World of Warcraft’s newest expansion, Shadowlands, has been out since Nov. 23, and players have had time to go through the game’s leveling zones and try out the infinite tower of Torghast. On Dec. 8, Season 1 begins, which kicks off even more content, like the game’s Mythic+ dungeon mode, and the Castle Nathria raid.
Mythic+ dungeons
Seasons represent each major stage of content for a World of Warcraft expansion. This time, since players are ramping up to kill the vampire daddy Sire Denathrius,
While players have likely run through a few of the expansion’s dungeons by now, Mythic+ is meant to be the hardest difficulty. Mythic dungeons will award keys to a Mythic +1 dungeon, with some variables attached. For instance, enemies’ corpses might explode and deal damage, or the ground might suddenly sprout volcanoes. Players race through a Mythic+ dungeon as quickly as possible to complete it before the timer ends, then unlock a key to the next level of difficulty. It’s one of the best ways to earn gear in World of Warcraft, especially for those who don’t raid, as players graduate from a +1 to a +2, +3, and onwards with each successful dungeon.
Mythic+ keys can now have an additional complication attached called Prideful. When Prideful is active, killing a large amount of enemies in Mythic+ dungeons will spawn Manifestations of Pride. Once Manifestations die, they give the entire party a big buff to movement speed, damage, and healing. At higher levels of Mythic+, it’ll be essential to kill the Manifestations at the right time, so players can zip through the dungeon and remain under the timer.
The Castle Nathria raid
Sire Denathrius himself awaits in Castle Nathria, in a direct continuation of the Revendreth zone storyline. Castle Nathria has 10 bosses, and opens today on Normal and Heroic difficulties. The other difficulty levels will release over time. The best guilds in the world will begin chasing the World First kill on Denathrius on Dec. 15, when the hardest Mythic difficulty becomes available.
Meanwhile, casual players can go through Looking for Raid, which is a simple version of the raid, split into four chapters, that allows people to see the story content. Looking for Raid Wing 1 will open on Dec. 15, and the next three wings will open on Jan. 5, Jan. 19, and Feb. 2.
Player vs Player
Ranked PvP begins on Dec. 8, which unlocks ranked battlegrounds and arena. Players can earn two currencies through these matches: Honor and Conquest. These currencies can be traded in for PvP gear, which is good for both powerful stats and new, cool cosmetics. Players can earn the Vicious War Spider mount for playing enough matches, but the top 0.1 percent of ranked 3v3 arena matches get a special reward: the Sinful Gladiator’s Soul Eater mount.
Meanwihle, the Battle for Azeroth specific PvP sets will go on sale for Marks of Honor. They can be found at vendors in Boralus for Alliance players, and Zuldazar for Horde players. These gear sets aren’t worth the stats anymore, but they are great for players who like to collect different gear sets for the appearance.
The Great Vault
The Great Vault is in Oribos, and it rewards players every week. If you want to collect gear from the Great Vault, players can level their rewards up by participating in Castle Nathria, Mythic+ dungeons, and PvP. The Vault offers three objectives in each category for players to try and complete. The more successful they are, the better the items on display get, and players get to pick the one item that works best for them.
Between Mythic+, the Covenant campaigns, Castle Nathria, the Maw, and Torghast, players will have their hands full. Players have gotten some crucial answers, but still have a lot of questions. Some of these will unfold over the course of Season 1, so it’s worth sticking around the Shadowlands for a little while longer.
