Blizzard Does Not Lay Down - We've played World of Warcraft Shadowlands

The eighth expansion pack for the MMORPG king is on the horizon, and it looks like it's going to be quite a successful expansion. Provided, however, that Blizzard will not be stubborn and this time will listen to the players. Can one element of WOW Shadowlands spoil the entire expansion? The announced premiere of the game: December 2020.

The World of Warcraft after Wrath of the Lich King expansions are reminiscent of a roller coaster ride, one time you go madly down the hill screaming for joy, and other times you have to wait for your cart to reach the top. The last, released expansion, Battle for Azeroth belongs to this second part of the tour. I do not hide, I waited for BfA with flushed face, but the reality turned out to be disappointing. So what is Shadowlands going to be like? Surprisingly good. Before you open the champagne, however, let me warn you that Battle for Azeroth was also going to be pretty good. Beta had its bugs and problems, but it was expected that Blizzard would make over time and be able to fix everything. He couldn't make it, which made the add-on resembled Early Access, not a full-fledged extension to probably the most popular MMORPG on the market. With Shadowlands, things are a bit different. I actually got the impression when testing the game in alpha (now in beta) that the developers are listening to community feedback. I was surprised by the week by week changes, most of which were based on our feedback. However, this does not change the fact that there is still some danger of failure, but you will learn about it later. First, it's time for a few lines of praise!

Shadowlands will play a huge role in World of Warcraft. Sylvanas messed up again, defeating the Lich King, opening the gate to the world of the dead and inviting us to visit. As the heroes of Azeroth, along with a few more important characters, we will enter the eponymous Shadowlands to stop the former warchief of the Horde. Initially, we will go to The Maw, a location managed by Jailer, who is the main antagonist of this expansion. He was the one Sylvanas had allied with, but why? I will forgive you such details, because it is a pity to spoil the more interesting parts of the plot. I will just mention that time in Shadowlands flows differently than in Azeroth, and The Maw itself is the final stage of our adventure in this expansion. Before that, we will develop the character in Bastion, Ardenweald, Ravendreth and Maldraxxus. We have four locations at our disposal and the fifth, which is the central city of Oriobos, operating like Dalaran or Shattrath in previous expansions.

<iframe width="340" height="191" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0RMZZtjeHNQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Since I mentioned the experience, Blizzard should be praised for the good decision, which is to reduce the maximum level of our character and accelerate the leveling up. The maximum level in Shadowlands will not be 110 or 120, but 60. In the new expansion we will be expili in the 50-60 range, and the previous levels will be obtained in the locations of the selected expansion - any one, because the level scaling will be fully functional. As if that was not enough, Blizzard also adds new starting locations for each faction. They will act as a modern tutorial that will introduce the player to the meanders of World of Warcraft. After its completion, we will be able to use the attractions of Battle for Azeroth, Legion, or any other expansion of our choice. The promotion of characters from level 1 to 50 will also be accelerated and take 10 to 20 hours, which will significantly reduce the time players spend at this stage.

<iframe width="340" height="191" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j7L_3J6Rl9Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

However, the real fun will begin once we get to Shadowlands. There, we will be able to choose one of the four Covenants, i.e. factions that control the appropriate region of the Deadlands. By connecting with Bastion, Ardenweald, Ravendreth or Maldraxxus, we will get access to a unique story campaign and special cosmetic items, as well as special abilities: one related to the faction itself, the other to our character class. This is where the problems I mentioned at the beginning begin.

Covenants is quite an interesting solution, thanks to which players actually participate in the history of a given place, establish relationships with NPCs, and earn rewards for their efforts. In terms of story, it is a real icing on the cake, but the skills provided by the parties are controversial. They are not fully balanced, so the choice of our faction can be limited to deciding which one provides better abilities, i.e. we will start converting everything into benefits.

After reaching level 60, the matter gets even more complicated, because then we also get the Soulbind system as part of Covenants. It is a character development system that is the culmination of artifacts from the Legion and Azerite Gear and essences from Battle for Azeroth. As part of the selected faction, we will be able to associate with one of the three NPCs to gain access to its bonuses. In this way, we will receive a special talent tree in which we will select the buffs that interest us and we can put conduits, i.e. gems related to our character class. Sounds complicated? The whole thing gets simpler when we treat Covenants as additional character classes for our hero. Choosing one party, we get access to skills and three specializations (NPC under Soulbind). Each specialization has its own talent tree with unique effects, and it can be modified with gems, as if into inventory. Blizzard has promised that within one Covenant we will be able to easily change Soulbinds, and modify talents.

The whole system on paper seems to be something fantastic, because the choices have a plot justification and importance in the game mechanics, and in addition, they increase the possibilities of development and personalization of our hero. In practice, however, it may turn out that the system will be limited to a few optimal builds and most of the elements will be wasted. In addition, the information that the mentioned gems, i.e. conduits, will be destroyed when we replace them, is a bit disturbing. Let's hope that Blizzard will introduce an appropriate solution and give up the current one based on farming - there will be plenty of this in Shadowlands anyway. It was promised that this time we would not have to collect any azerite or artifact power to strengthen the weapon or the necklace. In the new expansion, instead we will get the Renown system, on which our friendship with the selected party will depend.