Game review 07 December 2020, 02:45

author: Patrick Manelski

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Review - 75% Legion; 25% New

The latest addition to the king of MMORPG has already been with us for some time. And you know what? It's pretty good, but Blizzard didn't have to rush this extension.

The review is based on the PC version.

I'm not a huge fan of reviewing MMORPGs, as they're a type of games that are constantly developed and evolving. The lifespan of a DLC, for example, is about two years, and during this period, there are novelties released that affect the of the entire extension. Nevertheless, I realize that a review of Shadowlands written two years after the game released wouldn't interest anyone. So I invite you to the afterlife, where Jailer and Sylvanas dance on the graves of their foes.

A true revolution in exping

To be honest, I started my adventure with Shadowlands from scratch, i.e. I deliberately created a new character because as part of the introductory update, Blizzard turned the leveling system upside down. The level cap was 50 (60 in Shadowlands alone), new start zones appeared, and a specific scaling of the old expansions was proposed.

Let me put it this way: it's a bull's eye, because exping is fun again. In about 15 hours, the player can develop the hero from level 1 to 50, which is much faster than before. In addition, almost every level brings with it some surprises – a new skill, additional talent point to spend, etc. Thanks to this, we can really feel the development of the hero, and I must admit honestly that Blizzard should have done so long ago.

Exile's Reach is also laudable, as a new starting zone for both the Horde and the Alliance. This is a mandatory area for new players and optional for veterans. I recommend checking this location out, because it serves as a perfect tutorial to World of Warcraft, introducing us to the basics of the game.

It works well for people starting to play with this production, as Exile's Reach story is set during the Battle for Azeroth events. In this way, the player smoothly transitions to exping in the new zones right after completing the tutorial, and then, after reaching level 50, they're able to continue the quest in Shadowlands. Veterans, on the other hand, can go to Chromie to select the expansion in which they want to play from level 10 to 50. The region will scale to their level, which gives the player a welcome freedom. You can jump on the extensions or concentrate on just one thing – up yo you.

Of course, all these solutions are not perfect, they have their drawbacks and problems, and some people complain that they complicate the story. New players don't follow the story of World of Warcraft from the beginning, but only from the most recent events. Personally, I find this this a better solution than throwing them headfirst into the deep end of the alternative reality, the eternal phasing of the game world, or forcing them to complete missions for the living Garrosh, who hasn't done anything wrong. Therefore, in my opinion, Blizzard chose the best option.

Shadowlands is extremely linear, but that's good

But how does exping look like in Shadowlands itself? It's completely different! Up to level 50, we have full freedom, but when entering the kingdom of the dead, you have to reckon with the linearity typical of single-player games. Final Fantasy XIV players will feel at home (especially when they see the number of cutscenes), because the first time in Shadowlands is simply about going through the whole story campaign to even gain access to the proper content.

Usually I'm opposed to such solutions, because linear stories don't fit MMORPGs. In the case of Shadowlands, however, I had the impression that it worked out quite well. The introductory task takes us to Icecrown, where Bolvar Fordragon opens the passage to the afterlife using the broken Helm of Domination. We go to The Maw, meet Jailer and a plethora of famous characters, then travel through Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald and end up in Revendreth.

It took me some 14 hours to travel through all of the Shadowlands zones part of the campaign, with some side quests for diversion. During that time, no mission sent me to dungeons, and only sometimes I had to do an extra quest to meet the required level. I was led by the hand, performing specific orders, pushing history forward. It was realized smoothly and in fact, this linearity was beneficial to the plot. Thanks to this format of the story, the player knows what's going on in Shadowlands, knows who's a traitor, who's good, and who to watch out for. I myself belong to the Sire Denathrius fanclub, and I think Sylvanas and Jailer can't hold a candle to him, the Main Evil One.

