For the last few months, the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands alpha has pressed on towards improving the title as Blizzard works towards a full release. Recently, the developers announced the next step in those efforts.
As the alpha comes to a close, Blizzard intends to release the beta to allow for further testing. Players won’t have to wait long, either; the Shadowlands beta launches next week!
Players that would like to help with the beta testing should go to the World of Warcraft website to opt-in. Not everyone will get in, but there’s going to be a much more extensive list of invites sent out compared to the closed alpha.
Additionally, if you don’t get in right away, don’t be too worried! Blizzard intends to send the invites out in waves, so you may not be invited to the beta right at launch. The beta will likely continue on for quite some time, so keep checking your email.
In terms of what players can expect, the beta is going to have everything the alpha had and more. There’s going to be a myriad of new features added in that need testing, as well as some content that will need to be honed before release.
Dream Mythic Masters: Season 2 is HERE 👏
100 teams. Prize pool support. Map bans. No spec stacking. Max hype.
Click the link to sign up (and see a nice launch video ft. @Gingitv )https://t.co/jzIETB5TY6 <- Sign up here now 💛 pic.twitter.com/5gwYyfEztp
— Raider.IO 💙 (@RaiderIO_WoW) July 6, 2020
However, the beta will still be a beta, and should be treated as such. Players that join will be getting a first look at the title, but the primary need for beta testing is to help the developers find areas of improvement. Don’t hop in expecting a well-polished, excellent experience!
One of the main features of the upcoming beta is that the level cap will be increased to 60, which will be the new level cap for the Shadowlands expansion. Players will be able to get their first real glance at endgame content because of this.
In terms of endgame content, game director Ion Hazzikostas discussed the addition and return of the Mythic+ dungeon system and the need for it to be tested. Testers will be able to purchase keys so that testing can be done as fast as possible, rather than keys being a sparse one-a-week item as they are on the live servers.
Of course, this also means that new dungeons are going to be added to the beta to help with the testing. We’ve discussed quite a few dungeons and Blizzard is always adding more, so expect to be braving some of the most difficult content possible!
While we don’t have an exact release date for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands yet, it was confirmed that we should expect the title this Fall. With the beta soon to begin, we can only hope that the testing goes smoothly and there are no delays to keep the game from reaching audiences.
