The Venomous Abyss is the eight boss raid introduced with Midnight Season 2. It opened during the week of August 18, 2026, as part of the Curse of Ula’tek content update. The raid is located in the Vaults of Atal’Utek beneath the Coiled Isle and is available on Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulties.
Ula’tek is an ancient serpent goddess once worshipped by the Amani. Guided by the spirit of Malacrass, Zul’jan frees her broods from their prison, forcing the champions of Azeroth to descend into the vaults and stop him before Ula’tek is unleashed.
From this overview, you will learn:
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Cantrip Armor and other special effect items are among the raid rewards, alongside class set armor, unique weapons, trinkets, and tier set tokens. The final boss also drops a Slumbering Coil Curio that can be exchanged for a tier set piece.
Venomous Abyss Release Schedule
Confirmed Raid Schedule
| Content | Availability |
| Curse of Ula’tek Update | Week of August 11, 2026 |
| Season 2 and Raid Launch | Week of August 18, 2026 |
| Normal, Heroic, and Mythic | Week of August 18, 2026 |
| Raid Finder Wing 1 | Week of August 18, 2026 |
| Story Mode and Raid Finder Wing 2 | Week of August 25, 2026 |
| Raid Finder Wing 3 | Week of September 1, 2026 |
| Raid Finder Wing 4 | Week of September 8, 2026 |
The Curse of Ula’tek content update went live during the week of August 11. Midnight Season 2 and The Venomous Abyss followed during the week of August 18. Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and the first Raid Finder wing opened together, followed by the remaining Raid Finder wings on August 25, September 1, and September 8.
Venomous Abyss PTR Raid Testing Schedule
The raid testing schedule was subject to change because of bugs, server issues, and other test environment factors. The final boss, Ula’tek, was excluded from the scheduled raid testing.
Heroic Testing (June 25 and 26, 2026)
| Date | Boss | Time (PDT) |
| Thursday, June 25 | Nek’zali the Soulcoiler | 12:00 PDT |
| The Lost Explorers | 13:00 PDT | |
| Entombed Sentinels | 14:00 PDT | |
| Friday, June 26 | Sszorak | 11:00 PDT |
| Vashnik the Malignant | 12:00 PDT | |
| The Twin Fangs | 13:00 PDT | |
| The Coiled Altar | 14:00 PDT |
Mythic Testing (July 9 and 10, 2026)
| Date | Boss | Time (PDT) |
| Thursday, July 9 | Vashnik the Malignant | 12:00 PDT |
| The Lost Explorers | 13:00 PDT | |
| Entombed Sentinels | 14:00 PDT | |
| Friday, July 10 | Sszorak | 12:00 PDT |
| The Twin Fangs | 13:00 PDT | |
| The Coiled Altar | 14:00 PDT |
Normal Difficulty Weekend Test (July 10 to 13, 2026)
| Event | Start | End |
| The Venomous Abyss Normal | Friday, July 10 at 15:00 PDT | Monday, July 13 at 10:00 PDT |
Additional Mythic Testing (July 16, 2026)
| Boss | Time (PDT) |
| Nek’zali the Soulcoiler (Mythic) | 11:00 PDT |
| The Lost Explorers (Mythic) | 12:00 PDT |
| Vashnik the Malignant (Mythic) | 13:00 PDT |
| The Coiled Altar (Mythic) | 14:00 PDT |
The Venomous Abyss Bosses
The Venomous Abyss has 8 bosses. Here is a brief overview of each encounter.
