WoW Shadowlands Patch 9.1.5: Full patch notes & Mage Tower release date

World of Warcraft Shadowlands’ Patch 9.1.5 has finally arrived, and shakes up WoW’s Covenant system, Conduit Energy and removes the infamous AoE cap.

Despite a rocky few months, Blizzard have finally released World of Warcraft’s highly anticipated Patch 9.1.5 update. With a focus on reworking in-game systems, as well as removing the AoE cap and Conduit Energy, there’s a lot to digest.

Many of the issues addressed in this patch have existed since the game’s beta, leading many players to conclude that this is simply too little, too late.

Either way, let’s delve into everything we know so far about the patch, including when it was released.

WoW Shadowlands Patch 9.1.5: Release Date

WoW Shadowlands patch 9.1.5 officially went live on November 2.

• Read More: Best class for each Covenant in WoW Shadowlands

The highly anticipated Legion Timewalking mini-event will begin a little later in early December, allowing players to travel back in time and take on the Mage Tower all over again!

WoW Shadowlands: Covenant changes

One of the most highly requested features for Shadowlands was to allow players to change Covenant without having to level through the Covenant Renown system. Replacing this once particularly painful process are a set of new rules.

Players who reach a high Renown threshold will be able to swap between the four Covenants at will, and will retain any gear acquired whilst being a member of another Covenant.

If you’ve already levelled up a character in one of the Covenants, any alt that joins the same one will start off at the third Soulbound.

Conduit Energy has also been removed, so Conduits can now be swapped around with no restrictions.

Removal of AoE Cap

One of Blizzard’s most controversial decisions coming into Shadowlands was decreasing the maximum targets that could be affected by AoE attacks. Patch 9.1.5 sees this amended.

• Read More: WoW Burning Crusade Classic Overlords of Outland: release date, patch notes

AoE attacks will now do full damage on five targets and reduced damage to any further targets.

WoW Shadowlands Patch 9.1.5: Allied Race customization

For those of you who prefer to play as Nightborne, Lightforged Draenei, or Void Elves, Blizzard have announced that there will be more customization options in the character creator than we’ve seen before.

WoW Shadowlands Patch 9.1.5: Patch notes

These are the official patch notes for the 9.1.5 update, obtained via Blizzard.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• The following changes have been made to Mecha-Done:
  • Vinyl: Triumph of Gnomeregan – Now a guaranteed drop from the Hard Mode version of the Reclamation Rig event.
  • Vinyl: Battle for Gnomeregan – Drop rate increased from all hologram bosses.
  • Blueprint: Holographic Digitalization Relay – Drop rate increased from all hologram bosses.
  • Blueprint: Emergency Rocket Chicken – OOX-Fleetfoot/MG respawns faster and no longer despawns if not killed by the end of its path. OOX-Fleetfoot/MG now has a Vignette star that pings the minimap when he races by if you are eligible to loot OOX-Avenger/MG.
  • Paint Vial: Lemonade Steel – Droprate of Exothermic Evaporator Coil increased. Duration of rain reduced, but the spawn rate of Oxidized Leachates during rain is drastically increased (700% faster). Oxidized Leachbeast now has significantly more chances to spawn during rain.
  • “Playtime’s Over” and “Battle Tested” – Both of these quests are now always offered as follow-ups to “Toys of Destruction” (was 1, chosen randomly).
  • Available in Eight Colors – This Achievement is now account-wide and grants all color options for the X-995 Mechanocat mount to all characters on your account.
• Fixed an issue where the Flying Festivities achievement would not be granted after collecting the Wreath-A-Rang toy.

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ALLIED RACES

• New character customization options for Highmountain Tauren, Lightforged Draenei, Nightborne, and Void Elves.
• Lightforged Draenei Paladins now have a unique class mount – the Lightforged Ruinstrider.
• The dungeon quests for unlocking Kul Tiran humans, Mechagnomes, and Dark Iron Dwarves are no longer required. After accepting the dungeon quest, speak to the NPC again to choose to skip the quest.
• Fixed an issue with the mouths on several male Nightborne face options.
• Fixed an issue with the facial bone structure on Dark Iron Dwarves.
• Fixed an issue where the questline for unlocking Mag’har Orcs couldn’t be completed if the character didn’t start the Battle for Azeroth campaign.

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ART

• Added weather effects in Stormwind and Orgrimmar.

