Spores, Runes and Trolls
Rotmire, the fungal colossus at the heart of the Sporefall raid, awaits challengers in Harandar. Sporefall introduces Mythic Flex — a format allowing 15 to 25 players on Mythic difficulty.
Week of 20 June 2026
World of Warcraft's Patch 12.0.7 Revelations arrived this week, bringing two rotating Void-touched worlds, a new single-boss fungal raid, and a permanent rune progression system that will carry forward through the rest of Midnight. Old School RuneScape's community was occupied with a different kind of anticipation: Jagex published the initial rewards proposal for Raids 4, the Fractured Archive, setting off one of the more engaged discussions the OSRS subreddit has seen in some time. Meanwhile, RuneScape 3 quietly opened a significant new Archaeology location, and FFXIV has a Dragon Quest crossover event launching in a few days' time.
World of Warcraft
Patch 12.0.7 Revelations went live on 16 June in North America and 17 June in Europe, marking the second content update of the Midnight mid-expansion cycle. Despite the x.7 designation that typically signals a lighter patch, the feature set is more substantial than that branding suggests: a new raid, a new power system, two new outdoor zones, a Timewalking event, a micro-holiday, troll-focused questlines, and housing improvements all arrive simultaneously.
Sporefall — New One-Boss Raid
The raid is located in Harandar and pits players against Rotmire, a fungal giant. Sporefall is available in Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulties. The headline change to the Mythic format is the introduction of Mythic Flex: rather than the traditional fixed 20-player roster, Mythic Sporefall scales for groups of 15 to 25. This is described as a test of the format, and the community response to flexibility at Mythic will likely inform whether it returns. Gear dropped from Sporefall carries the 'sporefused' quality, dropping at maximum item level for its difficulty — 298 at Mythic — with no crests required for the weekly vault cap.
Hotfixes through 17 June have addressed several early issues, including a bug preventing Rotmire's Sporeheart effect from triggering from certain healing sources. Rares in the two new zones are now enveloped in shadow for the first three minutes after spawning, giving groups additional time to respond — a quality of life adjustment that is clearly a reaction to early feedback. Full notes are on Wowhead.
Two New Zones — Naigtal and Val
A portal in Voidstorm leads to one of two Void-occupied worlds, rotating every few days. Naigtal is a fungal landscape inhabited by the Hal'hadar ethereals; Val is a frozen wasteland formerly under Burning Legion occupation, now held by the Domanaar under Imperator Pertinax. Both zones contain world quests, rare spawns, zone events, and share a world boss, Nexus-Captain Leth'ir. Defeating Leth'ir unlocks a Heroic World Tier for both zones — a difficulty mode that meaningfully increases challenge and reward quality for characters in the 270+ ilvl range.
The zones also advance the Midnight story: the current Void leader plotlines set up in 12.0.5 are concluded here, and the Zul'jan campaign chain — arriving 7 July — is explicitly framed as the prologue to Patch 12.1, signposting the next major narrative beat in the Midnight arc.
The Omnium Folio
The Omnium Folio is 12.0.7's permanent power addition — a runic ledger tied to the Sunstrider Omnium, an ancient elven artefact under study by Magister Umbric and Grand Magister Rommath. Once the introductory questline is complete, players receive the Folio and begin unlocking combat runes through weekly activities. The runes function as a secondary talent-adjacent system and, importantly, the power gained persists through the remainder of the Midnight expansion. This distinguishes it from the Borrowed Power systems of prior expansions, which reset between patches. A full explainer is on Icy-Veins and Blizzard.
Troll Content and Micro-Holidays
12.0.7 gives troll culture a sustained spotlight. The Loa Lorewalking content, guided by Li Li Stormstout, covers Zandalari, Drakkari, Gurubashi, and Darkspear loa. The Jan'alai Egg Hatching questline has players protect the first clutch of Jan'alai's new offspring. The Darkspear Dash micro-holiday is an officially sanctioned version of the Running of the Trolls community event, now a formal part of the calendar. Blizzard Watch covers the full patch at BlizzardWatch.
Turbulent Timeways V and Quality of Life
Turbulent Timeways V begins 30 June and runs for six weeks, this time including Dragonflight dungeons in the rotation: Algeth'ar Academy, Halls of Infusion, Neltharus, Ruby Life Pools, The Azure Vault, and Brackenhide Hollow. The headline reward for completing the Mastery of Timeways achievement (four qualifying weeks) is the Spawn of Vyranoth mount.
