World of Warcraft: Shadowlands - End of Eternity, let's discover the contents of patch 9.2

World of Warcraft

Update 9.2 comes after a very strange period that marked one of the darkest moments in the history of World of Warcraft: just think that the previous update - Chains of Domination - dates back to last summer. Marked by heavy criticism of the balance, the repetitiveness of the contents and, above all, the narrative aspect, it was basically the spring that, in the following weeks, shifted the balance in favor of competitors in a period among other things. very critical for Activision Blizzard, amidst administrative problems and recurring pandemics. After that, the darkness. The showdown with the Jailer, the enemy who has moved the pieces for entire expansions without us even knowing it, took too long, but today is the fateful day ... or almost.

We had a chat with Steve Danuser (Lead Narrative Designer) and Morgan Day (Lead Game Designer) who explained why Eternity's End is such an important update and what awaits us in the immediate future of Shadowlands expansion.

The Final Showdown

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the Jailer awaits us at the end of the Tomb of the First The immediate future, for the record, does not include the announced multi-action content a bit of a surprise a few weeks ago: a revolutionary novelty on several fronts that we will talk about in due course, even if Danuser still wanted to wink at the 9.2.5 update, which has not yet arrived on the PTRs but which already promises to revolutionize many aspects of the Blizzard MMO, especially on the community front.

For a game that has based its narrative and gameplay on factional warfare, bringing them together on a single collaborative front is a very important step. "In reality, it's something we laid the foundations for a long time ago," remarked Danuser, however, referring to the vicissitudes that set the Horde and Alliance against common enemies that threatened Azeroth from within and without. "The two factions fight together against the same enemies, their leaders have joined forces and it may be time for the players to bury the hatchet."

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, we will be able to to save the young king Anduin? We have some doubts, however, about how Blizzard intends to prepare players for this epochal change in the nature of its MMORPG. When asked if there will be any storyline or mission that will anticipate the new gameplay dynamic, Danuser was very clear: "No, that day players will update the client, log in and be able to team up with the opposite faction." When asked about the possibility that Blizzard would shift the question to a multimedia level, perhaps deepening it through novels and digital publications, Danuser and Day did not feel like ruling out this possibility. We have often criticized Blizzard's choice to go for literature to novels or comics instead of the game itself when it comes to delving into the story, but it seems that we will have to resign ourselves because in the immediate future there is no prospect of a change of course.

Indeed, Danuser was keen to remind us that next month Christie Golden's new novel, "Sylvanas", will be released in bookstores (US), all centered on the Queen Banshee who has tormented us for several expansions, and also more if you played Warcraft when it was still a real-time strategy game.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Progenitor armor marks the return of class sets Sylvanas Windrunner's pirouettes have been heavily criticized on one side of the community, which has not appreciated the characterization and development of this character in recent years. From anti-heroine to one-sided antagonist, Sylvanas seemed to be embarking on some kind of redemption when the Jailer restored her soul at the end of the Dominion Sanctum raid, so many were waiting for Eternity's End to find out how the complicated story would evolve. her. The PTRs had betrayed a worrying absence of missions and dialogues focused on her, but Danuser revealed that some skits were not implemented on the test servers precisely in order not to anticipate anything to the players. Also because the bulk of the story will develop in the final arc of Sepolcro dei Primi, the new incursion arriving starting from 2 March.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Zereth Mortis is the new zone In fact, players will have to infiltrate this ancient forge of creation in the bowels of the Shadowlands to prevent the Jailer from rewriting reality. Sepolcro dei Primi includes eleven bosses: the first nine will be available from March 2, when the raid will open its doors on Normal and Heroic difficulty, while the remaining three (Lords of Terror, Rygelon and the Jailer) will only be accessible from March 9 , when Mythic mode and the first wing of the Raid Finder mode will also open.

In the second week of End of Eternity, in short, it will only be possible to come face to face with Anduin Wrynn, who apparently will also be crucial for Sylvanas' storyline. We asked Danuser and Day if we should expect some surprises in the final battle in Mythic mode, as happened with the great bosses of the past, but the two designers stressed that no one knows the latest fights yet, not even at the initial difficulty, since Blizzard has not them. let us test a preview just to keep the surprise: Day did not want to anticipate anything, except that they are among the most sophisticated and spectacular encounters that Blizzard has ever designed.

Zereth Mortis

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Protoform Synthesis allows mounts and pets to be crafted It seems like something has changed in the Blizzard offices, as Day and Danuser seemed even more optimistic than usual. When asked about Microsoft's infamous acquisition, they declined to speak as it is still in the making, but admitted it could open the door to tons of opportunities and creative synergies. But speaking of the creation, we must say that we were impressed by the artistic direction of the new zone that introduces End of Eternity. Day stated that he is simply proud of the work done with Zereth Mortis, especially considering the organizational and work difficulties faced in its development. The new map is absolutely enchanting and represents an important change of landscape compared to the gloomy repetitiveness of Korthia: this new area, the forge of the First that the Jailer is trying to invade, is made up of various biomes that color it and make it particularly fun to explore and navigate.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the strange Automa of the First Blizzard has learned a few tricks in this regard. The presence of ponds is only scenic, as anyone can walk on them as any Shaman or Death Knight would, and the new Transit Stones will allow players to teleport from one point to another on the map as if they were flying points. . There will be a lot of running back and forth because Zereth Mortis, as usual, opens a window of daily campaigns and missions that will entertain players, allow them to find new equipment, help those left behind to line up in view of the new raid and, above all, will fill the days of collectors on the hunt for mounts and pets.

In this sense, it seems that Blizzard is really winking at that slice of casual gamers, but not limited to, who love finding new collectibles through missions, reputations and heists of luck. A new feature, called Protoform Synthesis, reminiscent of Mechagon's Pascal-R3, allows you to consume the special reagents found in the area to craft over 50 mounts, toys and pets.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Pocopoc will help us orient ourselves in the new map The progression inside Zereth Mortis passes through a weekly campaign that will lead us to discover the secrets of the First and to ally ourselves with their bizarre Automata and with a new faction of NPCs, the Illuminati cartel. Everything should take place a bit as always, with a series of daily missions that increase from week to week and allow us to improve our reputation and unlock new content, including flying even in this map, but there is a novelty called Code of the First which would seem to be a revised and corrected version of the Korthia Codex: this function, available after completing the first three chapters of the new campaign and making friends with the Automata named Pocopoc, allows you to accumulate a new resource to unlock various map bonuses and increase the potential of the rewards that can be obtained, which include very special pieces of equipment that rival those of the raid on Normal difficulty.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the new faction of Illuminati Day has however explained that the developers have voluntarily omitted weapons from the ranks of these rewards, because they want players to enter in the Tomb of the First even if only in Raid Search mode. The team really cares a lot about this content, also because it represents the arrival point of Shadowlands in narrative terms. We asked if this means Eternity's End really is the last major update to World of Warcraft before the next expansion, but Day was quite cryptic: he hinted that more will come - not necessarily referring to 9.2.5 with the multifunctional content - but did not specify whether this is a last raid or expedition.

It's clear, though, that Eternity's End includes a little bit of everything players have been asking for for months, plus a partial class balance. In addition to the new zone, in fact, we have a new mode for Torgast, a new arena and a new mode for PvP, the Season 3 of the Mythics + with a new modifier, new legendary powers, the coveted class sets and more. The real question that the most mischievous will ask themselves is: will all this be enough to bring players who have passed to Final Fantasy XIV and the recent Lost Ark back to World of Warcraft? We'll find out in the next few months.

Have you noticed any errors?