Writing in an update on the game’s official website, executive producer Holly Longdale has said that Blizzard’s goal with updates for Dragonflight is “that there should always be something right around the corner”, with new updates hitting test reals “shortly after the last one is live and in your hands.”

To that end, the expansion will receive a total of six updates in 2023. Dragonflight’s first season of post-launch content kicked off earlier this month, and Seasons 2 and 3 are expected to arrive after Spring and Fall respectively, with each also being preceded by two smaller patches. These patches will bring a variety of additions and tweaks, such as the new Trading Post feature, world events, story quests, Holiday updates, system updates, and more. You can check out the full roadmap below.

Recently, it was also announced that former Blizzard and Warcraft veteran Chris Metzen has returned to the company as a creative advisor on the MMORPG, with a view for further involvement in future projects. Read more on that through here.

Your adventures in #Dragonflight are just beginning!

With six updates planned for 2023, we're looking to deliver more content to players more often.

EP @TheWindstalker on the road ahead: https://t.co/cX93MdwEog pic.twitter.com/TQx0yNNzJt

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) December 21, 2022

The company is also preparing the first mobile title in the Warcraft Universe – more details on that are slated for May. In the meantime, the MMO’s latest update Eternity’s End (which went live on February 23rd) will bring an end to the Shadowlands saga.

Despite the excitement that a new expansion announcement usually brings, Blizzard Entertainment and World of Warcraft have seen better days. Activision-Blizzard has been rocked by numerous controversies relating to toxic work culture, crunch, harassment and so on, leading to lawsuits and high-profile departures. Meanwhile, the MMO’s most recent expansion Shadowlands has faced criticism from fans for its problematic story twists, gameplay systems and lackluster content updates.

Activision-Blizzard was acquired this past January by Microsoft with the deal expected to close next year. How this will influence the direction of the WoW in the future remains to be seen so stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

As such, the game’s expansion has been getting updated by the developers for a while. But, everything must come to an end ,as Blizzard has released the final update for Shadowlands. Called Eternity’s End, this marks the end of support for the expansion, and adds in a lot of changes- such as modifications to all the classes in the game, three new Night Elf male face options, a new zone called Zereth Mortis, a new faction called The Enlightened, and more. The update is pretty rich in content.

The patch notes are pretty large, so it is advisable to read them on the official website. For now, here are some of the class changes the update adds to the game.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands – Eternity’s End Update

