With Patch 12.1 and Midnight Season 2 arriving almost back-to-back, it’s easy to assume they launch as one update. They don’t. Blizzard is splitting the rollout into two stages: Patch 12.1 unlocks the new campaign and outdoor content first, while Season 2 begins a week later with fresh endgame progression.
That distinction matters.
Some preparation only affects your first day in Patch 12.1, while other goals disappear forever when Season 1 ends. If you leave everything until the last minute, you may miss achievements, seasonal cosmetics, PvP rewards, or valuable progression that won’t return.
Whether you’re chasing every collectible or simply want your main character ready for the next raid tier, here’s everything worth taking care of before the transition.
Patch 12.1 and Season 2 Have Separate Deadlines
The first thing to understand is that these aren’t the same release.
Patch 12.1: Curse of Ula’Tek introduces the expansion’s new playable content, including:
- The Coiled Isle
- New campaign chapters
- Venomous Abyss raid
- Altar of Fangs dungeon
- New Delves
- World bosses
- Additional outdoor activities
Season 2 doesn’t start until a week later. Once it begins, Blizzard resets the seasonal progression systems and introduces:
- A brand-new Mythic+ dungeon rotation
- The next PvP season
- A fresh Delve journey
- Higher item levels
- New crest currencies
- Great Vault progression
- New seasonal rewards
Because these milestones happen on different dates, your preparation should as well.
| Before Patch 12.1 | Before Season 2 |
|---|---|
| Finish campaign prerequisites | Earn Season 1 achievements |
| Free inventory space | Spend seasonal currencies |
| Update add-ons | Finish Mythic+ rewards |
| Organize characters | Complete PvP goals |
| Prepare for the new zone | Claim Delve rewards and catalyst upgrades |
Blizzard has confirmed the one-week gap between Patch 12.1 and Season 2, but the exact launch date for Patch 12.1 hasn’t been announced yet. That’s why it’s smarter to focus on anything with an expiration date now instead of waiting until Blizzard reveals the final schedule.
Finish the Patch 12.0.7 Story First
If you’ve been putting off the latest campaign, now is the time to catch up.
Patch 12.0.7 begins with Hagar’s Invitation, available from Awenna in Silvermoon City. Besides expanding the Amani storyline, these quests serve as the opening chapter for Patch 12.1.
Technically, nothing stops you from completing them later.
The downside is that you’ll need to finish older story chapters before gaining full access to the Coiled Isle and the new campaign. Instead of jumping straight into fresh content on launch day, you’ll be clearing backlog while everyone else moves ahead.
Finishing these quests now removes that roadblock and lets you start Patch 12.1 immediately.
Unlock Every Omnium Folio Upgrade
Another easy win before Patch 12.1 is finishing your Omnium Folio progression.
Each unlocked row grants passive bonuses to damage and healing. Individually they aren’t game-changing, but together they provide permanent character power that carries throughout the Midnight expansion.
Even better, once one character completes the required quests, the bonuses apply across your Warband.
These upgrades won’t disappear with Season 1, so there’s little reason to leave them unfinished. They’ll continue helping during:
- The Venomous Abyss raid
- Season 2 Mythic+
- New Delves
- Future expansion content
Complete each weekly Folio quest whenever it becomes available. If you’ve fallen behind, you can clear several at once later, although it’s still better not to postpone everything until Patch 12.1 launches.
Don’t Miss Season 1 Raid Rewards
Raiders have several rewards that disappear once Season 1 ends.
Midnight Season 1 includes three raids:
- The Dreamrift
- The Voidspire
- Isle of Quel’Danas
The biggest priorities are Blizzard’s seasonal Feats of Strength, since they won’t be obtainable afterward.
| Reward | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Ahead of the Curve: Midnight Falls | Defeat the final boss on Heroic before Season 1 ends |
| Cutting Edge: Midnight Falls | Defeat the final boss on Mythic before Season 1 ends |
Housing collectors should also pay attention.