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CLASSES

• Characters that have unlocked flying in Shadowlands can now fly while in spirit form.
• Phial of Serenity (Kyrian Ability) and healing potions no longer reset the melee swing timer.
• Some area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 5 or 8 targets. Abilities affected are listed in their class sections.
  • Developers’ note: With the launch of Shadowlands, we reduced the maximum number of targets that several abilities could hit specifically to address a few gameplay problems related to pulling a large number of enemies in dungeons. Our intention was to reduce the effectiveness of burst AOE buttons against large target counts (i.e. 15-20 enemies) while also increasing their effectiveness against fewer targets (e.g. 3-5 enemies) and communicating that strength clearly in the tooltips. The abilities that remained “uncapped” were generally ones that offered lower damage over a longer period of time (e.g. Blizzard or Consecration). Along with other changes, we set out to move away from “pull as many enemies as possible, use all your cooldowns and delete them” as the predominant strategy across various forms of content.We’ve received a lot of feedback that these abilities not hitting enemies in their range in any way creates a feel problem for WoW combat but is also an issue for trivial encounters like farming legacy content. For many of the abilities that underwent the change from uncapped to a strict target cap in Shadowlands, we’re converting the damage to be reduced beyond 5 or 8 targets (e.g. the ability will deal full damage against 5 targets, then reduced damage to each additional target beyond 5). This means that while the overall damage done by the ability increases with the number of targets, the individual damage done to each target will decrease. This solution means these abilities and their relative classes will still have a very strong niche against small packs of enemies.
• DEATH KNIGHT
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Abomination Limb (Necrolord Ability)
    • Frostscythe (Frost)
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Sacrificial Pact
    • Consumption (Blood)
    • Bonestorm (Blood)
    • Bursting Sores (Unholy)
    • Reanimated Shambler (Runecarving Power)
  • Shackle the Unworthy (Kyrian Ability) damage reduced by 10%, but now has a 100% chance to spread to nearby enemies when triggered (was 50%).
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Shackle the Unworthy (Kyrian Ability) from spreading to enemies behind the Death Knight.
  • Abomination’s Frenzy (Necrolord Runecarving Power) now applies its 10% damage increase to all enemies damaged by Abomination Limb (was enemies pulled by Abomination Limb).
  • Withering Ground (Night Fae Conduit) effect increased by 50%.
  • Impenetrable Gloom (Venthyr Conduit) damage effect increased by 50%.
  • BLOOD
    • Consumption (Talent) now deals 60% more damage.
    • Debilitating Malady (Conduit) effect increased by 600%.
  • UNHOLY
    • Unholy Assault’s (Talent) global cooldown (GCD) is now correctly reduced by Haste.
• DEMON HUNTER
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Blade Dance (Havoc)
    • Glaive Tempest (Havoc)
    • Soul Cleave (Vengeance)
    • Spirit Bomb (Vengeance) – previously was soft-capped at 20 targets.
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Fel Barrage (Havoc)
  • Sinful Brand (Venthyr Ability) cooldown has been reduced to 45 seconds (was 1 minute).
  • The Hunt’s (Night Fae Ability) effect can now be removed with player immunities.
  • Blind Faith (Kyrian Runecarving Power) now grants 1% Versatility (was 1% Mastery) and 10 Fury when a Lesser Soul Fragment is consumed while Blind Faith is active.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Lost in Darkness (Conduit) from improving with higher conduit ranks.
  • HAVOC
    • Dancing with Fate (Conduit) damage effect increased by 300%.
    • Fixed an issue where the Dancing with Fate conduit did not increase the damage of the final slash from Death Sweep.
  • VENGEANCE
    • The Demon summoned from Fodder to the Flame (Necrolord Ability) no longer scales off the 50% maximum health increase from Metamorphosis.
• DRUID
  • Discover 4 new Travel Form appearances with 2 color variations each.
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Swipe
    • Brutal Slash (Feral)
  • The Well-Honed Instincts conduit is now categorized for all specs (was Guardian only).
  • Adaptive Swarm (Necrolord Ability) jump range has been increased to 50 yards (was 25 yards) and will now jump to a friendly target if it expires on a friendly target and there are no valid hostile targets within 50 yards.
  • Fixed an issue where the Well Fed effect from Born Anew (Conduit) was not increased with the Epicurean racial ability when casting Rebirth on a Pandaren.
  • FERAL
    • Adaptive Swarm (Necrolord Ability) will now gain a damage bonus for its initial duration when cast during Tiger’s Fury.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented certain ranks of the Carnivorous Instinct conduit from improving auto-attack and periodic damage while Tiger’s Fury’s damage bonus is active.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented the Carnivorous Instinct conduit from affecting the damage over time of Thrash and Feral Frenzy.
  • RESTORATION
    • Efflorescence now has a new visual. For those who enjoy the previous visual, Glyph of the Wild Mushroom is available to return the spell to its fungi appearance.
• HUNTER
  • Aquilons, Corspeflies, and Gromits are now tameable as pets.
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Beast Cleave (Beast Mastery)
    • Multi-Shot (Beast Mastery and Marksmanship)
    • Explosive Shot (Marksmanship)
    • Carve (Survival)
    • Butchery (Survival)
    • Soulforge Embers (Runecarving Power)
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Barrage (Beast Mastery and Marksmanship)
  • Revive Pet cast time reduced to 3 seconds (was 4 seconds).
  • Freezing Trap now removes active Murder of Crows debuffs on the target when it is applied.
  • Death Chakram (Necrolord Ability) now also increases all physical damage done by you and your pet to the targets damaged by 10% for 10 seconds.
  • Flayed Shot (Venthyr Ability) now deals an additional hit of damage when cast. This damage also has 15% chance (increased with Empowered Release Conduit) to reset the cooldown of Kill Shot.
  • BEAST MASTERY
    • Bestial Wrath’s tooltip has been updated to better match its functionality. No functional change has been made to Bestial Wrath.
  • MARKSMANSHIP
    • Fixed an issue that caused Marksman’s Advantage (Conduit) to remove stealth from targets when Hunter’s Mark was cast.
    • Fixed an issue that caused a player’s Marksman’s Advantage (Conduit) to be removed from targets when another Hunter applied Hunter’s Mark with the Marksman’s Advantage conduit.
  • SURVIVAL
    • Fixed an issue that caused Coordinated Assault to require line-of-sight to your Hunter pet.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Steel Trap (Talent) to not activate if the Hunter is out of line-of-sight of the trap when it lands.
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Chakram (Talent) and Wildfire Bomb to deal damage to targets that were immune to area-of-effect damage.
• MAGE
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Glacial Fragments (Runecarving Power)
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Arcane Echo (Arcane)
    • Frozen Orb (Frost)
  • Gift of the Lich (Necrolord Conduit) effect increased by 100%.
  • FROST
    • Icicles damage increased by 12%.
    • Frostbolt damage increased damage by 8%.
    • Flurry damage increased damage by 10%.
    • Fixed an issue that was causing Frostbolts from Deathborne (Necrolord Ability) to incorrectly target enemies that were in breakable crowd-control.
• MONK
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Spinning Crane Kick
    • Rushing Jade Wind (Brewmaster)
    • Fists of Fury (Windwalker)
    • Rushing Jade Wind (Windwalker)
  • Chi Burst (Talent) now deals reduced healing beyond 6 targets.