| Boss | Lore / Description |
| Nek’zali the Soulcoiler | Long ago, the shadow hunter Nek’zali and her followers were entombed for the blasphemous act of summoning Ula’tek. Restored by the very power she unleashed, she calls the other Soulcoilers from their tombs to serve her once more. |
| Entombed Sentinels | The Blood and Breath of Ula’tek bar the way to Vashnik’s inner sanctum. Ancient golems that long stood guard within the vaults, now corrupted by the venom of the nightmarish monster they imprisoned. |
| The Lost Explorers | A band of tortollans, possessed by spirits, have come to their senses near the sarcophagus of an ancient Soulcoiler. Trapped in the vault, they seek ancient artifacts to protect themselves from further possession by vengeful spirits. |
| Vashnik the Malignant | Within The Chamber of Virulence, Vashnik the Malignant distills Ula’tek‘s venoms into ever more lethal forms. The creature lurks in its noxious chamber, brewing foul toxins to empower its brood. |
| Sszorak | A horrifying creature, warped by Ula’tek‘s toxic venom, Sszorak is a brutal instrument of vengeance. Calling upon the winds that howl deep within Atal’Utek, it tears apart any living creature it encounters. |
| The Twin Fangs | The first of Ula’tek‘s blood, Vexhul and Ithraz brood beneath a roiling sea of venom deep within the vault of Atal’Utek. Any foolish enough to enter the prison’s inner chamber risk their monstrous jaws and toxic strikes. |
| The Coiled Altar | The spirit of Malacrass will not release his grip on Zul’jan so easily. At the Coiled Altar, the shaman commands the warrior to enact the final ritual to unleash Ula’tek on the Amani for revenge, and to gain their promised reward. |
| Ula’tek | Not available for PTR testing. The great shame of the Amani empire. The vast complex of Atal’Utek was created to imprison the weapon that proved to be as much of a threat as the enemy she was intended to destroy. Ula’tek has risen from her ancient slumber and threatens all of Azeroth if she should escape. |
Midnight Season 2 Tier Set Bonuses
Blizzard has outlined several design goals for the Midnight Season 2 set bonuses based on their PTR announcement:
- More complexity set bonuses are more intricate than the Season 1 bonuses, introducing a wider variety of gameplay.
- Cooldown Manager integration bonuses can utilize the Cooldown Manager, but players must opt in manually; it is not enabled by default.
- Damage consistency bonuses are designed to increase damage consistency rather than burst, aligning with the overall burst damage reduction initiative.
How to test and provide feedback: To try these set bonuses on the PTR, look for Setzertauren near the PvP and professions vendors in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Players are encouraged to report bugs via the in-game bug reporting tool and share feedback on the official forums.
All class set bonuses for Midnight Season 2 are listed below:
Death Knight
Blood
2 Piece Bonus: Your attack speed is increased by 15%, and Crimson Scourge‘s chance to occur is increased by an additional 5%.
4 Piece Bonus: Crimson Scourge increases the damage of your next Death and Decay by 100%, and grants 5% critical strike chance for 8 seconds when consumed.
Frost
2 Piece Bonus: Each time Remorseless Winter damages at least 1 enemy, gain Freezing Tempest which grants 1% attack speed and 2% increased Icy Death Torrent damage for 5 sec, stacking.
4 Piece Bonus: Remorseless Winter deals damage 25% more frequently, and Freezing Tempest lasts 5 seconds longer.
Unholy
2 Piece Bonus: Your Magus of the Dead and Lord of the Dead cast a more powerful Necrotic Bolt instead of Frostbolt, and Withering Grasp instead of Shadow Bolt.
4 Piece Bonus: Necrotic Bolt‘s damage is increased by 130%, and Withering Grasp’s damage is increased by 130%, against enemies below 35% health.
Demon Hunter
Havoc
2 Piece Bonus: Blade Dance, Chaos Strike, and Essence Break deal 12% increased damage.
4 Piece Bonus: Essence Break now applies and benefits from the effects of Cycle of Hatred, has 25% increased initial strike damage, and has 2 seconds of increased duration.
Vengeance
2 Piece Bonus: Sigil of Flame‘s damage over time is increased by 50%. Soul Cleave increases the duration of Sigil of Flame on your primary target by 2 seconds.
4 Piece Bonus: Immolation Aura and Sigil of Spite deal 100% increased damage against targets affected by your Sigil of Flame.
Devourer
2 Piece Bonus: Harvesting 4 or more Soul Fragments with Reap has a 20% chance to cause your next Consume to be instant cast and explode in a Soulburst, dealing Cosmic damage to nearby enemies.
4 Piece Bonus: Soulburst generates 2 Soul Fragments and grants Moment of Craving. Reap deals 10% increased damage.
Druid
Balance
2 Piece Bonus: Starsurge damage increased by 20%. Starfall also deals Astral damage instantly to all valid enemies in range when cast.