Weapons and armour no longer take durability damage from combat events — a blanket change reducing repair bills for all players. Player Housing now supports exterior lighting. Tier 6 Ritual Sites offer the first solo-farmable source of Myth Dawncrests for players in the 270+ ilvl range. XP from Delves, dungeon quests, and Renown activities has been significantly increased, making alt levelling substantially faster.
Classic WoW
Mists of Pandaria Classic received hotfixes the same week, addressing various quest and NPC issues, along with transmog outfit gold cost reductions (90% cheaper). Darkmoon Faire timing has been corrected after a bug caused it to miss its first-Friday-of-the-month trigger. The Siege of Orgrimmar Garrosh Hellscream encounter now offers a bonus roll opportunity on the legendary drop.
The Fractured Archive presents a gothic archive setting — the rewards proposal published 16 June introduces six new uniques including the TzHaar-Ket Breaker mega-rare crush weapon and dual Ascension Crossbows.
Old School RuneScape
Old School RuneScape's main talking point this week has been the publication of the Fractured Archive rewards proposal on 16 June. The Fractured Archive is OSRS's fourth raid, targeting a late-2026 release, and the rewards blog is the community's first concrete look at what the new content will bring to the game's meta.
Raids 4 — Fractured Archive Rewards Proposal
The proposal presents six new uniques: two untradeables and four tradeables. The untradeables are a Fractured Archive teleport (analogous to existing raid teleports) and Elemental Fragments — one per elemental school — each increasing that school's spell damage by +2, effectively raising the base damage of spells across the spellbook. This is a broad magic damage uplift tied to the archive.
The Hybrid Armour Set is the first tradeable unique: a mage/melee hybrid set oriented around elemental weakness exploitation. The design represents an unusual approach in OSRS's gear landscape, where hybrid sets have historically struggled to find a clear niche. Community discussion has focused on whether the hybrid mechanics translate to meaningful PvM scenarios.
The Rondache is an off-hand shield unique to the archive. Its primary mechanic is a shield bash that deals damage scaled to the current stack count, with improved accuracy as stacks increase. It is positioned to compete in defensive melee scenarios and is described by commentators as an interesting but speculative addition to the meta.
The Ascension Crossbows are dual-wieldable ranged weapons that fire unique Ascension Bolts, obtainable by chiselling Ascension Shards from the archive. With 53 and 58 range strength, respectively, they are positioned as a raid-level ranged weapon comparable to the blowpipe at its tier. They cannot fire standard bolt types — only the dedicated Ascension Bolts (diamond or onyx tips).
The TzHaar-Ket Breaker is the mega-rare crush weapon. Its core mechanic is a special effect — not a special attack — that rolls damage multiple times (up to seven) depending on how many of the target's defences exceed its crush defence. Against an opponent weakest to crush, it rolls the full seven times and takes the highest result. It also deals damage in a line, with 50% more damage to targets three or more tiles away, and can hit multiple stacked targets. Community reaction has been engaged but divided on whether the damage ceiling justifies the expected rarity.
The rewards are a proposal — not final — and the community has been invited to give feedback before implementation. The full thread is on Reddit. The raid itself targets the end of 2026, likely December.
Blood Moon Rises — 30 June
The conclusion of the Myreque questline, Blood Moon Rises, arrives on 30 June. Mod Ed confirmed the quest at a recent content event. The Myreque series spans over a decade of OSRS development; Blood Moon Rises is its final chapter, and the community anticipation around it is considerable. No further mechanical details have been published ahead of release.
Grand Exchange Improvements
Jagex has published an improvements preview for the OSRS Grand Exchange. The headline change is a max cash limit increase, enabling items currently priced above the 2.147 billion coin threshold (such as the Third Age Pickaxe) to be traded through the GE directly using platinum tokens, rather than requiring players to trade outside the exchange. Additional improvements include: faster guide price updates (the update cap moving from 5% to 20% per cycle), display of the last 10 completed trade prices, buy limit tracking with a live reset timer, improved item search (acronym recognition, prefix matching), and Ironman-appropriate filtering. The GE changes target a late summer to autumn 2026 release window.
The Moonrise Digsite opened 15 June — a new Archaeology site in the Havenhythe area exploring First Age Guthixian lore, complete with a pet, a necromancy ritual ring, and 15 new artefacts.
RuneScape 3
RuneScape 3's week centred on two distinct announcements: the live arrival of the Moonrise Digsite and a significant preview of Grand Exchange improvements coming later in the year.
