World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is bringing a massive number of changes. Many of these changes, Blue Company willing, will be added in today with the finished extended maintenance of the servers that should end around 3:00 PM (PST).
We’ve discussed the prepatch quite a bit lately, but seeing as it’s bringing a complete rehaul of the title as we know it, it’s a pretty big deal. One of those biggest changes coming is towards the leveling system.
Currently, the level cap sits at 120, but instead of increasing it again like every expansion has before, the Shadowlands expansion will be decreasing the maximum level all the way down to 60 again.
This level squish is more than just a reduction of some numbers, though. Blizzard will be completely overhauling the leveling experience, with mechanics like Chromie Time being implemented to push players into an expansion of their choosing to level.
One of the big overhauls coming is to the Heirloom system, a category of gear that can be used at any level, increasing in strength as the player levels. Originally coveted for the sizeable experience boost they offered, the experience boost has been removed entirely.
With the changes to leveling in Shadowlands, Heirlooms are being re-imagined. So starting with the Pre-Patch, Heirloom pieces will no longer have the added experience bonus gain for leveling!#Shadowlands#Warcrafthttps://t.co/TDo78Vyvbm pic.twitter.com/4Mw7gqUL11
— Wowhead💙 (@Wowhead) October 13, 2020
But Heirlooms are vital, and they still have a strong place in the leveling system even with the experience buff being removed. While the gear itself still remains powerful, it’s the set bonuses that Blizzard has added that makes it truly powerful.
Heirlooms now belong to a seven-piece set called the Regalia of Fabled Adventurers, with the requirement to be such simply being an Heirloom. The set consists of Chestpiece, Helm, Shoulders, Cloak, Legs, Necklace, and Ring, and while sets still fit together – Dreadmist, Valor, and the like – players can mix and match for the set bonus.
At two pieces, rested experience consumed is reduced by 30%, making the double-XP boost of rested much stronger.
At three, players have their out-of-combat regeneration increased. This bonus applies to outdoors, normal dungeons, and battlegrounds.
Jumping up to five pieces, players gain the Burst of Knowledge passive. Gaining a level will trigger this passive, dealing a strong AoE and increasing your main stat by 40% for two minutes. Defeating more enemies increases the duration, up to an additional two minutes.
With six pieces, players gain another 30% reduction to rested experience consumed, to a total of 60%. There are no further bonuses, though players can certainly wear more than six heirlooms.
Most players will likely have all six pieces save the rings, which are notoriously more monotonous and difficult to get than simply purchasing the other heirlooms from a vendor. Regardless of how you mix and match, the new Fabled Adventurers set provides a powerful bonus to help compensate for the lack of additional experience it once gave.