Class Changes

• DEATH KNIGHT
  • Abomination Limb (Necrolord Ability) damage increased by 20%.
  • Abomination’s Frenzy (Necrolord Runecarving Power) now increases enemy damage taken from the Death Knight by 20% (was 10%), and enemies affected by Abomination’s Frenzy now also take increased damage from your Minions for the duration.
  • Final Sentence (Kyrian Runecarving Power) now grants 4% damage per stack (was 3%), duration reduced to 15 seconds (was 18 seconds), and now grants the Rune and Damage buff on the initial cast of Shackle the Unworthy (and again each time it spreads).
  • Rampant Transference (Night Fae Runecarving Power) Strength per stack of Death’s Due increased by 3% (was 2%).
  • Convocation of the Dead (Conduit) now reduces the cooldown of Apocalypse by 1 second per Festering Wound burst at all ranks and now also increases Festering Wound damage by 15%.
  • Eternal Hunger (Conduit) increases Minion damage by 6% (was 3%).
  • Embrace Death (Conduit) causes Sudden Doom to increase Death Coil damage by 40% (was 35%).
  • Brutal Grasp (Conduit) increases Abomination Limb damage by 30% (was 15%).
  • BLOOD
    • Fixed an issue that caused Dancing Rune Weapon’s Heart Strike to deal less damage than intended.
  • FROST
    • Fixed an issue with Killing Machine that caused it to trigger less often than intended while Dual Wielding.
• DEMON HUNTER
  • Sinful Brand (Venthyr Ability) can no longer be overwritten by a lower duration Sinful Brand when applied via Metamorphosis.
  • Blind Faith’s (Runecarving Power) Versatility bonus is now capped at 20% Versatility.
• DRUID
  • Cheetah Travel Form has now been updated to a new and higher resolution model.
  • Kindred Affinity’s (Kyrian Runecarving Power) stat bonus for the Druid reduced to 6% (was 8%) and the stat bonus for their partner reduced to 3% (was 8%).
  • Sinful Hysteria (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now increases the duration of Ravenous Frenzy by 0.1 second with each application (was 0.2 seconds) and you will not be overcome by Frenzy for 3 seconds after it ends (was 5 seconds).
  • RESTORATION
    • All healing abilities increased by 10%.
    • All damage abilities increased by 10%.
    • Lifebloom healing over time increased by 12% and bloom heal increased by 20%.
    • Nourish (Talent) healing increased by 15%.
    • Overgrowth (Talent) mana cost reduced by 60%.
    • Inner Peace (Talent) now has an additional effect – While channeling Tranquility, you take 20% reduced damage and are immune to knockbacks.
    • Germination (Talent) now has an additional effect – Rejuvenation duration increased by 2 seconds.
• HUNTER
  • The following beneficial effects will now show up above the player’s resource display: Bestial Wrath, Coordinated Assault, Steady Focus, and Trueshot.
• MAGE
  • Harmonic Echo (Kyrian Runecarving Power) now also echoes the damage to the primary target affected by Radiant Spark’s Vulnerability.
  • FROST
    • Frozen Orb damage reduced by 12%.
    • Blizzard damage reduced by 12% and reduces the cooldown of Frozen Orb by 0.25 seconds each time Blizzard deals damage (was 0.5 seconds).
    • Comet Storm (Talent) no longer removes Winter’s Chill.
• MONK
  • Bonedust Brew’s (Necrolord Ability) damage and healing effectiveness has been increased to 40% (was 35%) and the ability can no longer critically strike.
  • Fixed an issue that allowed Bonedust Brew to be parried.
  • Bountiful Brew (Necrolord Runecarving Power) now extends the duration of Bonedust Brew if it triggers while a target is currently afflicted by Bonedust Brew.
  • Sinister Teachings (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now reduces the cooldown of Fallen Order by 2.5 seconds when you critically strike (was 5 seconds).
  • Fixed an issue that caused Expel Harm to not always deal a consistent amount of damage.
  • WINDWALKER
    • Fixed an issue that caused Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger’s Empowered Tiger Lightning ability to incorrectly doubly affect the damage of Bonedust Brew (Necrolord Ability).
• PALADIN
  • Ashen Hallow (Venthyr Ability) healing reduced by 15% for all specializations.
  • Ashen Hallow (Venthyr Ability) can now be canceled early by pressing its button again.
  • Radiant Embers (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now increases Ashen Hallow’s duration by 50%. Cancelling your Ashen Hallow early will reduce its cooldown by up to 50%, proportional to its remaining duration.
  • HOLY
    • All healing abilities increased by 6%.
    • Ashen Hallow, Hammer of Wrath, Judgment, and Holy Shock damage reduced by 12%.
    • Avenging Wrath (Rank 3) has been removed.
• PRIEST
