WoW Patch 12.0.5 "Lingering Shadows": Everything You Need to Know
Patch 12.0.5 drops on April 21 (US) and April 22 (EU), and it is packed. This is the first real content patch for Midnight, and Blizzard went hard: targeted loot, new world content, instanced challenges that scale from solo to 5-player, a literal prop hunt mode in Silvermoon, and underwater spearfishing off the coast of Zul'Aman. Yeah, it is a lot.
Here is the full breakdown of what is coming, what matters, and how to prep so you are not scrambling on day one.
The Voidforge: Finally, Targeted Loot
This is the big one. The Voidforge lets you target specific gear drops instead of praying to RNG every week. NPC Decimus builds the Voidforge, and you power it with Nebulous Voidcores.
How Voidcores Work
- You get 2 Nebulous Voidcores per week, purchased with gold, Veteran Dawncrest, or Voidlight Marl
- Spend them after killing a boss or completing content to roll for a specific piece matching your loot spec
- 1 core per roll in M+, Bountiful Delves, and Nightmare Prey Hunts
- 2 cores per roll on raid bosses
- M+ rewards match Great Vault item levels: keystone 10+ gives Myth 1/6 gear
The clever part: once you get an item from Voidcores on a specific difficulty, it is removed from that difficulty's loot pool. So every week your chances of getting the piece you actually need go up. This is per-difficulty, so grabbing something on Normal does not affect your Heroic or Mythic pool.
Ascendant Voidcores: The Endgame Upgrade
Complete a warband-wide questline to craft the Ascendant Nilhammer. Once you have it, Ascendant Voidcores (dropped from endgame content) let you upgrade fully-upgraded weapons and trinkets to item level 298. That is 9 ilvls above the current Myth 6/6 cap of 289.
Eligible items: fully upgraded Hero, Myth, or max-quality Radiance Crafted weapons and trinkets. If your weapon is not fully upgraded yet, start working on that now.
Void Assaults: New World Content
Large-scale void invasions hit Eversong Woods and Zul'Aman on a weekly rotation. Two flavors:
- Void Strikes are continuous assaults that rotate through different zone locations. Think smaller-scale encounters that chain together.
- Void Incursions are bigger scenarios that trigger after you complete enough Strikes. These are the real deal.
Rewards
- Field Accolades currency (more on this below)
- Great Vault world content credit
- Tier 2 void recolor transmog sets
If you have been ignoring world content this season, 12.0.5 gives you a solid reason to go back out there. The Tier 2 recolors alone are worth it if you care about transmog.
Ritual Sites: Delve-Style Instanced Content
This is where 12.0.5 really shines. Ritual Sites are scalable 1-to-5-player instances with a challenge system that rewards you for cranking up the difficulty.
Two Locations
- Daggerspine Point (Eversong Woods): Stop Naga rituals
- Broken Throne (Zul'Aman): Fight Twilight's Blade cultists
Enter through the Curious Obelisk, pick your difficulty tier, and go.
Difficulty Tiers
| Tier | Challenges Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | None | Entry level, learn the mechanics |
| 2 | None | Slightly harder, still accessible |
| 3 | 1 challenge | Requires Ranger Captain Lilatha unlock |
| 4 | 2 challenges | Requires Lady Darkglen unlock |
| 5 | 4 challenges | Full difficulty, maximum rewards |
You must clear each tier before unlocking the next. Good news: tier requirements drop by one each week, so the system loosens up over time.
Challenge Modifiers
There are 8 challenge modifiers you can stack, each adding a spoils bonus:
| Modifier | Spoils Bonus | How to Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Tendrils | +10% | Found in Ritual Spoils |
| Tainted Corpses | +10% | Found in tainted bone pile |
| Magical Alarm Bells | +13% | Complete Tier 4 + Lady Darkglen |
| Manifestations | +15% | Complete Tier 3 + Ranger Captain Lilatha |
| Reinforced | +15% | Complete Tier 2 + Ranger Captain Lilatha |
| Patrols | +15% | Procure treasures from Tier 3 |
| Malevolent Boons | +20% | Complete Tier 2 + Lady Darkglen |
| Embers | +25% | Find Embers of Power from Tier 4 |
At Tier 5 with all four modifiers selected, you are looking at up to +75% bonus spoils if you stack Embers, Malevolent Boons, and two 15% modifiers. That is if you can survive it.