Moonrise Digsite — Live
The Moonrise Digsite opened on 15 June as the latest expansion to the Havenhythe area, located on the cliffs above Amberfell. The site is an ancient First Age temple with Guthixian lore — players learn about a fallen civilisation, a forgotten faith, and the events that left the temple in ruin. Entry requires completion of Secrets of Amberfell and level 52 Archaeology; the content is aimed at the mid-tier Archaeology range.
The site adds 15 new artefacts, two new collections, five mysteries, and a new relic power. Rewards include a necromancy ritual ring and a new pet. Material storage capacity has been increased by 5 slots to accommodate the new dig site materials. The dig site manager is an NPC named Utu, a mysterious dog stationed outside the temple entrance. The update notes are on the official RuneScape site.
The same patch also delivered further Avatar Refresh fixes: female sleeve updates, a Kebbit skin clothing correction, Legacy Mage outfit adjustments, fixes for possessed-looking eyes during the fletching animation, gnome child t-shirt stretching on male characters, the 20-year veteran cape floating on female characters, and a range of minor NPC chat head animation corrections. Dungeoneering Remaster also received fixes — fires no longer have collision blocking, and XP penalties for mismatched difficulties have been recalibrated.
Grand Exchange Improvements Preview
Jagex's Road to Restoration GE improvements preview (published 18 June) outlines changes coming to RS3's Grand Exchange. The key changes: guide prices will now update at up to 20% per cycle (up from 5%), bringing market prices closer to real trading values more quickly; completed trade data will be pushed directly to the RuneScape Wiki for historical tracking; a live buy limit tracker will show remaining limit usage and reset timers; custom margin controls are being added; item search will support acronyms (FSOA, ZGS, etc.); and Ironman players will no longer see items they cannot purchase. The changes are in final development; no release date has been confirmed.
API Project Check-In
On 18 June, Jagex published an RS3 API project check-in covering the official plugin development system. Lua has been confirmed as the scripting language. An official plugin browser will be built directly into the client, replacing the need for third-party external downloads. The system is being designed to support clarity and interface improvements without enabling gameplay automation — boss mechanic prediction and automated play are explicitly excluded. A small group of community developers has been brought in under NDA; wider developer access will follow once documentation is complete. No release window was given. Discussion on Reddit has been largely positive.
Breaking Brick Mountains returns on 25 June — the Dragon Quest X collaboration event brings gargantuan golems and slimes to Eorzea's coastal zones, with the Dragon Quest X Framer's Kit added as a new reward for 2026.
Final Fantasy XIV
A quieter news week for FFXIV after the Dancing Mad controversy of the previous fortnight, though the immediate horizon carries two notable items: a patch hotfix maintenance window and the return of a popular collaboration event.
Patch 7.51 Hotfix — 23 June
A maintenance window for all Worlds is scheduled on 23 June, 7:00 to 11:00 BST, to implement Patch 7.51 hotfixes. The specific fixes have not been detailed in advance of maintenance, but will be published in the Lodestone patch notes on the day. Data Centre Travel will be suspended 30 minutes before maintenance begins. A Ceremony of Eternal Bonding reservation restriction announced 16 June is also noted in the pre-maintenance communications.
Breaking Brick Mountains — 25 June
The Dragon Quest X collaboration event Breaking Brick Mountains returns on 25 June and runs through 13 July. Players battle gargantuan golems from the Dragon Quest series appearing in Eorzea. The 2026 run adds the Dragon Quest X Framer's Kit as a new reward alongside the returning King Slime Crown, Thug's Mug, Brickman minion, and other Slime-themed cosmetics. The event is replayable for returning players via the seasonal event replay system, meaning no content is locked for those who completed it previously. Full details on the Lodestone.
Make It Rain — Closing
The Make It Rain campaign closes 24 June (7:59 am PDT). Players who have not yet acquired the Senor Otter minion and Senor Otter Pack cosmetics have a final few days to do so via the Gold Saucer. The event began 29 May.
FFXIV Switch 2 — August 2026
Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy XIV will be available on Nintendo Switch 2 in August 2026, according to Silicon Era's coverage. This had been announced at Fanfest earlier this year; the August window gives it a concrete seasonal target, ahead of the Evercold expansion in January 2027.
Black Desert Online
Black Desert Online's 18 June patch continued the rolling PvE class balance programme that has been a feature of the past several weeks, alongside a Blue Battlefield overhaul and the launch of the game's four-year self-publishing anniversary event.
