- Author: Spannah
- Date: August 27, 2021
- Updated: August 27, 2021
- Expansion: World of Warcraft
The World of Warcraft development team just released a news post revealing some of the changes we will see in the patch 9.1.5, as well as their plans to address the in-game toxicity.
It also has updates to improve the game environment for our community, including additional changes to some content to better reflect our shared values, better visibility into the impact of your in-game reports of harassment, and more serious penalties for people engaged in disruptive behavior.
It’s not yet clear how the content will change, but the in-game report system has often been criticized among players, and has been in need of changes for a while now.
Blizzard has also released a preview of the upcoming 9.1.5 changes, that promise to fix the covenant and conduit restrictions, improve the leveling experience, make the game more alt-friendly, and add new customization options.
Conduit energy is being removed, players will be able to swap covenants without cooldown and without restrictions, and they won’t have to replay covenant compaigns previously completed on another character.
The patch 9.1.5 will also feature balance changes, Legion Timewalking, Battle for Azeroth legacy loot rules, as well as quality of life improvements to this expansions’s systems.
With the arrival of the 9.1.5 PTR, we wanted to share more information on the variety of new features and updates arriving with the content update. Not all of these features and updates will be available immediately within the PTR, but we are looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback as they do.
COVENANT UPDATES
Players who reach max Renown for their Covenant will be able to freely switch among any of the four Covenants without cooldown or restriction. Cosmetic rewards, including pets and mounts, that have been earned from that covenant will thereafter be available regardless of your membership in a different one. Covenant switching and the use of cosmetic rewards will also apply to any alternate characters once the Renown threshold is reached on one character.
Conduit Energy is being removed and Conduits will be freely swappable without any restrictions.
Completing a Covenant campaign on one character will allow alternate characters the ability to skip that same Covenant’s campaign, earning the Renown and a third Soulbind unlock immediately without needing to replay the full narrative arc.
Learn more about the design decisions behind these changes in our Shadowlands Development Update.
NEW CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATIONS
A variety of new character customizations are being introduced for Nightborne and Lightforged Draenei along with additional updates to ear size options for void elves, new travel forms for druids, and new Soulshapes for Night Fae.
INTRODUCING LEGION TIMEWALKING
Delve back into Legion Dungeons with Legion Timewalking and take on the challenges within, including access to Legion Mythic+ dungeons. This event will run for two weeks the first time it runs within the game and then will resume a regular one-week schedule for subsequent bonus events.
MAW INTRODUCTION SKIPPABLE
Players who have completed the introduction in the Maw on one character will be able to speak to Highlord Darion Mograine in the capital cities to skip it on their alternative characters on their account.
ISLAND EXPEDITIONS: QUEUE SOLO OR WITH A PARTY
Players who want to take on Island Expeditions are now able to queue for them solo or with a party to enter Normal, Heroic, or Mythic difficulties. There are a bounty of awards just waiting to be plundered.
TALENT AND ABILITY IMPROVEMENTS
In 9.1.5 we are working on additional updates to a variety of class talents and class abilities including Conduits, Runecarving, and Covenant class ability tuning.
ALLIED RACE UNLOCKS
Allied races such as the Kul’Tiran humans, Mechagnomes, and Dark Iron Dwarves, which had a dungeon requirement to unlock them, will no longer need to complete the associated quest to gain access to these races. Players will be able to skip it instead.
ADDITIONAL TRAVEL POINTS IN THE MAW
Players will be able to take advantage of additional fast travel options from Ve’nari’s Refuge to Perdition Hold and Desmotaeron within the Maw by unlocking access to them.
REMOTE ANIMA TURN-INS
Completing quests from Archivist Roh-Suir will provide access to an Anima Diverter within Korthia where Anima can be directly deposited.
TRANSMOGRIFICATION LINKING
Show off your complete transmog outfit to chat or online by easily sharing a link to it from the Dressing Room. Players will be able to mouse over these items to see how they can be collected, if they’ve already collected the appearance, or if it’s an appearance that is accessible to the character viewing it.
ALT LEVELING IMPROVEMENTS
A variety of improvements will be introduced in support of a smoother experience leveling alternate characters through Shadowlands, such as an additional rank of Heirloom upgrades, and improvements to Threads of Fate such as the addition of Torghast as an option and Renown gains for completing bonus objectives.
PVP GEAR POWER ADJUSTMENTS
Lower item-level PvP gear will now scale to a higher item-level in PvP situations than before. This should reduce the power level gap so that new characters can feel that they’re able to compete in Battlegrounds and Arenas more readily. This change will not affect high item-level PvP gear.
RUNECARVING RECIPES
Drop rates for Runecarving recipes will be increased to 100% drop rate in any dungeon difficulty.
BATTLE FOR AZEROTH LEGACY LOOT RULES
Legacy loot rules will be enabled for players at level 60 in all Battle for Azeroth raids and dungeons, causing encounters to drop the number of items as they would randomly drop for a 5-player dungeon party or a 20-player raid.
Keep an eye on the official World of Warcraft site for the complete 9.1.5 content Update notes and more over the span of development.
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