    • Developers’ note: This spell previously used a complicated, invisible AoE-capping scheme for healing. This is being replaced with a clearer one where the amount of healing decays on each target after the 6th target is healed.
  • Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) now spawns an equal amount of off-spec Adepts (was random) and Adepts now apply Mystic Touch to their targets.
    • Ox Adepts now throw a Fallen Brew at the Monk after spawning, granting the Monk an absorb shield for 10% of the Monk’s maximum health for 8 seconds.
    • Tiger Adept’s Tiger Palm damage increased by 200%.
    • Tiger Adepts now cast Spinning Crane Kick if there are more than 1 enemy within range.
    • While Tiger Adepts are active, the Monk and their allies gain 5% movement speed, stacking with other movement speed increasing effects such as the Monk’s Windwalking.
  • Way of the Fae (Night Fae Conduit) effect increased by 100%.
  • BREWMASTER
    • Special Delivery (Talent) now deals 100% more damage.
    • Ox Adept’s Breath of Fire damage reduction from Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) now stacks with your Breath of Fire damage reduction.
    • Crane Adepts from Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) now prefer to heal the Monk over other friendly targets.
  • MISTWEAVER
    • Crane Adept’s Enveloping Mist from Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) no longer gains cooldown reduction from the Monk’s Haste.
    • Crane Adepts from Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) now cast Enveloping Mist twice when summoned.
    • Fixed an issue where Expel Harm would heal the caster twice when used while channeling Soothing Mist on themselves.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Resplendent Mists (Conduit) from increasing the healing of Bonedust Brew’s (Necrolord Ability) Gust of Mists.
    • Fixed an issue where Expel Harm would apply Mastery: Gust of Mists twice when cast during Soothing Mist.
    • Fixed an issue that could cause Renewing Mist to incorrectly reset the auto attack timer.
  • WINDWALKER
    • Spinning Crane Kick (Rank 2) now increases Spinning Crane Kick’s damage by 18% (was 15%) for each unique target struck with Blackout Kick, Tiger Palm and Rising Sun Kick in the last 20 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times (was 6).
    • Tiger Adepts attacks from Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) now count towards your recently attacked Spinning Crane Kick bonus.
    • Crane Adepts from Fallen Order (Venthyr Ability) now prefer to heal the Monk over other friendly targets.
    • Keefer’s Skyreach (Runecarving Power) now properly increases the critical strike chance of Bonedust Brew (Necrolord Ability).
• PALADIN
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Divine Storm (Retribution)
  • Vanquisher’s Hammer (Necrolord Ability) now increases the effectiveness of the free Holy Power spender by 25%.
  • Righteous Might (Necrolord Conduit) damage effect increased by 400% and healing effect reduced by 50%.
  • Blessing of Seasons (Night Fae Ability): Blessing of Spring now increases healing done by 15% (was 10%) and healing received by 30% (was 20%). Blessing of Winter now reduces the hostile target’s attack speed and movement speed by 5% per stack (was 3%) and its damage has been increased by 40%.
  • HOLY
    • Fixed an issue where Bestow Faith (Talent) would reset the melee swing timer when cast.
• PRIEST
  • Festering Transfusion (Necrolord Conduit) damage and healing effect increased by 100%
  • Divine Star (Talent) and Halo (Talent) now deal reduced healing beyond 6 targets.
    • Developers’ note: These spells previously used a complicated, invisible AoE-capping scheme for healing. This is being replaced with a clearer one where the amount of healing decays on each target after the 6th target is healed.
  • Halo (Talent) healing reduced by 20%.
    • Developers’ note: Combined with the above change, this is still a net healing increase on large numbers of targets.
  • Divine Star (Talent) heal cap is now independent on the outgoing and return trips.
  • DISCIPLINE
    • Divine Star (Talent) damage increased by 40%.
    • Contrition (Talent) healing increased by 15%.
    • Shadow Covenant (Talent) healing increased by 10%, mana cost reduced by 10%, and duration lowered to 7 seconds (was 9 seconds).
  • HOLY
    • Divine Star (Talent) damage increased by 40%.
  • SHADOW
    • Surrender to Madness duration increased to 30 seconds (was 25 seconds).
    • Psychic Link (Talent) deals 60% of Mind Blast’s damage (was 50%).
• ROGUE
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Secret Technique (Subtlety)
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Fan of Knives (Assassination)
    • Crimson Tempest (Assassination)
    • Black Powder (Subtlety)
    • Shuriken Storm (Subtlety)
  • Toxic Onslaught (Runecarving Power) has been slightly redesigned – When Sepsis expires on your target, you are granted two of the following effects for 10 seconds: Shadow Blades, Adrenaline Rush, or Vendetta is applied to your current target. Bonuses granted are those that are not available to your spec, eg. An Assassination Rogue will gain Adrenaline Rush and Shadow Blades.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Shadow Blades gained from Toxic Onslaught (Runecarving) to not affect certain off-spec abilities.
  • Septic Shock (Night Fae Conduit) effect increased by 50%.
  • OUTLAW
    • Dreadblades (Talent) initial strike deals 26% more damage and now immediately fills your Combo Points in addition to its current effects.
  • SUBTLETY
    • Fixed an issue where Flagellation (Venthyr Ability) would always critically strike with Symbols of Death.
• SHAMAN
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Storm Elemental’s Eye of the Storm (Elemental)
  • Elysian Dirge (Kyrian Conduit) effect increased by 50%.
  • RESTORATION
    • Spirit Link Totem’s tooltip has been updated to better match its functionality. No functional change has been made to Spirit Link Totem.
• WARLOCK
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Felguard’s Felstorm (Demonology)
  • Impending Catastrophe (Venthyr Ability) chaotic anima cloud width has been increased 60%, now deals a tick of its periodic damage on impact and will more accurately apply its damage-over-time effect to hostile targets.
  • Decimating Bolt (Necrolord Ability) cast time reduced to 2 seconds (was 2.5 seconds).
  • Scouring Tithe (Kyrian Ability) instant and periodic damage increased by 20% and cast time reduced to 1.5 seconds (was 2 seconds).
  • Languishing Soul Detritus (Kyrian Runecarving Power) critical strike chance bonus increased to 45% (was 40%) and now also grants the Warlock a 33% movement speed buff and a 15% critical strike chance increase when Scouring Tithe (Kyrian Ability) expires.
  • Decaying Soul Satchel (Night Fae Runecarving Power) no longer generates stacks when targeting enemies that are immune to its damage.
  • DEMONOLOGY
    • Nether Portal (Talent) cooldown reduced to 2.5 minutes (was 3 minutes).
• WARRIOR
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 5 targets:
    • Whirlwind
    • Cleave (Arms)
    • Ravager (Arms)
    • Dreadnaught (Arms)
    • Ravager (Protection)
  • The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond 8 targets:
    • Bladestorm (Arms and Fury)
  • Harrowing Punishment (Venthyr Conduit) effect increased by 50%.
  • Impending Victory (Talent) cooldown reduced to 25 seconds (was 30 seconds) and now heals for 40% of your max health (was 30%).
  • ARMS
    • Merciless Bonegrinder (Conduit) effect increased by 100%.
    • Warbreaker (Talent) now extends the duration of Colossus Smash if it was applied by Enduring Blow (Runecarving Power).
  • FURY
    • Auto attack damage has been increased by 43%.
    • Hack and Slash (Conduit) increased by 50%.
  • PROTECTION
    • Sinful Surge (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now extends the duration of Avatar by 2.5 seconds when Condemn (Venthyr Ability) is cast (was Last Stand duration extended by 3 seconds).