  • Pallid Command’s (Necrolord Runecarving Power) Rattling Mage’s Unholy Bolt damage has been reduced by 40%, and Brooding Cleric’s Stitch Wounds healing has been reduced by 5%.
  • HOLY
    • All healing abilities increased by 10%.
    • All damage abilities increased by 15%.
    • Symbol of Hope cooldown reduced to 3 minutes (was 5 minutes) and channel time reduced to 4 seconds (was 5 seconds).
    • Holy Word: Chastise damage increased by 25%.
    • Holy Word: Serenity mana cost reduced to 2.5% (was 4%).
    • Holy Word: Sanctify mana cost reduced to 3.5% (was 5%).
    • Prayer Circle (Talent) now also reduces the mana cost of Prayer of Healing by 25%.
    • Guardian Angel (Talent) now has an additional effect – When Guardian Spirit saves the target from death, it does not expire.
    • Afterlife (Talent) now has an additional effect – As a Spirit of Redemption, you may cast Resurrection, which ends the Spirit of Redemption. Afterlife’s Resurrection cast time is 6 seconds and Afterlife now prevents combat resurrections on the Priest for 30 seconds after using Resurrection.
    • Binding Heal (Talent) has been removed.
    • Cosmic Ripple (Talent) has been moved and replaces Binding Heal (Talent) on row 40.
    • New Talent (Row 30): Binding Heals – 20% of Heal or Flash Heal healing on other targets also heals you.
• SHAMAN
  • Discover 2 new glyphs to change the appearance of the Ghost Wolf form: Spectral Lupine and Spectral Vulpine.
  • Frost Shock damage increased by 40%.
  • Flame Shock is now target capped at 6 targets.
  • Chain Harvest (Venthyr Ability) now grants 3 Maelstrom per target hit when cast while in Elemental Specialization
  • Elemental Conduit (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now also reduces the cooldown of Chain Harvest (Venthyr Ability) by 1 second when Flame Shock critically strikes.
  • Splintered Elements (Necrolord Runecarving Power) now increases Haste by 10% (was 8%) for 12 seconds (was 10 seconds).
  • Unruly Winds (Conduit) chance to trigger is now 15–50% based on item level (was 20–35%).
  • Magma Fist (Conduit) additional critical strike chance is now 12–37.2% based on item level (was 15–25%).
  • Focused Lightning (Conduit) damage or healing increase is now 5–12% based on item level (was 1–4.5%).
  • Chilled to the Core (Conduit) chance to trigger is now 30–72% based on item level (was 21–35%).
  • ELEMENTAL
    • Icefury (Talent) now causes your next 4 Frost Shocks to deal 225% increased damage (was 300%).
    • Fire Elemental has had the mana cost of its abilities reduced by 90% and should no longer run out of mana.
    • Storm Elemental’s (Talent) Wind Gust now lasts for the duration of the Storm Elemental (was 30 seconds).
  • ENHANCEMENT
    • Frost Shock and Flame Shock no longer have a shared cooldown.
    • Crash Lightning mana cost reduced to 1% base mana (was 5.5%).
    • Fire Nova mana cost reduced to 1% base mana (was 5.5%).
    • Windfury Totem mana cost reduced to 1.5% base mana (was 12%).
    • Lava Lash mana cost reduced to 0.8% base mana (was 4%).
    • If you Lava Lash a target that has Flame Shock on them, Lava Lash will now spread Flame Shock to up to 3 nearby enemies in an 8 yard radius. If all enemies in the area are already affected with Flame Shock, it will refresh the duration of Flame Shock instead.
    • Feral Spirit no longer shows up under the unit frame “totem timers” slots. This is to prevent too many Spirits in conjunction with other summons overflowing these slots and despawning the Spirits prematurely.
    • Ice Strike (Talent) and Sundering (Talent) can now properly cause the Flametongue weapon damage effect.
    • Ice Strike and Sundering are no longer able to be used while disarmed.
• WARLOCK
  • Summon Succubus has been replaced with Summon Sayaad – Randomly summon your Incubus or Succubus. Warlocks may speak to the Warlock trainers in Stormwind or Orgrimmar to enact a pact with their Incubus or Succubus, ensuring that only they are summoned.
  • Summon Sayaad
    • Seduction (Pet Ability) now causes the target to slowly walk towards the demon. It now also has a chance to break on damage taken, rather than always breaking on the first instance of damage.
    • Whiplash (Pet Ability) now also causes enemies to take 1% increased damage from the Succubus or Incubus each time it strikes, stacking up to 10 times. Duration increased to 15 seconds (was 10 seconds).
  • Contained Perpetual Explosion (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now caps the amount of bonus periodic damage it provides at 275% when hitting 10 additional targets.
• WARRIOR
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Crushing Blow from Recklessness to deal damage if the Warrior was rooted. 

