Cortyn already mourns the fate of WoW: Shadowlands. Because it is obvious that Blizzard has no good solution.
The content drought of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands continues. Although Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination is slowly coming into view, many players are already plagued by boredom. The raid is done, mythic dungeons are exhausted, and many have even earned their coveted Anima rewards.
The content drought is taking a toll on the game as a whole.
Honestly, this isn’t so bad for me personally. I finally managed to complete that damn Andre side on M+15 with the guild within the time limit this week and finally finish the Keystone Master. For my guild and me, the content is therefore “really done” now, which we definitely wanted to achieve.
But I know that many feel differently.
And just because Patch 9.1 is finally coming out, unfortunately, does not mean that Shadowlands has overcome its problems. Because in the coming months, the issues will likely weigh even heavier. Blizzard has to decide how to handle “the rest” of Shadowlands. Neither option looks particularly rosy.
Two Scenarios for the Future of Shadowlands
The first option is that everything in World of Warcraft simply shifts. Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination is already appearing with a delay of 2-3 months. Most likely, development for the subsequent Patch 9.2 is currently completely on hold to finally finish the 9.1 patch. The most optimistic scenario would be:
- Patch 9.1 is released at the end of June / beginning of July 2021.
- Patch 9.2 is released about 6-7 months later, i.e., January/February 2022.
- Patch 9.3 is released another 6-7 months later, i.e., July/August 2022.
- The next expansion would then be released no earlier than the second quarter of 2023.
The second possibility is that the developers are mainly focused on the release of new expansions: If Blizzard were to stick to its normal plan for launching a new expansion, we could expect the next addon around Autumn 2022. This would result in the last major patch being released around Spring 2022. At the current speed, that would then be Patch 9.2. This would mean that Shadowlands would only receive 2 major patches and therefore be somewhat “trimmed” like Warlords of Draenor was.
If I’m honest, I consider the second scenario to be more realistic for several reasons.
That’s mainly because of the financial benefit that a new expansion brings. Not only can Blizzard charge each player an additional €40 to €100 – depending on the version – but it also attracts both old and new players back, leading to subscription revenue. A new expansion indeed creates much more hype and pull than another patch.
At the same time, the long drought period in Shadowlands is already causing the addon to fall out of favor, and early players “just want something else.” A dissatisfaction arises that isn’t primarily related to the Shadowlands itself, but to the delay of the patches. This, in turn, leads to Shadowlands being mentally categorized as a “bad expansion.”
And here comes the problem I have with it: Shadowlands started off quite strongly.
- Yes, a few people still complain today that the covenant abilities are too restrictive. Yes, a few people have no fun in Torghast.
- Yes, Mythic+ could be a bit better balanced, so the different weeks do not matter as much.
- Yes, Anima grinding through world quests as the only valid option for cosmetic rewards is not the end of wisdom.
But when you look at the pure world of Shadowlands with its fresh story approaches and the many new characters that Blizzard has created, it’s sad what’s happening right now. With Shadowlands, WoW has really dared to tell something, and ventured into new territories. Each area has nearly a dozen interesting characters that one would like to learn more about.
I want to experience many more adventures with Lady Moonberry, follow Pelagos’ development, or watch the decadent, Victorian-inspired vampires in Revendreth weave their political intrigues.
But that is highly unlikely to happen to the extent that would do justice to these characters. The risk is extremely high that Blizzard will now apply the “Warlords of Draenor” scissors and simply cut a content patch to conclude the storyline as quickly as possible and transition to the next addon.
I would like to complain more and refer to an optimal solution for all. But I just can’t find it.
Shadowlands is doomed to go down in history as one of the poorer WoW expansions. And that’s a shame, because neither the fresh game world nor the systems of Shadowlands really deserve it.
Or how do you see the whole thing?