Each raid’s final boss awards decorative trophies based on the highest difficulty you’ve cleared.
| Trophy | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Argent Trophy | Raid Finder or Normal |
| leaming Trophy | Heroic |
| Aureate Trophy | Mythic |
Unlike many prestige cosmetics, even casual raiders can collect the Argent versions by clearing Raid Finder or Normal difficulty.
One reward that isn’t currently listed for removal is the Ashes of Belo’ren mount from Mythic Midnight Falls. Because Blizzard hasn’t identified it as a seasonal exclusive, it’s generally better to prioritize achievements and housing trophies before spending time farming the mount.
The same logic applies to the Luminous Spore Glider.
You’ll still want to keep running Sporefall, since collecting the required Delicious Spore Snacks is limited by weekly acquisition caps. Waiting until the last minute simply isn’t an option—you can’t finish the mount in a single evening, even if you wanted to.
Master Your Delves Before Season 2 Begins
If Delves have been your main source of progression throughout Season 1, don’t wait until the final days to finish everything on your checklist. Once Season 2 starts, the current Delve journey disappears, along with several exclusive rewards tied to it.
The first thing to do is open the Adventure Guide and review your Season 1 reward track. Make sure you’ve claimed every reward you actually want before Blizzard replaces the journey with the next seasonal version.
Several of the biggest Delve rewards are directly connected to Nullaeus, and all of them are considered seasonal.
| Achievement | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| My Shady Nemesis | Defeat Nullaeus in his lair | Nullaeus Domaneye cosmetic |
| Lighting the Dark | Defeat Nullaeus on Tier ?? | “the Ominous” title |
| Let Me Solo Him: Nullaeus | Defeat Nullaeus solo on Tier ?? | Arcanovoid Construct mount |
If you’re only going to chase one of these before Season 2, make it the Arcanovoid Construct.
According to Blizzard’s Season 1 reward list, these achievements must be completed before the next Delve season begins. The solo mount is the hardest reward to replace later—because you simply won’t be able to.
Get Valer to Level 60
Season 2 isn’t resetting everything.
One piece of Delve progression that continues to matter is Valer.
Bringing her to level 60 now makes your first Season 2 Delves noticeably smoother, since her progression carries forward into the next season.
The fastest approach isn’t endless farming.
Instead, complete at least one Delve each day, as the first clear awards a larger amount of experience. Spreading your runs across several days is considerably more efficient than trying to grind everything in a single session.
One thing you shouldn’t invest heavily in is Season 1 curios.
They’re expected to disappear when Season 2 launches and will be replaced with a completely new set of options, making additional upgrades a poor use of your remaining time.
Spend Your Season 1 Currencies Before They Lose Value
Every new World of Warcraft season brings a currency cleanup, and Midnight Season 2 is no exception.
Before launch, take a few minutes to check your Currency tab for anything that’s tied specifically to Season 1.
That includes:
- Dawncrests
- Restored Coffer Keys
- Coffer Key Shards
- Dawnlight Manaflux
- Undercoins
- Other Season 1-exclusive currencies
Most of these either reset or lose their current purpose once Season 2 begins, so keeping them in your bags won’t provide any advantage. The new season introduces its own progression currencies, including a completely different crest family, meaning your leftover Season 1 crests won’t help with future upgrades.
Undercoins Deserve Special Attention
If you’ve been saving Undercoins, now is the time to spend them.
Many vendor items are expected to remain available later, but Blizzard plans to move them to Voidlight Marl vendors instead.
In other words, holding onto your Undercoins doesn’t save you anything.
Instead, you’ll lose one currency and end up purchasing the same rewards with another.
Buying what you want now avoids paying twice through different progression systems.
Finish Your Catalyst and Gear Upgrades
Catalyst charges are also part of the seasonal transition.
While Blizzard is expected to make Season 1 gear free to convert after Season 2 begins, there’s an important limitation: that equipment will no longer be upgradeable.
That’s especially important for transmog collectors.