As you progress through World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, you’ll need Reservoir Anima. You’ll need to complete a specific quest for certain NPCs – Haephus of the Kyrian, Arkadia Moa of the Necrolords, Foreman Flatfinger of the Venthyr and Zayhad, The Builder of the Night Fae – to access the sanctum. Up to 35,000 Reservoir Anima can be deposited in it.

The sanctum can be upgraded in several different ways, like increasing the transport layer for a portal that goes straight to Oribos or the Anima Conductor which will provide new Rare enemies, World Quests and new Daily Quests in zones. It’s also worth noting that each Covenant has a different minigame that will provide rewards.

Anima Tokens fall into three types – Uncommon, Rare and Epic, adding 5 Anima, 35 Anima and 250 Anima to your reservoir. These can be earned from killing rare enemies, looting chests, completing World Quests and completing dungeons. Anima can be channeled into different zones which opens up different rewards and bonuses or spend it on the Adventures table for new quests. Reservoir Anima can also be purchased to purchase cosmetics, transmogs, pets, mounts and so on.

How to Use Soulbinding

Covenants aren’t just for show – they also provide different Soulbinds which offer new abilities and powers. Each of the 12 Soulbinds has different nodes which you use Conduits in – these are obtained while playing and are specific for each class. Each Covenant has three Soulbinds to choose from, though you can only have one active at any given time. Switching between them is possible but only in a rest area.

To acquire a Soulbind, you first need to be level 60 and then pledge loyalty to a Covenant. You get to choose from one of two Soulbinds immediately with the third locked behind a questline for the specific Covenant. The first few nodes for a Soulbind will be available as soon as you equip it but for the rest, you need to hit different Renown Levels (with the last unlocking at Renown Level 34).

Here are all the different Soulbinds in Shadowlands:

• Niya
• Dreamweaver
• Korayn
• Kleia
• Nadjia the Mistblade
• Forgelite Prime Mikanikos
• Emeni
• Plague the Deviser Marileth
• Bonesmith Heirmir
• General Draven
• Theotar the Mad Duke
• Pelagos

For more details on Covenants and Soulbinds, check out Selwen’s guide below.

As noted with sales for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, SuperData’s worldwide digital sales report for November 2020 is now available. The firm revealed digital sales for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which sold 663,000 units on PS4 and PS5. Though this isn’t anywhere near the launch month digital sales of Marvel’s Spider-Man, it did perform better than Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (whose scale it was compared to).

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the latest expansion for the long-running MMO, also did pretty well. Its monthly revenue and player numbers were the highest since 2008 and 2010 respectively. Earnings and player numbers were also 50 percent and 34 percent higher respectively compared to 2018’s Battle for Azeroth.

However, as with past expansions, it’s likely that this spike won’t last for very long. How Blizzard Entertainment can keep its fan base engaged over the next few years until a new expansion drops remains to be seen. For more details on World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, you can check out our review here.

So you’ve just landed in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and want to level up as fast as possible, either with or for the new Shadowlands expansion. Whether you’re going from level 1 to 50 or from level 50 to 60, there are some pretty straightforward strategies for quick leveling. First off, focus only on the main quests which can be differentiated by a new shield icon.

Exclamation marks represent side quests but you should only take them if they provide decent XP rewards and work alongside the main quests. You also might want to turn on War Mode, which provides an extra 10 percent of experience earned. This does enable PvP against other players in the world so be careful.

If possible, try to get some mount equipment like the Light-Step Hoofplates, which provides an additional 20 percent speed for mounts. The Comfortable Rider’s Barding is also recommended – enemies won’t be able to dismount you so easily with it equipped. Some free add-ons, like AutoTurnIn, are also recommended. It will automatically turn in quests after completion, saving you valuable time. Zygor’s Guide, which is a paid add-on, recommends which quests to do and gear to upgrade, further maximizing your time spent.

For more details on leveling from 1 to 50, check out HazelNuttyGames’ guide below. For getting to level 60, check out BellularGaming’s guide.

How Flying Works Now

Flying, like many other things, has undergone some significant changes following the release of Shadowlands. You still need to hit the level cap (which is now 60) and flying to the new zones isn’t possible from the outset. It seems players will need to earn Renown for their Covenant to unlock the Pathfinder achievement for this expansion, as per executive producer John Hight when speaking to HazelNuttyGames. However, nothing has been confirmed thus far.

