Henceforth, Our Name is Maw Walker. It begins with a reminder of the events that took place at the end of the Battle for Azeroth package, which started with the fight between Horde and Alliance. As the new Lich King challenged Bolvar sitting on the Frozen Throne, Sylvanas unexpectedly smashed his helmet, and as a result of this action, the connection between the world and the other world is completely shattered. While the leaderless Scourge attacks the surroundings out of control, many great leaders, including the Stormwind king Anduin and former War Chief Thrall, are abducted by winged beings. As the Champion of Azeroth, we enter the Shadowlands to rescue our abducted allies by Bolvar.
Passing through the portal opened with a very crowded Death Knight group next to us, we come to a land where no mortal should set foot, The Maw, where spirits that cannot be saved are thrown. Although most of our army is quickly stopped, we find Jaina and Thrall, meet Jailer, the leader of The Maw, and rescue Baine and Anduin and try to find a way out. When a passage that has not been active for a long time opens by reacting to our presence, we pass through the passage and find ourselves in the city called Oribos, thanks to the sacrifice of the heroes we came to rescue.
Oribos is the first place the dying souls come from, and here they are sent to the land they deserve, by the being called Arbiter. Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, and Revendreth spend their afterlife here, paying their penance sent to one of the hereafter, depending on how he lived his life. Unable to be saved in any way, unable to atone for their actions (such as Arthas), souls are thrown into the inescapable region called The Maw.
Thanks to the souls sent to the land they deserve after being judged by Arbiter, each region has access to the source called anima. Each region maintains its continuity thanks to the anima inherent in the newly arrived souls and functions in a perfect order. The Arbiter being hit by a red light and being completely silenced breaks the whole order. All the souls who need to be sentenced and sent to the proper place find themselves sent to The Maw, and the anima source of other realms is drastically diminishing.
We are included in the story as the first being able to fall into The Maw in a long time. After the conversation with the servants of Arbiter, we move on to Bastion and enter the main story. After that, I will not share in order not to give spoilers, but while trying to reach Level 60, we visit all regions in turn and we have the chance to see and intervene in the special events within each of them. In connection with the story, we move to new regions and witness how important events begin. With the completion of the Revendreth, we have reached the final level and are ready to enter one of the Covenant we want. The Covenant we chose offers new missions that will allow us to dig deeper into the events we witnessed during the introductory missions.
Blizzard, who also has writers that I love very much, has done a great job on the story. The Maw, the introduction to the story, begins in a very gripping way. Then we witness interesting events supported by cinematics in every new region we visit. It was able to watch the tasks I experienced in Alpha and Beta processes with excitement as if it was the first time. In almost every region, we are experiencing unexpected betrayals, surprise names and events that will make us say "No, dear, you shouldn't behave like that."
Moreover, all of the events that happen to us while leveling up are an introductory task. In order to see the Revendreth story of revolt or what you will do with the spirit that came out of the seed you bonded with in Ardenwelad, you must present your loyalty to that Covenant and play the sequel stories. He somehow manages to put the idea of developing your other characters to play different stories from different sides in your mind. For this reason alone, I can give a good score to the story part.
We touched on the story part without spoilers as much as possible. Now let's talk about regions and Covenant, which includes regions. With the Covenant we chose, we get the opportunity to get special abilities, a special armor set and a special mount for that Covenant. Armor and mount are the cosmetic side of the business, but the skills are a part of the player that will seriously affect. Let's briefly talk about each Covenant and briefly explain the capabilities you will have. I will not mention the skills that Covenants give to each class, but only the Standard Signature Ability (I will refer to them as special skills hereinafter).
We are progressing step by step towards one of the game's most impressive highlights
Kyrian
Bastion is the most glorious, most divine-feeling region among the hereafter. Those who come here are made up of pure souls who have lived a good, clean and righteous life. Here, the souls who pass the necessary tests and level up become Kyrians, who act as the bridge between life and death. The Spirit Healers we see when we die in Azeroth and the Bearers who take the dead souls and carry them to the Arbiter are members of the Kyrian Covenant.
