World of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre-expansion patch notes are live

The update itself will go live on October 13
Patch notes have been released for the pre-Shadowlands update
Blizzard Entertainment
Jack Webb @JackWebb9216 October 2020

Despite the delay to World of Warcraft's next huge expansion pack, there are a lot of changes coming to the game before the full release of Shadowlands.

This pre-expansion patch is set to arrive in WoW on Tuesday, October 13, with a lot of tweaks to make the overall experience fresh for veteran players and more accessible to new ones.

Following on from the last expansion, the world of Azeroth is in a bit of a pickle. A certain mischievous someone has pierced the veil between the world and the realm of the dead, which has, in turn, upset the balance of the two.

There will be a Halloween-themed event taking place in-game soon with the update, as well as an optional brand new starting area and experience for all races.

Here are the full pre-Shadowlands patch notes:

Death Rising event

This will only be live until the launch of Shadowlands. The release date was initially set for October 27, but since a delay, there is currently no replacement date in mind.

Considering how this pre-patch is going live October 13, we can probably expect to see Shadowlands arrive in November.

During the event, players must fend off an undead invasion from the Scourge pouring out of the frozen lands of Northrend.

You'll be tasked with a quest to establish a camp in Icecrown, the former Lich King's domain. It is here where the barrier between Azeroth and the land of the dead has been disturbed...

By logging in and taking part, you can earn special limited-time rewards.

Levelling, items and stat changes

Interestingly, one big change coming in this update before Shadowlands drops is a huge adjustment to levelling.

If you're currently playing WoW you'll know that the level cap is at 120, but Shadowlands is going to be the first expansion to introduce something of a level 'squish'.

The Death Rising event will run until Shadowlands launches
Blizzard Entertainment

Players who reached level 120 will have their character's level reduced to level 50, with level 60 being the new cap just like it was in 2004 when the game first launched.

A blog post explained that this is to make the levelling experience 'more meaningful' while also being able to make levelling faster than before.

This means that items and other stats will be reduced as well, but it stands to reason that characters will be just as powerful at level 50 as they are at 120.

New customisation options and barber changes

For the first time in a long while, WoW's character customisation is getting an overhaul with a brand new interface and more options to choose from.

Some of the new customisation options
Blizzard Entertainment

You can select eye colours, new skin tones, hairstyles and colours. All of these options in the new character creator will be available at Barber Shops in the game, which also now allows Druid classes to choose the appearance of their shape-shifting forms.

There will also be a new option in the game to change your gender, seemingly at any time in a barbershop.

With these changes, the paid 'Appearance Change' service will no longer be sold in the in-game shop.

Brand new starting area

Exile's Reach is a brand new area for players old and new to have a fresh experience when making a new character for Shadowlands.

As you might expect from a starting area, you'll be walked through the basics of how to play and all the game's systems.

This does mean that if you're totally new to World of Warcraft and have never created a character, you will automatically begin your journey here, as opposed to the various homelands of each race.

Once you hit level 10, you will begin your journey into Azeroth and further still into the Shadowlands expansion.

The new starting area, Exile's Reach
Blizzard Entertainment

If you have played before and levelled a character, you have the option to start in Exile's Reach or you can begin at your normal starting area.

Class change notes

Every class in the game and their subclasses are all being tweaked.

There are so many changes to each of the classes that you'd be better off referring to this handy table made up by Blizzard detailing all the tweaks, nerfs and additions.

Blizzard has detailed some general sweeping changes to everything, which you can see below:

General

  • Most non-periodic damage or healing abilities on all classes will have a 5% variance on each individual use.
  • Power Word: Fortitude, Arcane Intellect, and Battle Shout give 5% of their respective stats (was 10%).
  • Area target spells can now be cast at the player's position using self-cast modifier keys.
  • Abilities (like Mortal Strike or Wound Poison) that reduce the healing received by a target have had their effectiveness doubled against creatures. The value of these abilities will remain the same against players.
    • Warrior, Hunter, Monk: Mortal Wounds now reduces healing taken by 50% (25% against players).
    • Rogue: Wound Poison now reduces healing taken by 8% per stack (4% against players).
    • Warlock: Mortal Cleave/Legion Strike now reduces healing taken by 20% (10% against players).
  • Many area-of-effect abilities have had their damage and their maximum number of targets adjusted.

One big specific change which immediately stands out of Warriors is the Whirlwind ability nerf, which will no longer hit every single enemy in range and is instead capped at 5 targets.

Timewalking Campaigns

If you've completed the Battle for Azeroth expansion and reached level 50 on at least one character, you can choose to level other characters you make in a completely different way by using the game's previous expansions.

Timewalking Campaigns is a new feature which will let you play content from locations like Northrend or Pandaria, which are normally for high-level characters, as early as level 10.

It works by scaling the locations to your character's level, which means you'll be able to quest from level 10 to 50 solely by using this feature spanning the major expansions in modern WoW.

To start this, just visit Chromie near embassies in Stormwind or Orgimmar to choose the expansion you want to level in – you can change your chosen expansion at any time.

There are a couple of other changes to PvP (player vs player) as the season will end when the pre-patch goes live, as well as some tweaks to enemy abilities in dungeons and raids.

This update, which is coming on October 13, is for the express reason to get the game in the pre-Shadowlands version, which might mean we can expect to see the expansion sooner rather than later.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in