The good news is that Pathfinder achievements for flying in Draenor and the Broken Isles are no longer necessary. You can still pursue them and receive mounts though. Battle of Azeroth zones still require completing their own Pathfinder achievements before flying in them though. It’s also worth noting that the Riding skill has seen some changes.

You now earn Apprentice Riding and Journeyman Riding, which increase ground speed for mounts by 60 percent and 100 percent, at level 10 and 20 respectively. Expert Riding and Master Riding, which provide 150 percent and 310 percent increased flight speed for mounts, are unlocked at level 30 and 40 respectively. Artisan Riding has been removed entirely.

A new expansion for World of Warcraft means new Legendary items. First you need to hit max level in Shadowlands and then finish the Torghast intro in The Maw. Upon vanquishing Warden Skoldus and receiving a key, you’ll meet the Runecarver and get started on the journey of crafting a Legendary. Legendaries start at item level 195 and cap out at item level 235.

A Legendary item is created by finding a Memory of the Runecarver in specific activities and then enchanting an armor piece with that power. These powers can end up altering core abilities for one’s class and providing different bonuses. Some even feature skills from previous expansions like Legion and Battle for Azeroth though there are some new ones to find. You get these from dungeons, raids, the new Covenant quests and much more. Each class starts with four Memories and certain types can only be used in certain slots.

As for the armor pieces, these can be found in the Auction House or crafted. Don’t worry about the level of the Legendary since it can be upgraded later. After this, you’ll need to run Torghast for Soul Ash – delve deeper into the dungeon and more Ash is obtained overall. Look for an Inscriptionist to craft Missives like haste or critical strike chance on the Legendary and spend Soul Ash for the same.

For more details on obtaining and upgrading Legendaries, check out Bellular Gaming’s guide below. Check out our official review for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands here.

World of Warcraft recently received its eighth major expansion since its launch in 2004, and Shadowlands has gone to to beat all previous sales records. Activision-Blizzard had stated earlier that its pre-launch sales were higher than any other WoW expansion, and that’s translated in excellent launch day sales as well.

The company recently announced that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands sold 3.7 million units in its first 24 hours after launch, in the processing becoming the fastest selling PC game of all time. It beats a record previously held by Blizzard’s Diablo 3, which sold 3.5 million copies in 24 hours.

Activision-Blizzard also announced that in the time leading up to an following Shadowlands’ launch, WoW reached and sustained its higher ever number of players for monthly or longer subscriptions. Cumulative year-to-date playtime in World of Warcraft is also higher this year than it has been in the past 10 years, with total player time nearly twice as much as it was at this time last year.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available now on PC. In our review, we praised the expansion for its “interesting story, gorgeous visuals and audio, a great leveling experience, and good endgame”, awarding it a score of 8/10. You can read our full review through here.

It starts, surprisingly enough, with the plot. Sylvanas Windrunner has destroyed the Helm of Domination – the spiky hat the Lich King wears that allows him to control Undead – which has broken the barrier between the mortal realm and Warcraft’s afterlife. Doing this actually shatters the sky, so it’s pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Afterwards, several of the major characters – Jaina Proudmoore, Anduin Wrynn, Thrall, and Baine Bloodhoof – have been kidnapped by the Jailer, the dude who runs Warcraft’s Hell, known as The Maw. Your job is to go get them back.

"Previous expansions have largely let you choose where to start, but Shadowlands doesn’t, and the game feels stronger for it. It also lets you appreciate the individual strengths of each zone."

It expands from there, of course, but I won’t spoil it. The Jailer isn’t very interesting – he mostly stays in the background – but he’s really just an excuse to explore WoW’s afterlife and meet new (an old) friends, something Blizzard makes the most of. You’ll run into familiar faces, obscure references, and a few surprise appearances that manage to feel both obvious and welcome at the same time. It would be easy to go after the low-hanging fruit here, but Blizzard doesn’t, and the interactions players experience in the Shadowlands are a lot of fun.

