Shadowlands pre-expansion event: Rare elites, rewards, quests and zombies

With the release of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands coming up on 27th November, Blizzard Entertainment has finally released the Shadowlands pre-expansion event. The event is filled with things for WoW players to do, from hunting rare elites to turning into a zombie (Scourge) and repeating some great rewards for their troubles. Here's what you need to know about the Shadowlands pre-expansion event.

Shadowlands pre-expansion event: Quests & Rewards

For the next two weeks leading up to the Shadowlands release date, players will be able to complete Shadowlands pre-expansion quests, as well as a daily quest, for some nice rewards.

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You will need to have a level 48 character to start your questline with "An Urgent Request" in your faction's capital city. For Horde, you can start the call to arms quest in Ogrimar, while Alliance can start their quest in Stormwind.

This is all part of the Death's Rising Shadowlands pre-patch event, as faction leaders and players will work towards learning the ramifications of Sylvanas' actions.

In the opening week, players will gather intel in and around Stormwind or Ogrimar, depending on their faction. These cities are now overrun by The Scourge (zombies) so your quest won't be easy.

The next quest is called "Advancing the Effort". Once completed, you will unlock Daily Quests in the Icecrown region. These quests will reward you with Argent Commendations, which you can use to purchase limited-time rewards.

Rewards for the Shadowlands pre-patch event include gear, cosmetics, and pets. 

(Picture: Blizzard Entertainment)

Completing the "Only Shadows Remain" quest will give you access to even more Daily Quests, which means even more Shadowlands pre-patch event rewards.

Alliance players can visit Quartermaster Renick in Stormwind while Horde players should seek out Quartermaster Lungren in Orgrimmar to purchase goods. Further, both factions can also trade in their Argent Commendations with either Crusader Adevald Ironbeard or Veteran Crusader Aliocha Segard at the Argent Tournament.

Become part of the Scourge

Players can become part of the Scourge, aka World of Warcraft's version of a zombie in the Shadowlands pre-expansion event. While it is a bit tame compared to the infamous event many years ago, it is still a whole lot of fun.

There are strange crates all over Ogrimar and Stormwind, which give off a green slow. If you interact with these crates, you will temporarily turn into a zombie, leaving your faction allegiances behind.

(Picture: Blizzard Entertainment)

You can then run around, hitting others in the capital cities and beyond, to turn them into Scourge as well. 

Rare Elites in Shadowlands pre-expansion event

Players will be able to hunt several Rare Elites in the Northrend area, as well as a very powerful Rare Elite in Eastern Plaguelands.

There are some nice rewards attached to the Rare Elites in the Shadowlands pre-expansion event, as they drop item level 100 gear. 

(Picture: Blizzard Entertainment)

The image above showcases the most powerful of the Rare Elites. This is the Banshee Queen’s champion, Nathanos Blightcaller. The Rare Elite in Eastern Plaguelands can be found at Marris Stead and rewards players with weapon and armour pieces which have unique appearances only available for the event.  

If you manage to take this Rare Elite in the Shadowlands pre-expansion event down, you will earn an equipment cache for completing the weekly World Quest. The Sentinel Equipment Cache contains gear with appearances that can only be collected during the event, so go slay Nathanos Blightcaller as soon as you can.

Check out our video below, where we dive deep into the lore of the Dragon Aspects in World of Warcraft, discussing all the leaders, their history, and some family drama!

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