World of Warcraft: Dragonflight pre-expansion patch unlock times

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight screen
(Image credit: Blizzard)

While the official World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is still about two weeks away, the next phase of the Dragonflight pre-patch is launching today in North America and early tomorrow in Europe. This new patch is bringing the Dracthyr Evoker class to players who've pre-ordered Dragonflight and for those that haven't there are several other non-expansion changes showing up in game.

Here's what you'll need to know about what's new today and exactly when this Dragonflight pre-patch launches:

When does the Dragonflight pre-patch unlock? 

Blizzard has specified that World of Warcraft maintenance began at 7:00 am PT (10 am ET) and will end at 3:00 pm PT (6 pm ET) on November 15 for players in North America. It will begin at 3:00 am CET (2 am GMT) on November 16 for the EU region. 

Here's when maintenance is scheduled to end in North American and Europe:

  • 3:00 pm PT, November 15
  • 6:00 pm ET, November 15
  • 10:00 am GMT, November 16
  • 11:00 am CET, November 16

This is Phase 2 of the Dragonflight pre-expansion patch, bringing in even more features and changes than the first patch phase from October. 

Can you play a Dracthyr in the Dragonflight pre-patch? 

If you've pre-ordered the Dragonflight expansion, you can create your first Dracthyr Evoker after the pre-patch launches. That means you'll have access to play around with the extensive Dracthyr character creator for your human and dragon forms. You'll start off with an Evoker at level 58 in their new race starter zone Forbidden Reach.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

What else is new in the Dragonflight pre-patch? 

For players that haven't pre-ordered the expansion, there are other changes coming to the main game in the November 15 patch. Here's what to expect:

  • New dungeon Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr in the Badlands of the Eastern Kingdoms
  • New Primal Storms: quests and world events preceding Dragonflight
  • Levelling changes: lower requirements, specifically for high level characters, to level up

If you haven't played since the October pre-patch, here's the rest of the cumulative changes so far in the Dragonflight pre-expansion patches: 

  • Talent system revamp with new talent trees
  • HUD and interface changes allowing customization
  • Accessibility features for spellcasting, interactions, and gamepad support
  • Rated solo shuffle: PvP brawl  rewarding seasonal rewards and achievements
  • Class and race combos: Rogue, priest, and mage are all accessible to all races

Blizzard support will track known issues with the pre-expansion pass over on the Blizzard support website as well. 

Even if you haven't pre-ordered the expansion, make sure to take a look at our list of things to do before Dragonflight launches so you're prepped for the Dragon Isles.

Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren started writing for PC Gamer as a freelancer in 2017 while chasing the Dark Souls fashion police and accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as the self-appointed chief cozy games enjoyer. She originally started her career in game development and is still fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long books, longer RPGs, has strong feelings about farmlife sims, and can't stop playing co-op crafting games.