World of Warcraft Shadowlands: The Biggest Additions and Changes in 9.1.5

Patch 9.1.5 has officially released and is the first content update World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has seen for almost 5 months. With such a gap, the full patch note list is expectedly huge and, although it’s considered a minor content update, there’s a lot of new content and changes to cover, including a huge overhaul to the Covenant system. In this guide, we’ll detail the biggest additions and changes to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands in Patch 9.1.5, from Legion Timewalking to Allied Race customisation, so you’ll know exactly what to do when your update has finished its download. Don’t forget to update your add-ons, too!

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands 9.1.5: Legion Timewalking

Timewalking, events where players can experience dungeons and raids from expansions past scaled to their current level, has finally gained the Legion expansion in its roster. Dungeons available during Legion Timewalking include Black Rook Hold, Eye of Azshara, Darkheart Thicket, Vault of the Wardens, Neltharion’s Lair and Court of the Stars.

A new Timewalking vendor is also available during Legion Timewalking weeks with new items for sale. The ‘Val’sharah Hippogryph’, a brand-new mount based on the hippogryphs found in Va’sharah, is the most notable and costs 5000 Timewarped Badges. Other new items include the ‘Ravencrest’s Battleplate’ set, resembling the guards situated around Black Rook Hold, a ‘Replica Aegis of Aggramar’ cosmetic shield and ‘Nightborne Guard’s Vigilance’, a toy that emulates the behavior of Suramar guards. Something’s not quite right…

Mythic+ Timewalking

Something brand-new to Timewalking is the inclusion of Mythic+ Timewalking. Players can receive a Timeworn Keystone from Ta’hsup in Oribos to take part in Legion Mythic+, scaled to Shadowlands Mythic+ levels. Legion Timewalking Mythic+ will have separate affixes to current Mythic+, but will still count towards The Great Vault progress. The dungeon awards gear equivalent to the same difficulty as Shadowlands Mythic+ and can be upgraded with Valor. They won’t appear as options in The Great Vault, though.

The Mage Tower

After much fan request, Legion’s Mage Tower is returning when Legion Timewalking is active. Instead of the Artifact Weapon styles previously awarded, the rewards consist of recolors of the Mythic Tier 20 armor sets from Tomb of Sargeras and a special fel version of Werebear form for Guardian Druids. Completing all seven challenges will award the Soaring Spelltome, a mount that previously lost the community poll, where players had to vote on what mount design they wanted adding to the game as a free gift for playing Shadowlands.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands 9.1.5: Covenant Overhaul

Thanks to player feedback, the Covenant system in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has faced a significant overhaul. The overhaul is one of the main focuses of the patch, so we’ve split it into separate sections for easy reading.

Covenant Swapping

Previously, there was a hefty punishment for swapping Covenants, which lead to players sticking to their original choice, regardless of how they felt. Thankfully, in Patch 9.1.5, players will be able to freely swap covenants as much as they wish, as long as they have at least one character at Renown 80.

Covenant Cosmetic Unlock Limitations Lifted

Since Covenants are now freely swappable, cosmetic limitations have been completely removed. No matter the Covenant the player is currently dedicated to, they can equip any Covenant armor set, summon formally Covenant-specific pets and more. Like Covenant swapping, this will only apply if the player has at least one character at Renown 80.

Instantly Catch-Up with Renown on Alts

‘Broker Mark of Distinction’ can be purchased for 500 gold in Oribos if –  a common theme here, the player has a character at Renown 80. These instantly increase the character to Renown 40 and can be sent to any character on the same account. Renown 40 covers the entire Covenant Campaign and brings alternate characters, or recently swapped ones, up to speed with Patch 9.1.

Skipping Soulbinds

Alternate characters can now instantly obtain all three Covenant Soulbinds, as long as the original Covenant storyline has been completed once on the player’s account. Once the initial quest to unlock Soulbinds have been completed, quests will be available for all Covenant Soulbinds near the Forge of Bonds that instantly unlock them all.

Anima Transfer

Anima can be transferred without penalty by purchasing a ‘Traveler’s Anima Cache’ for 1000 Anima. It grants the same amount of Anima it was purchased for and can be sent to any alternate characters. By now you’ve probably gathered that this is only for players that have reached Renown 80.

Conduit Energy Removal

Conduit Energy no longer exists for accounts that have reached Renown 80 once. Players are able to freely swap conduits whenever they choose, with no punishment or time-limit.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands 9.1.5: New Character Customisation Options

Nightborne, Lightforged Draenei, Void Elves and Highmountain Tauren have all received new customisation options. Existing characters can be modified at a barbershop, and new characters will see these options on the character creation screen. A full list of new options for each race are listed below

Lightforged Draenei

• Hairstyles
• Hair colors
• Horn shapes
• Tail length
• Crest colors

Void Elves

• Hair colors
• Toggle option for tendrils on hairstyles
• The option to adjust ear length

Nightborne

• Tattoos
• Facial hair (Male only)
• Hairstyles
• Eye shape
• Jewellery

Highmountain Tauren

• Facial piercings
• Beards (Male only)
• Horn styles
• Hair accessories
• Tails

Quality of Life Updates and Legacy Raid Changes

Patch 9.1.5 fetches with it a good number of highly-requested Quality of Life updates throughout the entire game. Firstly, The Maw introduction can be completely skipped on alternate characters. Once a character is able to enter the Shadowlands, they can go straight into choosing whether to play through the story or the ‘Threads of Fate’ system, which itself has been improved for a smoother experience, like making Torghast optional.

Island Expeditions can now be entered solo and no longer require a full party of three. This means Island Expedition rewards can be easily farmed without having to find other people, which was significantly difficult to do in Shadowlands. Four Legion Raids are now much easier to solo; Tomb of Sargeras, Nighthold, Trial of Valor and Antorus, the Burning Throne. Each has had at least one encounter tuned to make it easier to defeat alone, such as Gul’dan in Nighthold.

Lower item-level PvP gear will now scale higher in Player versus Player scenarios to level out the playing field and encourage more players to take part in Battlegrounds and Arenas sooner. Legendary gear can now be recycled at the Runecarver and will fully refund all Soul Ash and Soul Cinders used in its original creation, making it easier to swap Legendaries.

The AoE cap originally introduced in the pre-patch has been altered, so that spells that will affect all targets but reduce in damage if 5 or 8 targets are hit. Archivists’ Codex reputation is now easier to obtain due to a number of updates, which are detailed in our 9.1.5 patch note list. Pet Battles have also had a number of Quality of Life updates, such as a permanent 50% bonus to experience gain and cheaper Training-Stones.

Finally, custom text in the Group Finder now requires a Blizzard Authenticator. This is an attempt to eradicate those pesky advertisements flooding the Group Finder when trying to find a normal team of players. Legitimate accounts setting up an authenticator is easy, but proves more of a challenge for advertisers using throwaway accounts. The command ‘/ignore’ now also ignores every character on the ignored player’s account, helping to minimise harassment and spam.

That wraps it up for the biggest additions and changes in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands 9.1.5! For a full list of changes, visit our ‘World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Update 9.1.5 Patch Notes‘ guide.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available now on PC via Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher. For future information regarding this patch, visit the official World of Warcraft website.