World of Warcraft Patch 5.3: Reactions

Blizzard is walking the walk--they are keeping their promise of more frequent content updates and it's not slowing down. Patch 5.3 notes have been released and it's currently live on the test realms, less than a month after 5.2 hit. Lets take a look at some of the bigger changes and additions that are on the way.

The War Comes Home

Minor spoilers in this section if you are not up to speed on the Mists storyline.

While Patch 5.2 has us dealing with the return of the Thunder King and preventing his tyrannical reign over Pandaria, 5.3 brings the focus back to Kalimdor. Before Mists of Pandaria launched, Blizzard had stated several times that this expansion cycle would culminate with some sort of assault on Orgrimmar and now Patch 5.3 has players making preparations for this offensive. If you've been playing through the Mists of Pandaria content, you're no doubt aware that many factions are not pleased with Garrosh and his role as warchief. The Darkspear Trolls have decided that enough is enough and have declared a rebellion against Garrosh.

With the rebellion in full swing, Garrosh has dispatched his personal guard, the Kor'Kron across the Barrens and Durotar to stop those who side with the Darkspear. Alliance players will work with their S:I-7 spies to cripple Garrosh's forces while the Horde will aid Vol'jin in surviving a Kor'Kron attack and push through to the gates of Orgrimmar.

Meanwhile in the Barrens, quests will lead both factions to aid the Darkspear rebellion by attacking the Kor'Kron and disrupting their supply lines. Additionally, players will be able to protect friendly supply caravans traveling through the Barrens which are essentially dynamic quests. Zone wide alerts will notify players when a caravan needs aid and by successfully doing so, additional resources will be awarded to those who helped. On the map below you can see a caravan to the south and other Kor'Kron points of interest scattered about.