Phase 2 of The Burning Crusade Anniversary went live on Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM PDT (23:00 BST). The patch carries the marketing name "Overlords of Outland" and unlocks both Tier 5 raids in the same week: Serpentshrine Cavern in Coilfang Reservoir and Tempest Keep: The Eye in Netherstorm. Arena Season 2 opens at the same time, the druid Swift Flight Form quest goes live, and Ogri'la plus the Sha'tari Skyguard light up the Outland daily hubs. The biggest single quality-of-life change Anniversary added (account-wide attunements) means your alts can walk straight into both raids the moment your main finishes the chain.
With the week-one shape in mind, here is the order to tackle the new content so nothing blocks anything else.
Both Tier 5 raids open in Phase 2 and both drop overlapping pieces of the T5 token system. SSC drops most of the slots; The Eye covers chest and shoulders. If your guild only clears one raid per week, you cannot complete a full T5 set, so the practical raid schedule is one lockout for each.
Serpentshrine Cavern lives in Coilfang Reservoir in Zangarmarsh and ends on Lady Vashj after six bosses. Hydross the Unstable is the first wall: tanks need frost and nature resistance gear swap on a timer. The Lurker Below requires a skilled fisher to bait the boss out of the water. Leotheras the Blind is traditionally a Warlock tank job on his demon form, though a well-geared Paladin can manage the swap with cooldowns.
The Eye lives in the Tempest Keep complex floating in Netherstorm and ends on Kael'thas Sunstrider after four bosses. Kael is the longest, most cooldown-dense fight of the tier with five phases, four weapon-summoned add waves, and a vertical knock-down mechanic that punishes tank positioning. Practice the Phase 3 advisor pull before pushing live.
This is the section that used to bury fresh 70s in 2007. Anniversary's account-wide attunement system means one character finishes the chain and the whole roster benefits. Both raids gate on multi-step quest lines you should knock out before raid night.
Start with Skar'this the Heretic in Heroic The Slave Pens (he's in a cage past the bridge most groups skip). Pick up The Cudgel of Kar'desh, then collect:
Hand both signets to Skar'this and you receive The Mark of Vashj, which is the SSC key. The quest items themselves are account-bound, so your alts skip the whole chain.
Start in Shadowmoon Valley with the Hand of Gul'dan / Cipher of Damnation quest line. After completing it, Khadgar in Shattrath hands you off to A'dal, who assigns three Heroic-dungeon trials known as the Trial of the Naaru series:
Once A'dal accepts all three trials, defeat Magtheridon in Magtheridon's Lair to receive The Tempest Key and the "Champion of the Naaru" title. The chain is long; the account-bound rewards make it a one-and-done for the whole roster.
The druid-exclusive 280% epic flight form opens in Phase 2 and it is the only class-specific epic flying option that doesn't require an engineering profession lock. The prerequisites:
The chain culminates with summoning and defeating Anzu, the Raven God at the start of Heroic Sethekk Halls. The fixed quest rewards are Charm of Swift Flight trinket, Idol of the Raven Goddess, the Essence-Infused Moonstone (Anzu re-summon item), and the Swift Flight Form ability itself. The Reins of the Raven Lord mount is a separate roughly 1% drop from Anzu, farmable weekly via the moonstone. Per Wowhead's Swift Flight Form guide, the chain takes roughly two hours of questing once your epic flying is paid for.
Season 2 opens with Phase 2 and brings the Merciless Gladiator arena-point set. Season 1 (Gladiator) gear remains on arena points at a reduced cost, so a fresh PvP main can still gear into S1 first and step up to S2 as rating allows.
Honor-point purchase of Season 1 gear is expected to open in a later phase, following the standard TBC progression where the prior season becomes honor-buyable when the next season launches. Anniversary realms also feature a faster honor accrual rate than 2007 TBC, so the battleground grind to gear up an alt's PvP set is meaningfully shorter than the original cadence.
Both Phase 2 reputation hubs require flying and level 70. They unlock different reward tracks:
The Badge of Tenacity trinket lives in the Ogri'la currency loop, not the Skyguard one — it's crafted from a Depleted Badge (drops from Bash'ir Landing and Blade's Edge Plateaus elites) plus 50 Apexis Shards. Worth grabbing for any class that takes physical damage and benefits from the dodge proc.
With those reward loops in mind, the Phase 2 crafting layer rewards anyone who pre-positioned profession mats during Phase 1.
Phase 2 introduces Nether Vortex as a raid-only crafting material. It drops from trash and bosses in SSC and The Eye. The headline recipes:
Nether Vortex is Bind-on-Pickup at Phase 2 launch and becomes Bind-on-Equip with G'eras vendor access in Patch 2.4 (Phase 4), so don't stockpile expecting to flip the raw material later this phase. Engineering Goggles also ship in Phase 2 as class-specific epic head pieces; current Anniversary data suggests they use primarily standard engineering materials rather than Nether Vortex, but verify the live recipe before committing your raid-night mats.
This is the single most common piece of misinformation circulating in Phase 2 prep posts. Mark of the Illidari drops from trash in SSC and The Eye starting at Phase 2 launch, not when Black Temple opens in Phase 3. Save them and trade them at the Aldor or Scryer quartermaster for raid-only flasks once you hit Exalted with Aldor or Scryer plus The Sha'tar plus Cenarion Expedition. Phase 3 will add Mount Hyjal and Black Temple trash as additional Mark sources.
Players choose Aldor or Scryer in Shattrath, and the choice affects:
Phase 2 is the right time to commit because every additional rep grind and quest hub you do now compounds toward your faction's Exalted reward set. Switching factions costs a meaningful reputation hit and is rarely worth it past Phase 2.
The compact week-one priority order:
Groups that want to skip the attunement runs can order a TBC Phase 2 attunement carry so the whole roster lands at the SSC and TK doors without the multi-step quest grind. Guilds already past attune but stalling on the T5 raid weeks can browse TBC raid clear services for a scheduled team run on either raid.
Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM PDT (23:00 BST). Both Serpentshrine Cavern and The Eye unlocked at the same moment, alongside Arena Season 2.
Yes. The attunement quest items (Mark of Vashj for SSC, Tempest Key for TK) are account-bound. Once one character on your account completes the chain, every alt on the same account is attuned.
Most guilds open with Serpentshrine Cavern because the attunement chain is shorter and Hydross + Lurker Below are well-documented early-week pulls. The Eye becomes the second-week target once your tanks have a Nether Vortex or two for resistance upgrades.
5,000g for Artisan Riding training plus 200g for the epic flying mount, plus Revered standing with Lower City to enter Heroic Sethekk Halls. The quest chain itself is free; the gold cost is the epic flying prerequisite.
Now. They drop from trash in Serpentshrine Cavern and The Eye starting at Phase 2 launch. Mount Hyjal and Black Temple trash will become additional sources in Phase 3.
"Overlords of Outland" — the official Blizzard sub-title for Phase 2. It refers to the two Tier 5 raid villains, Lady Vashj and Kael'thas Sunstrider, who both attempted to position themselves as new overlords of Outland after Illidan's takeover.
Season 1 gear is expected to become honor-purchasable in a later phase, following the standard TBC progression cadence. The exact Anniversary roadmap on this hasn't been confirmed by Blizzard for Phase 2 launch.
