We’ve got a bundle of World of Warcraft news here to cap off your Thursday.

First, if all the jeering for Battle for Azeroth kept you from buying the expansion, congrats: Now you’re getting it for free, kinda, as Blizzard announced today that the expansion will be bundled into the base subscription fee when the Shadowlands pre-patch drops next week. Character customization features – including the ability to change your gender – will also launch in the patch, meaning those options will no longer appear in the cash shop. Faction changes and transfers, meanwhile, are on sale.

Second, it’s patch notes time! You officially have fewer than five days to memorize all the notes for the Shadowlands pre-patch. Hop to it.

“Sylvanas Windrunner, fallen leader of the Horde, has pierced the veil between Azeroth and the realm of the dead, setting in motion a series of events that threaten to upset the cosmic balance between life and death. Azeroth’s heroes will confront the wonders and horrors of the afterlife as they deal with the consequences of Sylvanas’ actions. Shortly after the pre-expansion launch, you’ll be called upon to defend Azeroth from an undead invasion as the Scourge sweep across the land. Players will embark on a quest to establish a foothold in Icecrown, where the barrier between Azeroth and the afterlife has been shattered, and prepare for the coming journey into the Shadowlands. This limited time pre-expansion event will only be available until the launch of Shadowlands, so make sure to log in to experience it and earn special rewards.”

Finally, if it wasn’t already clear to you that Blizzard’s decision to delay World of Warcraft Shadowlands was not something it had planned on doing, just point your eyeballs at the fact that some of its marketing train couldn’t be stopped. For example, today Humble released a new Humble Book Bundle focusing on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft publishing. As usual with Humble, the more money you pop in, the more books you score; for under $20, you’re picking up over $500 in books. Not too shabby if you’re into the lore.

Are you prepared to enter the #Shadowlands? Save 30% on Faction Change, Character Transfer and more. Sale through November 15th. 👼 💀 🌳 🧛‍https://t.co/J9EPTJzneA pic.twitter.com/zf96EwED7i

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) October 8, 2020