Patient World of Warcraft players are soon to be rewarded as Blizzard has now announced the quickly approaching release date for the massive Rise of Azshara update. A Rise of Azshara beta has been in Blizzard's PTR test environment since mid-April, giving players plenty of time ensure that patch 8.2 is ready to go live in World of Warcraft. The testing is at its end it seems, as Alliance and Horde alike will take to battle against the Naga queen's forces starting June 25.

The Rise of Azshara patch in World of Warcraft is going to be a big one, a mid-expansion update refreshing the state of the game. Players will be journeying to the new region of Nazjatar, revealing itself from the depths of the Great Sea through the power of the Tidestone. With it will come a range of new quests, including the next step in the Pathfinder achievement line and the ability to start flying in Battle for Azeroth regions.

A second new zone will also be opening in the island of Mechagon. Mechagon is a lost gnome city, now home to the mechagnomes and the nefarious armies of King Mechagon. The heart of Mechagon will be the Mythic-only megadungeon, Operation: Mechagon (delayed release), which features 8 unique boss encounters. Perhaps players may even be able to persuade the mechagnomes to join their faction as an Allied Race eventually, but not fully in this patch, at least.

Rise of Azshara will also likely lead to the all-new raid, Azshara's Eternal Palace, though it will be a delayed launch some weeks after the patch. The raid will feature 8 total bosses, bringing closure to the Nazjatar story and taking players closer to the inevitable confrontation with N'Zoth.

The release of World of Warcraft's Rise of Azshara expansion will mark another milestone in the MMO's unending march forward. As in the past, the update launches just days before Final Fantasy 14's latest expansion goes live. The patch also likely builds towards a new expansion theme, which could very be announced at BlizzCon later this year.

While these types of updates are usually appealing on their own, this time there is something new to entice players as well. World of Warcraft Classic launches in August, which means that those who resubscribe to try out Rise of Azshara will also likely be able to try out the return of vanilla World of Warcraft at launch. Blizzard may be delivering exactly what players frustrated with Battle for Azeroth want in the coming months. Whether they return or not is another matter entirely.

World of Warcraft is available now on PC.