With the newest World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria set to launch on September 25th, Blizzard Entertainment released Patch 5.04 this Tuesday. This patch paves the way for Pandaria. The new Talent System overhaul has been implemented, and it is a world of difference from any previous talent system that World of Warcraft has had.

Out are the days of cookie-cutter, set-in-stone builds and in are the days of flexible builds. Also new, changing a talent can be done on-the-fly. This means character builds can be modified mid-raid or mid-PvP battle, allowing for quick strategic changes depending upon what the situation may call for.

Patch 5.04 also implemented account-wide changes to the way World of Warcraft handles achievements, pets, and mounts, as well as the much talked about area-of-effect looting functionality. This is a huge deal to anyone who has spent any length of time farming materials, such as cloth for tailoring. A worldwide event called ‘The Attack on Theramore Isle’ has also begun, in which Garrosh, Warchief of the Horde, launches an all out attack on Jaina Proudmoore’s home.

If you plan to pick up Mists of Pandaria, you should probably renew sooner than later, not only to get filled in on the storyline leading up to this expansion, but to familiarize yourself with the new Talent System.