Death Penalty
Your first 2 deaths are free. After that, each death cuts your spoils by 5%, maxing out at -50%. So do not chain-die at the end of a run or you will feel it in the loot.
Renown Track (8 Ranks)
Ritual Sites have their own renown with progressive unlocks:
- Regeneration Orbs restore 15% health in combat
- Ritual Treasures discoverable in sites
- Cosmetic housing decor purchases
- Rare enemies spawn; healing orbs doubled
- Magical shrines and additional spoils
- Corrupted pets; more frequent healing orbs
- Revered Treasures; Dark Obelisk cosmetic
- Corrupted mounts and elite encounters
The corrupted mounts at Rank 8 are the big carrot here. Get grinding early.
Field Accolades: The New Catch-Up Currency
Field Accolades drop from both Void Assaults and Ritual Sites. Spend them at vendors on the second level of The Bazaar in Silvermoon City.
Gear Vendor (Maren Silverwing)
| Item Quality | Item Level Range | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 246+ | 75 Field Accolades |
| Heroic | 259+ | 500 Field Accolades |
Other Vendors
- Sergeant Vornin: Unbound Manawyrm flying mount (6,000 Voidlight Marl), Void-Touched Hawkstrider (4,500 Marl), pets (800-1,800 Marl)
- Tiram Dawnsetter: Cosmetic armor caches (5 Accolades + 150 Marl each, weapons cost 10 Accolades + 200 Marl)
- Rae'ana: Housing decor (150-500 Marl, Dark Obelisk requires Renown Rank 7)
You can also convert Dark Particles (found in Ritual Sites) into Field Accolades via Field Accolade Pouches (10 Accolades per 100 Particles).
If you are behind on gear, this is your fast track. Champion items at 75 Accolades are very accessible, and Heroic at 500 is reasonable after a week or two of consistent play.
Decor Duels: Prop Hunt in Silvermoon
Yes, really. Decor Duels is a team-based hide-and-seek mode set in Silvermoon City. One team disguises themselves as housing decor items. The other team hunts them down.
Queue up through the Group Finder (PvP tab). Rewards include a mount, toys, and cosmetic housing decor. It is not serious endgame content, but it is genuinely fun and a solid break from the grind.
If you have been messing with player housing, the cosmetic rewards from Decor Duels are a nice bonus.
Abyss Anglers: Underwater Spearfishing
Head to northeast Zul'Aman and find Depthdiver Jeju on a small island off the coast. Suit up, dive in, and start harpooning fish with the Fire Harpoon.
How It Works
- Dive underwater, spear fish for points
- Find Sunken Relics and Ancient Relics on the seafloor for bonus score
- Score is based on treasure found, fish caught, and rarity of catches
- Upgrade your diving gear to reach deeper areas with better loot
Currency and Rewards
Earn Angler Pearls and trade them with Depthdiver Tu'nakit for cosmetics, diving gear upgrades, and progression items. The gear upgrades are key: better gear means deeper dives, which means rarer catches and better rewards.
If you liked Plunderstorm's casual vibes or just enjoy fishing content, this one is for you.
March on Quel'Danas: Raid Finder and Story Mode
The final Season 1 raid has been live since March 31 on Normal/Heroic/Mythic. With 12.0.5, Raid Finder and Story Mode are already available (unlocked April 7).
- 2 bosses: Belo'ren and L'ura (the final Midnight Falls encounter)
- Located on the Isle of Quel'Danas, north of Silvermoon City
- All difficulties available: LFR, Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and Story Mode
If you have not cleared it yet, now is the time. You will want the Voidforge unlocked for the Ascendant Nilhammer questline, and March on Quel'Danas completion feeds into that.
Need help clearing the raid? Our March on Quel'Danas boost gets you through any difficulty with all loot funneled to your character.
