Everything Coming in Midnight Patch 12.0.5: Void Assaults, The Voidforge, Decor Duel & More

Patch 12.0.5, the first mini-patch of Midnight, is scheduled for release on April 21st in North America and April 22nd in Europe. This patch introduces a wealth of new content and features. One of the main additions is "Void Assaults," which are ongoing zone assaults rotating weekly between Eversong Woods and Zul'Aman in Quel'Thalas. Players participate in small group activities that contribute to a zone-wide progress bar. Once the bar reaches 100%, a large-scale void invasion scenario takes place, which then repeats. These assaults work in conjunction with "Ritual Sites." Ritual Sites are short, one to five-player instanced experiences, described as a blend of horrific visions and delves. There are two locations: Daggerspine Point in Eversong Woods and the Broken Throne in Zul'Aman. These sites rotate weekly and are active in the opposing zone to the Void Assault. Ritual Sites have five difficulty tiers. Tiers one and two are immediately accessible, but higher tiers require unlocking and activating "challenges," which are similar to affixes. There are eight different challenges, unlocked through Ritual Site gameplay, and the game provides guidance on how to obtain them. To access Tier 3, one challenge must be active; Tier 4 requires two, and Tier 5 requires four. More active challenges lead to greater rewards but also increased difficulty. Challenges vary widely, from powerful NPCs to empowered bosses or giant purple tentacles. Both Void Assaults and Ritual Sites utilize a new currency called "Field Accolades," which is not warbound and is used to purchase rewards. A new eight-level renown track, also called "Ritual Sites," is associated with these activities, granting 2,500 reputation per level. Reputation is earned by completing Ritual Sites and can be farmed. Renown rewards include Ritual Site upgrades (like buffs or treasures), decor items, pets, and the Void-Touched Hawkstrider mount at the highest renown level. Ritual Sites also offer player power rewards, specifically "Caches of Void-Touched Armaments," available in Champion gear and Hero track gear variants. Hero track caches cost 500 Field Accolades and provide significant catch-up gear. The currency is character-specific. Completing a Tier 5 Ritual Site contributes to the Great Vault's world row, offering a Hero track item at item level 269, which is higher than other world row rewards, making it a lucrative gearing option for solo or small group players. The system also introduces extensive new transmog options, purchasable through Void-Touched Caches using Field Accolades. These include void-themed weapons and a purple recolor of the HD Tier 2 set from the anniversary event, acquired through specific boxes (helm, shoulder, etc.) that prevent duplicates. Champion and Hero loot also share these appearances, but are class-specific. Multiple mounts are attached to this system: the Void-Touched Snapdragon, Void-Corrupted Hex Eagle, Witherbark Warbear Mother, and the Void-Corrupted Lynx, the latter being a secret mount potentially acquired through leatherworking. There are 18 achievements for Void Assaults, with a meta-achievement rewarding the Unbound Mana-Worm mount, and 48 individual achievements for Ritual Sites, covering different difficulties and challenges. Patch 12.0.5 also brings a new game mode: "Decor Duel." This is a casual, non-lethal 5v5 PvP mode queued via the PvP group finder or an NPC in Falconwing Square. Initially, one map (Falconwing Square) is available, with two neighborhood areas potentially added later. The gameplay is akin to "Prop Hunt." Two rounds see one team as hiders and the other as seekers, then roles rotate. Hiders disguise themselves as decor items, can switch appearances, and lay traps or stun seekers to escape. Seekers use special abilities to reveal and tag hiders. There are three seeker types: Arcane Ranger, Nullifier, and Spellbreaker, each with distinct abilities. A new warbound currency, "Illusionary Coin," is earned to purchase rewards like the Magister's Spellbeby Comb mount and new high elf and blood elf-themed transmog appearances. New decor items, including blood elf-themed pieces, are also available for purchase with Voidlight Maul. Achievements, including a meta-achievement (currently without a reward), are tied to this system. Another world event, "Abyssal Anglers," previously scrapped from the Midnight beta, is finally arriving. It takes place in Zul'Aman, in the Strait of Hexalor. This is a diving event rather than traditional fishing. Players swim to capture fish and collect treasures to maximize their score. Abilities include a dash, harpoons to capture wildlife, and a surface ability to end the dive. Some creatures have armor, requiring multiple hits. Players also manage an oxygen bar, as depletion incurs point penalties. Higher scores yield