The leaks were right: Blizzard announcedWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands,the latest expansion for the hit MMORPG at Blizzcon 2019 on Friday.
Shadowlandswill be released sometime next year, and will be the eighth expansion forWorld of Warcraft,continuing a trend of two-year expansion cycles set by Blizzard back in theWrath of the Lich Kingdays.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlandswill follow on fromevery other majorWoWexpansion to come before it. Instead of a level cap increase, things are actually decreasing back to the original Level 60 cap. Blizzard is promising to tune the leveling experience so that a full 1-50 run can be done through any chosen expansion, giving players the freedom to make a new character, play through an expansion of their choice, and then jump straight into the Shadowlands zones for the last 10 levels.
Currently announced Shadowlands locations include Revendreth, Ardenweald, Maldraxxus, and Bastion, which you might recognize from the recent leaks. The new leveling experience is tailored to offer something new (like a skill or trait) with every level, while the new Covenant feature will dish out two abilities across the new content; one exclusive to the chosen Covenant, and one exclusive to each character class.
Covenants are similar to class halls from the past. Players are free to align themselves with one of four new Covenants, each with their own NPC species and motives for players to side with. For those focused on battle content, Torghast, the Tower of the Damned, is introduced as a “highly replayable ever-changing dungeon”.
Lore-wise,Shadowlandsspecifically carries on fromBattle of Azeroth. In the game’sopening cinematic, Sylvanas reemerges in Icecrown, defeating the Lich King in a duel and breaking his iconic helmet in two, tearing open a gateway to the titular Shadowlands, the curtain between life and death. During the announcement, World of Warcraft Director Ion Hazzikostas described the Shadowlands as the veil every character treads along to retrieve their body after taking on too many mobs – a scenario everyWorld of Warcraftplayer is no-doubt deeply familiar with. But it’s also the place the valkyrie hail, and where Death Knights draw their power. It’s Azeroth’s answer to the afterlife, making it a place that predates the world forged by the titans at the start of it all.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre-order bonuses
World of Warcraft: Shadowlandsis currently up for pre-order on theBattle.net store, with three editions to choose from; Base, Heroic, and Epic. The stated release date of “on or before August 25, 2025” means most can hold off pre-purchasing the game for a while yet, but those who do will gain access to a few instant rewards like;
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