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COVENANTS

• Players who reach 80 Renown with any Covenant will be able to freely switch among any of the four Covenants without cooldown or restriction. In addition, cosmetic rewards that have been earned from a Covenant with which the player has reached 80 Renown may be used even if that character is currently a member of a different one. Both the Covenant switching and the use of cosmetic rewards will also apply to alts once the Renown threshold is reached on any character. Example: A player with a Night Fae Druid at Renown 80 can use appropriate Night Fae cosmetics on their Rogue, even if the Rogue is a member of the Necrolords.
• Conduit Energy has been removed and Conduits can now be freely swappable without any restrictions.
• Reaching 80 Renown no longer requires completing the Shadowlands Covenant Campaign.
• Unlocking your third Soulbind on any character allows alternate characters joining that same Covenant to start a quest that will immediately unlock their second and third Soulbind.
• New Covenant toys to discover.
• NIGHT FAE
  • New Soulshapes to collect.
  • New Crittershapes – Due to their tiny appearances, they are only usable in rested areas.
  • Option to Soulshape and Crittershape into randomly collected appearances.
• SANCTUMS
  • ADVENTURES
    • Maw missions unlocked by maximum adventurer level appear more often and are gated by fewer requirements.
  • ANIMA CONDUCTOR
    • Enhancement buffs now persist past daily reset and work as a buff within all non-instance zones in Shadowlands.
    • Players who have built and upgraded their covenant’s Anima Conductors will now receive Grateful Offerings from all covenant Callings, based on the highest level of Anima Conductor they’ve upgraded.
    • Anima can now be channeled to all unlocked locations each day (was one each day).
  • REDEEMED SOULS
    • All players will now have the 20 Redeemed Souls version of the weekly quest “Return Lost Souls” regardless of Renown level.
    • Added a repeatable quest to gather 20 additional Redeemed Souls for players looking to progress their Covenant Sanctum faster.
    • Rescuing Souls within Torghast, Tower of the Damned now earn credit for “Return Lost Souls.”
  • TRANSPORTATION NETWORK
    • The Oribos portal destination has been updated to a new location in Oribos.
  • KYRIAN: PATH OF ASCENSION
    • There is no longer a cost to enter the Path of Ascension. Medallions of Service are now only used in Ascension Crafting.
    • A baseline 20% buff, Progressive Power, has been activated for all soulbinds in Path of Ascension. This buff is active by default, but can be turned off via the Brazier of Progressive Power in the arena.
    • Drop rates for all Path of Ascension crafting components have been increased by 10%.
    • Soul Mirror Shards now have a chance to drop from Mawsworn Kyrian in the Maw.
  • NIGHT FAE: QUEENS CONSERVATORY
    • All seeds now stack to 200 (was 20).
    • All previous locations that award uncommon quality seeds now award rare quality seeds.
  • VENTHYR: EMBER COURT
    • Players can now use their influence with guests to help their friends or alternate characters.
      • Once you’ve completed the Best Friend quest for a Guest, that Guest will offer a quest inside your Ember Court scenario to all other players who visit.
      • These “Friend of a Friend” quests unlock a permanent 30% increase to friendship gains with that Guest, so invite a player or two to your next Ember Court and start the introductions to help them make friends faster.
      • Alternate characters on your account will also be offered these quests inside their own Ember Court scenario. Word travels quickly around the court!
    • Temel now sells a new favor item: The Party Herald’s Party Hat.
      • This bind-on-account item can be sent to alternate characters, and permanently increases reputation gains with the Ember Court by 30% for any character that uses it.
      • This item also gives Temel a new, fancier party hat and gives you an option to ask Temel to put the hat on you inside the scenario.
    • You will now receive a confirmation prompt when you queue for the scenario if one of your current Guests has not RSVPed (and therefore would not attend if you start the scenario).
• SOULBINDS
  • NECROLORD
    • Warlock’s Soulstone can no longer be applied to players that have Forgeborne Reveries (Bonesmith Heirmir) active.
  • VENTHYR
    • Battlefield Presence (General Draven) no longer counts nearby Stealth enemies.