18 June Patch — Class Balance and Blue Battlefield
Corsair Succession, Corsair Awakening, and Sage Succession received PvE damage adjustments this week, targeting the gap between class performance in subjugation content. PvP damage modifiers were adjusted downward across the Corsair skills to compensate for the PvE increases. Sage Succession damage has been increased across multiple skills. Pearl Abyss confirmed that structural improvements for certain classes are being prepared for after the current Arena of Solare regular season concludes. The full patch notes detail the specific percentage changes.
The Blue Battlefield has seen ship-to-fort damage increased by approximately 24.8% across Epheria-class vessels and the Panokseon. This makes big ships more effective at pressuring enemy Guild Galleys and fort structures, increasing the tactical value of fleet positioning. Pit of the Undying's Kharoxia is now susceptible to Knockdown, Bound, Stiffness, and Stun in addition to its existing Knockback and Floating vulnerabilities, broadening crowd-control options for parties.
Desert Light Anniversary Event
The four-year self-publishing anniversary event, Desert Light, runs 18 June to 16 July. Players collect Desert Light tokens via login challenges (30-minute and 60-minute milestones), PvE grinding, gathering, fishing, world bosses, and dark rift bosses. Tokens are submitted to an ancient device in Velia; the global milestone of 1 billion tokens triggers additional cron stone rewards and a follow-on event from 8 to 22 July. The second event, Cool Rewards with Pearl's Blessings, runs alongside Desert Light through 9 July for players spending pearls during the period.
Heidel Ball 2026 — 26 July
Pearl Abyss has confirmed Heidel Ball 2026 for 26 July — the studio's annual content showcase event. Community sources and leaker content from before the official announcement have suggested the reveal will include Edania Part 2 (with older classes integrated into the main story), a new monster zone (appearing to feature Olun-style golems at the Olun Sulfur site), a new class, and expanded cosmetic options for Edana's Defence Gear and Sovereign Weapons, including new aura colours. These remain unconfirmed ahead of the event.
The Elder Scrolls Online
ESO's week has been one of steady post-Update 50 activity, with the Golden Pursuits campaign now running and community conversation continuing to focus on the combat reception.
Golden Pursuits — A New Challenge Arises
The Golden Pursuits 'A New Challenge Arises' campaign began on 18 June and runs until Update 51 arrives (expected early July). The campaign is structured to direct players toward Challenge Difficulty content — completing activities on Challenge Difficulty earns the primary progress — and provides a structured reward track for players who have migrated to the new difficulty tier post-Update 50. It is, in effect, the first major test of whether the Update 50 difficulty systems have sufficient draw to pull players away from Adventurer difficulty for prolonged periods.
Community reception continues to be broadly positive, with YouTube commentary summarised by titles like 'The Update That SAVED Combat?' reflecting a real shift in tone from pre-launch scepticism. The Steam Deck Verified status earned after Update 50's release has continued to draw comment as an accessibility milestone for the game.
Update 51 and Warden Rework
Update 51 is expected in early July. The Warden class rework, delayed from U50, is confirmed for U51. Anticipation for it is considerable in the Warden community, given the two-cycle delay. Developer communication on U51's other features has been limited so far; the Xbox Games Showcase on 7 June was expected to provide a first look, but coverage has been sparse.
EVE Online
Cradle of War is two weeks in, and the Fenris Creations team has been responsive to early player feedback on both the Military Campaigns and the Visions of Greatness Epic Arc, rolling out adjustments via the live patch notes.
Military Campaigns — Objective Adjustments
The most significant live change this week: Military Campaigns objectives have been adjusted to require fewer total participants from 20 June onwards. ISK payouts have been redistributed so that an individual completing their personal contribution earns more per objective. The adjustment reflects monitoring data showing participation was lower than anticipated for some objectives, and is described as recalibrating the goals rather than lowering the bar. The Caldari–Gallente campaign is ongoing; the Amarr and Minmatar campaigns have not yet begun. Patch notes are updated live on the EVE Online site.
New Federation Day content has been added: Pride of the Federation SKINs in the NES, a new Gallente Pilot Expert System, and a Federation Day Celebration Crate available to claim until 23:59 UTC on 26 June. A 25% PLEX sale is also running alongside the expansion launch window.