The afterlife itself is divided into four zones aside from The Maw – Bastion (Warcraft heaven), Maldraxxus (Undead Thunderdrome), Ardenweald (Happy Elf Forest) and Revendreath (Hot Topic Transylvania). Each zone is unique, but what unifies all of them is how focused the storytelling of Shadowlands is. The game’s storylines are tight and well-told, and do a good job of establishing minor characters that you pal around with before bringing them into the larger plot. Blizzard’s strength, with a couple of exceptions, has always been their ability to make you care about their characters, and Shadowlands does a good job of that. There’s some campy dialogue here and there, but I can’t remember the last time WoW’s storytelling was this tight.

Part of this is because you have to do these zones in a certain order. Previous expansions have largely let you choose where to start, but Shadowlands doesn’t, and the game feels stronger for it. It also lets you appreciate the individual strengths of each zone. Bastion is probably the weakest of the four, but it does a good job of establishing the rules and easing players into how Shadowlands works. Madraxxus, on the other hand, drops you right into a gladiatorial pit. The whole zone is a fight, and its opening captures that perfectly. Ardenweald starts as players help forest faeries solve what are initially small problems and escalates into a war to save the forest from invasion. My favorite, however, is Revendreath, which is populated by a bunch of Dracula looking dudes. It’s easily one of the more varied zones in the expansion, with some genuinely hilarious questlines and a lot of variety in what you do.

"There’s some truly gorgeous scenery, from the flying holds of Bastion to the lush groves of Ardenweald or the tall, Gothic castles of Revendreath."

The zones are bolstered by some fantastic visual design. Blizzard has employed some of the industry’s best artists for some time, but they’ve outdone themselves with Shadowlands. There’s some truly gorgeous scenery here, from the flying holds of Bastion to the lush groves of Ardenweald or the tall, Gothic castles of Revendreath. WoW’s engine may be old, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at Shadowlands, especially if you’re running it on high settings. I ran the game with an RTX 2060 Super and a i5 6600K at 1080p and Ultra settings across the board, and experience very little slowdown. When it did happen, it was mostly because I was transitioning to a cutscene. Otherwise, the game runs at a locked 60 FPS.

While the linear nature of the expansion does wonders for the game’s storytelling, the gameplay experience is largely unchanged. The biggest change here is probably the level squish, which changes the max level from 120 to 60. It manages to make leveling up feel meaningful again, mostly because you’re not dealing with absurdly huge numbers anymore. You won’t get a ton of new abilities as you level up, but Blizzard did return several abilities to classes that had previously lost them, which is a nice touch. Otherwise, the leveling experience is the same. You’ll do quests, get experiences, kill things, collect items, and so on. One nice change is that there’s a clear mark alerting you to which quests advance the zone’s story and which don’t, allowing you to prioritize what you want to do. There’s also a recap available in the quest journal so you can easily catch up with where you are if you take a few days off from playing.

The ability to know which quests would advance the plot and which wouldn’t just by looking at them was great because the main quests are far more engaging than the side quests are. Though several of them retain more traditional mechanics like “kill X thing” or “collect Y items,” there’s also a lot of scripted variety and phased sequences, which made Shadowlands’ level experience a lot more fun. The side quests, on the other hand, are pretty rote, and I mostly skipped them. The main questline is more than enough to level you to 60, and since you’ll have to complete it before you can do any of the endgame content, there’s an impetus to get through it quickly.

"After the storyline is finished, you’ll be able to pledge loyalty to one of the available Covenants, which are essentially factions representing each zone. Each Covenant has its own story to complete, and you can switch (for a fee, generally paid in time)"

Once you do hit the level cap, a lot of things open up to you. The most obvious is the Covenant system. After the storyline is finished, you’ll be able to pledge loyalty to one of the available Covenants, which are essentially factions representing each zone. Each Covenant has its own story to complete, and you can switch (for a fee, generally paid in time). These storylines are enjoyable, but most importantly, they offer access to the abilities associated with each faction. This is another example of the “borrowed power” system – aka abilities that go away as soon as the next expansion comes out – that Blizzard has leaned into since Legion. Shadowlands’ Covenants are certainly better than the awful Azerite power system from Battle of Azeroth, but it’s still not as engaging as Legion’s artifacts were.

