Launch Information

Shadowlands Launch Date

The Shadowlands expansion will launch on October 26 (NA) / October 27 (EU), 2020 with a global launch.

Raid Opening and Season 1







RAID UNLOCK SCHEDULE (NORTH AMERICA)





November 10 – Normal and Heroic difficulties November 17 – Mythic Castle Nathria, Raid Finder Wing 1 December 1 – Raid Finder Wing 2 December 15 –Raid Finder Wing 3 January 5 – Raid Finder Wing 4







Expansion Pre-Orders

Base Edition: ($39.99) Includes a pre-purchase* of World of Warcraft®: Shadowlands™ and early access to Death Knights for Allied Races and Pandaren starting with the Visions of N’Zoth content update.

Includes a pre-purchase* of World of Warcraft®: Shadowlands™ and early access to Death Knights for Allied Races and Pandaren starting with the Visions of N’Zoth content update. Heroic Edition ($59.99): Includes everything in the Base Edition, plus instant access to a Level 120 Character Boost and the Ensorcelled Everwyrm flying mount. The flying mount grants a quest for the Vestments of the Eternal Traveler transmog set.

Includes everything in the Base Edition, plus instant access to a and the flying mount. The flying mount grants a quest for the transmog set. Epic Edition ($79.99): Includes everything in the Heroic Edition, plus 30 days of game time, the Anima Wyrmling pet, an otherworldly Eternal Traveler’s effect for your Hearthstone, and Illusion: Wraithchill, a cosmetic effect for your weapon. As with other Illusions, Wraithchill cannot be applied to certain weapon types.

Collector's Edition ($119.99): Includes everything in the Epic Edition, plus an Art of the Shadwolands book, the Collector's Edition Soundtrack key, a four-pin collector's set of Covenant Sigils , and a mousemat.

Includes everything in the Epic Edition, plus an book, the key, a four-pin collector's set of , and a mousemat. The Collector's Edition will be shipping from retailers beginning on October 13th so that you can have it in time for the official global launch.

as long as you enter the Collector’s Edition key before 11:59 p.m. PDT on March 31, 2021

Before Shadowlands

Shadowlands Lore

Afterlives

New Zones and Maps

Oribos, the Eternal City is the arrival point for all souls in the Shadowlands, where they will be judged by The Arbiter , a being that determines where souls will spend their afterlives. Oribos serves as a nexus between the various domains of the Shadowlands and is a gathering point for power brokers, wheelers, dealers, and soul-traders, as well as serving as the player's central hub in the Shadowlands.

is the arrival point for all souls in the Shadowlands, where they will be judged by , a being that determines where souls will spend their afterlives. Oribos serves as a nexus between the various domains of the Shadowlands and is a gathering point for power brokers, wheelers, dealers, and soul-traders, as well as serving as the in the Shadowlands. Bastion is a kingdom of crystalline spires and pristine skies, ruled by the Kyrian covenant. Souls drawn to service are sent to Bastion by The Arbiter, where they examine their life's deeds and work towards a state of virtue, letting go of their life burdens and seeking ascendance.

is a kingdom of crystalline spires and pristine skies, ruled by the Kyrian covenant. Souls drawn to service are sent to Bastion by The Arbiter, where they examine their life's deeds and work towards a state of virtue, letting go of their life burdens and seeking ascendance. Maldraxxus is the heart of the military might of the Shadowlands, ruled by the Necrolord covenant. Although it is home to wicked beings such as abominations and necromancers, not all beings of Maldraxxus are evil, they are simply battle-hardened. Souls fueled by war who never yield and thrive in a survival of the fittest environment are sent here by The Arbiter and welcomed by the Necrolords.

is the heart of the military might of the Shadowlands, ruled by the Necrolord covenant. Although it is home to wicked beings such as abominations and necromancers, not all beings of Maldraxxus are evil, they are simply battle-hardened. Souls fueled by war who never yield and thrive in a survival of the fittest environment are sent here by The Arbiter and welcomed by the Necrolords. Ardenweald is an enchanted forest ruled by the Night Fae covenant. Serving as a dark mirror to Azeroth's Emerald Dream, Ardenweald is a place that focuses on rest, hibernation, and eventual rebirth of the soul. Souls deeply attuned to nature are sent here by The Arbiter, where they prepare for rejuvenation and rebirth.

