Things to do before Shadowlands Release

With the launch of the alfa-test for the new expansion, the days of the Battle for Azeroth became numbered, which means, it’s the right time to sum up all the things we are to do before the actual release, so let’s get started.

Shadowlands Release Date

The exact date of the release remains unknown, yet we can make reasonable assumptions. The novel called Shadows Rising that describes the occurrences taking place in-between the BfA and the Shadowlands will be published on July, 14. The pre-patch should come live soon after; say the beginning of the fall. And there are always a couple of months till the launch of the expansion. These simple calculations give us an approximate release date – closer to the end of the year. And so we have about a half of the year to get ready for Shadowlands. Below you will see a list of things that should be done before the release, as they will be much harder to accomplish or even removed from the game.

Terrible news, everyone!

Removed in Shadowlands

This is a list of achievements and items, which will be impossible to obtain once the Shadowlands reach our screens.

Ahead of the Curve

The Ahead of the Curve: N’Zoth the Corruptor achievement is given to any player who defeats the last boss of current expansion N’Zoth the Corruptor in Ny’alotha Raid on at least Heroic difficulty. This achievement will become unobtainable with the release of the Shadowlands.

Ahead of the Curve Meaning

These types of achievements were put into operation during the Mists of Pandaria expansion. To get any of them a player should have defeated certain raid bosses, usually the most difficult ones, on Heroic difficulty before any game renovations, such as more powerful armor or further Patches. Each time such renovations appeared, current achievement became unavailable, and the only place you could find them ever since is Feats of Strength category in the Achievements window.

Cutting Edge Achievements

The very same situation formed with the Cutting Edge type of achievements. The requirements, however, are even harder to fulfill. Unlike the above mentioned, here players are to be victorious over certain raids on Mythic difficulty, which is far more challenging. Cutting Edge: N’Zoth the Corruptor is the current achievement and the players may obtain it only until Shadowlands launches.

Brawler’s Guild

All the achievements related to the fourth season of the Brawler’s Guild will be moved to the Legacy category and become impossible to get. This is the list of such achievements:

Brawler for Azeroth (Alliance)

Brawler for Azeroth (Horde)

Both have title Brawler <name> as a reward.

Not only achievements will become unavailable with the release of Shadowlands – the mount, called Bruce will be lost forever as well. It resembles the very first boss of the Brawler’s Guild and players can get it after completing several quests within the Guild.

Mighty Caravan Brutosaur

The biggest, the tallest, the long-necked, and certainly, the most expensive mount throughout the Azeroth – the Mighty Caravan Brutosaur will also become impossible to buy. As was previously announced by Blizzard, you won’t be able to buy it with vendors anymore. However, there will still be a chance to find it on the Black Market; though no one would guarantee even prices. Some players expect the prizes to be equal to the current gold cup. We highly recommend getting this mount now, until it is still possible in case you are interested in. Feel free to check our short review to learn more about this amazing dinosaur.

5 millions of gold is huge price! But you can buy some gold at Overgear to afford a Mighty Caravan Brutosaur!

Mythic Plus

The majority of dungeons have several well-known levels of difficulty: Normal, Heroic, and Mythic. The Legion brought us a peculiar combination of time run challenging mode with a number of difficulty levels that is called Mythic Plus. The higher is the level of the dungeon, the harder it is to finish, obviously, but the better is the reward. Check our full and complete guide concerning Mythic+ dungeons to learn all the details. Battle for Azeroth has brought some renovations to this system, and now we have Mythic Seasons, each with its challenges and rewards.

The Awakened

<name> the Awakened title is the reward that goes together with the Battle for Azeroth Keystone Conqueror: Season Four achievement. To get this achievement the player should complete all 12 Battle for Azeroth Season Four dungeons at Mythic level 10 or higher within the time limit. Note that both title and the achievement will become unobtainable with the start of the new Patch.

The Awakened Mindborer

The fourth M+ Season is marked with the very first mount in this category – the Awakened Mindborer. This flying worm is a reward for the Battle for Azeroth Keystone Master: Season Four achievement. The achievement and the mount are given to players after they finish all 12 BfA dungeons at Mythic level 15 or higher within the given time limit. Unfortunately, both of them will be impossible to get once the Shadowlands launches.

