How Twink-Friendly is WoW: Shadowlands? Cortyn reveals what Shadowlands has done well – and what not so much.
If you have upgraded your legendary item with your main character in WoW: Shadowlands, played through the Covenant campaign, and achieved all current goals, you might be considering a second character. But how “good” is it to play alt characters in Shadowlands? How twink-friendly is the expansion actually? I want to explain that here.
A few days ago, I read an article on wowhead that stated WoW: Shadowlands is not a good expansion for alt characters (“Twinks” or “Alts”). I have now leveled two Twinks myself and do not share wowhead’s opinion in this case.
Leveling up Twinks has never been easier than it is now.
Equipping Alt Characters
It is often said that equipping alt characters is exhausting, primarily due to the reduced drop rates in dungeons and raids. I can only very limitedly understand this criticism because I think it has never been easier to equip an alt character decently.
The reason for this is the Covenant campaign with its rewards. Alt characters can play through their Covenant’s campaign virtually “in one go,” as all chapters are unlocked. Since the reputation system has some solid catch-up mechanics, alt characters can complete all story chapters within 2-3 days.
Each chapter rewards with 1-2 items from the Covenant set. This starts at item level 155 but goes up to item level 197.
These set items should be equipped or at least kept. Because after the campaign is fully completed, all set pieces can be upgraded to item level 197. This is more than enough to then dive directly into “Mythic+” dungeons and strive for better gear that main characters also desire.
Of course – for those who want to fully upgrade the entire set, it takes about 3,000 to 4,000 Anima. That sounds like quite a lot – but it really isn’t much if you’re playing a fresh character. Several dungeon quests grant 750 Anima upon completion, and defeating the current world boss gives 250 Anima. A somewhat hidden daily mission even grants Anima every day.
Players who plan ahead can complete world quests that grant Anima while leveling the Twink, which can be redeemed at level 60.
Additionally, at the end, there is even a weapon at item level 187 – so LFR-level. This is more than sufficient to be well-equipped for further adventures in the endgame.
Legendary Items for Twinks
But here too, one must weigh what one actually wants. For an alt character, it would be completely sufficient in the first weeks to have a legendary item at level 1 or 2. Because with increasing item level, only the attributes of the legendary item improve, not the legendary effect. If one is only interested in the pure effect, one can also simply equip an item at level 190 and then gradually upgrade it.
The only drawback here is that new characters have to fight through the lower levels in Torghast to unlock the higher ones. This often feels like wasted time when you know you could easily handle level 7 or 8 but are still stuck at 2 or 3.
An account-wide unlocking of the different levels would make sense here and ease a lot of things.
At least the upgrades from Ve’nari for Torghast are account-wide. So if upgrades for the vendors in Torghast have already been unlocked on the main character, they also apply to your alt characters.
Media, Soulbinds and Co
Another power factor for characters is the soulbinds and the associated media that can be invested in the small soulbind talent tree.
Soulbinds and their rows are unlocked quite incidentally while playing through the Covenant campaign and increasing the reputation level with the Covenant. For latecomers, this often happens automatically, for example, upon completing a dungeon or defeating a world boss.
The potential power gain through a soulbind is therefore quite quickly caught up and at the latest after 3-4 days, you are at the same level as all other players, provided you play content like dungeons, world bosses, or callings.
Yes, getting the media to the highest rank takes a while. But the differences between the individual ranks of the media are extremely small. In most cases, it is about an increase in a very small percentage of a single ability.
Pact Hall Makes for Long Faces
A major criticism is the expansion of the Pact Hall, which progresses only slowly for Twinks. This is mainly due to the Anima reserves, which are rather thin for alt characters. The main reason for this is likely the upgrading of the Covenant set.
It should be noted here that the Pact Hall is basically only necessary for cosmetic things. The respective Pact feature (Necrolord, Conservatory, etc.), the transport network, and the Anima conductor are primarily intended for cosmetic items like mounts, toys, or transmogs. It is absolutely not necessary for these features to be greatly expanded in order to “quickly” progress on the character.
These cosmetic rewards are long-term goals that should not be thrown at the players but are interesting for collectors. They are not necessary to make the character playable.
Conclusion: Leveling Up Second Characters is Easy, but …
Overall, I conclude that leveling up Twinks in Shadowlands is quite easy. There are some minor hurdles, but none of them hold the character back for long in order to be effective in PvE or PvP. I think this has been well done and makes playing alt characters a lot of fun.
Only those who want cosmetic rewards from the Covenants must invest a lot of time in addition. But that is exactly what is intended and is no different for the main character.
But what do you think? Do you enjoy playing your Twinks or does it feel like torturous work?
How to get even more out of your character is explained in this article.
