Let me say something before starting this review, I don't like EA, Ubisoft and various other game publishers however Blizzard is the only one that managed to reach hatred level for me but despise the fact that I hate it I still try every expansion of World of Warcraft and we can't deny the fact that it is one of the world's most popular MMORPG games, World of Warcraft will release its new expansion Shadowlands on 27th of October. Eventhough Shadowlands will be polished in these 2 months, Blizzard Alpha version offers the opportunity to experience the innovations that will come to the game and I will like to take hand those changes in the article. Is it going to be shitty progress capped daily quest game for casuals or does it actually have something to offer to the players.
Choosing a covenant
Because Lady Sylvanas gone crazy with old god juice we have to follow her to different realms with the Shadowlands expansion, we will have to go beyond the Alliance and Horde sides and choose our own Covenant. Players who have previously played the Burning Crusade expansion will remember the choice we made between Aldor and Scryers. By making a similar selection here, we will have a chance to win new abilities and various prizes.
There are 4 different Covenant you can choose. They are divided into Kyrian (Bastion District), Venthyr (Revendreth District), Necrolords (Maldraxxus Area) and Night Fae (Ardenweald District) according to the region they are located in. In order to choose a Covenant, it is necessary to complete the story in the region to which it is affiliated.
As you know, the level limit in the game is reduced from 120 to 60. Our characters, who are currently level 120, will be downgraded to Level 50 along with Shadowlands. After the events in The Maw region, we will enter the Shadowlands and we will be able to reach the last level by playing the story of the region we have chosen. Once the region's story is complete, the Covenant that belongs to it will be eligible.
Thanks to the Covenant we have chosen, we will be able to acquire skills specific to our class. For example, a character in the Hunter class will be able to join Venthyr and learn a special attack called "Flayed Shot". This attack will not only inflict a bleeding attack of 250% strength on the enemy, but also give the chance to use one of our strongest abilities, "Kill Shot", on the opponent without any restrictions, each time it deals damage. A Hunter who chooses the Necrolord side will be able to throw a deadly disc called "Death Chakram" that can ricochet from enemy to enemy.
Not only class-specific abilities come with our chosen side. Each Covenant has its own special ability, and all players who complete the missions get this ability. The only talent we have had a chance to try for now is "Door of Shadows" by Venthyr. This ability allows us to emerge at the point we aim by moving in the shadows.
Necrolord zone
Besides all these skills you will be able to reach some cosmetics special to your covenant and you will unlock some new zones and I think that is it about covenant. Did I like covenants ? No I didn't I think it offers very little and it is complex system and very needless to create different zones but appearently they love doing this over and over and add bunch of dailies on it. I only liked different skills that might provide some fleixiblity to clases in Pvp , however I don't know if they will be usable in Arena.
Torghast tower of the Damned
One of the most striking innovations that came with World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is Torghast, Tower of the Damned, which is located in the Maw region and can only be entered by high-end players. It is like mage tower in the Legion expansion however its quite different, this is a unique progression type of dungeon almost similar to mythic plus but you need it to gather your legendaries as soon as possible and reach the higher levels.
Torghast is a dungeon that you can enter alone or with a team of up to five people. The tower, where we climb up by killing enemies around and saving the suffering souls, offers more combat on each floor. Torghast, reminiscent of Roguelike type games, allows the player to fight without any time limit. The most important thing to be aware of when climbing the tower is that we only have a certain number of deaths.
We fight against normal enemies on the first floors and collect items by breaking the jars around. The enemies are dropping the currency called "Phantasma" that we can use for purchases in the dungeon. We need this currency to buy powers and potions that will give us an advantage in the dungeon from the dealer named Broker, which we encounter on certain floors. It is also possible to purchase Anima Powers.
Honestly I liked this system but it can easily turn as boring as the dailies you need to do inorder to get better gear level but we will see, I heard in one of developer AMA there won't be a limiting hardcap to the players in this one and thats what I'm seeking for in Mmorpgs , Who would like to be same item level with someone who plays casually after his/her job for 2 hours when you play it nonstop.
My Personal opinion
Okay I tried to review the 2 main features in the Shadowlands however I personally think it will be as broken as Battle for Azeroth expansion in the beggining thats why I don't expect much from Blizzard they literally suck. I personally don't care about lore too however this one is a little more interesting than the others. Honestly I think 60 level cap with various of new skills would spice the Arena scene but obviously we will have to gear up like crazy with Pve and Thorgast inorder to Pvp succesfully. I will try the expansion as always but I think Shadowlands will flop. I hope blizzard bankrupts soon so we can see some cooler MMORPG's.
I will be probably on Twisting Nether Krallar#2548 See you in azeroth in 2 months.