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DUNGEONS AND RAIDS

• TIMEWALKING
  • NEW: LEGION TIMEWALKING
    • 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.
    • Timewalking Dungeons: Black Rook Hold, Eye of Azshara, Darkheart Thicket, Vault of the Wardens, Neltharion’s Lair, and Court of Stars.
    • TIMEWALKING MAGE TOWER
      • Now that Legion Timewalking has arrived, with it comes a wondrous way to return to the moments of heroism from the past: Azeroth’s champions will be able to enter the Mage Tower again. The original seven different Challenges (grouped by your specialization’s role) will be available to try repeatedly, for the duration of Legion Timewalking.
      • Each Challenge comprises a series of solo encounters that must be completely survived to earn rewards, and in Legion Timewalking, they will not require that you have an Artifact, or even that you originally played Legion.
      • Success in a Mage Tower challenge will now award a Legion-themed armor set for your class. There’s also a new Achievement for the most well-rounded champions of the Kirin Tor. Players who complete all seven of the Challenges on different characters across their Battle.net account will be rewarded with a unique flying mount: the Soaring Spelltome. Additionally, Guardian druids who complete The Highlord’s Return challenge will also receive a new fel variant of the “werebear” form.
  • The weekly bonus events schedule has been adjusted and now Timewalking dungeon events will occur every three weeks (was alternating every third or fourth week).
  • Defeating Timewalking raid bosses will now also provide credit towards the Timewalking weekly quests, “A Burning Path Through Time,” “A Frozen Path Through Time,” and “A Shattered Path Through Time.”
  • The list of available dungeons during Timewalking holidays has been adjusted:
    • THE BURNING CRUSADE
      • NEW
        • The Blood Furnace
        • The Botanica
        • The Underbog
      • REMOVED
        • The Arcatraz
        • The Black Morass
        • The Slave Pens
    • WRATH OF THE LICH KING
      • NEW
        • Azjol-Nerub
        • The Forge of Souls
        • Utgarde Keep
      • REMOVED
        • Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom
        • Pit of Saron
        • Utgarde Pinnacle
    • CATACLYSM
      • NEW
        • Blackrock Caverns
      • REMOVED
        • Grim Batol
    • MISTS OF PANDARIA
      • NEW
        • Scholomance
      • REMOVED
        • Siege of Niuzao Temple
    • WARLORDS OF DRAENOR
      • NEW
        • Grimrail Depot
      • REMOVED
        • Iron Docks
  • Timewalking vendors now appear on the minimap in their respective zones.
• TIMEWORN KEYSTONES
  • While Legion Timewalking is active, players can speak to Ta’hsup in Oribos to acquire a Timeworn Keystone, allowing access to max-level, Mythic+ difficulty for the 6 Legion dungeons.
  • Legion Mythic+ dungeons accessed in this way have their own set of affixes, reward loot of the same item level as Shadowlands Mythic+ dungeons, and count toward weekly Great Vault reward options.
    • Items acquired from Legion Mythic+ dungeons can be upgraded with Valor points, but will not appear in the Great Vault.
  • New Infernal affix – Infernal Beacons can be found near some bosses. Activating a Beacon or engaging a nearby boss will trigger a Legion invasion. Available on Legion Timeworn Keystone level 10 or higher.
• MYTHIC+
  • Going forward, the top rated Mythic+ players per region and per faction for the Mythic+ Season will receive a special title. The title for Season 2 will be Tormented Hero.
  • AFFIXES
    • Bolster now has a 20 second duration (was permanent).
    • Necrotic Wound duration now lasts 6 seconds (was 9 seconds).
    • Raging damage bonus is now 50% (was 75%).
    • Healing specializations can now correctly select the Tormented anima power, Tiny Dancing Shoes.
• LEGACY RAIDS
  • The following encounters have been adjusted to be less challenging:
    • ANTORUS, THE BURNING THRONE
      • Antoran High Command
      • Eonar the Life-Binder
      • Varimathras
      • Coven of Shivarra
      • Aggramar
    • TOMB OF SARGERAS
      • The Desolate Host
      • Fallen Avatar
      • Kil’Jaeden
    • THE NIGHTHOLD
      • Gul’dan
    • TRIAL OF VALOR
      • Helya
• All cooldowns of 2 minutes or longer now reset at the end of raid encounters or when starting a Mythic+ dungeon (was 3 minutes or longer cooldowns). This does not apply to Shaman’s Reincarnation or Warlock’s Ritual of Doom.
• Legacy loot rules are now in place for Battle for Azeroth raids and dungeons. These encounters will now drop a fixed quantity of class-agnostic loot, regardless of group size.
• The prompt to enter into the Timewalking Campaign random dungeon queue for all expansions will now occur after 5 minutes in the queue (was 15 minutes).

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ISLAND EXPEDITIONS AND WARFRONTS

• You are now able to set sail on a Normal, Heroic, or Mythic Island Expedition alone or with a party of up to three players. Speak with Captain Rez’okun in Dazar’alor (Horde) or Flynn Fairwind in Boralus (Alliance) to begin your solo seafaring voyage!
• Lowered the amount of players required to queue for Normal Battle for Stromgarde and Battle for Darkshore Warfronts to 5 (was 15).

