The covenants of World of Warcraft Shadowlands turn out to be a big problem. The main feature of the new expansion could cause a lot of chaos.
With World of Warcraft Shadowlands, Blizzard is doing a lot right. The new areas like Ardenweald or Bastion look fantastic, the Tower of Torghast is a lot of fun. However, there are some major concerns in Shadowlands. Especially the covenants are being hotly debated, as many alpha players are dissatisfied with them.
What are the covenants? Covenants are the four major factions in Shadowlands. At max level, players must choose one of the covenants and then receive a special package of several features. Each covenant has:
- A signature ability – All members of the covenant share this
- A special class ability
- Three soulbinds – NPCs that essentially count as an additional talent tree
- Numerous cosmetic items
- Its own story
Covenants want too much at once
Blizzard is building a jack-of-all-trades: However, the covenant features come with a lot of problems and difficulties that are already emerging in the alpha. Blizzard’s goal that “no covenant should be the obviously best choice” means that there are many different, small bonuses. This makes the entire system not only more complicated but also comes with other challenges.
Overall, there are 12 different soulbinds – 3 for each covenant. But each of these soulbinds must not only work with all 36 specializations but also be usable in every possible content (raids, dungeons, open world, and PvP). That could become an almost impossible balance monster or simply be boring. Because if buffs and advantages are supposed to work with all 36 specializations, they have to be kept very general, thus offering little customization in play style.
If they are strong and varied, then a “best” soulbind will quickly emerge.
And as if that weren’t enough, there are also “Conduits” for each soulbind that act like additional socket slots.
Too many factors influence gameplay
But there are even more elements affecting the game. After all, there are many passive buffs waiting in Torghast, and legendary items will also have an impact throughout the game.
The risk is high that Blizzard is creating a massive muddle that a normal player can no longer understand. The end result is that many will only frustratedly ask on Google which covenant and which soulbind with the corresponding conduits are the best. There can then be no talk of an RPG decision.
In the end, the concern is that you will no longer play “class X”, but an unfinished shell that only works thanks to soulbinds, covenant abilities, and legendary items. That is exactly what they wanted to avoid after Legion.
Covenant abilities cause more chaos: However, the covenant abilities are quite a problem. If you only play a single specialization, you will probably manage well with the covenant abilities. You simply choose the covenant that best fits the play style of your favorite specialization. Done.
However, if you play a Retribution Paladin who also likes to switch to the tank role or a Shadow Priest who also likes to help out as a healer, things get more complicated. Because it may well be that the damage-optimized ability is just “mediocre” for a healer or tank.
This will probably hinder players from deviating from their favorite role and will only amplify the calls for Blizzard to design the covenants in a way that allows them to be switched out at will. Because as it stands, that is not possible. A covenant is a binding decision that can only be changed (multiple times) with considerable effort.
Are major revisions coming?
Will something change? It is quite possible that Blizzard takes the rather mixed feedback to heart and makes some changes. In the livestream that is scheduled for tomorrow evening, these topics may be addressed. Then we will know more and can better assess how and whether Blizzard wants to fix these mistakes.
Another danger is that Blizzard may repeat some mistakes from Battle for Azeroth. This was last very evident with the Corruption system, which drove some damage numbers exorbitantly high. Many players are dissatisfied with the amount of buffs and passive bonuses that they receive through Corruption, talents, Azerite items, and the Heart of Azeroth. Often, there are more than 20 different effects in the buff bar, confusing even WoW veterans about what is currently happening.
This kind of scenario should be avoided in Shadowlands. However, the number of passive bonuses from covenants could once again bring about this problem.
Cortyn thinks: I was initially very excited about the covenants and find the basic idea of a decision good. However, Blizzard seems to have gone far beyond the mark with too many features, bonuses, and buffs. I hope that these systems will be smoothed out and reduced to the essentials during the alpha and beta. Because in the current form, there are so many factors and values to consider that a “well-informed” decision is hardly possible without completing a multi-week study in Warcraftology.
A bit more simplicity would do the features of Shadowlands good – or what do you think?
