WoW Shadowlands Patch 9.0.5 has been rolled out on the PTR and Blizzard has detailed some of its main new features.
Over the weekend, we already reported that patch 9.0.5 made its way on Blizzard’s Vendor CDN, suggesting an imminent release on the Public Test Realm. Fast forward a few days, and the new content update for Shadowlands is now live on the PTR.
In a new post on the official World of Warcraft forums, community manager ‘Kaivax’ provided additional details about the new content update, including two of the larger changes – upgradeable Mythic Keystone Gear and Covenant and Legendary Tuning.
“This update will be a bit different from our usual patches. It’s focused almost entirely on systems, responding to community feedback about rewards, doing tuning that requires the sort of notice and iteration that a PTR allows, and fixing a range of bugs that are beyond the scope of our ability to hotfix”, Kaivax writes. “We know everyone is eager to hear about the next chapter in the Shadowlands saga and what new adventures and rewards it will bring, and we’ll have a lot more information on that in the very near future. In the meantime, we’ll use this patch to get changes into your hands faster than a large content patch would allow.”
Upgradable Mythic Keystone Gear - The Return of Valor Points
We’ve seen a lot of feedback about the pros and cons of the various sources of gear in the Shadowlands endgame. After a rewarding first few weeks, we know that many dungeon-focused players reached a point where the only relevant rewards from the system come from the Great Vault. While the Vault should represent a major goal and the source of the best rewards the endgame has to offer, we want to find a way for the loot from the chest at the end of a challenging Mythic Keystone run to feel relevant, without bringing back random upgrade systems such as Warforging, which partially solved this problem in the past. We also want to provide a more consistent reward for the effort for players who do not receive an item at all.
The framework for a system that attempts to address these goals should be present in this first PTR update, subject to ongoing tuning and refinement. Gear from Mythic Keystone Dungeons is now upgradeable, initially with a cap of item level 200, which players can raise to item level 207 by completing all eight Shadowlands dungeons at Mythic 5 or higher. This will award a new “Keystone Explorer” achievement, while the existing “Keystone Conqueror” achievement (for all +10s or higher) will increase the cap to item level 213, and then to item level 220 by completing the “Keystone Master” achievement for all +15s in time. The currency used to upgrade Mythic Keystone gear is Valor, which is earned from completing Mythic Keystone dungeons, or by doing covenant Callings, with a weekly cap. Upgrade costs will vary by item slot and will be consistent across all item levels.
Covenant and Legendary Tuning
We’ve deliberately used a very light touch with any hotfixes that might affect Covenant or Legendary balance, as we’re keenly aware of the resources players have invested in those systems. A patch, however, allows for ample notice for the community and a testing and feedback loop that should help ensure that we don’t unintentionally undermine your investment in your covenant or legendary items.
In many cases, the changes coming in 9.0.5 are improvements to Legendary items and Covenant class abilities that have seen comparatively less use by players. Our goal with these changes is to provide more gameplay options for crafting and utilizing Legendary items in specific situations, and to make sure that more players feel that the Covenant that suits their aesthetic, narrative, or other preferences for their character also feels more viable for their preferred playstyle.
World of Warcraft Shadowlands patch 9.0.5 is expected to be released on the live servers next month.
The post WoW Shadowlands Patch 9.0.5 Released on the PTR; Includes Covenant and Legendary Turning Alongside The Return of Valor Points by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.
source https://wccftech.com/wow-shadowlands-patch-9-0-5-released-ptr/