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ITEMS AND REWARDS

• Players now only need to complete the achievement Breaching the Tomb on one character per account to begin the Legion class mount quests on the Broken Shore. Each character must still complete their class hall campaign, complete quests, and recruit their final order hall champion.
• 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.
• The transmogrification appearance of cosmetic items is now learned when the item is used.
• Heirloom Scouting Maps that instantly explore all areas and grant all viable flight paths to your alternate character are now available for all expansions (was only Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms).
• Increased the drop rate of Shards of Domination.
• Significantly increased the amount of Soul Cinders awarded from Layers 8 – 12, Maw Assaults, Tormentors of Torghast, and Command Table missions.
• Increased the drop rate of Soultwining Crescent.
• Duchess Mynx in Korthia now sells versions of Korthian Armaments that create a piece of gear for specific slots.
• Acquirer Ta’gosh in the Oribos Hall of Curiosities now sells a Gateway Control Shard that lets you activate the nearest Demonic Gateway.
  • Developers’ note: Demonic Gateways can sometimes be difficult to click in the middle of a raid encounter and under high pressure situations. To help alleviate the potential frustration of being unable to click the gateway in time, we created the Gateway Control Shard to use as another option to use the gateway outside of clicking with your mouse button or through macros.
• Au’Dara the Heirloom broker located in Oribos next to the Flight Master sells the following bind-on-account items:
  • Eternal Heirloom Armor Casing and Eternal Heirloom Scabbard – A new rank of heirloom gear has been added and all heirloom gear is now usable in Shadowlands.
  • Broker Mark of Distinction – Characters who reach 80 Renown can purchase this item and use it on an alternate character to instantly grant the alternate character up to Renown 40. Cannot be used above 40 Renown.
  • Traveler’s Anima Cache – Allows Anima to be taken to new covenants or sent to alternate characters.
  • Valorous Equipment Chest – Contains 1 piece of item level 210 Mythic 0 gear. The chest can only be purchased with Valor by a character with a 1500 or higher Mythic+ Rating.
  • Unchained Equipment Chest – Contains 1 piece of item level 220 unranked PvP gear. The chest can only be purchased with Conquest by a character with a 1400 or higher rating in any PvP bracket.
  • Timebound Ruminations – Set an Adventures companion to level 30. Requires one companion to reach level 40. Cannot be used on companions level 30 and above.
• 6 new cosmetic boots are available in the Trial of Style world event. These new boots have a unique look for races that don’t normally wear shoes and can be purchased with Trial of Style Tokens.
• Newly created characters now start with new armor. The old armor will be available to obtain in a future update.
  • Pandaren, Goblin, Worgen, Allied Races, Death Knights, Demon Hunters, and Monks will be keeping their original unique armor.
• Fixed an issue where Feast of Gluttonous Hedonism and Surprisingly Palatable Feast could not be consumed in Timewalking dungeons.

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KORTHIA AND THE MAW

• Unlock access to additional fast travel options from Ve’nari’s Refuge to Perdition Hold and Desmotaeron within the Maw.
• Completing quests from Archivist Roh-Suir will provide access to an Anima Diverter within Korthia where Anima can be directly deposited.
• The Oribos minimap now displays the portal to Korthia.
• ARCHIVISTS’ CODEX REPUTATION
  • The Research Reports (item upgrades) and Treatise items (bonus drops in 9.0 content) are now available for purchase account wide if a character on their account has reached the appropriate reputation Tier.
  • Players at Tier 6 can now purchase the item “Research Report: Relic Examination Techniques”, a new bind-on-account item they can send to an alt to increase the reputation granted by Relics and Relic Fragments by 50%.
  • The quest “Relic Efficiency” offered at Tier 4 now also increases the average number of Relics that will show up as bonus drops from rares and treasures as well as how many relics show up on daily quests or in weekly reward chests. This is in addition to the current reward of a 20% chance to receive double the normal Relic Fragment drops from rares and treasures.
  • Added two new quests, “Relic Clues” at Tier 3 which starts the bonus at an initial 10% chance at double Relic Fragments, and “Relic Hunter” at Tier 5 that will set the final chance for double relics at 40%. Both of these new quests will also increase the average number of relics you will see as bonus drops, on daily quests or in weekly reward chests.
  • Korthia rares now have a chance to drop Relics on repeat kills (was a daily lockout for a chance at Relics).
  • More Relic carrying enemies can be found in Korthia with the All-Seeing Crystal.
  • Trained Gromit now locates more relic caches.
    • KORTHIA RIFTS
      • A new weekly quest, “Lost Research”, will be available to characters at Tier 4 with the Archivists’ Codex or on alts with a Tier 4 character on the account. This new quest will direct players into the Korthian Rift and reward a large amount of Archivists’ Codex reputation and Cataloged Research.
      • Enemies in Korthian Rifts now drop stolen Relic Fragments and a chance at Relics.

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PET BATTLES

• Flawless and family-specific Battle-Training Stones now provide a flat 2,000 experience (was the amount required to gain one level).
• Fel-Touched Battle-Training Stones now provide a flat 10,000 experience (was the amount required to gain five levels).
• Ultimate Battle-Training Stones now cost 35 Polished Pet Charms (was 60).
• Battling wild pets with a team of comparable-level pets now provides double experience. Pets on your team are eligible for this bonus if no pet on your team is more than two levels higher than any pet in the wild team.
• The experience penalty for a pet dying has been reduced to 50% (was 100%). Pets still need to be active for at least one round to be eligible to earn experience from a battle.
• All pet experience earned in battles is increased by 50%.
  • To compensate, the Pet Battle Bonus Event buff Sign of the Critter has been reduced to 100% (was 200%). The net effect of this is that pet experience gained during the Pet Battle Bonus Event will remain unchanged from current values.

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PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

• 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.
• Additional PvP Ranks and Item Level Ranks have been added to provide a more granular upgrade path for players climbing up the ranks.

 

