‘World of Warcraft’ DLC release date, gameplay: New starting adventure goes live with ‘Shadowlands’ expansion

One of the first things confirmed about the next “World of Warcraft” expansion, titled “Shadowlands,” is that it will introduce a level squish for all players. This is related to the new starting adventure that Blizzard has recently discussed giving fans more insight into how they will begin playing the game whether they are a new or a veteran player.

‘World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ to introduce a new starting adventure for everyone

Crucial to this new starting adventure is the in-game location called Exile’s Reach where all players will land once they start the next expansion. This is an important stage of “World of Warcraft: Shadowlands,” especially for the newcomers as it is filled with challenges designed to familiarize them with the gameplay mechanics and to teach them how to navigate their character skills.

Starting adventure in “World of Warcraft: Shadowlands” can be different for new and veteran players, too. The stages newcomers will go through are uniform while veterans will have a little more freedom. New players will be required to play level 1-10 in Exile’s Reach, but long-time players can opt out of this new starting experience.

Exile’s Reach’s final challenge includes a mini-dungeon mission that can be played by 1-5 players where they will have to defeat to boss enemies. Once completed, newcomers and veterans will have different options as well.

New players will be directly brought to “Battle for Azeroth” where they can continue their adventure and level up to 50 before they could reach “World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.” Veterans or anyone who have leveled up a character before can choose to go directly to “Battle for Azeroth” or pick a different expansion by talking to Chromie.

Whichever way veteran players choose to move forward in the next expansion, everyone will spend level 51-60 in “World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.” Also, note that the level cap will be set at 60 in the next expansion.

‘World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ release date

“World of Warcraft: Shadowlands” was the main attraction during the BlizzCon 2019, and the next expansion is promised to be released within this year. Blizzard has yet to announce a specific launch schedule. But the expansion has already been given a placeholder of “on or before December 31, 2020” on its Battle.net pre-purchase page.