Surviving in a Post Shadowlands Pre-Patch World of Warcraft

The long anticipated Shadowlands Pre-patch drops tomorrow, October 13, 2020 and with that come many changes. The biggest of this is that Blizzard has applied a HUGE squish, dropping the max level from 120 to 50. Here’s the low down.

The Squish

While the max level has changed, so have all associated stats and item levels. This was done to make it easier to level new characters and will drastically change the leveling experience we’ve come to know so well. It’s not quite as daunting to go to level 60 (once Shadowlands hits) as it is to hit 120. While I happen to love leveling, many others do not and it’s possible this could be a barrier to entry for new players.

Battle for Azeroth Level	Shadowlands Level	Battle for Azeroth Level	Shadowlands Level
120	50	60–63	25
118–119	49	57–59	24
116–117	48	54–56	23
114–115	47	51–53	22
112–113	46	48–50	21
110–111	45	45–47	20
108–109	44	43–44	19
106–107	43	41–42	18
104–105	42	39–40	17
102–103	41	37–38	16
100–101	40	35–36	15
98–99	39	32–34	14
96–97	38	29–31	13
94–95	37	26–28	12
92–93	36	23–25	11
90–91	35	20–22	10
88–89	34	18–19	9
86–87	33	16–17	8
84–85	32	14–15	7
82–83	31	12–13	6
80–81	30	10–11	5
76–79	29	8–9	4
72–75	28	5–7	3
68–71	27	2–4	2
64–67	26	1	1

*Table details taken from World of Warcraft

In addition to the squish, boosts will now change as well. The 120 boost will boost your character to level 50 and level 110 boosts now boost characters to level 48.

Item Level Squish

On top of the squish, item levels are also going to be reduced. For reference, here is a guide on what new item levels will be post squish.

Expansion	BFA Max Ilvl	Post-Squish Ilvl
Vanilla	62	30
Burning Crusade	94	34
Wrath of the Lich King	102	35
Cataclysm	114	38
Mists of Pandaria	130	45
Warlords of Draenor	149	47
Legion	265	54
Battle for Azeroth	485	140

Table from Wowhead Shadowlands Item Level Squish

New Player Experience

Brand new players who have never created a character before, will now be sent to Exile’s Reach, a brand new “starting experience” to teach the basics of World of Warcraft. Veteran players will conversely, be given the option to try this new experience or start leveling in the starting area for your chosen race. Once players reach level 10, players will leave Exile’s Reach and venture out in the open world.

Exiles Reach Screenshot — Exile’s Reach New Starting Experience

Newcomer Chat

Blizzard has implemented a new chat channel in game called “Newcomer Chat”. This channel consists of other new players and guides who are comprised of veteran player volunteers. Upon reaching level 20, new players will no longer have access to the chat.

Veteran players may apply to become a guide, and there are a few eligibility requirements to do so. From the World of Warcraft Shadowland Pre-Expansion Patch guide we learn the requirements to become a guide are:

Guide Requirements

Your account must be in good standing
Level 50
Completed 3,000 quests
At least 2 of the following achievements

Timewalking Campaigns

The leveling experience for alts is about to get a whole lot better! Visiting Chromie in either Stormwind or Orgrimmar will allow you to choose the expansion in which you’d like to level in. The content in your chosen expansion will scale to your level and allow you to experience the content at a normal pace. Speak to Chromie again to change the expansion you’d like to level through.

Recruit-a-Friend

The long loved Recruit-a-friend feature is also undergoing a revamp. New characters that have been recruited by a friend will now receive a 30-slot bag, the Extra-Spacious-Knapsack once they finish Exile’s Reach.

In addition, the experience boost associated with Recruit-a-Friend is going away. The rest of the rewards (like mounts, etc) remain.

The New Barbershop Experience

The barber shop in game will now allow players to change not only your hair, but now you can also change:

Gender
Hair
Facial Features
Eye color

Because of this, the for purchase character modification services from the Blizzard Shop will be retired and no longer available.

Allied Races

You no longer need exalted status with an allied race faction to be able to recruit an allied race. Not that you will still need to complete the required achievements and storylines associated with unlocking allied races.

BFA PVP Season 4 Ends

Along with the pre-patch comes the end of the Battle for Azeroth Season 4 pvp season. The post-season pvp session will last until Shadowlands launches.

Warlords of Draenor & Legion Flying

Flying requirements for WOD and Legion no longer require earning the Pathfinder achievements for these expansions. Happy flying to those who never earned these achievements.