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Though World of Warcraft's big Chains of Domination update is months away, it's getting a smaller patch tomorrow that brings a bunch of exciting improvements—especially if you spend a lot of time in its Mythic+ dungeons. That's because Patch 9.0.5 is bringing back Valor points, a currency used to upgrade Mythic+ dungeon gear. As I explained in a previous article, Shadowlands endgame gear is so sparse that a lot of players feel stuck or forced to participate in activities that might not interest them, such as PvP. With the introduction of Valor points, however, dungeoneers will be able to upgrade their gear to higher levels even if they don't get a coveted loot drop at the end of a dungeon.
That's not the only thing coming in 9.0.5, though. The official patch notes can be found here, but the patch also introduces a ton of tweaks to different classes and their respective Legendary items, as well as general fixes to all sorts of different systems. Every player will also get a new mount that was made based on input from the community: A giant, wandering Ancient (think Ent from Lord of the Rings) whose leaves change based on what zone you're in. It's really cool.
What this patch lacks, however, is anything in the way of new activities or goals to pursue. 9.0.5 is strictly a systems and balance update meant to address some ongoing problems, but players are going to have to wait a lot longer for Shadowlands' first real update, Chains of Domination. Blizzard hasn't said when it will release yet, but my guess is some time early in the summer. The wait may be worth it, though, as Chains of Domination adds a new raid, new mega-dungeon, new subzones in the Maw, and a ton of new story quests. It sounds huge.
Patch 9.0.5 releases tomorrow and will be available following the weekly server downtime, which is estimated to wrap up around 1 pm PT. If you're not keen on Shadowlands, now is also a great time to start playing WoW Classic as thousands of players are restarting from scratch on a new server.
WoW next big patch, Undermine(d), gets a release date, starting the countdown clock until my gaming time is entirely consumed with doing donuts in my new ride
Bobby Kotick says he'd never have raised World of Warcraft's subscription by even a dollar because 'it's a prickly audience, you don't wanna do too much to agitate them'