We are the first to come to Bastion in a long time. In the land we came to meet with the Kyrian leader Archon, we encounter the Kyrian group Forsworn, who did not succeed in cleansing or did not want to leave their past, and this is yet another attack that takes place while trying to realize this event.
The special talent of the Bastion region has been my favorite in some ways. Covenant's talent puts at our disposal one of the Stewards, muscular owls who do their best to serve around. Our owl comes with Phial of Serenity, which regenerates 20% health and can remove all debuff effects. In addition, our steward who traveled with us for 4 minutes offers various services. Little things like a small shop where you can shop, the opportunity to change your talents wherever you want, or the ability to play music with an instrument (zurna).
Bastion introductory missions start off very heavily and frankly didn't interest me much. In the words of a friend of mine, he is doing purification tasks like taking a bath in a land like "Techno-smurf village", "Come on mortal!" The story goes slowly and suddenly "Events are happening!" We find ourselves in the middle of the action. Just when we say “something is happening”, other things are happening and we leave the area by saying “Come on, go and research these”.
Necrolord
The Maldaraxxus region at first glance makes us think "This is the place of bad guys". The Necrolord, the warrior force of the Shadowlands, is the land of unyielding and unwavering warriors. Regardless of which tactic is used, there is a survivor rationale that is strong in a land where absolute victory matters. Here events are focused entirely on power, independent of good and evil.
In Torghast you have to choose between special abilities.
The region, where we started from the very beginning by eliminating the rivals in an arena, continues with our encounter with Drakka, the mother of Thrall, and the battle for domination between the most powerful names in the region. The Primus, the leader of the Necrolord, has disappeared, leaving only mysterious notes behind. In the absence of the leader, two of the 5 houses that had power in the region disappeared during the power struggle and the struggle between the remaining 3 houses continues. We are in the middle of this war without realizing it. Necrolord offers us a special skill called "Fleshcraft". The feature that creates a durable shield around 20% of your maximum health around the wear can become much stronger. We can also add the essence of the corpses that are near us to our shield, and we can have a shield that is as durable as 50% of our lives.
Maldaraxxus generally has a Spartan vibe. It's like a paradise for warrior orcs. We may encounter old raid bosses, names we know from stories and NPCs we know from old packs. This is a region where you create different beings by following the notes left behind by The Primus and trying to enter where we think the weapons are, while throwing slime towards the pool, where you fight to find a place for yourself in the arena. I guess I liked it more than Bastion.
Night Fae
Ardenweald, a land like the paradise of nature and everything related to it, is also the main region of Night Fae Covenant. The guardian spirits of nature come here when they die and sleep in private gardens. The Anima-fed seeds protect them until they return to rest and serve again until it's time to give birth again.
The interruption of the Anima flow has dealt a huge blow to Ardenweald. The Winter Queen, the leader of the Night Fae, has to use the remaining anima sparingly, so they have to sacrifice many souls (like Ursoc). An unknown threat emerges, transforming the face of the residents with the masks on the face, causing it to become a threat to the environment. We are trying to find the source of the threats by helping the local people while trying to meet with the Winter Queen to discuss the events. In the meantime, we can establish a special bond with a seed we encounter and, thanks to Night Fae's special ability, "Soulshape", we are able to put our soul into animal form for a short time. In animal form, our movement speed increases by 50% and we can teleport 15 yards forward. At first, we can only take the form of vulpine, but later on, we have the chance to have many different looks such as unicorn, lion, wolf. Couldn't see the squirrel, I hope they add it somewhere.
When you first enter the Ardenweald, it is possible to remember the druid-dense Val'Sharah in the Legion pack. The region looks like a version of the Emerald Dream. Green has been replaced by predominantly blue colors. While some of the missions are quite fun, there are serious parts that describe the invasion of the Drust people we met with Battle for Azeroth. Ardenweald, which is my favorite region both in terms of setting and music, is also home to an amazing mission staging Azeorth's history as a theater play.