If you’re trying to unlock the Mythic appearance tied to Hero-track tier gear, upgrade every relevant piece to 6/6 before Season 1 ends.
Waiting until after the reset won’t work.
Even if you convert the gear later, its upgrade path will already be gone, meaning you can permanently miss those appearances if you leave them unfinished.
Claim Every Mythic+ Reward You Still Want
Few activities lose as many exclusive rewards at the end of a season as Mythic+.
Exactly how far you should push depends on your current rating, but knowing what each milestone unlocks makes planning much easier.
| Mythic+ Rating | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1,500 | “the Umbral” title |
| 2,000 | Calamitous Carrion mount |
| 2,500 | Midnight Keystone Hero: Season One achievement and progress toward the Gleaming Sunmote |
| 3,000 | Convalescent Carrion mount |
| 3,400 | “the Umbral Contender” title and a Timelost Saddle |
| Top 1% | Umbral Ashes mount |
| Top 0.1% | “the Umbral Hero” title |
If you’re competing for one of the percentile rewards, don’t assume today’s cutoff will still be enough when the season ends.
The rankings continue moving until Blizzard closes the ladder, so finishing barely above the current requirement can easily leave you outside the bracket before Season 2 officially begins.
Earn Every Mythic+ Teleport While You Still Can
Seasonal ratings aren’t the only reason to keep running keys before Season 2 arrives.
Every Season 1 dungeon offers a permanent teleport that unlocks after you complete it on Mythic Level 10 or higher within the timer. Unlike rating rewards, these teleports stay with your account permanently once earned.
If you’re still missing any, now is the ideal opportunity—especially for the Midnight dungeons that are about to rotate out.
The four dungeons worth prioritizing are:
- Magisters’ Terrace
- Maisara Caverns
- Nexus-Point Xenas
- Windrunner Spire
There’s always a chance these instances return in a future Mythic+ season, but Blizzard hasn’t announced when that might happen. If you skip them now, you could be waiting months before another opportunity appears.
The same idea applies to dungeon-exclusive mounts.
Both the Spectral Hawkstrider from Windrunner Spire and the Lucent Hawkstrider from Magisters’ Terrace are expected to remain obtainable after Season 2 launches.
However, farming them becomes much less convenient once those dungeons leave the Mythic+ rotation. During Season 1 you can continuously chain low keystones for repeated attempts, while outside the active pool that option disappears.
If either mount is still on your collection list, now is simply the easiest time to go after it.
Finish Your PvP Goals Before the Ladder Resets
PvP has some of the most time-sensitive rewards in the entire game.
Elite armor appearances, seasonal titles, weapon illusions, mounts, and high-rating cosmetics generally disappear once the season ends, making them far less forgiving than many PvE rewards.
Before Season 2 begins, consider which milestones are still within reach.
| Goal | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Vicious Snaplizard | Win rated PvP matches while at 1,000+ rating |
| Elite Armor Set | Reach the required rating milestones up to Rival I |
| Galaxy Weapon Illusion | Reach Rival II (1,950 rating) |
| Prestigious Cloak | Reach Duelist (2,100 rating) |
| Galactic Gladiator’s Tabard | Reach Elite (2,300 rating) |
| Galactic Gladiator’s Goredrake | Win 50 3v3 matches while maintaining 2,300+ rating |
These are the rewards most players should focus on before the reset.
Don’t Chase Impossible Ratings at the Last Minute
There are also several prestigious seasonal titles tied to:
- Solo Shuffle
- Battleground Blitz
- Healer ladders
- Top-ranked PvP brackets
If you’re already close to qualifying, they’re absolutely worth pursuing.
If you’re nowhere near the required rating, though, it’s probably better to spend your remaining time elsewhere.
Trying to force a top-0.1% push during the final stretch of a season is rarely realistic unless you’re already competing at that level every week.
Finish the Vicious Snaplizard Progress Bar
One small exception is the Vicious Snaplizard.