I started to take a lively interest in the events, although I admit that sometimes I got lost in this crowd of new characters and plot twists. I'll add that this is an introduction to the whole story, because the real plots are waiting for us later. It's a pity that at that time, players around me were just a background, and didn't participate in the adventure, which is my main issue with MMORPGs with a plot in general. Again, I felt like the chosen one again, but surprisingly it was not a bad feeling. Especially since during the game I got to know all the parties and their powers.

World of Warcraft has never looked more beautiful

My journey through Shadowlands was simply picturesque. Another laudable move from Blizzard is the feats they've achieved with theWorld of Warcraft engine. I am surprised that a sixteen-years-old game can look so good. Of course, there are visible limitations. Replacing the engine with something new would definitely be nice. Nevertheless, Shadowlands proves that the old WoW can pack a punch.

All the lands are simply beautiful, although I realize that not everyone will find the right place for their taste. For example, I was admiring the angelic Bastion for the first hour. Then I had enough of the sterile environment, its cleanliness and shades of blue. I felt much better in the dirty and rotten Maldraxxus, full of plague, undead and constructs. Ardenweald is a visualization of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" – people who love fairy-tale climates will be thrilled. And vampire fans will love the Gothic Revendreth.

As for The Maw, the last Shadowlands zone, it's unsettling enough. At first glance, you can see that this is the trash of the afterlife, where no-good trash of the races ends up. The land even has its equivalent of the Styx River, which is quite atmospheric. I'll just say a few words about Oribos, the focal point of this supplement. It's the equivalent of Dalaran and Shattrath, a neutral city for both factions. Maybe it takes time for me to get used to the decay, but I didn't like the design of this building – I only stayed there when I really had to.

60th level is just the beginning – an overwhelming beginning

Once you've hit level 60 in Shadowlands, you still have to finish the campaign to start fully enjoying the expansion. Okay, you still won't be able to, actually, because you will have to choose a the faction that you want to join, and then you have a handful of tasks to complete. There will be more of them, as new content will be unlocked weekly. In addition, there's The Maw, a zone with a special NPC with reputation and currency. Then, we also have the Torghast, Tower of the Damned. On top of that, there are World Quests and "Callings" related to them (the equivalent of emissaries). I assure you that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I must admit that the amount of activity is simply overwhelming. Especially when we hit level 60, it's difficult to decide what to do first. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time to check everything the game offerend and write a review, but also not to be a burden for my guild. After all, everyone wants to be best prepared for the rally that will start on December 9th. So I expected Shadowlands to become a full-time job for a week...

And then it turned out Blizzard decided to release content gradually. Battle for Azerothwas had time-gates, but the latest extension is quintessential content delaying. In the first week, almost every activity had its own limit. And you know what? For the first time, I was satisfied with such solutions!

Because of the excess of the initial content, Shadowlands actually looks as if it was going to devour a huge amount of time. In fact, however, you could enjoy the game and be up-to-date with everything, without playing 24/7. Blizzard simply didn't allow anyone to chew through the expansion to quickly. That's how they tried to please all, both people with excess amounts of free time and casual, Sunday players. The compromise, as it often happens, mostly gave everyone reasons to complain.

It is hard to judge whether World of Warcraft will not be limited like this all the time. I feel that in the long run, the content made available for one week is not enough to keep the players interested. On the other hand, next week we will get raids and mythic+, so the community will be busy. We will see for how long, because the lion's share of activities in Shadowlands does not strengthen our character, but only provides access to cosmetic items or additional attractions.

With borrowed power comes great responsibility!

Beginning with Legion, World of Warcraft started to exhibit the phenomenon of borrowed powers. For the time of one expansion we get a system that in some way influences the strength of our character, as well as their class and specialization. We've already had artifact weapons, we've seed artifact necklace, so now it's time for artifact... No, this time not artifact, but covenant skills!

Shadowlands introduces Covenants, factions we get to know as we travel through the game world. When exping for the first time, the storyline leads us through every land and enables us to learn about the powers of a given Covenant - faction ability and class skill. It is worth noting here that we cannot choose the skills freely, because we acquire them depending on which Covenant we join.

