Many players complain about patch 9.1 of WoW: Shadowlands, even though it is not out yet. However, Cortyn from MeinMMO is optimistic and explains why.
The BlizzCon was a little over a week ago, and the dust around the new information about World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and the patch 9.1 Chains of Domination is starting to settle.
But while many of you seem dissatisfied with the patch – which at least many comments in the WoW forum and subreddit suggest – I am quite satisfied. Patch 9.1 delivers everything I expected from the update.
But let me break that down for you in detail.
Sanctum of Domination – 10 Bosses Again
The centerpiece of patch 9.1 Chains of Domination will be the Sanctum of Domination; a new raid with a total of 10 bosses.
Especially, Blizzard is really stepping up here, even though the raid Castle Nathria was already quite good. If you listen to the community here, the general opinion seems to be that Castle Nathria was the best “first raid” that World of Warcraft has ever had in an expansion.
The fact that there will be big characters like Kel’Thuzad and Sylvanas Windrunner makes me even more excited.
Another raid with 10 bosses is quite extensive, promises an exciting “World First” race and enough content for players like me who enjoy raiding normal and heroic.
Of course, we still don’t know if the fights will be as cool as those from Castle Nathria. But the sheer number of bosses suggests that the Sanctum of Domination will be interesting for several months if the balancing is somewhat right.
The Story – Anduin Just Arthas 2.0?
It is also frequently read that the story writers from Blizzard are out of ideas and simply recycle old ones. This criticism is mainly directed at the latest cinematic “King’s Ransom”.
The transformation of Anduin as the jailer’s servant is dismissed by some mockingly as “Arthas 2.0” or “Arthas, but ordered from Wish.” This comes alongside the criticism that they are pulling out old stories instead of continuing the narrative.
And I truly do not understand this criticism. Of course, Anduin in his current position is something like Arthas 2.0. That was precisely the point of it all. Because the first Lich Kings (Ner’zhul, Arthas, and Bolvar) did not yield the results the jailer wanted, Anduin was now shaped into a weapon.
This is not “unimaginative” or “recycling” – but the logical next step for the jailer’s goals. He improves his methods, becomes more powerful, and exerts stronger control.
There’s more on this in our comprehensive analysis of the video.
Mega-Dungeon Tazavesh – What More Do You Want?
In addition to the raid, there’s also a new dungeon. Tazavesh will be a “mega-dungeon”, a smaller raid for 5 players in terms of size. It revolves around the Brokers and a secret market where the Brokers auction off various items.
The second part is then a wild chase to stop a particularly ambitious Broker from using a powerful relic from Azeroth.
There are voices saying that Tazavesh does not fit into the story of patch 9.1. And that is fundamentally true, just as Mechagon did not fit into the Nazjatar update back then.
But it doesn’t have to. Tazavesh can be a nice “B-plot” and as the developers revealed, the mega-dungeon is intentionally meant to contrast with the darker storyline of patch 9.1.
This way, there are also some amusing, colorful contents and not just depressive darkness in the clutches of the jailer.
Long-term, the mega-dungeon is also good for players. Because by patch 9.2, you could expect that Tazavesh will return in the form of two new “Mythic+” dungeons, thus expanding the available dungeon pool from 8 to 10.
This benefits everyone who likes to complete mythic keystones and wants more variety.
Covenant Campaign, Soulbinds, and More
In addition to the two big content pieces for groups, there are also new contents for solo players. The small sub-zone of Korthia continues the Covenant campaigns, bringing new one-time and daily quests with fresh story in a new area.
Additionally, there are pets, mounts, and other collectible items. So basically a paradise for collectors, as it has been the case in Shadowlands so far.
Also, the existing Covenant features will be expanded. Soulbinds will get new abilities, the media will become stronger, and there may even be some brand new media.
The previously effective system of reputation (also called fame) remains unchanged. With 40 new fame levels, there is again progress to unlock. Latecomers won’t have to wait long but can catch up to the current point.
There’s little for me to complain about here. Experiencing something new each week and gradually getting stronger has been a positive experience – at least for me. Oh, and we are unlocking flying too.
Of course, there are still a number of unknown factors. It is quite possible that some of the new features will turn out to be less than expected.
If Torghast only gets 2-3 new cosmetic items with low drop chance, then I would see that more negatively.
The release date is also uncertain. Even if I calculate optimistically, I wouldn’t expect a release before the end of May – probably rather late in June.
This is likely to show that the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed caused some delays for the WoW team. But honestly, I can live with that, as it leaves plenty of time to earn some of the rewards that are already available in Shadowlands.
Primarily, however, I am optimistic. This is because Shadowlands is more popular than many of the previous expansions. In my opinion, the developers are on a pretty good path with Shadowlands – so why change the formula when small adjustments are completely sufficient?
But what do you think about it? What are you looking forward to and what annoys you about patch 9.1?
Until then, however, you will get one of the coolest mounts for free.
