World of Warcraft Shadowlands: What we learned from BlizzCon 2019
New campaigns, an endless dungeon, and an overhaul to the new player experience
Welcome to the Shadowlands
Shadowlands looks to bring a lot of content and system changes to World of Warcraft. There will be 5 new areas to explore, as well as 8 new dungeons and a 10 boss raid.
As players enter the Shadowlands, they will choose a Covenant to join. Each Covenant rules its own realm in the Shadowlands. These areas are Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, and Revendreth. They will all be available for players to explore.
Each Covenant will have its own narrative campaign, as well as unique Covenant and Class abilities for players to learn. In addition, players will also get new weapons, armor, customizable mounts, and world benefits for completed tasks for their Covenant.
Torghast, Tower of the Damned
The Shadowlands will bring a new zone called The Maw, an endgame outdoor zone with its own set of consequences. Actions you perform will catch the attention of the Jailer, the big bad of the area. Consequently, this can lead to unique effects. A specific enemy type's aggro radius may increase. Moreover, kill squads may also be sent to hunt you down.
At the center is Torghast, an endless dungeon that plays similarly to a rogue-like game. Players can play it solo, or with up to 5 players. Difficulty will scale by party size, as well as increase the further you climb the tower.
As players progress new challenges will be unlocked, adding complexity to the dungeon. Anima will drop from enemies, granting interesting new abilities that will affect their current playthrough. Most importantly, players will earn runes to craft legendary items.
Changes to the player experience
Interestingly enough, Shadowlands will bring changes to how new and old players experience World of Warcraft. The hope is to streamline leveling, as well as make every level feel rewarding. Additionally, more zones in World of Warcraft will scale to your level.
The level cap will now be level 60, as opposed to the current 120. At level 10, new players will level up to level 50 in the Battle for Azeroth expansion. Those with alt characters will be able to choose any of the expansions to level in once their character hits level 10. Furthermore, a new starter zone called Exile's Reach will be added, but the current starting zones will still be available as well. At level 50, all players will gain the ability to level up to level 60 in the Shadowlands.
Along with these changes, World of Warcraft will have some old abilities and talents making a return. This is part of what the developers are calling a "return to class" approach to characters. The idea is to give classes a unique feel and play style, giving them a more iconic feel.
Shadowlands is shaping up to be a fresh take on the World of Warcraft experience for new and old players alike.