Blizzard may eventually add it to the Vicious Saddle vendor, allowing players to purchase it in a future season.
Even if that happens, completing the mount now is still the better option.
Why?
Because every Vicious Saddle can instead be spent on an older mount you don’t already own. Finishing the current progress bar saves you from using one of those future saddles on something you could have earned naturally during Season 1.
Wrap Up Limited-Time Events Before They’re Gone
Not every seasonal reward comes from raids, Mythic+, or PvP.
Several limited activities also disappear—or become much less efficient—when Patch 12.1 arrives.
If you’re interested in cosmetics, mounts, or housing decorations, these are worth checking before launch.
Decor Duels Is Ending—Spend Your Coins Now
If you’ve been ignoring Decor Duels, now’s the time to jump back in.
The event will end when Patch 12.1: Curse of Ula’Tek goes live, taking its event currency with it. Blizzard has also doubled Illusionary Coin rewards during the final stretch, making this the most efficient period to finish collecting everything you’re interested in.
Priority rewards include:
- Mounts
- Toys
- Cosmetic weapon appearances
- Other event-exclusive collectibles
Housing decorations earned through Decor Duels aren’t disappearing completely. Instead, Blizzard plans to move them to vendors that accept Voidlight Marl.
That sounds convenient at first, but there’s a catch.
Waiting means replacing an expiring event currency with a brand-new Season 2 currency that will likely have far more valuable uses. Spending your Illusionary Coins now lets you preserve those future resources for other purchases instead.
Grab the Easy “Goal!” Achievement
Some rewards require almost no effort but are surprisingly easy to overlook.
One of the quickest is the Goal! achievement.
To complete it:
- Visit Richmond near Thalassian University.
- Equip the Tabard of Participation for your faction.
- Score three goals using the Kickable Practice Ball.
That’s it.
The achievement rewards:
The entire activity only takes a few minutes, and unlocking these rewards through gameplay is required before duplicate versions become available from other vendors later on. There’s really no downside to checking it off your list now.
Check Your Turbulent Timeways Progress
The Master of the Turbulent Timeways V achievement works differently from most seasonal goals.
Instead of being something you can grind in a weekend, it depends on weekly participation.
To earn progress during an eligible week, you’ll need to complete:
- Four Timewalking dungeons
- On the same character
- While the event is active
Doing so grants the Mastery of Timeways buff.
You must repeat that process across four separate qualifying weeks to finish the achievement. Miss too many event weeks, and there simply won’t be enough opportunities left before the achievement rotates away.
While you’re participating, it’s also worth checking the Timewalking vendors.
Depending on the active expansion, they can offer:
- Mounts
- Pets
- Toys
- Armor ensembles
- Reputation tokens
- Dragonriding customizations
Some expansion-specific vendors don’t return for months, making these events one of the few chances to grab their unique collectibles.
Get Your Characters Ready for Season 2
Once you’ve secured every reward that expires with Season 1, you can switch your focus toward launch preparation.
At this stage, the goal isn’t squeezing out another few item levels—it’s making sure your main and any important alts are ready to jump straight into the new content instead of spending the first few days catching up.
Aim for a Full Hero-Track Set
You don’t need perfect gear before Season 2.
In fact, chasing the absolute maximum item level during the final days of Season 1 usually isn’t the most efficient use of your time, since early Season 2 rewards will begin replacing much of your equipment fairly quickly.
A complete Hero-track gear set is a much more practical target.
That should provide enough power to comfortably step into:
- Bountiful Delves
- Nightmare Prey hunts
- Lower-level Mythic+ dungeons
…without spending extra time farming the easiest gearing tiers once the season starts.
Reliable Hero-track gear sources include:
- Turbulent Timeways weekly quests
- Current world bosses
- Patch 12.0.7 zone rares
- Field Accolade vendors
- Higher-level Delves
- Mythic+ dungeons
Once you’ve reached that point, additional item-level upgrades generally become less valuable than finishing seasonal rewards that may disappear forever.