Venthyr
Our last Covenant is Venthyr, where the vampire-looking people of the Revendreth region are located. This is the land of souls who have great flaws in their souls such as pride and greed and who come to get rid of their burdens and pay their redemption. Those who come here are one step away from The Maw, but spirits with a chance to be rescued. Spirits who have undergone serious training can continue to stay here after they atone for what they have done, or have the right to move on to another Covenant.
In the last part of the story, we meet the leader of Venthyr, Lord Denathrius, and witness the riots caused by the rebels. The flow of the story changes drastically with the events that took place after we caught one of the leaders of the rebellion by weakening his sins in his face. We get a lot of information about why so many animes are gathered, what the purpose of the rebels is, and what all these events have to do with The Jailer.
Exiled to The Maw by the leaders of other Covenants, The Jailer disrupts the Shadowlands' balance by executing a joint plan with many entities, including Sylvanas, to get rid of it.
When we choose the Venthyr Covenant, we have the ability named "Door of Shadows". This ability allows the user to teleport at a short distance. After 1.5 seconds, we can teleport up to 35 yards. It may seem more useless than others, but it is a very effective skill when used to reach some treasures or to go through traps with ease.
The Revendreth area is also the home of the Covenant I chose for my Priest character. Here, characters reminiscent of the Nosferatu type of vampires draw anima from the souls trying to pay their redemption. Here we cultivate souls with the flaws they had in their lifetime. For example, we see Houndmaster Loksey, whom we know from Scarlet Monastery, here facing the dogs with his own weapon. The area reminds me of Suramar and Silvermoon. It is an impressive city with magnificent towers and castles, and the outskirts of the city are seen in the outskirts of the city, in bad condition, broken willpower, insane people (or in this case the spirits thrown). One of the biggest reasons it reminds Suramar is that there were crowded enemy groups in the castle area that constantly dropped me from my mount and beat me.
One of the biggest drawbacks of players who developed multiple characters in old packs was replaying story missions over and over. No matter how wonderful the story is, doing the same thing 10 times is not a very pleasant job. Shadowlands has provided a solution to this problem. Once you complete the main story and choose the Covenant you want, you don't have to replay the main story with your sub-characters.
The NPC, which welcomes you in Oribos the moment you first get rid of The Maw, offers two options. If you want, you can replay the main story and continue by opening the regions gradually. While the main story is pretty good in terms of XP and items, when you don't like a region or get bored with its story, you have no chance to move on to move forward. You have to stay there until the story ends. You have to do all the tasks once, but repeating the same place with each character can turn into a pain.
With the Threads of Fate system, the new option that comes with Shadowlands is to skip the entry story directly, open all regions and select the Covenant you want instantly. In this way, you gain Covenant features instantly and you can work in the region you want. Thanks to regional missions such as World Quest, you can get xp and do side missions in the region. If you just do the tasks and try to progress, you gain slower XP and fall behind in terms of items, but on the one hand, going into dungeons and on the other hand, it is a nice option to skip the whole roleplay part and get involved in the events quickly.
We've completed the main story, reached level 60 and picked our Covenant, what do we do now? Where is the end game we live in Warlords of Dreanor? Will the situation appear in this game? Fortunately, I can say no to this with peace of mind. We will fulfill what members of the Covenant we have chosen from us, increase our reputation and fulfill special duties for Covenant. As these missions come as our reputation grows, not all of them are yet clear, but I can say that they are quite interesting up to where I came from. I'm looking forward to the next week.
With our last level character, we will again pursue the World Quest, enter the dungeons, go to The Maw and prevent the Jailer's armies from getting stronger, enter the Tower of the Damned Torghast, free the Runecarver and strive for the possession of the legendary items.
