Blizzard Doesn't Stop – World of Warcraft Shadowlands Hands-on Preview

The expansions to World of Warcraft after Wrath of the Lich King resemble a roller coaster ride; one moment we hurtle down screaming in joy and excitement, another time we painstakingly wait for the car to finally climb to the top. Battle for Azeroth, the most recent DLC, was certainly not among the exciting ones. I'm not hiding, I was eagerly waiting for BfA, but ultimately, it was hugely disappointing. So, what are we looking at in case of Shadowlands?

Hopefully, something really good! But before you open the champagne, let me warn you that the Battle for Azeroth was also warranting high hopes before the release. The beta had its share of bugs and issues, but it was expected that Blizzard would recover in time and be able to mend all that. It failed, which ultimately made the DLC look like Early Access rather than a full-fledged extension to perhaps the most popular MMORPG ever.

In case of Shadowlands, things look a little different. In fact, while testing the game in alpha (it's now in beta), I got the impression that the developers really listened to the community's feedback. I was quite surprised by the changes made week to week, most of which were based on our feedback. This does not change the fact that some danger of failure still exists, but you will find out later. First, it's time for a few praises!

Sylvanas, Lich King and land of the dead

Shadowlands will play a huge role in World of Warcraft. Sylvanas makes a fuss again by showing the Lich King open the gates to the world of the dead, inviting us in. As the heroes of Azeroth, along with several more important characters, we enter the eponymous Shadowlands to stop the former warchief of the Horde.

Initially, we go to The Maw, a location managed by Jailer, who is the main antagonist of this supplement. Sylvanas allied with him, but why? That's a question best answered while playing the game. I will only 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'll grind in Bastion, Ardenweald, Ravendreth and Maldraxxus. There are four locations, plus a fifth one, which is the Central City of Oriobos, working like Dalaran or Shattrath in previous expansions.

Reduction of level cap to 60

Now that I've mentioned exping, we have to commend Blizzard for making the right decision, namely reducing the level cap and speeding up the acquisition of levels. The maximum level in Shadowlands will be 60, rather than 100, or 120. In the new DLC, we will grind within the 50-60 level range, with lower levels scored in any other extension – any, because the scaling of levels will be fully functional.

As if that wasn't enough, Blizzard is also adding new starting locations for each faction. They will act as tutorials that will introduce the player to the meanders of World of Warcraft. Once completed, we will be able to proceed to exploring Battle for Azeroth, Legion, or any other extension of choice. Progression from level 1 to 50 is also expected to be accelerated and take 10 to 20 hours, which will significantly reduce the required investment of time.

This is a welcome change, because today, a newbie needs lots of time to catch up. This will make the whole process faster, and at the same time more interesting, because promotion to next levels will always yield new skills, talent points, or prizes. So we will actually feel that our hero is developing.

Four parties, all different

The real fun, however, will begin once we reach the Shadowlands. There, we will be able to choose one of the four Covenants, i.e. factions that control the corresponding region of the lands of the dead. By siding with Bastion, Ardenweald, Ravendreth or Maldraxxus, we will be given access to a unique story campaign and special cosmetic items, but also to special abilities: one derived from the faction itself, the other from our character class. But here, the issues mentioned above start to mount.

The Covenants are a pretty interesting solution, thanks to which players actually participate in the history of the given place, establishing relationships with NPCs and earning rewards for their exploits. In terms of plot, it's a real icing on the cake, but it's the skills provided by the factions that are controversial. And that's because of balance: it's very possible that the choice of faction will be determined by the provided abilities, rather than actual evaluation of morality and motivations.

Soulbinds – the strongest and weakest link

After reaching level 60, the matter becomes even more complicated, because then, the Covenants also receive the Soulbind system. It is a character development system, culminating in artifacts from Legion and Azerite Gear and essence from Battle for Azeroth. As part of the selected faction, you will be able to bind with one of the three NPCs to gain access to their bonuses. This provides access to a special skill tree that allows to choose augmentations and apply conduits, i.e. gems related to our character class.

Sounds complicated? The whole thing becomes simpler when we treat the Covenants more like extra character classes for our hero. By choosing one party, you get access to skills and three specializations (NPCs within Soulbind). Each specialization has its own talent tree with unique effects, and these can be modified by gems, inserted as in the equipment. Blizzard promised that within one Covenant we would be able to easily change Soulbinds and modify talents.

