Yesterday, on its 16th anniversary, Blizzard finally presented the first update of the World of Warcraft pre-patch: Shadowlands, the entrance, and beginning of this impressive expansion in which Horde and Alliance will face the mysteries of death as they enter the realms of the beyond, the souls of those who fell, and the fearsome powers of this new world.
Although as its developers have stated on numerous occasions, in part as an apology for their repeated delays, Shadowlands will involve one of the biggest changes and content introductions ever made within this MMO, as well as a major escalation on a technical level.
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World of Warcraft bets again on nostalgia
Continuing directly with the latest events of Battle for Azeroth, after the act of destruction perpetrated by Sylvanas has opened the way to the beyond. The most dedicated defenders of Azeroth have ended up in a darkness that devours everything. An ancient deadly force threatens to break their bonds and fray reality. Hidden realms of wonders and terrors await those who dare to pass to the other side.
As a champion of Azeroth, you have been given the power to cross over in body and soul. Now you must investigate a conspiracy to undo the cosmos and help the legends of Warcraft’s past and present return home… or cross over.
On your journey you will forge a momentous pact with one of the four forces in control of the Shadowlands, the curious, whose supernatural power will help you face the forces of the Jailer, the evil entity that dominates the hopeless depths of The Jaws, testing your resolve to save lost souls through the labyrinthine corridors of Torghast, the Tower of the Damned, where long-imprisoned horrors and legendary rewards await you.
Even though in the past, the Jailer kept only the most dangerous souls in the cosmos confined in his eternal prison. Now, some of the greatest heroes of Azeroth are locked up there and you will have to rescue them from the Jailer’s tower before their souls are completely exhausted.
They bring a new world of shadows
While World of Warcraft: Shadowlands maintains the toon-like artistic line that has characterized the Blizzard classic for so many years, this expansion will implement some of the latest image enhancement technologies such as ray tracing applied to shadows, applied over the already revised textures that the game implemented with its previous expansion.
So, we see that the shadows have a much more natural and realistic look, generated with a softer outline and finish effect that eliminates that artificial touch that shadows have by default due mainly to their angular lines.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands requirements
| Minimum requirements | Recommended Requirements | |
| OS | Windows 7 (64 bit) | Windows 10 (64 bit) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-3450 or AMD FX 8300 | Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon RX 560 or Intel UHD 630 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 or AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 |
| Memory | 4GB RAM (8GB for integrated graphics) | 8GB RAM |
| Storage | 100GB (with SSD storage) | 100GB (with SSD storage) |
| Connectivity | Permanent connection to the network | Permanent connection to the network |
In general, there are quite reasonable requirements and similar to the current orders for the game, until we reach the storage section. Although it is not a problem with the space required, the type of support it requires, since from what we see, the game seems to require a solid-state memory.
It is not the first time, far from it, that the acronym SSD appears in the list of technical requirements of a game, but the big difference is that, for the first time, it is shown in the section of minimum requirements.
However, it seems that this recommendation is not entirely accurate, since it is not the real minimum requirements to run the game, but it is the minimum necessary requirements proposed by the latest improvement of ray tracing that will bring World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. Those who still use HDD units will still be able to enjoy the game without the need to upgrade but consider making this change in the near future.