Phenomenal Cosmic Power Achievement

Phenomenal Cosmic Power is a very difficult achievement to earn. And it gets even more difficult considering the fact we haven’t much time left to fulfill all the requirements, as it will become unobtainable with the pre-patch most probably. And you sure are to make efforts to achieve your goal for you are to get rank 4 of all of your role’s Essences for the Heart of Azeroth artifact, which is not easy at all. The most troublesome parts are the above-described Battle for Azeroth Keystone Master: Season Four achievement and a needed PvP rating above 2400. Luckily no Essences from Patch 8.3 are required.

This achievement is placed into the Feats of Strength category and rewards the player with the account-wide <name>, Azeroth’s Champion title.

Uncorrupted Voidwing

Another unique mount that will disappear forever in Patch 9.0 is the Uncorrupted Voidwing. Fortunately, we still have some time left to complete the Ny’alotha raid on Heroic difficulty. Right after N’zoth is defeated, players will receive a Spawn of Vexiona item, that starts a quest called Lost Flight. This very quest rewards players with the mount under discussion.

Harder to do in Shadowlands

Though lots of items and achievements will become impossible to get with the release of Shadowlands, some of them will remain in the game, even though it will become much more difficult to obtain them. The main reason under these complications is the new content, as everyone will be concentrated on exploring new territories and activities, and there will be simply no opportunities to find a group to your needs. We gathered the main issues, which might cause you troubles in the Patch 9.0. Make sure you have completed as many tasks as possible till the launch of the new expansion, as there are no guarantees you will be able to do them in the near future otherwise.

Glacial Tidestorm, Mythic Jaina Mount

Glacial Tidestorm is a very unique mount with the only resemblance – Shaman class mount from the Legion expansion. Glacial Tidestorm drops from the last boss Lady Jaina Proudmoore in the Battle of Dazar’alor Raid only on Mythic difficulty. Right now the chances are equal to 100%; what’s more, Jaina has two such elementals in pockets for one full raid party. Such a freebie, unfortunately, will last only until the release of the Shadowlands. Right after the chances will sink to usual ~1%.

Ny’alotha Allseer, Mythic N’zoth Mount

Ny’alotha Allseer mount drops from N’Zoth the Corruptor – the final boss of the Ny’alotha the Waking City raid on Mythic difficulty. Similar to the previous mount, this one has a 100% drop chance these days, which will change as soon as the new expansion launches.

Island Expeditions

Battle for Azeroth has given us a new in-game activity called Island Expeditions. This is a special scenario for a group of three people with dozens of different rewards, like battle Pets, Transmogrification Sets, Toys, Mounts, and achievements. Feel free to check our complete guide upon this subject. With the launch of the new expansion, Expeditions will become less crowded and you might spend much more time in queue, so the possibility to get the reward you want vanishes. The most difficult part comes when speaking of Mythic difficulty and PvP related Expeditions, as they require pre-formed groups to enter.

War Campaign

The War Campaign is a major questline that expands across the whole Battle for Azeroth expansion. The main idea of developers is to show the one and the same conflict from different points of view, that’s why this time we have two diverse stories, each of which takes place in its locations, has its main characters, dramas, and results.

Those who complete both Campaigns will be rewarded with special Two Sides to Every Tale achievement (and maybe Double Agent if it is your first time). The rewards are two mounts: Bloodflank Charger (Horde) and Ironclad Frostclaw (Alliance). Getting these four-legged animals into your collection wouldn’t be easy when the new expansion launches. The problem will be the same – the lack of people interested in the old content. Some parts of the Two Sides to Every Tale meta-achievement require entering raids, which will not be yet possible to do solo.

Warfronts

Warfronts are one of the innovations, introduced to players during BfA. This is a PvE group scenario, inspired by the famous strategy Warcraft III. There are two Warfronts in the game, each with its aims and rewards. The rewards are quite numerous, including Mounts, Pets, Toys, Transmogrification Sets, and dozens of different achievements. Players may also collect either Honorbound Service Medal for the Horde or the 7th Legion Service Medal for the Alliance. Both currencies are used to buy rather useful items, including Heirlooms, toys, Mounts, and Draught of Ten Lands. Check our Warfront guide to learn more. The main problem that will occur once Shadowlands release – the absence of ones who wish to take part in Warfronts, as they require up to 20 people (premade in Heroics) to enter. What’s more, a concrete zone loot lockout resets only when your faction reconquers it, which currently happens roughly once a month, but could take even longer in Shadowlands with fewer players donating resources.

