crafting mats
• Progression BoEs and attunement items

With GDKP banned on TBC Classic Anniversary realms, finalize your loot system early: Soft-Reserve, Loot Council, EPGP, Hybrid.

Skip the Launch Chaos With a Preorder

A TBC Fresh Preorder Boost lets you bypass every early bottleneck:

• 1–70 or 60–70 leveling fully handled
• Full Heroic Attunements (Revered with all factions)
• Complete Karazhan Attunement
• Profession kits 1–375

Launch weeks in TBC are notoriously brutal. A boost skips the pain and lets you start at raid level instantly.

Final Thoughts

The TBC Anniversary is going to be a big deal. Blizzard aims to give Burning Crusade the smoothest progression ever — modern tech for Classic, stricter social rules (no GDKP, balanced PvP factions), and a pre-patch packed with all systems before Outland opens.

If you're excited for the TBC Anniversary, don’t underestimate it. The pre-patch on January 13, 2026 marks a major shift: move your characters wisely, choose races and professions, organize your guild bank, and prepare for Phase 1 with Karazhan, Gruul, and Magtheridon.

Teams that prep early will breeze through the expansion, those who don’t will spend half of it catching up.