World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the eighth expansion pack for Blizzard's genre-defining MMO, released less than a week ago. Despite this, some players are already starting to hit the game's new level cap of 60. Although Shadowlands has completely overhauled World of Warcraft's 16-year old leveling system, players are still expecting plenty of content past top-level.
Fortunately, they're unlikely to be disappointed. Blizzard has made sure to populate the Shadowlands with plenty of endgame options, including all the classic Daily, Weekly, and World quests. However, the most exciting stuff is brand new, including a special game-mode/dungeon, and a method of crafting Legendary Armor.
Torghast, Tower of the Damned
One of the first things that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands players will want to do after hitting Level 60 is to grab the introductory quest-line for Torghast and the Runecarver. The first quest can be found in Orbis, takes place in The Maw, and revolves around Broker Ve'nari. After completing the quest, players will unlock access to Torghast, the Tower of Torment, across their entire account. Torghast is a brand new World of Warcraft game-mode: a multi-floor, randomly-generated dungeon that spawns new enemies and objectives with each run. Players will mostly be interested in running Torghast to gain a currency called Soul Ash, which is required to imbue armor with Shadowland's Legendary Powers.
Players can enter Torghast as many times as they like, but will only gain power progression rewards from each layer once per week. There are six wings in Torghast, plus the Twisting Corridors, an endless mode that allows players to grind cosmetic items. Only two of the six wings will be open each week. Along the way Shadowlands players will earn Anima, which can be used at certain layers to grant new powers for the rest of the run.
The Runecarver
A mysterious figure chained in the heart of Torghast, the Runecarver is a unique NPC with the ability to imbue armor with Legendary Powers. To do this, he requires Soul Ash earned in the Torghast wings. This is handy, as unlocking the Runecarver after hitting Level 60 is connected to the Torghast quest-line. Once players have completed Deep Within, Ashes of the Tower, and The Final Pieces, they will be able to freely access the Runecarver's abilities.
There are four materials that the Runecarver requires to begin crafting a new Legendary. First the Base Item, which can be created by Tailors, Leatherworkers, Jewelcrafters, and Blacksmiths, and acts as a vessel for the Legendary Power. It's worth noting that Base Items aren't soul-bound, and players don't need any crafting skill to use the Runecarver.
Next, the Runecarver will need a Legendary Power, which players will first need to collect the Memory for. This acts as a recipe for the Legendary Power in the Shadowlands. As well as the Power, the Legendary Armor piece will also buff other stats. These are chosen through Missives, which the players must provide two of to craft the armor. Finally, players will need a good stock of Soul Ash from Torghast in order to bring all the ingredients together.
Soulbinds and Conduits
As new level 60 World of Warcraft players progress through the introductory questline, they'll also unlock the Soulbinding ability. This unique Shadowlands power allows a player to bind their soul to one of 12 possible Soulbind Paths, each tied to a specific Covenant member. After picking a Covenant, players will have access to the 3 Soulbind Paths within it, though they will only be able to use one at a time.
Soulbind traits add new abilities based on the players' World of Warcraft Renown score, combining Covenant powers with class skills. Each Soulbind Path has 8 tiers of power for players to progress through, some of which contain mandatory abilities, while others offer up to three choices. Blank spaces in the Soulbind Path are filled in with class-specific abilities.
The final aspect of Soulbinding is Conduits, socketed passive abilities that can enhance both class and Covenant abilities. These can be acquired all across World of Warcraft's new expansion, from Reputation vendors to dungeon drops, and offer some powerful combos with the Covenant powers.
Dungeons, World Bosses, and Weekly Quests
As well as the new features, there are also some classic World of Warcraft endgame activities in the Shadowlands. Players exploring the map will be able to take on the 4 rotating world bosses, earning themselves high-tier loot, Conduits, and Legendary Power recipes. In addition, there are two weekly dungeon quests available from Ta'lan the Antiquary in Oribos, as well as two weekly PvP quests that can be picked up from the Oribos' Enclave area.
In between their weekly quests, players will also be able to take on daily World Quests in The Maw. These are a great way to earn reputation in the Shadowlands, and make use of Covenant Callings. Finally, just like every other World of Warcraft expansion, there are plenty of endgame dungeons in Shadowlands for players to tackle as a team, grinding the best in loot, Conduits, and Legendary Power Recipes.
World of Warcraft Shadowlands is available now on PC.