World of Warcraft 5.4 trailer makes pandas more endangered

Whatever your opinion of World of Warcraft , a Blizzard cinematic trailer is usually something to behold. That proves to be the case here, as Garrosh Hellscream transports the dark essence of the Old God Y'shaarj. That orcish cad. The dramatic attempt to stop him might be slightly undermined by the fact that his assailant is a kung-fu panda, but let's not get speciest - it's still an enjoyable slice of dramatic posturing.

Of course, the reason for the trailer is the MMO's 5.4 update, which will bring a new raid against Garrosh's Orgrimmar stronghold, new Proving Ground solo trials, and a new zone. Details below:

• "New Raid: The Siege of Orgrimmar - The Siege of Orgrimmar is a 3-wing, 14-boss raid for max-level players, which will call you to take down Warchief Garrosh Hellscream at the head of a host of Azeroth's finest.

• "New Raid Mode: Flexible - Raid with a group of friends and guild mates regardless of server, and with any group size from 10 to 25, and the difficulty will automatically adjust to provide an appropriately challenging experience.

• "New Feature: Proving Grounds - Undertake solo trials to practice or learn a new class role (Tank, Healer, or Damage). Each trial is available in multiple difficulties -- Bronze through Gold and the challenging 'Endless' mode.

• "New Zone: The Timeless Isle - Giant outdoor zone promoting open-world adventuring with tons of hidden treasures, giant creatures to defeat, five world bosses, a pet battle tournament, and much more!

• "Legendary Quest: Judgment of the Black Prince - The epic conclusion to the Legendary quest line will see players rewarded with unique cloaks imbued with powerful new abilities.

• "New Feature: Connected Realms - Lower population realms will be permanently and seamlessly "linked." Players on the same Connected Realm will be able to trade, send and receive mail, join the same guilds, access a single Auction House, run the same Raids and Dungeons, and join other adventurers to complete quests.

• "PvP: Redesigned Arena System - Arenas are no longer tied to specific Battlegroups, and players no longer need to create or join an Arena team to compete. Similar to the Rated Battleground system, players in a party of the appropriate size can queue."

You can find the full patch overview here . 5.4 is currently on the Public Test Realm. A full release date is still to be announced.