Blizzard announces their phased rollout for the Midnight alpha, starting October 2

The Midnight alpha is arriving soon — October 2 — and Blizzard has also furnished us with a set of phases and content we’ll be seeing as the alpha continues. This is simultaneously a new thing, and yet not that new. This is the way alphas have generally gone for as long as I can remember — they’ll start off the players in a single zone or experience, let them run wild a bit, then in a few weeks iterate and add more zones or experiences. Way back during the Warlords of Draenor alpha, the only thing available for a few weeks was Frostfire Ridge, which left me a bit cold, pun intended, as a mostly Alliance player at the time.

However, this is the first time we’ve seen this cadence spelled out in advance, let alone in a forward-facing slick graphic. It was mostly just communicated as new stuff came out, and mostly informally.

Unfortunately, the slick graphic required quite a bit of squinting for some of us to read, so this is the gist:

• Phase 1: Level 80-83, Eversong Woods zone. Includes Housing, Professions, Class Updates (including Devourer Demon Hunter), and the new Delve Companion Valeera Sanguinar
  • Dungeons: Windrunner Spire and Murder Row
  • Delves: Collegiate Calamity, Parhelion Plaza, and The Darkway
• Phase 2: Level 83-88, Zul’Aman zone.
  • Dungeons: Den of Nalorakk, Maisara Caverns
  • Delves: Twilight Crypts, Atal’Aman
• Phase 3: Level 83-88, Harandar and Eversong Woods zones. Encounter Warnings added to default UI
  • Dungeons: The Blinding Vale
  • Delves: The Grudge Pit, The Gulf of Memory
• Phase 4: Level 88-90, Voidstorm zone. Apex Talents, and PVP features
  • Dungeons: Nexus-Point Xenas, Voidscar Arena, Magister’s Terrace
  • Delves: Sunkiller Sanctum, Shadowguard Point
  • PVP: Slayer’s Rise PVP zone, Slayer’s Rise 40 v 40 battleground
• Phase 5: Level 90. Content from all previous weeks, plus Prey system and Sparks for Professions. Also adds several features for max level characters.
  • Delves: Torment’s Rise, The Shadow Enclave

The exact cadence of these phases is unknown. This is also intended to be the alpha phase, which is private and by invitation only, not the beta phase, which you can opt into by prepurchasing Midnight. We’re guessing that will start in mid to late November.