Soon the big Patch 9.0.1 for World of Warcraft will arrive. We reveal what you can look forward to.
The release date of WoW: Shadowlands has just been postponed, but the big pre-patch is already around the corner. Patch 9.0.1 brings many new features and content designed to keep you engaged until the actual release of Shadowlands.
Players will have several weeks to familiarize themselves with the new features and benefit from the many changes. We reveal the 5 most important innovations coming with Shadowlands.
The article was originally from August and was updated on October 6, 2020.
Level Squish – Suddenly Level 50 Again
The biggest change that all players will experience after logging into Patch 9.0.1 is the reduction of character levels. Those who were previously at level 120 will now find themselves at level 50. If you were not yet at 120, your level will now be correspondingly lower. You can see the complete list of level losses here.
Level 50 will be the maximum level until the release of Shadowlands, which will then increase to level 60 with the expansion.
This also means that all character stats will shrink significantly. Health points, healing, and damage will be reduced to a fraction of the current values. Since all enemies will also shrink accordingly, the impact on the actual strength of the characters should be minimal. Everyone should still be able to handle the same type of content as before.
Those leveling new characters will now be rewarded at every level. With each level-up, you will receive either a new ability, a new talent, or a new unlock. This makes every level increase feel rewarding, and there will always be something new to discover.
Return of Many Old Abilities and Talents
All classes and specializations will be revised with Patch 9.0. Particularly some classes (like the Shadow Priest) will receive significant changes that will profoundly alter the gameplay experience.
But even aside from the major revisions all classes are getting some abilities back that they can use across all specializations. This is Blizzard’s way of returning some of the identity to many classes. For instance, all mages will be able to throw Frostbolts or cast Fireblasts again – regardless of specialization.
And here’s a special treat for hunters: Your stable size will increase to a whopping 205 slots.
New Character Customizations
The character customizations in World of Warcraft have aged poorly. Many races have only a handful of options for individualizing their appearance. Surely everyone has seen several clones of their own character running around in the game world.
With Patch 9.0, this changes significantly. All races will receive a variety of new customizations. Night Elves can put some hair in their leaves or wear cool chokers around their necks, while Blood Elves will receive different body jewelry or Draenei can adjust the length of their tails. In addition to new skin colors for all races (where especially Elves are hotly debated), there are also new face shapes for Humans that allow for a more Asian or African American look.
Even though role players are probably the most excited about these new customization options, everyone else will likely enjoy them too. And hey, if you’ve always wanted to see what your character looks like as a member of the opposite gender, that is now possible. The barber will also provide gender transformations for gold with Patch 9.0.1.
Allied Races Easier to Unlock
Allied Races were one of the major features of Battle for Azeroth. However, the unlocking of these races is quite tedious for some players. Those who do not like to complete world quests or grind reputation will not enjoy the new species as quickly.
With the Pre-Patch 9.0, the most annoying part of this barrier will be removed. The reputation requirements, which usually required a revered reputation, will be eliminated. Instead, it will now only be necessary to complete the main quest chain of an area or the respective race. For example, if you want to unlock the Highmountain Tauren, you will only need the achievement “No Mountain Too High,” which you get for completing the quest lines in Highmountain. For Kul Tirans, you only need to complete the achievements “A United Nation” and “Waves of Revenge.”
This reduction of requirements applies to all Allied Races. Those who have not unlocked them yet will likely have an easy time after Patch 9.0.
The Mentor System
Do you enjoy being helpful? Do you like assisting newcomers when they take their first steps in World of Warcraft or have questions?
Then the mentor system might be just for you. If you meet some requirements, you can soon apply to be a mentor. You will receive a special symbol next to your character name that can be seen by newcomers. In the chat channel for newcomers, you will be a point of contact to help fresh players with their problems or give them tips.
So if you enjoy watching new, eager players slowly but surely become jaded, bitter professionals, you should try being a mentor. Of course, you can also just be nice and help improve the game’s atmosphere for all players…
What else is coming? Patch 9.0.1 has even more in store. There will be a big Scourge event that marks the start of Shadowlands. In this event, you can also finally attack a hated character. When exactly this event begins is still not fully clear, but it will be limited and will end with the official release of the expansion. This will be a unique opportunity that players should not miss.
When will the Pre-Patch come? The Pre-Patch 9.0.1 will be released on October 14, 2020. How long it will remain active until the Shadowlands expansion starts is still unknown – as an announcement of the new launch date is still pending. However, it will likely be several weeks before it finally goes to the Shadowlands.
What are you particularly looking forward to in the upcoming WoW patch?
