What’s in the next WoW patch “Chains of Domination”? We reveal what’s next in WoW: Shadowlands.
The next big WoW patch is called “Chains of Domination.” But not only is the name known, a large part of the content has already been revealed. The update has been on the PTR for many weeks and has consistently been expanded with new content. We will let you know what you can look forward to.
When will WoW Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination be released?
Then it’s release: The big content update Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination will be available on June 30, 2021, after maintenance on Wednesday morning. Please note that not all content will be available right at the start. The campaign will unfold over the weeks, and the raid will open with a delay.
When does the raid Sanctum of Domination open? The large 10-player raid Sanctum of Domination starts on July 7 at normal and heroic difficulty. The higher levels will only start later.
- We have all the dates for normal, heroic, mythic, and the LFR wings here.
- Then the exciting “World First Race” begins again, where this time gold will likely be less decisive.
The story of Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination
Chains of Domination revolves around the titular chains used by the Jailer. In a new cinematic featuring Anduin Wrynn, there is an attack on the Archon. The leader of the Kyrians is severely wounded, and an important key is stolen. We have extensively analyzed the video.
The Jailer, meanwhile, uses his growing power to pull a landmass from the Shadowlands into the Maw. This is the ruins of the mysterious city of Korthia.
The covenants, on the other hand, unite to take the fight to the Jailer and find out what his ultimate plan is. They travel to Korthia and attack the Maw as a united force.
It will also be exciting for all players who are concerned about Tyrande. Because what happens to the leader of the Night Elves is also known (spoiler alert!)
New area: Korthia
The Jailer continues to pursue his goals and has sent part of the remains of the “City of Secrets” into the Maw. The city was once called Korthia and holds some new content ready. This includes a series of new quests and “outdoor activities” – these should be world quests, events, and rare enemies. The design is generally meant to resemble Mechagon a bit. There will be daily visitors in the hub of the area bringing different daily missions.
Korthia is not a completely new area but a subzone in the Maw. The Maw is thus growing as an area. There is no loading time when switching between the two zones as the Maw is simply being expanded.
This is also accompanied by new reputation rewards from Ve’nari – at least if you open her paragon caches.
Korthia also offers very strong gear, even for solo players. They can obtain items up to item level 233.
New chapters of the covenant campaign
Even though the covenants still have some outstanding issues, they are joining forces for a new campaign to bring the fight to the Jailer. The Night Fae, Necrolords, Kyrians, and Venthyr are using their reawakened powers to launch an assault on the Jailer’s realm.
In the process, players will also unlock new renown levels, which leads to more Anima rewards.
New raid: Sanctum of Domination
Especially raid players can rejoice, as the first patch brings a whopping raid. The Sanctum of Domination is a part of the Tower of Torghast yet to be explored and features a total of 10 bosses to be defeated. A few highlights from these encounters are already known:
- One boss will be the “True Eye of the Jailer”
- The Tarragrue can be fought
- Kel’thuzad is one of the bosses
- There will be a showdown with the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner – She is the final boss of the raid
- Sylvanas drops her legendary bow Rae’shalare, which greatly enhances hunters
- Rogues can obtain one of Sylvanas’ special daggers
New mega-dungeon: Tazavesh, the Veiled Market
Dungeon fans will also get their money’s worth, as Patch 9.1 brings a new “mega-dungeon.” This is a particularly extensive dungeon that is only available in mythic mode.
The mega-dungeon is called “Tazavesh, the Veiled Market” and apparently has the mysterious Brokers as a theme. It is a hidden bazaar that ends with particularly powerful relics from Azeroth being stolen.
Overall, there will be 8 bosses distributed over two sections of the dungeon.
The first section is the Tazavesh Market. There, players learn more about the culture of the Brokers, visit a large auction, a tavern, and generally get an impression of the life of these creatures.
The second part is a kind of chase. Players try to catch a particularly sly Broker who wants to steal and use one of Azeroth’s most important relics. The chase leads over several areas and parallel worlds. This results in absurd bosses, such as an Eternal Dragon Pirate Captain. Yes, really.
It is expected that Tazavesh will be split into two parts in a later patch and then also be available as a “Mythic+” dungeon. That was at least the case with Karazhan and Mechagon.
However, the loot from Tazavesh is already controversial. Because it is capped at 226, which seems too low to many players.
The new dungeon season brings many changes
Along with Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination, the second dungeon season of WoW: Shadowlands also begins. This presents new challenges for players, as they have to deal with the new affix “Tormented.” This creates additional enemies in the dungeon, but also allows players to choose powerful Anima powers – similar to Torghast.
Accompanying this is the implementation of a dungeon rating for each player. Blizzard is simply integrating the controversial “Raider.io” as a fixed part of the game. Accordingly, heroes will also have to reach a certain dungeon rating to unlock the new “Keystone Master” achievement. The rating will also be used to upgrade items.
However, there is also a nice relief. At the end of dungeons, keystones can be exchanged for other keystones. This is only possible to a limited extent, but it allows you to get rid of your absolute “hate dungeon” if you don’t want to do it. You also have the option to intentionally “deplete” all keystones, i.e., to reduce their difficulty.
What else is coming in Patch 9.1?
Other topics have only been briefly touched on so far. The new features include:
- There is a new cosmetic armor set for each covenant that can be used by all classes
- The power of soulbinds and conduits continues to increase
- New mounts and pets are coming
- Flying will be unlockable in Patch 9.1 – and here we reveal how it works
- Each covenant will get its own stylish mount
- The notorious “Heigan Dance” is returning
- The legendary “South Park” sword is getting an HD upgrade
- Legendary items can be further upgraded
- As a transmog option, there are finally real glasses
- After 17 years, WoW is getting a “Reconnect” feature
- The richest NPC in Shadowlands throws gold at you
- Farming Soul Ash will be much easier
What are you most looking forward to? Which content would you like to experience, and which changes should rather stay on the PTR? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and discuss with other readers.
If you can’t wait until the release on June 30, you should take a look here: One of the coolest mounts is available before Patch 9.1 – the Wandering Ancient!
