Last week on February 19 and 20 2021, Blizzard Entertainment held BlizzConline! Usually known as Blizzcon, this is the first time Blizzard has held their convention entirely online. While a lot of information was provided for many of the Blizzard Entertainment games, World of Warcraft is my true love. So today I’m talking about the World of Warcraft (WoW) news that was announced, specifically what kind of Shadowlands updates we can expect.

From new content for Shadowlands, to big changes to the Classic servers, the WoW team has been busy! I will be writing an article later that discusses The Burning Crusade expansion coming to WoW Classic.

Shadowlands is Expanding

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is the most recent expansion and came out only a few months ago. Last week, BlizzConline showcased the next content update for this expansion, Chains of Domination. The update will focus more directly on the evil entity known as the Jailer. What is going on between him and Sylvanas Windrunner anyway? How crazy does she have to be to think she stands a chance of being an equal with that guy?

Oh Anduin…

As you may recall from my previous posts, I have a certain fondness for sweet little Anduin Wrynn. The King of Stormwind who we watched grow from small boy, to hippie traveling through Pandaria while his dad was on the throne, and eventually become King. He is a strong and noble leader. Well, maybe not anymore, but he was.

After being kidnapped by Sylvanas and the Jailer in the Maw, he managed to hold his own for quite some time. The Chains of Domination trailer linked above shows he is, sadly, no longer the same Anduin though. Currently under the control of the Jailer, his role in this expansion may be shifting.

While theories abound on the internet, as per usual, all I can do is hope for the best. Also, if you are wondering, in the Q&A panel for World of Warcraft, the developers confirmed that the Archon is not dead. If you look closely in the trailer, her hand is slightly moving as a sign of hope for us all.

New Areas, Enemies, and Rewards Oh My!

Well, we can't have a new content update without… well, new content!

• A new area called Korthia, the City of Secrets will be opened up for players
• A 10-boss raid called Sanctum of Domination. This raid will include the chance to defeat the Eye of the Jailer, Kel'Thuzad, and even Sylvanas herself.
• An 8-boss Megadungeon will be added. Tazavesh, the Veiled Market will start as mythic only. Offering new pets, a mount, and gear specific to this Broker-themed Megadungeon.
• A new wing is to be opened up in Torghast, the Tower of the Damned
• New storylines and cosmetic armor for the Covenants
• Special flying mounts for each Covenant

Flying in Shadowlands Will Not Require Reputation!

The Shadowlands expansion followed the same pattern as previous zones in not allowing players to use flying mounts when it launched. However, with Chains of Domination's launch, players will finally be able to unlock flying.

Unlocking flying in the Shadowlands should prove much less frustrating than prior expansions. In the past where there was a lot of reputation grinding required, now it is simply following your quests. According to the dev team, all you need to do to unlock flying in Shadowlands is to complete the full Covenant campaign. And once you've unlocked the ability, your Covenant will grant you a unique flying mount for the accomplishment.

You will still be unable to fly directly from zone to zone without using flight paths, not within the Maw or Oribos. However, flying within the zones is fine, and that's where most of us need to fly anyway. Once unlocked, Shadowlands flying will be open for all your other characters account-wide.

Mounts in the Maw?

As I said, you won't be able to fly within the Maw. However, with the Chains of Domination update, you will at least be able to call your ground mounts again!

Prior to this update no mount would heed your call in the Maw, which has been more than a little frustrating. (And made a number of people roll Druids for fast traversal.) From a roleplaying perspective, the restriction makes some sense. After all, if you are the only mortal to successfully leave the Maw, why would your happy-go-lucky hippogryph friend willingly risk being stuck in hell?

An Exciting Future for Shadowlands

While an exact date has not been given yet for when the Chains of Domination update will go live, it has given players a lot to look forward to. With exciting prospects of new mounts, pets, and gear brings with it a renewed enthusiasm for the current content.

The story for the Shadowlands has been captivating (if depressing) from the start, leaving players with a curiosity for what will happen next. Especially for Anduin.

My poor, poor Anduin. Come back to me Anduin. Come back.

What are you looking forward to the most that Blizzard announced at BlizzConline?