4 Piece Bonus: Your damage is increased by 10% while in any Eclipse. This bonus wanes to 2% at the midpoint of the Eclipse, then waxes back to 10% at the end.
Feral
2 Piece Bonus: When Berserk or Incarnation ends, you deal 10% increased damage for 1 second for each combo point spent during Berserk or Incarnation.
4 Piece Bonus: Berserk and Incarnation last 10 seconds longer.
Guardian
2 Piece Bonus: Thrash has a 20% chance to make your next Mangle deal 100% increased damage.
4 Piece Bonus: Thrash calls up 3 thorns, each impaling a target for Nature damage and dealing additional Nature damage to up to 5 nearby enemies, and extends the duration of Berserk by 0.5 seconds, up to 5 seconds.
Restoration
2 Piece Bonus: Rejuvenation has a 15% chance and Nature’s Swiftness has a 100% chance to grant Genesis, causing all your heal over time effects to heal for 25% more for 8 seconds. Multiple applications may overlap.
4 Piece Bonus: Genesis duration is increased by 4 seconds, and gaining Genesis grants Clearcasting.
Evoker
Devastation
2 Piece Bonus: Shattering Star‘s damage is increased by 150%, and it always casts as if you had reached maximum empower level.
4 Piece Bonus: Causality reduces the remaining cooldown of your empower spells by an additional 0.1 seconds each time the effect occurs. Eternity Surge deals 10% increased damage.
Preservation
2 Piece Bonus: Consuming Essence Burst sends forth a Living Flame at your target at 150% effectiveness, or at a nearby injured target if your primary target is at full health.
4 Piece Bonus: Green spells restore 5% more health, and Verdant Embrace has a 100% chance to grant Essence Burst.
Augmentation
2 Piece Bonus: Upheaval‘s cooldown is reduced by 10 seconds.
4 Piece Bonus: Upheaval magnifies your Fate Mirror effects for 8 seconds, increasing the amount of damage echoed to 45%.
Hunter
Beast Mastery
2 Piece Bonus: Barbed Shot causes your pets to Stomp 1 additional time at 50% effectiveness.
4 Piece Bonus: Stomp causes your next Cobra Shot to either benefit from Beast Cleave at 30% effectiveness, or strike your primary target for 20% additional damage, stacking up to 4 times.
Marksmanship
2 Piece Bonus: Explosive Shot lasts 1 second longer and deals 20% increased damage.
4 Piece Bonus: Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire damage increased by 5%. Each time Explosive Shot causes a burst of damage, the cooldown of Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire is reduced by 0.5 seconds.
Survival
2 Piece Bonus: Raptor Strike damage increased by 15%.
4 Piece Bonus: Mongoose Fury also increases the damage of Wildfire Bomb by 10%.
Mage
Arcane
2 Piece Bonus: Arcane Missiles fires 1 additional missile and deals 5% increased damage.
4 Piece Bonus: Each wave of Arcane Missiles increases the damage of your next Arcane Blast, Arcane Pulse, or Prismatic Bolt by 3%, up to 24%.
Fire
2 Piece Bonus: Pyroclasm causes Flamestrike and Pyroblast to always critically strike.
4 Piece Bonus: Pyroclasm reduces the cast time of Flamestrike and Pyroblast by 20% and its damage bonus is increased by 20%.
Frost
2 Piece Bonus: Each stack of Freezing Shattered has a 5% chance to generate an Icicle. Glacial Spike damage increased by 25%.
4 Piece Bonus: Consuming Glacial Spike has a small chance to grant Glacial Spike. Shatter damage increased by 15%.
Monk
Brewmaster
2 Piece Bonus: Breath of Fire ignites your next Keg Smash, causing it to explode on contact, dealing additional Flamestrike damage to its primary target and reduced damage to additional targets.
4 Piece Bonus: Ignited Keg Smash cause enemies struck to take 8% increased damage from your Physical abilities, and leave a patch of flames on the ground, dealing Fire damage each second for 5 seconds.