• The Honor cost to upgrade Unrated gear reduced by around 25%, and the Conquest cost to upgrade Rated gear has been adjusted to spread across the new ranks.
• The following toys can no longer be used in battlegrounds and arenas:
  • Contender’s Costume
  • Fae Harp
  • Piccolo of the Flaming Fire
• The incapacitate from the Pandaren racial ability Quaking Palm now breaks to absorbed damage.
• BATTLEGROUNDS AND BRAWLS
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Horde from winning Isle of Conquest with reinforcements from destroying an Alliance gate.
  • Fixed an issue in Temple of Hotmogu where the Orb of Power would not respawn when passed to a player with an immunity active.
• COVENANTS
  • Fleshcraft (Necrolord Ability) now absorbs up to 30% of max Health while in PvP combat (was 40%).
  • When a battleground or arena match begins, Fleshcraft absorbs exceeding 30% maximum health are reduced to 30% maximum health.
• DEATH KNIGHT
  • Death Coil damage increased by 30% in PvP combat.
  • Abomination Limb (Necrolord Ability) no longer interrupts the Death Knight’s channeling abilities and no longer pulls stealthed enemies.
  • FROST
    • Frost Strike damage increased by 30% in PvP combat.
  • UNHOLY
    • Virulent Plague damage increased by 30% in PvP combat.
• DRUID
  • Thorns (PvP Talent) can no longer reflect damage to enemies more than 10 yards away.
  • Adaptive Swarm’s (Necrolord Ability) bonus to periodic healing effects reduced to 20% in PvP combat (was 25%).
  • FERAL
    • Strength of the Wild (PvP Talent) now increases Regrowth’s initial heal critical chance on allies by 30% (was 100%).
  • GUARDIAN
    • Grove Protection (PvP Talent) radius significantly increased.
  • RESTORATION
    • Keeper of the Grove (PvP Talent) now protects the Druid from all harm while Tranquility is channeled (was prevents Tranquility from being interrupted).
    • Floral Recycling’s (Conduit) healing bonus to Swiftmend is reduced by 50% in PvP combat.
• HUNTER
  • Mend Pet can no longer be removed by spells that remove Magic effects.
  • Fixed an issue where Hunters could capture flags in Battlegrounds while under the effects of Feign Death.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Feign Death with Craven Stratagem (Runecarving Power) to not remove Murder of Crows on the Feign Death’d Hunter.
  • BEAST MASTERY
    • Bestial Wrath increases damage dealt by 20% in PvP combat (was 25%).
    • Fixed an issue where Burrow Attack’s (Exotic Ability) cooldown was unintentionally reduced by Kindred Beasts (PvP Talent).
  • MARKSMANSHIP
    • Arcane Shot now deals 30% additional damage in PvP combat (was 20%).
    • Aimed Shot now deals 15% additional damage in PvP combat (was 10%).
    • Rapid Fire now deals 10% additional damage in PvP combat.
• MAGE
  • Triune Ward (Runecarving Power) now provides 35% barrier effectiveness in PvP combat (was 50%).
  • Fixed an issue where Mana Gem could not be used in rated battlegrounds and rated arenas.
  • ARCANE
    • Arcane Power can no longer be dispelled.
      • Developers’ note: In 9.1.5, Arcane Power, Icy Veins, Dark Soul: Misery, and Dark Soul: Instability will no longer be able to be dispelled. While many similar buffs (like Avenging Wrath) already cannot be dispelled, those of Mage and Warlock could still be removed because of their direct magical fantasy. We’ve found that the intended impact and play-vs-counterplay of these abilities are undermined when their effects are frequently removed via dispel.
        Combustion is intentionally excluded from this change because of balance concerns, but we may revisit that decision in a future patch.
  • FIRE
    • Fixed an issue where a Mage’s Ignite that was spread by Phoenix Flames could hit a Rogue while under the effect of Cloak of Shadows.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Ring of Fire (PvP Talent) to sometimes fail to apply to targets running through the ring.
  • FROST
    • Icy Veins can no longer be dispelled.
• MONK
  • Bonedust Brew (Necrolord Ability) now deals 33% less damage in PvP combat.
  • WINDWALKER
    • Dance of Chi’ji (Talent) procs now cause your next Spinning Crane Kick to deal 150% damage in PvP combat (was 200%).
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Wind Waker (PvP Talent) from correctly applying to allies.
• PALADIN
  • Auras are no longer removed when leaving battlegrounds or arenas.
• PRIEST
  • HOLY
    • Heal healing increased by 35% in PvP combat (was 20%).
    • Flash Heal healing increased by 30% in PvP combat (was 15%).
    • Renew healing increased by 15% in PvP combat.
• ROGUE
  • SUBTLETY
    • Fixed an issue where the target of Shadowy Duel (PvP Talent) would become invisible if the Rogue is under the effects of a Paladin’s Blessing of Protection when starting the duel.
• SHAMAN
  • Unleash Shield’s (PvP Talent) Earth Shield effect now roots targets for 4 seconds (was 3 seconds) and the Lightning Shield effect now knocks back enemies 33% farther.
• WARLOCK
  • Decimating Bolt’s (Necrolord Ability) damage bonus to Demonbolt, Shadow Bolt, or Incinerate can no longer be dispelled.
  • AFFLICTION
    • Death Bolt (PvP Talent) now deals 50% of remaining damage over time (was 40%) and can no longer critically strike. Additionally, the spell now reaches the target faster.
    • Rapid Contagion (PvP Talent) duration is now 20 seconds (was 15 seconds).
    • Dark Soul: Misery (Talent) can no longer be dispelled.
      • Developers’ note: In 9.1.5, Arcane Power, Icy Veins, Dark Soul: Misery, and Dark Soul: Instability will no longer be able to be dispelled. While many similar buffs (like Avenging Wrath) already cannot be dispelled, those of Mage and Warlock could still be removed because of their direct magical fantasy. We’ve found that the intended impact and play-vs-counterplay of these abilities are undermined when their effects are frequently removed via dispel.
  • DESTRUCTION
    • Bonds of Fel (PvP Talent) has been slightly redesigned – No longer snares the target and no longer splits damage with pets and guardians.
    • Dark Soul: Instability (Talent) can no longer be dispelled.
• WARRIOR
  • Elysian Might’s (Kyrian Runecarving Power) Critical Strike damage bonus reduced to 15% in PvP Combat (was 25%).

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PROFESSIONS

• Mining ore drop rates across all zones, including Elethium Ore, increased by 20%.
• Callous Hide and Heavy Callous Hide drop rate increased by 20%.
• Jewelcrafting Essence drop rate increased by 10%.
• Lightless Silk drop rate has been increased by 20%.

