World of Warcraft expansions come out every so often. Developer Blizzard uses these expansions to introduce new mechanics, refine content, and provide additional end-game milestones for players who been with the game since it initially released in 2004. Blizzard announced Shadowlands during Blizzard Con 2019 on November 1.

Shadowlands will release for World of Warcraft sometime later in the year, before the end of 2020. An official announcement originally confirmed during Gamescom’s Opening Night that the game would release on October 27. However, that has changed as Blizzard continues to test and modify the current build of the game. The team wanted players to have the best possible experience, and feel the expansion requires a bit more work.

The features coming to Shadowlands include the addition of a new location, aptly named Shadowlands, new zones named Revendreth, Ardenweald, Maldraxxus, and Bastion. Each has a unique appearance, and they feature covenants, which players will have to choose to align wit during the expansion. The four covenants have a unique armor set associated with them that players can earn during their journey to use during the new raids and dungeons.

One of the coming changes expected to drop with the expansion is how pets work during battle. They were initially shared by a Blizzard post, but have since been deleted. Wowhead was able to share a screenshot of the expected changes before the thread was deleted. Here are the expected changes:

  • Black Claw and similar abilities that increase damage taken by a flat amount.Hunting Party and similar abilities such as Flock.The Shattered Defenses debuff effect from abilities such as Hunting Party or Flock.Any large percent-damage-taken or percent-damage-dealt buffs or debuffs.Twilight Meteorite and similar long-cooldown damage-splitting abilities.The Jar of Smelly Liquid ability.Hermit Crab.

Additional pets are likely to also come with the expansion. However, any changes remain pure speculation. There is nothing confirmed at this time regarding Shadowlands.