more "Angler Pearls," a new warbound currency. Over 30 achievements are available, ranging from capturing specific fish to reaching point totals or minor actions like running out of breath. A vendor offers dive upgrades (e.g., more oxygen) that require specific achievement unlocks. Other rewards include decor items (750 pearls each, including a cooking spit and Zul'Aman Forest Hammock), "Fused Vitality" (three per character for 750 pearls each, providing a catch-up item), transmog (a one-handed mace, a three-piece ensemble, and the green diver suit), a Zul'Aman lore buff, and a new pet named "Kabub." The "Void Forge" is also introduced in 12.0.5, a system players are expected to be building up through a weekly quest. It has two layers. The first is "Nebulous Void Cores." Players use these to obtain specific equipment, similar to bonus rolls. Upon defeating a Midnight Season 1 raid boss, completing a Mythic+, a bountiful delve, or a nightmare difficulty prey hunt, players can spend Nebulous Void Cores to receive a random item appropriate for their loot specialization from that activity. Raid items cost two cores, others cost one. A loot window shows potential items. Once an item is received this way, it's removed from the loot pool until all eligible items for that difficulty have been obtained. Mythic+ rewards from Nebulous Void Cores match Great Vault rewards for that keystone level, meaning Mythic items can be obtained from level 10 and above keystones. The total number of available Nebulous Void Cores increases by two each week for the season's duration. The second layer is "Ascendant Void Cores." After the Void Forge's construction, players assist Desimus in crafting an "Ascendant Nil Hammer," a tool for empowering equipment. Unlocked warband-wide, Ascendant Void Cores are obtained from Midnight Season 1 endgame content (raids, Mythic+, bountiful delves, nightmare prey hunts). Consuming an Ascendant Void Core infuses eligible weapons or trinkets with additional power, increasing their item level. This applies only to fully upgraded Hero and Myth quality items or maximum quality radiant crafted weapons and trinkets, serving as a "turbo boost" for item levels. Class changes are widespread, affecting Warriors, Hunters, Mages, Rogues, Warlocks, Druids, Shamans, Monks, Demon Hunters, Death Knights, and Evokers. Specific details can be found in developer or patch notes. Demon Hunters receive new eye customization options (green fire, green, void, or void fire eyes) for all races. Void Elves get new blindfold color options. Evokers gain "Battle Vis," a toggled ability similar to Chosen Identity, which automatically reverts them to visage form when not casting draconic spells. Many abilities that previously forced a Dracthyr form have visual adjustments allowing them to be cast in visage form, such as Disintegrate. Transmog updates include a new sheathing option in the transmog UI, allowing players to choose how their weapon sheaths (hidden, side, or back). Two new situations, one for weather and one for time of day, are also added to the situation system. UI updates include minimize/maximize buttons for damage meter windows and a new icon for "stay a while and listen" NPCs. Housing receives several updates, though not testable on the PTR. These include guild members being teleported out of a guild neighborhood upon being kicked or leaving, with an eviction notice visible during teleportation. The house exterior editor gains a pop-up warning about attached decor when swapping house types, a hide/show decor toggle during editing, and prevents position/rotation resets when changing exterior types. The exterior house editor button also gets a unique icon. Other housing improvements include a new budget icon for upgrades, click functionality for decor to open the catalog, and shift-clicking decor to link it in chat. Decor and houses now fade in at a distance instead of popping in. Friendlier messages appear when attempting to enter restricted houses, and chat messages for acquiring decor now hyperlink to the catalog. Dyed versions of the same decor are now consolidated onto one card in the catalog, with the ability to cycle owned variants in the preview. Cornerstone pane updates include plot number, neighborhood, and price in buy/move confirmation dialogues. New tutorial tips for switching endeavors and a reminder about single endeavor contribution are added. Finally, endeavor completion reward tooltips now display house XP and community coupons earned. Minor changes include a new LFR Dragonflight NPC in Valdrakken for queuing to Dragonflight raids. Professions see cooking and vendor refreshments now restoring health and mana based on a percentage rather than a fixed amount. The biggest aesthetic change is that Harvesters and Earthen will finally receive new backgrounds for their races in the character UI, replacing the previous black background.