Wrath of the Lich King Phase 5, featuring the Ruby Sanctum raid, is live!

The fifth and final phase of Wrath of the Lich King Classic has finally arrived! Much like the original Wrath of the Lich King release, the final phase of Wrath Classic is smaller than previous phases but there’s still a decent mix of old and new activities to do. Let’s take a look at what we know is coming in Wrath Classic Phase 5 and speculate on what else might be coming in this final phase.

Enter the Ruby Sanctum and help the red dragonflight

Headlining Phase 5 is the last Wrath Classic raid, the Ruby Sanctum. Taking place in a new wing below Wyrmrest Temple, the Ruby Sanctum is a sacred area belonging to the red dragonflight that players must defend against an invading force belonging to the black dragonflight. This level 80 raid is smaller in size than the other Wrath Classic raids, contained to one instance with a single boss accompanied by 3 mini-bosses and will probably has both 10 and 25 player versions.

What else could be in Phase 5 in the future?

Titan Rune Dungeons were a new, optional hard-mode for dungeons exclusive to Wrath Classic and introduced in Phase 2. Players can activate Titan Runes at the beginning of dungeons, upping the dungeons difficulty by giving enemies extra damage and health modifiers for a chance at 10-player raid gear from the previous raids. As of Wrath Classic phase 4, all Wrath Classic raid loot tables prior to Icecrown Citadel became part of the Titan Rune Dungeons. Interestingly enough, there isn’t a new set of modifiers for Titan Rune Dungeons and thus no alternative path to get 10-player gear from Icecrown Citadel. While we may not have new Titan Rune Dungeons right now, we could see more in the future before the beginning of Cataclysm Classic’s pre-patch.

Beyond Northrend

Originally, the events of the Ruby Sanctum raid set the stage for Cataclysm and so shall it be again, with the recent announcement of Cataclysm Classic at BlizzCon 2023. We don’t have an exact release date yet but the Wrath Classic servers will become Cataclysm Classic servers sometime in 2024. Now that Wrath Classic Phase 5 is live we could see a Cataclysm Classic pre-patch sometime around April or May 2024, keeping in line with Blizzard’s 3-ish month release cadence and placing the official Cataclysm Classic launch soon after. Blizzard stated they would utilize what they learned from Wrath Classic and implement some changes early in Cataclysm Classic, including quality-of-life, levelling, and dungeon encounters, hinting at a continuation of Titan Rune Dungeons and its difficult and reward system in some shape.

Wrath Classic is still going to be around for some time before the arrival of Cataclysm Classic. The Joyous Journey’s 50% XP buff is also active in Wrath Classic right now and there isn’t any indication it’s going away when Phase 5 arrives, so if you still want to jump into Wrath Classic you have at least a few more months left to do so!

Originally published on February 10, 2023. Updated on January 11, 2024.