This is all the more problematic because I, for example, when playing as warlock, should join either the faeries from Ardenweald or the angels from Bastion in order to get optimal powers. However, as I was unable imagine myself as an angelic demon summoner, I decided to go with Maldraxxus, which is much more suited to my "class fantasy". If I would want to change my chosen Covenant, I'll require some effort, but it's not impossible, so that's something. However, we have to remember that it is a certain restriction, which may be lifted in the future.

Covenants, however, are not only powers, but also talent trees, or Soulbinds, which are another problematic issue in Shadowlands. We can "assign ourselves" to one of the three available souls to receive its bonuses and a dedicated tree for something like talents. In this tree, however, we can choose only one path with effects active at a given time. Starting to get complicated, isn't it? Then let me just mention Conduits, i.e. stones that we put into the aforementioned trees and which affect our skills!

The system is not extremely complicated, but highly restricting. You can change Soulbinds or Conduits, but unfortunately not freely. That's why you have to give it some though or prepare to be patient, as replacing the whole tree will be a time consuming process. The Conduits themselves are aquired by completing various activities in World of Warcraft, and they are divided into quality levels, so there is something to work on.

My biggest problem with these systems is that there's too many of them and at the same time they do not give us full freedom. On only the powers are bound to the Covenant, but also access to cosmetic items of a given faction, so the player has to choose what's more important to them or go for a compromise. In addition, these are only borrowed powers, which will probably disappear in the next expansion and be replaced by something new.

Shadowlands is just old systems under a new coat of paint

The aforementioned Soulbinds are nothing more than "reskinned" artifacts from Legion with their additional character skills and talent tree. At this point they are unbalanced and in reality only a few options (this also applies to Conduits) are truly valid. So we have apparent freedom, but in reality there is not much choice. Especially for players interested in raids and dungeons at higher difficulty levels. We may get proper balance in the future, but with the number of systems floating around in Shadowlands, it will be difficult to keep everything as it should be.

This is not the only old element of World of Warcraft that made a comeback. Blizzard clearly got its inspiration from Legion when making Shadowlands, which can be seen at every step. After all, this expansion is considered one of the best, if not the best. That is why Class Hall returns, but in the form of Covenants. By joining a faction, we get not only the powers, but also a base of operations. It is available to all players who have also joined the same "team".

Upon arrival at their headquarters, the NPCs welcome us, praise our weapons, or call us The Maw Walker. Sounds familiar? It was the same in Legion: when we arrived to the "seat" of our class we were greeted, praised for our arms and titled as Champion. Our Covenant also has a Mission Table, where we send helpers on missions to get some small extras for us. This system has changed again and is now more tactical (we have a bit more options), but it is still just a nice addition to the main course.

We can also expand our base by adding new modules. In my case, I was able to build an Anima Conductor, a device for creating constructs, in Maldraxxus, which provided me with a companion. In addition, I can provide myself with more quick travel points and indicate in which of the available locations a special elite will appear. Is this important in any way? No, but it certainly makes Shadowlands more fun.

Lots of cosmetic items and mounts!

I complained about the number of duties for a fresh "sixty" in Shadowlands, but soon found out that most of these attractions do not affect the strength of my character. The lion's share of activities is additional things I wouldn't have to do, if I didn't want to. They provide cosmetic items and mounts, so theoretically there was no need to get too involved in them. In reality, however, we unwittingly wanted to have everything, because in the end, if someone gives away, why shouldn't we take it?

The described Covenants also have the Renown system, i.e. a form of reputation in one's own faction (the normal reputation is also there, no worries). The easiest thing I can compare it to is a battle pass, because it works quite similarly. At each Renown level we will get access to some attractions. Most of them are cosmetic items related to our Covenant. However, Renown is also needed to push forward the story campaign, as it has certain level requirements.

We gain the subsequent Renown thresholds by completing tasks and collecting anima (no, not anime). The latter is needed to improve our base as well as to buy some items. We acquire anima mainly by completing World Quests and killing elite creatures. Unfortunately, right now also the level of Renown is limited by Blizzard, so if we want to get all the sweets from subsequent thresholds, we have to wait until the higher levels are made available.

