After weeks of leaks and speculations, the next expansion for World of Warcraft is officially announced at BlizzCon 2019 coined as Shadowlands will be coming next year.
“The veil between life and death, where the usurper sits on the Frozen Throne,” said Sylvannas as she walks towards Bolvar’s throne in the official Shadowlands cinematic trailer. “But no king rules forever.” In an epic battle between the Dark Lady and the current Lich King, Sylvannas chains Bolvark to the ground and takes his helm off. Sylvannas then held the armory saying, “This world is a prison. And I will set us all free,” as she breaks it in half shattering the sky above and opening the Shadowlands.
The resting place for those who have departed, Shadowlands is a hidden realm in Azeroth that awaits mystery and horror for those daring enough to enter it. In the upcoming expansion, we learned that players will choose from one of four Shadowland’s Covenants to do campaign with. Alongside this, rewards such as new abilities and Soulbinds, which empowers the character’s traits and bonuses, will be given. The expansion will also introduce four new zones: Revendreth, Ardenweald, Maldraxxus and Bastion. Each of these zones will likely introduce new enemies and other elements into the MMO, and with another change Blizzard has planned, the company is about to really shake things up.
A new level squish of level cap to 60 will also be introduced. Current max level characters will start fresh at level 50. “Every Level Is Meaningful: Shadowlands will introduce a new leveling system, meant to provide a meaningful sense of advancement with every level achieved,” Blizzard said on the matter. Current max-level characters will begin Shadowlands at level 50 and work toward the new level cap of 60.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is now available for pre-purchase in three editions. The Base Edition for $39.99 which includes the upcoming expansion and an access to the new Death Knight races, the Heroic Edition for $59.99 which adds a character level boost and the new Ensorcelled Everwyrm mount and a quest to unlock a transmog set, and the Epic Edition for $79.99 which includes everything in the Heroic Edition plus 1 month of game time, Anima Wyrmling pet, the Eternal Traveler’s effect for your Hearthstone and a weapon Illusion, Wraithchill.
Players can sign-up in the official website for a chance to join the Shadowlands beta test.