Update #2: As of today, October 14, the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre-patch is now live across all regions.
For a quick recap, this means that characters have had their level squished down to a maximum of 50 while multiple class changes are now available to try out on live servers.
The new leveling experience and Exile’s Reach starter area have both been introduced, alongside tons of new customization options for the game’s different races.
The Scourge Invasion pre-patch event will follow closer to the expansion’s currently unknown release date.
Update: Blizzard has announced that the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre-patch release date is Tuesday, October 13. The expansion will no longer launch on October 27, being slated for “later this year”.
“In the meantime, we’re excited to announce that beginning October 13 we will be releasing the Shadowlands pre-patch, which lays a lot of the groundwork for the expansion and includes our revamped character leveling, new-player experience on Exile’s Reach, and a host of new character customization options. And once we get closer to Shadowlands’ release, you’ll be called upon to defend Azeroth against a resurgence of the Scourge during our pre-launch event.” Executive Producer John Hight wrote in a post.
Original: As World of Warcraft: Shadowlands draws closer, Blizzard has pushed the MMORPG’s pre patch 9.01 on the PTR.
Curious players who aren’t averse to spoilers can now test and provide feedback ahead of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ pre patch release date by downloading the game’s separate PTR client and hopping in.
This marks a pretty important moment as far as World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ beta testing goes, as pre patch 9.0.1 will be pushed to live servers a couple of weeks before the expansion proper releases, meaning we could be quite close to that date.
World of Warcraft Shadowlands Pre Patch Release Date
Like other pre patches before it, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre patch 9.0.1’s release date will introduce a good chunk of the system changes that will shape the upcoming expansion, giving players time to familiarize themselves with what’s to come.
On the forums, Blizzard has revealed the new additions that are now available as part of the Shadowlands pre-patch 9.0.1 PTR run:
- Core Class Updates
- In-Game Navigation Improvements
- The New Player Experience
- Character Creation and Character Customization
- The limited-time Scourge Invasion
To try out the new content, you’ll need to accept the quest titled “An Urgent Request”.
When World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ pre patch will hit live servers, it will also remove the Corruption system that’s currently replacing Titanforging.
Although we don’t yet have an official Shadowlands pre-patch release date, we could see it hitting live servers as early as 6 or 4 weeks prior to the expansion’s launch.
With Shadowlands going live on October 27 and WoW’s weekly reset taking place on a Tuesday (US) and Wednesday (EU), we could see the Shadowlands pre-patch dropping as early as September 22 (US) and September 23 (EU).
When it launches, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands will introduce a swathe of new content including the Shadowlands themselves – depicting Azeroth’s take on the afterlife –, Covenants, and the rogue-lite Torghast dungeon.
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