Midnight Season 3 dungeon pool preview: Blizzard details changes for returning dungeons

Revisiting Returning Dungeons

Blizzard says the team is reviewing community feedback alongside its own goals for each returning dungeon to address pain points from previous seasons. Plans include updates to encounters, overall pacing, and abilities that were too difficult or unclear, as well as new challenges and changes to how players move through familiar spaces.

Across the whole pool, non-boss enemies and their abilities will be reviewed for gameplay and quality-of-life improvements, and ability visuals will receive a fresh coat of paint where needed. Blizzard notes the highlights are a starting point and may change as development and testing continue, with more details to be shared closer to the PTR for the update.

Evolving Maisara Caverns and Magisters' Terrace

Both dungeons capture defining themes of Midnight and will receive a full review, with changes focused on evolving routes and strategies while keeping the core experience intact.

In Maisara Caverns, Blizzard is exploring changes to captive and buff locations in the opening section to open new paths, and revising the Muro'jin and Nekraxx encounter for better clarity around its core mechanic. In Magisters' Terrace, the library event is being reexamined to offer new paths and new books to find, and the Degentrius encounter is being updated.

Non-boss enemies will also be reviewed and updated, including Bound Defenders in Maisara Caverns and the Devouring Tyrant in Magisters' Terrace, and some existing enemies may be replaced with entirely new creatures.

Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr in Brief

Blizzard has heard feedback about Uldaman's length and encounter pacing. The main goal is to reduce overall run time through changes to boss encounters, story flow, and enemy placement.

The dungeon is being reduced from five bosses to four in Heroic, Mythic and Mythic+ by deactivating the Lost Dwarves encounter and adjusting the surrounding story flow. Emberon is also being updated so Purging Flames triggers at health thresholds rather than on a repeating energy cycle, preventing extra cycles at higher keystone levels while preserving the core challenge.

New Challenges in the Iron Docks

Iron Docks is planned for a substantial refresh to bring it up to modern standards. Non-boss enemies will be revisited throughout, with attention to the number of creatures that stay in place and attack from range in the opening section, and all four boss encounters are being updated to modernize their abilities.

The Iron Stars will be preserved, with an updated design explored that makes runs less dependent on them while keeping them powerful and satisfying. Players will still be able to bowl for orcs.

Modernizing The Stonecore

The Stonecore is being fully revamped, with the goal of modernizing the dungeon visually and mechanically while preserving memorable moments from Cataclysm. Every enemy and boss encounter is getting a new design, and many familiar creatures will receive updated models.

Players will still chase Millhouse Manastorm down The Winding Halls and break themselves upon Ozruk's body.

Focusing in on the Sanguine Depths

Blizzard sees an opportunity to streamline the creature selection and ability kits of non-boss enemies to make gameplay more readable. Planned adjustments include reducing the high density of caster packs and the number of abilities that use cast bars.

Dark Acolytes and Wicked Oppressors are being combined into a single creature type that players encounter less often. For bosses, mechanical clarity will improve where appropriate while keeping core encounter designs intact, and a few small changes should help players find their way through the dungeon.

Taking a New Path in The Underrot

The Underrot's return builds on its existing gameplay with changes to revitalize the experience and offer new routing options. The Elder Leaxa encounter is being updated to place less emphasis on interrupt gameplay, and Cragmaw is being revisited to encourage use of more of the arena.

Non-boss enemies throughout the dungeon will be refreshed and their placement updated, with particular attention to new routes through the final section, and caster density in Cragmaw's arena is under review. Blizzard closes by noting this is just the beginning and welcomes continued feedback ahead of Midnight Season 3.