Mistweaver
2 Piece Bonus: Rising Sun Kick deals 30% increased damage and Rushing Wind Kick‘s healing is increased by 100%.
4 Piece Bonus: Rising Sun Kick and Rushing Wind Kick have a chance to cause their next cast to ignore their cooldown and have their mana cost reduced by 100%.
Windwalker
2 Piece Bonus: Fists of Fury strikes an additional time at the start of its channel at 50% effectiveness.
4 Piece Bonus: Fists of Fury increases the damage of your next Rising Sun Kick by 10% or Spinning Crane Kick by 20% each time it strikes, stacking up to 6 times.
Paladin
Holy
2 Piece Bonus: Infusion of Light increases the healing of Flash of Light by an additional 75% and the absorb from Greater Judgment by an additional 75%.
4 Piece Bonus: Judgment now has a 20% chance to grant Infusion of Light. Holy Light now has a 50% chance to grant Infusion of Light.
Protection
2 Piece Bonus: Consecration is 30% larger and enemies within your Consecration are illuminated, increasing the chance for your abilities to critically strike them by 5%.
4 Piece Bonus: Enemies struck by Judgment or Crusader Strike take 20% additional Holy damage. If they are struck by a critical strike, the additional damage is increased by 200%.
Retribution
2 Piece Bonus: Divine Purpose has an additional 10% chance to activate and consuming it grants Divine Power, increasing Holy damage done by 10% for 12 seconds.
4 Piece Bonus: Consuming Divine Purpose with Divine Storm causes your next Final Verdict to be free and unleash Divine Arbiter at its target, dealing Holy damage and Holy damage to enemies within 8 yards.
Priest
Discipline
2 Piece Bonus: Penance damage and healing increased by 20%. Casting Penance reduces the cooldown of Mind Blast by 2 seconds.
4 Piece Bonus: After casting Mind Blast, your next Power Word: Shield or Void Shield absorbs 25% more damage.
Holy
2 Piece Bonus: Each target affected by your Renew increases your Haste by 2%, up to 6%.
4 Piece Bonus: Renew healing increased by 10%. Light’s Resurgence now has a 100% chance to leave a Renew on the first target Prayer of Mending heals.
Shadow
Note: The Shadow Priest set was made available during PTR week 2.
2 Piece Bonus: Tentacle Slam cooldown reduced by 3 seconds and its damage is increased by 100%.
4 Piece Bonus: After casting Tentacle Slam, your next Vampiric Touch is instant, generates 4 additional Insanity, and conjures Shadowy Apparitions that deal 200% of normal damage.
Rogue
Assassination
2 Piece Bonus: Envenom damage increased by 10% and it increases your damage dealt by 3%.
4 Piece Bonus: Deadly Poison increases your bleed damage on the target by 10%. Auto-attacks against targets with your Amplifying Poison deal 2% increased damage per stack. Wound Poison hits a second time.
Outlaw
2 Piece Bonus: Dispatch damage increased by 15%.
4 Piece Bonus: Sinister Strike and Ambush have a 12% chance to cause your next Dispatch to be free and deal damage as if you spent the maximum combo points.
Subtlety
2 Piece Bonus: Backstab costs 10 less Energy and deals 100% increased damage. Shuriken Storm costs 5 less Energy and deals 60% increased damage.
4 Piece Bonus: Lingering Darkness now also benefits Eviscerate and Black Powder at 100% effectiveness.
Shaman
Elemental
2 Piece Bonus: Earth Shock, Elemental Blast, and Earthquake damage increased by 25%.
4 Piece Bonus: When Stormkeeper or Ascendance fade, your next 2 Lightning Bolts, Chain Lightnings, or Lava Bursts deal 25% increased damage and cause your next Earthquake, Earth Shock, or Elemental Blast to cost 100% less Maelstrom.
Enhancement
2 Piece Bonus: Voltaic Blaze causes your primary target to erupt in a Fire Nova every 2 seconds for 6 seconds. Fire Nova damage is increased by 200% if it only strikes a single target.
4 Piece Bonus: Fire Nova reduces the cooldown of Crash Lightning by 2 seconds and increases the damage of your next Crash Lightning by 8%, stacking up to 5 times.