New Mounts and Cosmetics
Patch 12.0.5 adds a solid batch of collectibles:
- Mounts: Amani Hawks, flying monkeys, new horses, Void-Touched Hawkstrider and Unbound Manawyrm (from Ritual Sites vendors)
- Transmog: Tier 2 void recolors (Void Assaults), N'Zoth-themed items, spring flower crowns, Sunwalker Totem cosmetics, Void weapons, Gilneas commoner armor
- Housing: New decor from Ritual Sites, Decor Duels rewards, vendor items
- Pets: Corrupted pets at Ritual Sites Renown Rank 6, Void-Infused Mindbreaker Fry and Dragonhawk Egg from vendors
Mount collectors should prioritize the corrupted mounts from Ritual Sites Renown Rank 8 and the Unbound Manawyrm (6,000 Voidlight Marl). Check our Midnight mount boost page if you want help farming specific drops.
How to Prepare Before Patch Day
You have a few days. Here is what to do right now:
- Cap your currencies. Veteran Dawncrest and any existing crests. You will want them to buy Voidcores on day one.
- Clear your Great Vault. Make sure you have open slots for the new world content row from Void Assaults and Ritual Sites.
- Fully upgrade your weapon and trinkets. Ascendant Voidcores only work on fully-upgraded items. If your weapon is sitting at Myth 4/6, push it to 6/6 before the patch.
- Complete March on Quel'Danas. At least one clear on any difficulty. This likely ties into the Ascendant Nilhammer questline.
- Stack gold. Voidcores can be purchased with gold, and the new vendors accept currency you earn in-game. Having a gold reserve helps.
- Free up bag space. New currencies, Ritual Spoils, Angler Pearls, Dark Particles. Your bags are about to get busy.
Day 1 Priority List
When the servers come up, here is the order that makes the most sense:
- Grab your Voidcores. Visit Decimus, buy your 2 Nebulous Voidcores. Do not waste time; these are weekly-capped.
- Start the Ascendant Nilhammer questline. This is a warband-wide unlock, so every character benefits. Get it rolling immediately.
- Hit the Void Assaults. Do the active Void Strikes, trigger the Void Incursion if you can. This fills your Great Vault and earns Field Accolades.
- Run Ritual Sites. Start at Tier 1, push as high as you can. Unlock challenge modifiers early so you can start stacking them in the following weeks.
- Use your Voidcores. Run your M+ keys or raid with Voidcores ready. Target your worst gear slot first.
- Check the vendors. Second level of The Bazaar in Silvermoon. See if any quick upgrades are available with early Field Accolades.
- Try Abyss Anglers and Decor Duels. Both are fun, low-pressure, and have unique rewards. Do them when you need a break from pushing content.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Nebulous Voidcores can I get per week?
Two per week. You buy them from Decimus with gold, Veteran Dawncrest, or Voidlight Marl. Raid bosses cost 2 cores per roll, while M+, Delves, and Nightmare Preys cost 1 core each.
What item level can Ascendant Voidcores upgrade to?
Item level 298. Only fully-upgraded Hero, Myth, or max-quality Radiance Crafted weapons and trinkets are eligible. Make sure your gear is maxed before trying to use Ascendant Voidcores.
Can I solo Ritual Sites?
Yes. Ritual Sites scale from 1 to 5 players. Solo is viable for Tiers 1 through 3 depending on your gear and class. Higher tiers with stacked modifiers get rough solo, so bring friends or use group finder.
Where are the Field Accolades vendors?
Second level of The Bazaar in Silvermoon City. Four vendors: Maren Silverwing (gear), Sergeant Vornin (mounts and pets), Tiram Dawnsetter (cosmetics), and Rae'ana (housing decor).
Is Decor Duels just for fun or does it give real rewards?
Both. You get a mount, toys, and cosmetic housing decor. No gear, no power progression. But the mount is exclusive to Decor Duels, so do it at least once.
How do I start Abyss Anglers?
Fly to northeast Zul'Aman and find Depthdiver Jeju on a small island off the coast. Talk to him, suit up, and dive in. Score is based on fish caught, treasure found, and rarity. Upgrade your diving gear to access deeper zones.
Do Void Assaults count for the Great Vault?
Yes. Both Void Assaults and Ritual Sites count toward the World content row in the Great Vault, alongside Delves and Prey Hunts.
When does Patch 12.0.5 release in EU?
April 22, 2026, with the weekly maintenance reset. US servers get it April 21.