Note: Spoilers for World of Warcraft: The War Within Patch 11.1, Undermined, ahead.
It seems like World of Warcraft has just teased the possibility that players could be venturing into the Void in Patch 11.2 – possibly even to the long-lost Ethereal homeworld of K’aresh. While Patch 11.1 has just dropped, the stage is already being set for the next significant update to The War Within storyline.
The first part of World of Warcraft: The War Within Patch 11.1 launched on February 25. During this chapter, Jastor Gallywix was repairing a relic known as the Dark Heart as part of a deal with Xal’atath. However, this artifact was soon taken by a group of Ethereals led by Phase-Thief Azir, supposedly acting on Xal’atath’s orders.
With the rest of the Undermine(d) story now live in World of Warcraft, some unexpected developments have surfaced – offering a glimpse of what might be the setting for Patch 11.2. In one cinematic sequence, Xal’atath confronts Gallywix to reclaim the Dark Heart, revealing that the Ethereals were not working for her, but were instead part of a different faction. Later, in the epilogue cinematic following Gallywix’s defeat, Azir is seen holding the Dark Heart in the Void, standing before a glowing vortex encircled by broken stone. This mysterious location has many fans speculating that it could be K’aresh, the Ethereals’ lost homeworld.
Could Patch 11.2 Take Players to K’aresh?
Dimensius the All-Devouring, a Void Lord linked to Xal’atath, was responsible for the destruction of K’aresh in Warcraft’s lore. In the Harbinger prologue, leading up to The War Within, Locus-Walker explains that the inhabitants of K’aresh once heard a “radiant song,” similar to the one felt by many on Azeroth during The War Within. This could suggest that K’aresh was once a Worldsoul before its demise. Given the story’s heavy focus on the Ethereals and the many hints dropped throughout the expansion, it seems likely that K’aresh will be a major location in the Worldsoul Saga – potentially making its debut in Patch 11.2. The area seen in the cutscene may well be a part of this lost planet.
That said, it’s important to recognize that Patch 11.2 has yet to be officially confirmed, and very little about it has been revealed. While this mysterious location will likely reappear soon, it may not necessarily be K’aresh, or it could be introduced later in the storyline instead of in the upcoming patch. Either way, this development has sparked much speculation about the Ethereals’ role in World of Warcraft: The War Within.
According to the 2025 roadmap for World of Warcraft, Patch 11.2 is expected to arrive this summer. Before then, two additional content updates – Patch 11.1.5, tentatively titled “Nightfall,” and the yet-to-be-named Patch 11.1.7 – are scheduled for the spring, meaning players will likely get more clues about the next big update soon, ahead of its official announcement.
