Covenants are an important topic in WoW: Shadowlands. But that’s exactly why many players criticize that switching becomes difficult – although it is not hard at the beginning.
One of the major features of World of Warcraft Shadowlands will be the four covenants. Players will get to know all four factions throughout the story, but at level 60 they have to choose a covenant. This brings not only cosmetic rewards but also special powers. This, however, is a thorn in the players’ side.
Why is there so much criticism? Covenants are much more than just a cosmetic decision. Each covenant comes with 2 special abilities – one of which is the same for all players of the covenant, while the second is class-specific. Additionally, there are other passive (and sometimes active) bonuses such as soulbinds that grant additional strengths.
Because character strength is so directly tied to the covenant, many players worry that there will essentially be a “mandatory covenant” for each class that provides the mathematically best option. Therefore, some players wish that they could switch freely between covenants, just as they can with talents.
This is Blizzard’s plan: In an interview on Twitch, Morgan Day from Blizzard explained that switching a covenant is not that complicated – at least at the beginning. If you choose, for example, the Night Fae, you can relatively easily switch to the Kyrians and thus join another covenant. This way you can rectify an initial mistake and reconsider your choice.
The problem only arises when you want to switch back to the Night Fae. Once someone leaves a covenant and thus breaks their oath, they will only regain access to that covenant with considerable effort. How much effort this entails is still unclear.
Blizzard does not see the problem that one covenant could outshine all others. The covenants are more than just their two abilities but also have additional bonuses through soulbinds and other systems (like conduits). These should be so diverse and mixed that there are only rare cases where there is a “best option.” If during the alpha it turns out that a covenant is regarded as “the best” for a class, the abilities and bonuses will be adjusted.
What do you think of this system? Is it good that players have to commit to something again? Or is it trash and has no place in an MMORPG?