Visions of Greatness — Epic Arc Improvements
Multiple passes have been made to the Visions of Greatness Epic Arc since launch, following feedback that certain simulation sites were tuned too harshly for new players. Changes include: a 50% reduction in capacitor recharge time within simulation sites, improved NPC timing and pacing, enemy NPCs easier to kill and orbiting at closer ranges, rebalanced bonus objective timers, additional supply crates providing basic ship fittings, and hull resistance bonuses added within simulation sites. The cumulative effect is a substantially more accessible new-player experience than the version that launched on 10 June.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
SWTOR transitions this week from the Swoop Rally into the Rakghoul Resurgence on Corellia, keeping the seasonal event calendar moving through June.
Rakghoul Resurgence on Corellia
The Rakghoul Resurgence is the second of the month's seasonal events, arriving in the wake of the Swoop Rally's conclusion on 16 June. The Corellia outbreak is one of the rotating planetary settings for the event. Players engage with outbreak-specific missions, earn Rakghoul DNA Canisters for reputation and cosmetic rewards, and participate in the Eyeless operation encounter. The event runs for a standard weekly window. Coverage on SWTOR Strategies tracks the current calendar.
Galactic Season 10 — Week 15
Galactic Season 10 Week 15 objectives ran 16–22 June, offering 200,000 Personal Conquest Points alongside the standard Season track progress. Players working through Secrets of the Syndicate's reward track should find the week's objective list straightforward — the current cycle's objectives have been lighter in commitment than early-season weeks. No announcement has been made regarding the release date of Season 11 or Update 7.9.1.
Broader Genre News
RuneScape: Dragonwilds — 1.0 on 15 September
Jagex has confirmed that RuneScape: Dragonwilds — the cooperative open-world survival crafting game currently in Early Access — will reach version 1.0 on 15 September 2026 across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 simultaneously. The 1.0 release will include the Scorned Wilderness update and the Umbral Sands expansion content. A final major Early Access content update arrives on 23 June — described by Jagex as the last big content drop before the 1.0 launch. The game is set on Ashenfall, a previously unexplored continent in the Gielinor universe, and features up to four-player cooperative survival with RuneScape's signature skill-based progression. Dragonwilds is a separate product from RS3 and OSRS but draws on the broader RuneScape lore.
Guild Wars Reforged — Launching 24 June
Guild Wars Reforged, ArenaNet's mobile GW franchise entry, launches 24 June — four days from this article's publication date. As confirmed in last week's franchise livestream, this is a separate product from GW2 and GW3, designed natively for mobile platforms. No further preview details have been published ahead of launch.
Aion 2 — September 2026 Global Launch
NCSoft's Aion 2 global launch remains on course for September 2026. The game follows the original Aion (2008) and has been in development in South Korea for several years. Its global launch in September would coincide with a busy release window in the broader MMORPG calendar, including Dragonwilds 1.0 in the same month.
Embers of the Uncrowned — Steam Next Fest
Nexon's dark fantasy action MMORPG Embers of the Uncrowned has its Steam Next Fest demo live from 15 June, offering up to eight hours of playable content across three classes: Executioner, Spectral Blade, and Stormbringer. Community impressions so far have noted the isometric structure and dark aesthetic, with frequent comparisons to Lost Ark, though not entirely apt given the tonal differences. Pearl Abyss has confirmed no pay-to-win gear progression.
Looking Ahead
World of Warcraft's first week of reaction to 12.0.7 has been cautiously positive, and the next few days will clarify whether the Omnium Folio's weekly cadence feels rewarding or obligatory. The Darkspear Dash micro-holiday runs briefly this week, and the Zul'jan campaign chain — the 12.1 prologue — unlocks on 7 July, providing the first glimpse into where Midnight's next chapter leads.
The OSRS community will continue processing the Fractured Archive rewards proposal. Community feedback on the specific items — particularly the Rondache shield's positioning and the Hybrid Armour Set's viability — will influence whether Jagex revises the proposal before the raid enters development lock. Blood Moon Rises on 30 June is the nearer-term landmark; the conclusion of the Myreque storyline will likely dominate OSRS conversation at the end of the month.
RuneScape 3's Moonrise Digsite is now open and offers a self-contained piece of Archaeology content for mid-tier players. The GE improvements preview suggests that meaningful economy quality-of-life work is in the pipeline for later this year. Guild Wars Reforged mobile launches on 24 June — its opening reception will be one of the more interesting data points in the franchise's post-GW3-announcement narrative. And in the background, RuneScape: Dragonwilds has just over three months until its 1.0 release — the 23 June EA update will be its last substantial pre-launch content addition.
