Game of the month – World of Warcraft Shadowlands

Take on monstrous creatures beyond the world of the living

Text:
Daniel Haaf

Published:
1 December 2020

Blizzard Entertainment has launched its new World of Warcraft expansion. The expansion is called Shadowlands and it takes us to the realms beyond the living world that is normally hidden from our heroes.

Following the story where Sylvana’s Windrunner has shattered the invisible barrier between Azeroth and Shadowlands, it’s the heroes’ mission to get past the barrier and meet the monstrous creatures that are there.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is a massive expansion with major changes that will appeal to both new and old players.

Among other things, Shadowlands has a new system for how the characters move up in level, six new areas within Shadowlands and four new factions that you can ally with. Shadowlands also introduces a new resource called anima. Anima you collect during the game and can be used by the faction you have allied with for various benefits.

Shadowlands also has new, challenging, so-called dungeons and raids. These are special areas of World of Warcraft where you join other players to take on creatures and collect armour, weapons and other magical items that make your character stronger. As your character becomes more powerful, the game unlocks new, more difficult dungeons and raids with better objects to find.

Where can I buy World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Game type: MMORPG
Game time: Endless
Download size: Approx 100 GB
System: PC
Variants: Base, Heroic Edition, Epic Edition
Difficult degree: As easy or challenging as you want it to be
Game world: Open
Launch date: 23rd November 2020

Torgast, Tower of the Damned, is the first endless dungeon that can be played for as long as you can stay alive. The dungeon’s appearance changes for each replay, with new rooms and challenges. You can play Torgast again and again as long as you want and have the energy for, and in addition you’ll have a chance of getting those extra cool rewards.
If you haven’t got a high-level character when you start playing the new expansion you have to get up to level 50 before Shadowlands opens for you. Between level 1 and 50 you’ll get a new, improved experience with an introduction to World of Warcraft and its long history. Choose yourself how far back in time you want to go.
Necrolord, Kyrian, Night Fae and Venthyr. Depending on what faction you choose to join and in which class you play, you’ll get unique missions, transmogs, mounts and different properties. Each faction also has unique activities that can be reached when your character has reached later parts of Shadowlands.

The Anima resource is completely new to Shadowlands and can only be found in the four areas that make up the expansion. Amina is used to, amongst other things, make your soulbind stronger. You can only collect a certain amount of amina every day, so forget the endless search for the resource, as with azerite.
Soulbinding is a new property that you gain access to when you’ve chosen a faction in Shadowlands. You choose a character to commit to and then you’ll get new properties/qualities that will help you in your quests and exploration of the expansion.
With Shadowlands it’s possible to change your characters’ appearances to a much greater extent than before. There are now more eye colours, skin tones, embellishments and hairstyles to choose from. Exactly what’s new differs a bit between the different races in World of Warcraft.

Differences between the editions

There are three digital editions of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. The cheapest basic version, the Base Edition, only contains the expansions. If you want extra items such as fast-tracking your character to level 120, a flying mount or a unique mission, the slightly more expensive Heroic Edition is what you should get. The most expensive and content-rich edition is called Epic Edition. With this you’ll get everything mentioned above plus a unique weapon effect, 30 days playing time and a special pet.

Computer requirements to be able to play Shadowlands

To be able to play Shadowlands you’ll need a computer that runs Windows 7 / macOS 10.21 or later.

At a minimum the computer must have 4 GB of RAM and use either an Intel Core i5-3450 or AMD FX 8300 processor. It requires a Nvidia Geforce GTX 760/750M, an AMD Radeon RX 560 or an Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics card. These are fairly low minimum requirements with components from 2012 and 2013. Shadowlands is playable at this level, but the graphics quality will suffer, as will the gaming experience.

The recommended requirements are significantly higher. For a better experience your computer should have 8 GB of RAM and an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 processor. The graphics card should be a GTX 1080, Radeon RX Vega 64 or better.

Games worth mentioning launched in Autumn 2020

FIFA 21

EA Games has launched FIFA 21 which is the 27th game in the popular football series. If you haven’t played FIFA for a while, it’s time to dust off your controller and put it on charge, there are a lot of new features that FIFA 21 has to offer its players.

A new feature is the improved system for dribbling. There are now more ways than ever to get past your opponents’ defensive positions. FIFA 21 also has an improved positional game which gives a greater depth to the matches than has previously been possible. Quite simply, you’ll have more control over the game.

The game’s physics have also improved a lot. Collisions are more natural and when several players try to reach the ball at the same time, less chaos occurs than before. Other improvements worth mentioning is how EA Games has optimised how players pass, block and react to different situations, all to give a generally better experience.

Here you’ll find the FIFA 21 for PC, Xbox One / Series, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

After the success of Origins and Odessey comes Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Take on the role as Eivor, a Norwegian Viking who, together with her brother Sigurd, takes on Anglo-Saxon England with axes and swords.

As with the predecessors, the Origins and Odyssey, you’ll get a huge, open world to explore. You can stick to the main quests to get further into the story, or tackle lots of side quests for different character rewards.

Another new feature is the possibility to freely choose between a male and a female main character whenever you want. Another of many innovations is that during the game you build and upgrade a settlement that acts as a central starting point for your raids.

Here you’ll find Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for Xbox One / Series, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5.