is an enchanted forest ruled by the Night Fae covenant. Serving as a dark mirror to Azeroth's Emerald Dream, Ardenweald is a place that focuses on rest, hibernation, and eventual rebirth of the soul. Souls deeply attuned to nature are sent here by The Arbiter, where they prepare for rejuvenation and rebirth. Revendreth is a land of dark secrets and gothic spires, ruled by the Venthyr covenant. Souls that are prideful or flawed in life are sent here by The Arbiter to atone for their sins and seek redemption through torment inflicted by the vampiric Venthyr.

is a land of dark secrets and gothic spires, ruled by the Venthyr covenant. Souls that are prideful or flawed in life are sent here by The Arbiter to atone for their sins and seek redemption through torment inflicted by the vampiric Venthyr. The Maw is the endgame zone of the Shadowlands, a swirling vortex composed of the vilest souls sent to the Shadowlands and ruled by The Jailer, a being who has never been seen before. The Arbiter only sends to The Maw souls that are considered to be irredeemable and a threat to the Shadowlands if left free. No one has ever escaped The Maw, and those that went to explore the vortex were never heard of again. The Maw is also home to Torghast, Tower of the Damned, the replayable endgame instanced feature.

New System: Covenants

The Kyrian Covenant of Bastion governs over souls that served a life of service, offering them a chance to look over their past deeds and seek ascension to become a Kyrian themselves.

governs over souls that served a life of service, offering them a chance to look over their past deeds and seek ascension to become a Kyrian themselves. The Venthyr of Revendreth take over souls that were flawed or prideful in life, but can still obtain redemption. The Venthyr punish those who lived a life of sin, determining whether they are worthy of redemption in the Shadowlands.

take over souls that were flawed or prideful in life, but can still obtain redemption. The Venthyr punish those who lived a life of sin, determining whether they are worthy of redemption in the Shadowlands. The Necrolords of Maldraxxus governs over battle-hardened souls and rewards strength, while weaker souls become fuel for Maldraxxus' cosmic weapons. Those who are deemed determined, quickly rise to positions of power.

governs over battle-hardened souls and rewards strength, while weaker souls become fuel for Maldraxxus' cosmic weapons. Those who are deemed determined, quickly rise to positions of power. The Night Fae of Ardenweald accepts those with a deep connection to nature, using of the Anima in the Shadowlands to infuse slumbering spirits with the knowledge of old, and preparing them for rebirth.

Choosing a covenant is the biggest character choice in Shadowlands.

Blizzard

World of Warcraft players entering the fabled Shadowlands will find the realms of the dead in upheaval. Under the normal order, departed souls were delivered to a realm appropriate to the lives they led, but now, all souls are being funneled into the Maw, where the most wicked are damned to suffer for eternity. As they seek to right the cycle and uncover the extent of Sylvanas’ designs, players will forge bonds with the Covenants who hold domain over different planes within the Shadowlands.



Soulbinds: Within your Sanctum, you’ll meet three key members from your Covenant. You’ll be able to choose one of these to Soulbind with. Soulbinding allows you to gain access to traits that enhance your skills so that you can effectively combat all who stand in your way.

Within your Sanctum, you’ll meet three key members from your Covenant. You’ll be able to choose one of these to Soulbind with. Soulbinding allows you to gain access to traits that enhance your skills so that you can effectively combat all who stand in your way. Adventures: Put your tactical skills to the test by sending your allies into the Shadowlands and lending aid to your chosen Covenant by tackling the unique challenges facing them. You’ll need to be strategic about how you take on these combat puzzles, who you’ll send to face them, and how you’ll utilize their skills to claim victory.