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QUESTS

• Alternate characters on an account can now choose to skip the introductory Shadowlands questline that takes place in the Maw by speaking to High Inquisitor Whitemane or Nazgrim after accepting the quest “Shadowlands: A Chilling Summons”. Please note that to enable the skip, you will need to have logged into a level 60 character who has completed the Maw introduction.
  • For those who have already begun the introductory Shadowlands questline, Jaina Proudmoore in the Forlorn Respite cave will offer to skip the rest of the introduction after the quest “A Flight From Darkness” is completed and before leaving the cave.
• Fixed an issue where Chief Murgut would not spawn during the Ashenvale quest “King of the Foulweald.”

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RUNECARVING

• The Runecarver will now offer to destroy an existing legendary item and return all of the Soul Ash or Soul Cinders that were spent to create the item.
• The drop rates of Runecarving recipes found in dungeons have been increased to 100% on all difficulties.

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THREADS OF FATE

• Tal-Inara now offers a Torghast, Tower of the Damned daily quest for experience and Soul Ash.
• Tal-Inara now offers a PvP Battlegrounds daily quest for experience and gear.
• Threads of Fate Bonus Objectives are now significantly shorter and award Renown.
• Threads of Fate Zone Objectives now reward higher item level gear and anima.

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TORGHAST, TOWER OF THE DAMNED

• Repeatedly completing Wings now awards the full amount of Soul Ash (up from 20% after the first clear).
• Repeatedly completing Wings now awards the full amount of Soul Cinders (up from none after the first clear).
• The Box of Many Things has relocated near the Wayfinder and Meeting Stone in Torghast.
• ANIMA POWERS
  • DEATH KNIGHT
    • Fixed an issue that was causing Rune Hunter to trigger too often.
  • HUNTER
    • Petrified Pet Food damage now correctly increases with each stack of the Anima Power.

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USER INTERFACE AND ACCESSIBILITY

• Updated the requirements to participate in the newcomer guide system, players can now opt-in after completing 3000 quests and reaching max-level.
• Improved gamepad compatibility, including support for touchpad and gyro.
• Mythic+ and PvP Ratings can now be shared through a chat link with Shift-Click.
• Item Upgrade UI has been reworked.
• Gold, Silver, and Copper now have new icons.
• The unread mail icon on the Character Select screen has returned.
• GROUP FINDER IMPROVEMENTS
  • Accounts now require an attached Battle.net Authenticator to post custom text when listing a group for Dungeons, Raids, or Rated PvP activities. All players may still search for and join others’ groups.
    • Developers’ note: A Group Finder that’s full of advertisements bothers us as much as it does you, but a challenge we’ve faced in trying to eliminate those ads is that they are often posted by compromised accounts or other throwaway accounts, such that penalties incurred by in-game reporting have not proven to be an effective deterrent. And regardless, relying on reports still means that some number of players have their experience disrupted by the spam before it gets reported. The Battle.net Authenticator is available for mobile devices and is a simple and convenient way to secure your World of Warcraft account, but if you prefer not to use it for whatever reason, you will still be able to post groups that will have descriptions auto-populated (e.g. based on raid name and difficulty selected in UI dropdowns, or derived from the Mythic Keystone currently in your bags). Our goal is to clean up the Group Finder while trying to minimize the inconvenience to ordinary players.
  • Search now allows a numeric range (i.e. search “5-9” finds M+ key levels from 5 to 9).
  • Autofill group finder information based on the creator’s keystone. The information can still be manually entered.
  • Group creators can now set a minimum Mythic+ or PvP rating requirement for applicants.
  • Group creators can now select a playstyle to set expectations for their group.
  • PvP Rating will now display when browsing for Rated PvP entries and in the applicant window.
  • Group creators are now able to browse listings.
  • PvP categories now use the player’s PvP Item Level instead of their regular Item Level.
• IMPROVED CHAT REPORTING FEEDBACK
  • Added confirmations for players who report misbehavior in chat, as well as for those who are likely to be reported.
  • When you report a player for verbal harassment or other disruptive chat in-game, we will notify you when action is taken against the player.
  • When we notice that your behavior has moderately changed for the worse, we will send you a warning message so that you can modify your behavior before receiving a penalty.
  • In cases where acutely inappropriate behavior is observed, the system may skip warning the player and take action immediately.
  • /ignore now blocks all characters on the ignored player’s WoW account.
• Text-to-Speech settings saved on server and added an option to also save the settings account-wide.
• Option to add voice transcription output to any chat frame and change the font color.
• The size of the cursor can now be increased in the Accessibility menu.
• Summon Random Favorite Mounts will now summon a random mount if no mounts are favorited.
• Added a flying mount filter in the Mount Collection.
• New Transmogrifier cursor icon.
• New default backpack bag icon.
• New character customization options will be marked by a “NEW” tag in character creation and the Barbershop.
• The Adventure Guide loot pane now separates normal loot from bonus loot to indicate that they don’t compete with each other as drops.
• The “PvP talent is available” helptip will now only appear in War Mode and PvP instances.
• Enemy and boss dialogue options have been added to Text to Speech settings.
• A helptip has been added to highlight the Reagent Bank.
• You can now access the Recruit A Friend pane by typing /raf
• A shorter alternative command has been added for Ready Check: /rc
• A shorter alternative command has been added for Countdown: /cd [seconds]
• Several emotes have been adjusted:
  • Drool, cough, burp, fart, whistle, spit, and moon no longer change when used while targeting a player.
  • Pounce and groan have been adjusted when used while targeting a player.
  • 4 new emotes have been added – Huzzah, magnificent, impressed, and wince.
  • Kick, stink, shake, and moan have been removed.
    • Developers’ note: Some of these emotes seem to have harmless intentions at a glance, but when used while targeting another player, their intentions can turn unexpectedly suggestive or intrusive. We’ve made adjustments to these emotes with negative connotations towards another player, while also adding a few new ones.

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WOW COMPANION APP

• Warlords of Draenor missions are now accessible for players who have unlocked the Warlords of Draenor Garrison and Command Table in game. Players can send followers on Command Table missions, view follower information, and equip follower items from the app.