Although World of Warcraft Shadowlands doesn’t have an official release date yet, it still feels like the MMO’s upcoming expansion is right around the corner. Beta testing has been going on for weeks, more invites are going out all the time, and it seems like Blizzard will likely release an official launch date sometime very soon since the company still plans to hit a 2020 start date for the new content. That said, before the full expansion can arrive the game will need a massive pre-patch to set the stage.
For all of the recent World of Warcraft expansions, the pre-patch period has become pretty standard. Blizzard rolls out many of the expansion features that don’t involve new zones, new factions, or leveling up and allows players to gradually transition into the new era of Azeroth. This approach reduces the load on launch day and it also helps narratively setup the events that are going to arrive in the new expansion. Usually pre-patches include some new story content to work through that will help wrap up loose ends from the prior expansion or begin moving players towards where they will need to be when launch day actually arrives.
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Shadowlands is obviously bringing a ton of changes to the game with a level squish, Covenants, race customizations, and a ton more. With all of that in mind, players will likely have a very exciting pre-patch period sometime in the next few months when they will get to experience some of the expansion’s updates before Shadowlands actually goes live.
At this point, Blizzard has not officially announced the release date of the pre-patch content. In recent expansion’s the pre-patch has arrived about one month out from the expansion release date, which means that at the very latest it would arrive in late November. Hopefully we end up getting this content a bit earlier than that though.
The scourge events will likely arrive about two weeks after the pre-patch releases and they will last until the expansion launches. These will be the pre-Shadowlands story scenarios that help setup the coming conflict.
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The leveling ramp and the level squish will both arrive as part of the pre-patch. That means that max level players will be squished down to level 50 and that will remain the new max level cap until Shadowlands officially launches and leveling up to 60 becomes possible again.
The pre-patch includes a massive list of changes that would be too long to detail here, but there are a lot of highlights that are worth mentioning. Players on the test servers and general buzz around the community seems to be focused around these points that were outlined by WoWhead…
“Class changes are a major part of every pre-patch, and the Shadowlands pre-patch includes a number of returning abilities, a target cap on AoE abilities, and some overhauls like Shadow Priests. In the pre-patch, players will also lose access to the Corruption system.
Leveling in Shadowlands is drastically different. There’s a level squish, placing level 120 players down to 50, an item level squish, and removal of experience from heirlooms. Most notably, the leveling flow is completely revamped, with a brand-new starting zone from 1-10, Exile’s
Reach, and then a streamlined leveling experience from 10-50, Chromie Time, in which players level through only one continent.
The Newcomer Mentor System allows veteran players to give friendly advice to new players.
Old-school crafted items can have their item level increased or decreased through Relic of the Past, so they remain useful throughout the leveling experience.
Hunters have greatly-expanded stable slots and numerous new tames like alpacas, elekks, ponies, and cloud serpents.
Unlocking Allied Races is much easier in the pre-patch as reputation requirements are removed.
Most races have received dozens of new character customization options.
The barbershop has also received many customization updates, including the option to change your gender and modify your Druid bear and cat forms.
New interface options include Ray Tracing support and Motion Sickness accessibility controls.
Horse mounts can fly.”
Those are the biggest highlights and that should provide plenty of content for WoW players to explore in the handful of weeks before the new expansion launches. We’ll find out more official details about the pre-patch once Blizzard releases a patch day, but for now those are the main points that have been revealed from the beta testing grounds.
Be sure to check back in the coming weeks as more details about Shadowlands emerge. Until then, For the Horde!
World of Warcraft is available now for PC. At this point, World of Warcraft Shadowlands does not have a confirmed release date.
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