[Spoilers] What is ahead of us with the 6.1 patch?

Since we first stepped foot on the Draenor of the past, we’ve been inexorably drawn toward one intriguing tale among a multitude of storylines taking place there. In patch 6.1, the quest line that began with ‘Call of the Archmage’ will continue, and the stakes have never been higher.

Spoilers follow from here! Do not read this post any further if you do not want story details spoiled.

Garona Halforcen

The powerful rogue assassin was responsible for the death of King Llane Wrynn. Along with her son Med’an, she aided the New Council of Tirisfal in their brutal struggle against the Twilight’s Hammer and the evil ogre magi Cho’gall. Not long after you first arrived on Draenor, Garona tried to assassinate Khadgar, but you were able to capture her.

Since then, Khadgar has tried to break the mind control that Garona clearly suffers. His efforts, and yours, have been in vain … until now. In patch 6.1, you’ll receive a new quest to infiltrate a Shadow Council stronghold and steal an artifact. Khadgar hopes to be able to free Garona’s mind.

Your First Legendary Follower

In the savage world of Draenor, you may not have any true friends, but you can forge partnerships with a meaningful purpose. Thanks to Garona, you’ll learn what Gul’dan is up to, and you’ll get the opportunity to witness firsthand as he attempts to take control of the Iron Horde and capture Grommash Hellscream.

Gul’dan is making enemies on all sides.

Thereafter, you’ll obtain your first legendary follower. Garona comes to you with three abilities befitting an Assassination Rogue, as well as the Master Assassin trait, which greatly increases the chance of success on any mission she is assigned to. Furthermore, she starts at a follower item level of 630.

More to Do

In patch 6.1, you’ll now see new visitors to your garrison: quest-givers offering you a variety of activities if you’ve reached garrison Tier 3. These include:

• Bounty quests – Group up with two or more additional players to hunt down and defeat a powerful enemy.
• Profession daily – Get your hands on more Primal Spirits, reduce your surplus reagents, and buy the new recipes for crafted upgrades and transmutes.
• Relic hunting – A series of quests that reward gold and Garrison Resources, which can thereafter be run by your followers as missions. These culminate in the acquisition of Harrison Jones as a follower!
• Dungeon daily and Raid weekly quests – Rewards may include an item level 655 token

The new dungeon and raid quests (in addition to your garrison invasion quests) now also have the chance to drop an artifact that allows you to summon a Raid or World boss right to your garrison. You’ll want to get 10-40 players together in your garrison before you activate that one.

Other New Visitors

There’s a new vendor coming to your garrison who allows you to spend Garrison Resources on items that upgrade your followers’ gear – which can now be pushed to a maximum item level of 675 – and items that can be used to add a rare mission to your list of available missions.

Followers can now obtain the Treasure Hunter trait, which increases the amount of gold awarded from a mission that rewards gold. There are a number of new follower missions available to you in patch 6.1, including missions that reward Apexis Crystals, Savage Blood, Augmentation runes, Archaeology Artifacts, and items that instantly complete work orders.

There’s also a new visitor to your garrison’s pet menagerie who comes bearing rewards for pet battlers and the promise of a new pets. This coincides with the discovery of a number of new pets in the raid dungeons of Outland. Pet collectors will want to delve into Black Temple, Hyjal Summit, and Sunwell Plateau in search of a dozen fierce companions and the achievement reward pet K’ute.

Patch 6.1 arrives on February 24. Check out the PTR patch notes to prepare for all of the changes coming to WoW, and get a better look at some of our other new features here.