The whole system seems fantastic on paper, because the choices are justified by plot, and they're meaningful in terms of game mechanics, in addition increasing the capabilities of developing and personalizing the hero. In practice, however, it may turn out that the system will be limited to a few optimal builds and most elements will be squandered. Plus, it's a bit disturbing to learn that these gems, the conduits, will be destroyed every time we replace them.

Let's hope Blizzard comes up with the right solution and abandons the current one, which is farming-based – there will be no shortage of that 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 addition, we will instead get a Renown system, on which our affiliation to the chosen party depends.

Getting Renown, or a prettier way of saying "grind"

Renown will appear in weekly challenges and it has already been announced that catch-up systems will also be introduced. Players shouldn't feel that a short break from World of Warcraft prevents them from joining the real fun. Nevertheless, this system raises some doubts, as many elements of Shadowlands will depend on it. For example, the mentioned Souldbinds will be developed with it, and even the quality of equipment from World Quests will be associated with this element.

The same goes for special quests, recipes, and even flying in Shadowlands! We already know that the Pathfinder achievement will require an appropriate level of Renown. At the 60th level, we will not finish our World of Warcraft adventure, but rather begin it. Renown will be hugely significant, and Soulbinds will significantly enhance the character, so get ready for more exping, only under different name.

Renown will be conquered by completing our Covenant campaign, delivering the anima raw material and saving souls in The Maw. It will also affect the base of our party, the Sanctrum. It will be something like a Class Hall from Legion, which is our safe haven. It will provide access to a large number of features, but first, you will need to rebuild the whole thing.

The Scouting Table will also return, allowing us to send NPCs on excursions. In Shadowlands, however, the mechanics have been changed, which will no longer involve choosing a character and waiting for them to return. Instead, the whole thing will resemble auto-battlers, where units have their stats, and they will need to be properly deployed and then watched during a turn-based skirmish.

Torghast – roguelike elements in World of Warcraft

A major attraction of the upcoming addition will be the Torghast, the Tower of the Damned. It's a form of "infinite" dungeon, divided into floors. With each successive floor, the difficulty level will increase, and we will never quite know what awaits us around the next corner. Stages will be procedurally generated, so each trip to the tower will be a new adventure.

Plus, we'll be able to go it completely alone! Interestingly, we will acquire special modifiers from opponents, strengthening our character and abilities, or changing the way they work. Of course we'll be limited by the number of lives we have, and a complete failure means starting the climb from scratch. So the whole thing can be broadly compared to roguelikes and to be honest, it's one of the nicer things about Shadowlands, at least for me.

It's not even about the fact that we'll be getting materials required for legendary items for Torghast. The modifiers available in the tower are something wonderful and totally unbalanced. What's more, Blizzard has no intent of spoiling the fun by nerfing some of the combinations. Being able to play a magician who teleports all the time and leaves behind his fireball-tossing reflections is definitely something I needed in World of Warcraft!

Shadowlands promises to be good, but it may still fail

On the up side, we have returning classic character class skills in Shadowlands. The shamans get totems at every specialization, the hunters get Hunter's Marks, and The Warlocks can curse to their hearts' content. I mean, use curses. This is followed by a number of other minor changes, such as a new character wizard with additional appearance customization, as well as modifiers of profession. We should also mention tagging quests in the story campaign, or the Jailer watching us in The Maw! This zone resembles Suramar from Legion, and our actions will increase the attention of the Great Evil, who will in time begin to make life difficult for us in this location.

That's definitely not all that Shadowlands offers. Admittedly, this expansion doesn't introduce any new character class or race. At first glance, it doesn't even seem that revolutionary – you might even call it conservative. However, after spending time in alpha and now beta, I can say that this is an extension that World of Warcraft simply needed. In a way, it's a reset of everything we got in recent expansions and an attempt to pick out the best solutions while returning to the roots. Will it be successful?

It's hard to tell at this point. I'd like to believe it will. Nevertheless, the skepticism after the Battle for Azeroth and the uncertainty about Soulbinds seem to prevent any sort of unambiguous assessment. Shadowlands may turn out to be a great expansion, but poorly implemented and misguided new systems could as well be the final nail in the coffin of this DLC. Exactly as was the case with the previous addition. Let's hope Blizzard has learned the lesson and doesn't repeat the mistake. If they can avoid it then well – I'll be playing like hell in autumn!