The World of Warcraft The War Within early access is now live, letting you dive into leveling (and only leveling)

World of Warcraft‘s latest chapter, The War Within, had our attention from the announcement, but not all of that attention was positive — for the first time, Epic Edition purchases come with an early access period to the live expansion a few days prior to the expansion release. Yes, early access play will have a limited scope (more below), but this is certainly a philosophy shift. So when exactly are (some) folks entering the next expansion? The War Within early access is now live!

Efforts went into addressing early access concerns following the expansion announcement. In a PC Gamer interview, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas noted that the primary purpose of the extra days is for leveling. The overall goal was not to provide a long-term advantage, but to help players with less time during the initial launch week. As someone with a full-time job (plus writing here), I understand this stated mentality — Tuesday launches have always required using leave or not touching the game until the weekend when (hopefully) bugs are sorted but usually half my guild is already max level. I’m just not sure if that is worth the extra $40.

So, the early access period is primarily for experiencing the story of TWW and thus, leveling. Normal Dungeons will be available as part of the advance period. However, most forms of endgame advancement opportunities will be locked behind the global release (or further): Heroic Dungeons are gated behind the global launch on August 26 and Mythic Dungeons (along with access to the Nerub-ar Palace raid) open a few weeks later with Season 1 (on September 10). Additionally, best-in-slot gear from rares, weekly profession cooldowns, and profession specialization points will all be unavailable. According to Hazzikostas, by the time Season 1 starts “you shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between someone… who had the early access to someone who didn’t.”

And keep in mind — the early access period also comes with technical caveat. All those launch pain points we normally experience on day 1? Yeah, they’ll be showing up on August 22 — maybe in smaller scope, given the guardrails around early access, but no less present. And it’s spelled out on the expansion purchase page — play time [is] subject to possible outages. Maybe, just maybe, this would actually result in a smoother experience for the global launch?

The War Within is going to be a new experience for everyone! And we’re in the final countdown with the Radiant Echoes pre-expansion event now live. Whether you will be diving in a few days early on August 22 or joining everyone in the login charge on August 26, we’ll see you in Khaz Algar soon.

Originally published July 31, 2024; updated August 22, 2024