Are you ready to plant your flag in Azeroth and call a piece of it your own? Starting December 2nd, World of Warcraft players can stake their claim with Housing Early Access! But here's where it gets exciting: whether you're a seasoned veteran or a fresh-faced newcomer, the latest update, The Warning Midnight Prologue, unlocks the ability to join a neighborhood, purchase a house, and begin customizing your dream home—even before the full Midnight expansion drops. And this is the part most people miss: you don’t need the Midnight expansion to start collecting housing items! Quests, achievements, and vendors across Azeroth will help you build your collection, though owning a home or joining a neighborhood requires the expansion.
Who Gets Early Access?
For Returning Players, a special quest will guide you through the Housing tutorial, introducing you to the joys of homeownership and decoration. New Players will complete the initial tutorial on the boat and then choose between continuing the New Player Experience or diving straight into the Housing tutorial. Players Without Midnight can still explore neighborhoods and gather housing items through quests in Orgrimmar, Stormwind, and Dornogal—though purchasing a home remains exclusive to expansion owners.
What’s Included in Early Access?
- New Housing Tutorial: Learn the basics of setting up and personalizing your space, no matter your experience level.
- Join a Neighborhood: Whether you’re part of a guild, a friend group, or prefer a public space, establish your home in Founder’s Point (Alliance) or Razorwind Shores. Controversial question: Should guilds have exclusive neighborhoods, or should public spaces dominate the landscape?
- Public Neighborhoods: Open to all players.
- Guild Neighborhoods: Requires at least 10 active guild members in the last 30 days.
- Buy a House and Make a Home: Scout the perfect location, position your house, and start adding your unique flair.
- Decorate With Flair: With over 600+ housing items available, design your space in Basic or Advanced Mode. The Housing Dashboard (hotkey: H) lets you browse items, their sources, costs, and requirements. Sort by type (Furnishings, Accents, Lighting, etc.) or filter by Style, Culture, Expansion, and more.
- Professions: Gather resources and craft decor items for your home or to sell. Dust off those Classic WoW reagents and create expansion-specific rewards—your reagent bank is a treasure trove waiting to be explored!
- Level Up Your Home: Even without the expansion, collecting items earns experience that’ll apply to your home once you purchase Midnight. But here’s a thought: Should housing progression be tied to expansion ownership, or should all players level their homes equally?
Your Azerothian Dream Home Awaits!
Whether you’re crafting a cozy cottage or a grand estate, Housing Early Access offers a head start on making your mark in Azeroth. What kind of home will you build? And more importantly, what stories will you tell within its walls? Let us know in the comments—we’re eager to hear your plans and opinions!
