Shadowlands officially announced for 2020
It wouldn’t be BlizzCon without wild CG trailers. During this morning’s opener, Blizzard offered a first – well, first non-leaked – glimpse at World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the forthcoming expansion.
“There must always be a Lich King, and now, for the first time, there is none.”
Thanks to Sylvanas’ inability to just chill, all of the souls of the dead “are being funneled into the Maw, where the most wicked are damned to suffer for eternity,” and it’s on players to set things straight again. Across your Shadowlands journey, expect to see old faces pop up, including Uther and Kael’thas.
Aside from the cinematic trailer, we also got a gameplay preview.
There are five new zones – Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, Revendreth, and the Maw – along with the Tower of the Damned, a roguelike-inspired activity, and a level cap of 60 to climb toward.
The expansion has “a new leveling system, meant to provide a meaningful sense of advancement with every level achieved. Current max-level characters will begin Shadowlands at level 50.”
You’ll also bond with one of four Covenants in Shadowlands as part of a “full Covenant Campaign,” according to Blizzard. While leveling, you’ll “get new abilities based on [your] choice, including class-specific abilities for each Covenant.” You can also Soulbind with “specific Covenant members” like Venthyr of Revendreth, granting you “access to that character’s specific traits and bonuses.”
World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas looks eerily like our own Brett Makedonski, albeit shinier, and with a touch more WoW trivia in his back pocket. I cannot get over this fact.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands will launch “on or before December 31, 2020,” for $40. Blizzard is also promising “a host of new appearance options for all races.”