Battle for Stromgarde

Horde and Alliance variants of this Warfront take place in Arathi Highlands. You must be level 120 and ilvl at least 320 to queue for this encounter. There is a World Boss to conquer, lots of rare creatures to find, quests to complete, and rewards to gather. The rewards are large in number and quality; from toys, like Brazier Cap to Mounts, like Witherbark Direwing. Lots of achievements are included, of course.

Battle for Darkshore

Overgear is pleased to introduce you to the full Darkshore Warfront Guide, where you can find all the relevant information concerning this in-game event including storyline and rewards (just watch this amazing Ashenvale Chimaera). Remember to finish all the Warfront activities before the new expansion launches, as it will be much harder to complete afterward.

Servant of N’zoth

Servant of N’Zoth is a very interesting achievement to earn. To get it, you should firstly kill 10 players of the opposite faction without dying, then 10 players of YOUR OWN faction also without dying even once. Be very cautious while hunting your friends, as you become vulnerable to literally everyone! By finishing this extraordinary objective you will be granted with the <name>, Servant of N’Zoth title. This unique achievement is placed in the Feats of Strength category and will be extremely difficult to get when the new Patch releases.

Glory of the Raider

The majority of achievements of this group are possible to earn solo, with certain exceptions like Soft Hands for example. Unfortunately, the BfA raid achievements will still be impossible to do alone. Anyone who wants to get them will need to gather a party, which will be very hard to do, as one half of players have made them already, and the other half isn’t interested in it.

Glory of the Uldir Raider

To do Glory of the Uldir Raider complete the Uldir raid achievements listed below.

You will receive: Bloodgorged Crawg

The most difficult one is the Existential Crisis. A small tip: dismiss ALL pets.

Glory of the Dazar’alor Raider

To do Glory of the Dazar’alor Raider complete the Battle of Dazar’alor raid achievements listed below.

You will receive: Dazar’alor Windreaver

The one that will definitely be hard to do afterwards is Snow Fun Allowed, as it requires three people to work together.

Glory of the Eternal Raider

To do Glory of the Eternal Raider complete the Eternal Palace raid achievements listed below.

You will receive: Azshari Bloatray

Check Overgear’s complete overview for more details.

Glory of the Ny’alotha Raider

To do Glory of the Ny’alotha Raider complete Ny’alotha, the Waking City raid achievements listed below.

You will receive: Wriggling Parasite

If you need any of these Glories you can buy them right now at Overgear! Join the pro raid and don’t waste your time with pugs.

Glory of the Wartorn Hero

To do Glory of the Wartorn Hero complete the Battle for Azeroth Mythic dungeon achievements listed below.

You will receive: Reins of the Obsidian Krolusk

The most difficult one is and will be Losing My Profession as it requires summoning concrete creatures by players with concrete professions. All the professions must be raised up to 75 BfA skill points or higher.

Conqueror of Azeroth

PvP achievements will also become harder to earn for the same reason: fewer people will be interested in outdated PvP content. Many criteria for both meta-achievements Conqueror of Azeroth (Horde) and Conqueror of Azeroth (Alliance) require slaying enemy players in BfA zones, which will become less and less crowded with each following expansion. Try to fulfill all the requirements now, while Shadowlands is still under production.

Apart from the achievement itself, you will get the <name>, Conqueror of Azeroth title, and the Conqueror’s Scythemaw mount, which is owned by only 3% of all players according to Wowhead. Make haste and collect unique rewards!

Horrific Visions

There isn’t any concrete information concerning Horrific Visions and their destiny in the Shadowlands yet, however, there’s a possibility that part of the content won’t be obtainable any longer. Mad World and maybe Through the Depths of Visions achievements together with the Black Serpent of N’Zoth mount are likely to stay exclusive to BfA expansion. Note that these achievements are quite tough and will surely take some time. Read our Patch 8.3 Overview to learn all the nuances.

