New WoW Patch Lets You Fly in Draenor's Zones for First Time This Week

World of Warcraft's 6.2.2 patch, which adds a new Mercenary mode and the ability to fly over the game's Draenor zones, finally has an official release date--and it's very soon. The update will be available for all players starting tomorrow, September 1, the developer announced on its website on Monday.

The first of the two key additions is the Mercenary mode, which will allow you to play as a mercenary for the opposing faction in WoW's PvP modes. This is being done for the purpose of cutting down wait times for Ashran or unrated Battlegrounds. Your character will wear a funny-looking mask when playing for the opposing faction, as you can see in some images here.

In addition, patch 6.2.2 adds a new achievement called Draenor Pathfinder. Earn this, and you'll unlock a new mount--a rylak, the Soaring Skyterror--and also the ability to fly in Draenor for the first time. Unlocking this achievement won't be an easy task, however; see this post for a set of instructions.

Both Mercenary Mode and the new flying option were previously available on WoW's Public Test Realm. For more on WoW's 6.2.2 patch, check out the full changelog here.

Overall, WoW has seen better days in terms of subscribers. By Activision Blizzard's latest count, the game had 5.6 million subscribers, down by 1.5 million in three months. It's worth noting, however, that WoW remains the top subscription-based game in the world, and it's set to grow again with its latest expansion, Legion.