Restoration
2 Piece Bonus: Healing Wave and Chain Heal have a chance to create a Healing Rain at the target’s location for 10 seconds.
4 Piece Bonus: Every 1 second, 1 ally inside of Healing Rain gains a watery shield that absorbs damage for 10 seconds.
Warlock
Affliction
2 Piece Bonus: You have a 20% chance to refund a Soul Shard after spending a Soul Shard.
4 Piece Bonus: Each active Unstable Affliction increases your damage dealt by your spells and abilities by 2%, up to 6%. Seed of Corruption applies Unstable Affliction at 50% effectiveness to your target.
Demonology
2 Piece Bonus: Wild Imp damage increased by 10%. Implosion damage increased by 20%.
4 Piece Bonus: When their energy depletes, Wild Imps have a 20% chance to fling themselves at their target and Implode at 150% effectiveness to their main target and 125% effectiveness to other targets.
Destruction
2 Piece Bonus: Incinerate damage increased by 25% and Incinerate has a 10% increased chance to evoke an Echo of Sargeras.
4 Piece Bonus: Targets damaged by Echo of Sargeras take 6% increased damage from Echo of Sargeras for 6 seconds.
Warrior
Arms
2 Piece Bonus: Mortal Strike damage increased by 10% and when you Slam a target, Slam also deals damage to enemies within 8 yards of it. Deals reduced damage beyond 5 targets.
4 Piece Bonus: Overpower damage increased by 15%. Mortal Strike and Overpower increase the damage of your next Slam by 10%, stacking up to 3 times.
Fury
2 Piece Bonus: Raging Blow damage increased by 15% and during Recklessness, Raging Blow extends the Duration of Recklessness by 2 seconds, up to 6 seconds.
4 Piece Bonus: Bloodthirst damage increased by 10% and during Recklessness, Bloodthirst increases the critical strike bonus of Recklessness by 5%, up to 10%.
Protection
2 Piece Bonus: Free Revenges deal 15% additional damage and cause your next Shield Slam to deal 20% additional damage.
4 Piece Bonus: Ravager and your free Revenges cause all targets to bleed for damage over 12 sec. Ravager‘s cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds.
Venomous Abyss Key Takeaways
| Aspect | Details |
| Raid Name | The Venomous Abyss |
| Bosses | 8 (Ula’tek is the final boss) |
| Season | Midnight Season 2 |
| Patch | 12.1 Curse of Ula’tek |
| Confirmed Start | Week of August 18, 2026 |
| PTR Testing | Completed before live release |
| Special Gear | Cantrip and other special effect items |
| Theme | Amani troll, serpent, poison, Ula’tek |
FAQ
When did the Venomous Abyss raid launch?
The Venomous Abyss launched during the week of August 18, 2026, with Midnight Season 2. Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and Raid Finder Wing 1 opened together. Raid Finder Wing 2 followed during the week of August 25, Wing 3 during the week of September 1, and Wing 4 during the week of September 8.
Where is the Venomous Abyss?
The Venomous Abyss is located in the Vaults of Atal’Utek beneath the Coiled Isle. The raid follows the story of Zul’jan, Malacrass, and Ula’tek and ends with the encounter against Ula’tek herself.
How many bosses are in the Venomous Abyss?
The Venomous Abyss has 8 bosses. The final encounter is Ula’tek. The eight encounters are Nek’zali the Soulcoiler, Entombed Sentinels, The Lost Explorers, Vashnik the Malignant, Sszorak, The Twin Fangs, The Coiled Altar, and Ula’tek.
Which difficulties are available?
The raid is available on Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulties. Story Mode is also available as part of the Season 2 unlock schedule.
Where do the tier set tokens come from?
Tier set tokens come from bosses 2 through 6. Ula’tek drops the Slumbering Coil Curio, which can be exchanged for a tier set armor piece of your choice.
Can I get special effect gear from the raid?
Yes. The Venomous Abyss contains Cantrip and other special effect items. The raid also offers class sets, unique weapons, trinkets, tier set tokens, and other rewards.
All dates and information reflect Blizzard’s live Season 2 schedule and current raid information.