Leveling Characters

Now is just the right time to level up all characters, which were left aside for various reasons, as Blizzard has presented players a handy Winds of Wisdom buff, which increases the experience gained by 100%. The most splendid point is that it stacks with ALL other experience buffs, whether it is a potion like Draught Of Ten Lands, a class skill like Enlightenment, or Heirloom items. Though, it doesn’t seem to stack with the experience gained from Pet Battles or Pet Masters’s daily quests. This buff will work before the pre-patch.

The author of this video has surprised the community with the truly high-speed leveling. He managed to raise his Monk from level 15 to 100 in two hours using the combination of buffs.

Leveling alts

Winds of Wisdom buff lets players level up characters at the highest possible speed. This is especially useful for rising up new alts, as some achievements and rewards require passing the whole way of leveling.

With the launch of Visions of N’Zoth, players who had pre-purchased Shadowlands can create Pandaren and Allied Race Death Knights. And just in time, as currently, Death Knights start at level 55 and Demon Hunters at level 98. However, in the new expansion, both classes will start at level 8, equivalent to level 20 in BfA. That means that Death Knights and Demon Hunters created before Patch 9.0 have a higher base level than their future Shadowlands counterparts.

Prepare your characters

The professional items and new heirloom gear (Warfronts related one) are now very easy to get; the Auction House prices are at the lowest possible level as well. This all means it’s just the time to buy all the equipment, armor, and whatever other items needed to successfully start a new expansion in full possession.

Allied Races Unlocks

Battle for Azeroth expansion has given us many new playable races. Each of them, however, requires Exalted reputation status with the corresponding faction and completion of the related story quests to be unlocked. Luckily these conditions are fulfilled automatically while players progress through the BfA content. Check our Allied Races overview to learn everything about them.

Heritage Armor

Almost every WoW race now has the Heritage Armor that reflects its unique features and living habits. Allied races can unlock their sets by leveling a character to level 110 without the use of the Recruit-A-Friend extra level bonus, Character Boost, Race Change, or Faction Change services. In this case, the Winds of Wisdom buff is extremely useful and will serve you just right so do not miss a chance.

Core races can unlock their set by earning Exalted reputation with their respective racial faction on any max level character and completing a short racial questline. Note that other races cannot wear this armor.

Choose your way of leveling with Overgear!

Legion Content

The time left until the release of the new addon is just perfect for catching up on anything you have missed in previous expansions, like achievements, questlines, or collections. For instance, those who haven’t played during Legion have a wonderful opportunity to explore Broken Isles, discover the story of Illidan Stormrage, find the roots of the Legion invasion, and learn why we have an enormous sword sticks out in Silithus. Tons of unique rewards are waiting for you, from toys and achievements to gorgeous artifact appearances and majestic riding creatures.

Balance of Power

The Balance of Power considers being one of the most exhausting questlines in Legion, as it consists of 35 quests of various difficulties. You are to finish certain dungeons on Mythic difficulty, pay a visit to a couple of raids on normal difficulty or higher, rise reputation with several Legion factions, and have patience, as it will take a couple of months. The costs will be paid off, however, for you will receive Improving On History achievement (and like dozens of others in the process) and open up the third tab for the Artifact appearances. Unfortunately, each alt of yours has to complete this storyline again to receive new Artifact appearances. But luckily, they all may be transmoged to BfA weapon.

Note: make sure you wear your Legion Artifact before the final ritual starts.

Class Hall Mounts

All classes in Legion can get special class mounts. All of them have a unique appearance and resemble the class idea they are related to. To unlock class mounts players have to take several steps, such as getting the achievement Breaching the Tomb or complete the Class Hall Campaign. The Assault on Broken Shore must be also done beforehand. Some classes have further mount tint variations according to different specs. Other classes can purchase additional mounts of the same kind (e.g. Hellblazing Reins of the Brimstone Wrathsteed for Warlocks), pets (e.g. Ban-Fu, Cub of Ban-Lu for Monks), or toys (e.g. A Tiny Set Of Warglaives for Demon Hunters).

Tip 1: use the timer feature on your game clock to keep tracking table missions.

Tip 2: There is no need in getting the Power Ascended achievement for purchasing additional items any longer.