The Maw and the Tower of the Damned Torghast
We return to The Maw several times throughout the story and save various souls. Meanwhile, we learn more about the region and get an ally (partner?). He provides us with some helpful information within Maw and offers a safe space within Maw. When we reach the final level, we go back to the area and start causing trouble in the Jailer's area. In The Maw, we can encounter normal soldiers, elite enemies and rare monsters. In addition, we can reduce high-level equipment by completing activities that are active from time to time. Each enemy drops a certain amount of Stygia, which allows us to purchase useful upgrades and items from our partner in Maw, Ve'nari.
Every move we make in The Maw causes us to attract the attention of Jailer. Killing one of his powerful soldiers, doing daily missions that we can find around, and participating in big events results in Jailer's eyes to us. At first, only the attention of the watchers is drawn to us, but later on, we have to send assassins after us, to be kidnapped by flying creatures, and finally to be crushed under the direct gaze of the Jailer. It would be beneficial not to walk around too much after getting full attention. At this point, we cannot drop items from any event and we start to lose lives constantly. A day later, we forget about us and we can go back and mess up again.
Manrik's Wife Found After Years!
It has been a very long review and I am well aware of it. But there are a lot of things I haven't told yet. Let's take a brief look at the features we will encounter with World of Warcraft Shadowlands.
The dungeons are very enjoyable (De Other Side was my favorite in terms of the information and characters it contains) and it is a very nice feature that we have special abilities according to the Covenant we chose. Mythic + and Raids have not been unlocked yet, anyway, I might not have seen them even if they were unlocked because not everyone could reach the required equipment level.
Jailer
It is a very good feature to make it easier and more effortless to gain your alt characters and to be included in the Covenant you are curious about faster. Side missions and World Quest content are better than previous games. There were bugs like World Quest, where many players died due to suddenly missing wings while flying over the Ardenweald in the first week, but they were fixed quickly. (It was raining actors from the sky, it was a fun event to watch actually)
Although it is a 16-year-old game, let's not go without mentioning how beautiful it looks. There are times when I spend time to stop and watch around in Bastion and Ardenweald areas. After choosing a side, I was afraid that we would not be able to enter the other regions. Fortunately, there is no such situation and I can travel as I want.
It is a very nice feeling to see the old names that appear as a raid boss in the Decimator Olgra (Manrik's wife), Zul’Jin, Hogger, Manastorm couple and Burning Crusade supplement. It is both nice and risky to know that with Shadowlands, we can see many old characters as friends or foes. For example, I wonder if they will do anything with the Grom Hellscream. Alternative time content seems to have complicated this topic.
The classes seem quite balanced for now, and I was a little worried as they were trying to break all the balance in Battle for Azeroth and collect them with the items we bought. We will see the real difference when the raids are opened, but it looks good for now. For now, however, I feel like our character is getting weaker as they level up because of level scaling. I get depressed when I hit 3000 at 59 level and 2400 at 60 level. Of course, the items get better as they evolve.
It is annoying to have to choose a Covenant even though you don't like it because of the advantages of Covenant abilities. There is not only Covenant abilities, but also the Soulbind system, where you gain extra features when you connect your soul. I haven't gone into much detail as it's not all clear yet, but you have to do it right in order to deliver the best performance. It is certain that there will be serious pressure within the guild. I do not know what kind of regulation can be made for this.
Result
I wrote at length, I tried to cover everything you might encounter in the first 1.5 weeks of the game, although we explained most of it very briefly, I hope I could inform you.
As someone who has played the game since the year it was first released and bought each expansion pack the week it was released, I liked World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. It has an absolutely satisfying progression in terms of story. It is also full in terms of gameplay and content. I haven't enjoyed Warlords of Dreanor's end game content, and I have never liked Battle for Azeorth enough to join raids. Shadowlands is a package that I can continue to enjoy playing even after I got my enthusiasm for the first week.