Put your tactical skills to the test by sending your allies into the Shadowlands and lending aid to your chosen Covenant by tackling the unique challenges facing them. You’ll need to be strategic about how you take on these combat puzzles, who you’ll send to face them, and how you’ll utilize their skills to claim victory. Transport Network: Players will be able to access a zone-specific travel network within their Sanctum. These travel networks are specific to each Covenant.

Players will be able to access a zone-specific travel network within their Sanctum. These travel networks are specific to each Covenant. Anima Conductor: Players will be able to enable additional content within the zone by investing Anima into activating a specific area.

The Venthyr of Revendreth will have the Ember Court , which involves throwing themed parties for distinguished guests.

of will have the , which involves throwing themed parties for distinguished guests. The Kyrian of Bastion has the Path of Ascension , which involves inhabiting the consciousness of a Soulbind, then helping them confront their own challenges.

of has the Path , which involves inhabiting the consciousness of a Soulbind, then helping them confront their own challenges. The Necrolords of Maldraxxus get the Abomination Factory , where players can build their own Abominations.

of get the , where players can build their own Abominations. The Night Fae of Ardenweald are put in charge of a Soul Garden, which has been compared directly to the farm from Mists of Pandaria.

Soulbinding

There's another reason why you might want to choose a covenant. It's to choose a soulbind. In the Shadowlands, you can pick someone you want to soulbind with, and kind of trade knowledge. and so your soulbind is going to provide certain powers. I think there's one in Revendreth called Arrogance, where if you soulbind with this particular character, you get the Arrogance trait and if you have higher health than your enemy, you'll actually have a higher crit chance.



as well as your ability to do what we call a soulbind, and this is where you find a powerful character in the world and match your soul with theirs and you can power them up with Anima and that acts as a passive talent tree with a variety of different options for your character.



Resource: Anima

You will, during the course of your adventures in the Shadowlands, be gathering anima from various sources and you can put it towards a bunch of different ends. and one of those is powering up your soulbind. but we want it to be something that you can do at the beginning of your play session. It's something you can take a little bite out of, get yourself an additional "Talent point" or soulbind ability, and then go out and play with it for the rest of the day. The name of the game in Shadowlands is player agency. We don't want there to be an infinitely grindable system like Artifact Power or Azerite. We want you to be able to feel like you can do that, and then you can go off and do some other stuff.



Wowhead: So you don't like people farming islands for 80 hours a week?



There's no infinitely grindable system in Shadowlands. We want there to be tons of different things you can do. You can do what you want to do for anima.

Adventures

New Endgame Content

Dungeons

The Necrotic Wake

Plaguefall

Mists of Tirna Scithe

Halls of Atonement

Theater of Pain

De Other Side

Spires of Ascension

Sanguine Depths

New Raid: Castle Nathria

Torghast, Tower of the Damned

Legendaries: The Runecarver

PvP

Blizzard

Also of note are some changes to PvP currencies—notably, Conquest is once again a spendable currency earned through Shadowlands Rated PvP. Players will be able to use Conquest points to purchase specific items of their choice from a vendor in the capital city of Oribos (in an easy-to-find location, naturally). Conquest can also be used to upgrade that gear further (similar to how Benthic gear worked with Manapearls in Rise of Azshara). We’ll have lots more information to share on the details of this system, as well as our broader endgame itemization plans, as the alpha rolls on and we reach max-level content.

Changes to Base Systems

Class Changes





Death Knight Class Changes

Demon Hunter Class Changes

Druid Class Changes

Hunter Class Changes

Mage Class Changes

Monk Class Changes

Paladin Class Changes

Priest Class Changes

Rogue Class Changes

Shaman Class Changes

Warlock Class Changes

Warrior Class Changes





Changes to All Classes

Class Changes OverviewDeath Knight Class ChangesDemon Hunter Class ChangesDruid Class ChangesHunter Class ChangesMage Class ChangesMonk Class ChangesPaladin Class ChangesPriest Class ChangesRogue Class ChangesShaman Class ChangesWarlock Class ChangesWarrior Class Changes

New Character Customizations