Once again, I will compare Shadowlands to Legion here, because the whole Renown thing and the number of elites with mounts or pets reminds me of the aforementioned expansion. We are generously awarded with stuff and at every step there is something to get or find, which is simply enjoyable!

Roguelike in MMORPG? It works!

Compared to Battle for Azeroth, Shadowlands has no great, eye-catching novelties, such as island expeditions or Warfront. Both systems turned out to be average, so they do not appear in the new expansion. Instead we have Torghast, which is located in The Maw. Torghast is a prison in the form of a tower, on which levels we will climb to get the resources required to create legendary items.

Legendary items are another element returning from Legion. We will be able to have two such items, which will significantly affect our skills. However, we will not get the legendaries the usual way, because in Shadowlands we will have to craft them ourselves! We will use materials from our profession, a legendary blueprint that will have to be dropped by a helpful enemy, and Soul Ash that we acquire in Torghast.

The aformentioned prison is nothing but a roguelike in an MMORPG. We can conquer the floors alone or in a party of up to five people. On each floor we have opponents waiting for us and possible surprises in the form of environmental traps, rare opponents or additional tasks. The main attraction, however, are modifiers, which we acquire by playing and which are with us until we lose or finish the whole challenge. The latter consists of six floors and the last one always ends with a boss fight.

Two challenges are made available every week and for this moment they have only three levels of difficulty. In the future we will get more of them, but it is interesting as it is, and that's thanks to modifiers, i.e. random bonuses that significantly affect our character. As an avid fan of Hades, I was thrilled when I could summon 5 infernals instead of one in Torghast, and what's more my demons arrived immediately. All thanks to random buffs!

This system has a standard disadvantage of roguelikes - when you get weak buffs, suddenly every subsequent level is getting more and more difficult. It is therefore worth clearing all the rooms to collect as much currency as possible to exchange for powers with NPCs. Currently, there is no time limit in Torghast, but we are limited by the number of lives, so dying repeatedly is out of question. If you're not doing well, I'm sorry, but you will have to start again.

It is worth adding that completing a challenge at a higher level automatically unlocks this level also in other challenges (layers), so you do not have to climb again. If someone couldn't care less for Torghast, they will have to limit themselves to doing it in the minimum required amount, just to get enough Soul Ash to craft and improve legendary items. Unfortunately, in the long run, not a single playthrough in Shadowlands can do without it. Unless you go full casual, in which case you can ignore that too.

So, is this a good expansion or not?

My response is short: for now, it's fine. It is not yet at Legion's level, although it borrows a lot of it. Nevertheless, I have some concerns that in the long run, Shadowlands may turn out to be a weak expansion that will share the fate of Battle for Azeroth. Blizzard has prepared for us a nostalgic candy, but in a new package. What's more, it forces us to lick it through the wrapper.

So it remains to hope that in the new year the whole thing will pick up momentum and Shadowlands will start for good, because for now it looks a bit like Early Access. I do not find it a bad thing, because I could complete everything I wanted in peace and there was still a lot of things left to do. In the end, all I have left to do are mythic+ level dungeons, the biggest fun of the game - dressing up your character. I realize, however, that in the long run, the approach with access restriction may come back to bite World of Warcraft in the rear.

Despite some considerable fears, I remain optimistic about the whole thing. It's certainly not the best expansion for the king of MMORPGs, but I like what's happening in it. World of Warcraft is evolving and I feel it in my bones that Shadowlands is a form of test for the game's structure - whether the proposed solutions, tested in previous expansions, and reaching their final form in this expansion, will appeal to the players or will be rejected.

If they are accepted, we may be witnessing great changes in this title. However, if not, in a year and a half or two we will see another batch of experimental ideas in the form of a new expansion. At this point, therefore, I treat Shadowlands like Mists of Pandaria, something that is just fine.