The other big issue is that certain abilities from certain Covenants are very clearly better than others, so there’s not much of an incentive to choose anything except the Covenant that offers the best ability for your class. Hopefully, Blizzard will continue to work on this so players have more variety available to them. Still, Covenants are a nice way to continue the expansion’s story beyond the initial questlines. The fact that later characters can jump into them earlier on is an added bonus.

Players will also gain access to The Maw, the Jailer’s home turf, and the Torghast Tower of the Damned. The former is a dangerous zone without much to keep you safe, and where you might even spend some time recovering resources after you die. Doing things in The Maw makes the Jailer angry, which leads to debilitating status effects that get worse the more time you spend there. While it’s just a system to limit how much you can do in the Maw on any given day, it’s still a cool way of going about doing it. More interesting is Torghast, which is essentially a rogue-like dungeon that changes every time. You can do it solo or with friends, and runs are different every time because both the things you’ll face – and the powerups you’ll gain – change each time. There’s a lot of variety here – you can complete puzzles, challenge mini-bosses, or rescue allies that will join you. It’s a neat system that adds replayability to the dungeon grind that comes with endgame content. Shadowlands doesn’t have bad dungeons, but even the best static dungeons wear thin after a couple dozen runs.

"I can’t say how Shadowlands will ultimately turn out, but I can say that what’s here is very, very good."

Otherwise, endgame in Shadowlands is what you’ve come to expect. There’s world quests, war tables, dungeons, and so on. None of it is new, but it’s not bad, either. What is new is how you can level your characters. You can now jump through any of the prior expansions on your way to sixty, which both reduces the amount of content secondary characters will have to complete to get to Shadowlands, but also gives you incentive to take a stroll through the game’s past. That, combined with Exile’s Reach, a new starting zone that takes new characters from 1-10. It’s a great way for new players to learn the ropes while showing off some inspired quest design, neat encounters, and even a mini-dungeon with some gear to cap things off. The original starting zones are till there if you want them, but I can’t overstate how nice it is to have an option to do something else, especially if you’ve been playing WoW as long as I have.

Ultimately, how you feel about Shadowlands as an expansion will probably depends on how you feel about World of Warcraft. If you’re someone who likes World of Warcraft’s focus on accessibility, you’ll love Shadowlands because this is likely the most accessible the game has been. Leveling is pretty easy and doesn’t take long, and the game does a good job of intruding new elements slowly. That, combined with its beautiful art, excellent soundtrack, and likable characters make Shadowlands an expansion that almost anyone can play and one that’s hard to dislike. I did have a couple of quests bug out on me during my time with the expansion, but it was nothing abandoning and restarting them couldn’t fix. Other than that, this is a very easy game to play and enjoy, whether you’re new to the game or returning after some time off.

Reviewing MMOs is hard. Predicting where an expansion will go after it launches, and how it will ultimately be remembered and received, is hard. I can’t say how Shadowlands will ultimately turn out, but I can say that what’s here is very, very good. I don’t think Shadowlands is quite as good as Legion was at launch, but it is a definite step up from Battle for Azeroth. There’s a lot of potential here, and Shadowlands could be something special if Blizzard manages to deliver on it. Until then, this is a very good expansion. World of Warcraft may be headed into the afterlife, but Shadowlands proves that it’s still alive and kicking.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The absolute institution known as World of Warcraft is still going strong, and will continue to grow stronger still. Its eighth major expansion, Shadowlands, may have suffered a short delay, but it will soon be out for all WoW players, bringing with it some major new changes and content additions.

To celebrate the expansion’s upcoming launch, Blizzard have released a new launch cinematic- which, in true Blizzard fashion, is all sorts of epic. From the splendour of the Bastion to the decrepit depths of the Maw, the trailer gives us a look at the environments of the fabled and titular Shadowlands, which will serve as our primary playground in the upcoming expansion. Take a look below.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands launches on November 23, bringing new zones, a new raid and dungeons, endgame activities, new factions, a new levelling system, and more. You can learn all the crucial details about the expansion through here.