Lucid Nightmare

Lucid Nightmare is a secret mount added in Legion. To get it players must solve riddles similar to Kosumoth the Hungering, Riddler’s Mind-Worm, and Sun Darter Hatchling. Large groups of players from all over the world struggled over these puzzles for several months, until they finally found a solution to each of them. But even though the main strategy isn’t a secret anymore, each one who wants to get this mount has to finish certain steps by themselves. The majority of troubles are connected with the Endless Halls – a maze that is unique for each player. We recommend using either a special add-on or a paper/pencil combination. Lucid Nightmare is definitely worth all the efforts, as it is black, has unique /mountspecial animation and according to some sources will fly in Shadowlands.

Get your Lucid Nightmare with Overgear help.

Ratstallion

Ratstallion is a very unique mount, as there is only one in-game resembles – Squeakers, The Trickster. Ratstallion lives in Dalaran Underbelly and is a reward for the Underbelly Tycoon achievement. The idea is to gather 20000 of Sightless Eye, but there is a cap of 5000, so don’t be greedy and spend them every once in a while. There are two ways of collecting coins – PvE and PvP activities. Either way will bring the required amount of them, though PvP may take more time since there aren’t many people interested. Check vendors in Underbelly carefully, as they sell Sewer-Pipe Jelly and professional recipes among other items. The mount will not be automatically added into your collection – check the mail to receive it.

Snowfeather Hunter

Snowfeather Hunter is one of four identical mounts, which are given to a player after they finish a long questline given by Snowfeather Hatchling. Your story begins when you find this pet during the Snowfeather Swarm! world quest and feed it with the Smoked Elderhorn. All the following quests will be connected with pet battles located within Broken Isles.

Tip: make sure your Snowfeather Hatchling is summoned BEFORE you start each quest, otherwise it will not be taken into account.

Once the Snowfeather Hunter is received, go to Aviana in Highmountain. You will be given access to a new hidden faction called Talon’s Vengeance. Earn the Exalted reputation status and buy another mount – Ivory Hawkstrider.

Snowfeather Hunter has three siblings: Viridian Sharptalon, Brilliant Direbeak, and Predatory Bloodgazer. To get each of them, players should complete the above-written tasks.

WoW Classic

Opposite to all expectations, World of Warcraft Classic is still very popular and is not going to lose its positions. There still are realms with long queues and even layers in almost a year after release! There are dozens of different activities in Classic despite the lack of content (in comparison to retail) and you always find yourself busy with something. The content Phase 4 has been released in April, which includes Arathi Basin battleground, Green Dragons outdoor bosses, the famous Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza event, and Zul’Gurub instance. The actual Vanilla experience, the Corrupted Blood Plague did not return, as the bug which allowed the incident to occur was fixed before the Classic reference client Patch 1.12.

Two of the rarest mounts ever Swift Zulian Tiger and Swift Razzashi Raptor are now available to collect inside Zul’Gurub. Note that every race may ride them. Another remarkable loot from this raid is The Twin Blades Of Hakkari, which consider being BiS items for Hunters. Check our guides and reviews concerning WoW Classic to stay informed.

Now is just the time to start playing or return to WoW Classic, as the community prepares to the greatest and the most significant event – the opening of Ahn’Qiraj gates. Everyone who has The Scepter of the Shifting Sands item will be able to get the only legendary mount in the game – Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal.

WoW Classic PvP Ranks

The PvP system in Classic differs dramatically from the one we’ve got accustomed to. It is far more complicated, needs taking part in Open World PvP events, lots of mathematical calculations, and an indescribable amount of time spent on Battlegrounds. The higher is the rank you are interested in, the more you have to do to reach it. The Vanilla statistics say that among everyone who had ever killed another player, less than 0.1% had made it up to the end. But the harder is the goal, the more we want to achieve it, don’t we? There are 14 PvP Ranks available in Classic. Each gives you rewards and titles. Rankings and titles are updated once a week, meaning players may easily lose everything they had been working on. We recommend taking a look at our extremely detailed guide to become an expert in conquering others.

The rewards are numeric and worthy, though. Weapons like High Warlord’s Cleaver (Horde) and Grand Marshal’s Claymore (Alliance); amazing gear sets like Warlord’s Regalia for Horde Mages, and Field Marshal’s Battlegear for Alliance Warriors; and mounts, of course – Frostwolf Howler (Horde) and Stormpike Battle Charger (Alliance).