Learn the Season 2 Dungeon Rotation Before Launch
A little preparation now can save a lot of painful wipes once Mythic+ opens.
Season 2 replaces the current dungeon lineup with an entirely new rotation, so even experienced players should spend some time refreshing boss mechanics before keystones become available. Running each dungeon on regular Mythic difficulty is an easy way to familiarize yourself with dangerous abilities, routes, and interrupts before they start affecting your key level.
The expected Season 2 Mythic+ pool includes:
| Midnight Dungeons | Returning Dungeons |
|---|---|
| Den of Narak | King’s Rest |
| Murder Row | Ruby Life Pools |
| The Blinding Veil | Temple of Sethraliss |
| Void Scar Arena | |
| Altar of Fangs (new) |
One dungeon deserves special attention: Temple of Sethraliss.
Patch 12.1 reworks several of its mechanics, and Blizzard has confirmed that a number of older Mythic achievements will be retired as a result. If you’re a completionist, this is your final opportunity to earn:
- Snake Eater
- Snake Eyes
- Good Night, Sweet Prince
Once the patch goes live, these achievements will no longer be obtainable in their current form.
Prepare Your Professions Before Crafting Opens
Crafted gear remains one of the fastest ways to improve your character early in a season, and Season 2 introduces a new crafting progression item: Spark of Tides.
Rather than figuring everything out after launch, decide ahead of time which characters will handle each profession.
Whether it’s armor, weapons, jewelry, or profession tools, organizing your crafters now can save a considerable amount of gold in crafting-order commissions throughout the rest of Midnight. You don’t need every profession on your main character—as long as your group of alts covers what you need.
Stock Up on Consumables Before Prices Spike
Blizzard hasn’t announced a broad replacement for existing combat consumables in Patch 12.1.
That’s good news.
It means everything you’re already using should remain useful when Season 2 begins, making the final days of Season 1 one of the best times to buy supplies before demand jumps.
Consider filling your bank with:
- Flasks
- Combat potions
- Healing potions
- Weapon oils and other weapon enhancements
- Your preferred food buffs
Auction House prices often climb once a new raid tier and Mythic+ season begin. Purchasing several stacks in advance not only saves gold, but also means fewer interruptions between raid nights and dungeon sessions while everyone else is scrambling to restock.
Clean Up Before Patch Day
Not every preparation rewards a mount or achievement.
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is simply organize your account before new content arrives.
Start with your inventory.
Sell outdated gear, move crafting materials and collectibles into storage, and spend any tokens that are about to expire. Free bag space becomes surprisingly valuable during the first few days of a major patch, when nearly every activity starts handing out new gear, currencies, and quest items.
Next, open your Quest Log.
Finish any remaining Patch 12.0.7 campaign quests and remove old daily or weekly quests you no longer intend to complete. A cleaner quest log makes it much easier to identify the new campaign objectives as soon as Patch 12.1 goes live.
Finally, don’t forget your add-ons.
Large World of Warcraft updates almost always require addon updates, especially for raid tools, combat trackers, dungeon utilities, and custom UI packages. Taking a few minutes to update—or remove—unused addons before launch is much better than troubleshooting interface errors while your group is already waiting outside Altar of Fangs.
Final Thoughts
Preparing for Patch 12.1 and Midnight Season 2 isn’t about completing every possible activity before launch. The smartest approach is knowing which rewards disappear, which progression carries forward, and which tasks can safely wait until later.
Start by locking in anything Blizzard has marked as seasonal—Mythic+, PvP, raid achievements, Delve rewards, and limited-time events. After that, shift your attention to practical preparation by organizing your characters, spending outdated currencies, gearing your main, reviewing the incoming dungeon rotation, and making sure your professions and consumables are ready for the opening week.
By the time Season 2 arrives, you’ll be free to focus on what actually matters: exploring the Coiled Isle, stepping into Venomous Abyss, tackling the new Mythic+ rotation, and enjoying the fresh content instead of scrambling to finish yesterday’s checklist.
