Everything You Need to Know About WoW Shadowlands 9.1

The WoW Shadowlands 9.1 release date is just hours out after a 7-month wait!

The update marks an important turning point in World of Warcraft's newest expansion, introducing the Sanctum of Domination raid along with plenty more content.

Here's everything you need to know about WoW Shadowlands 9.1.

Latest - Shadowlands 9.1 Start Time

WoW Shadowlands 9.1 is just hours out, going live with regional restarts after the Shadowlands weekly reset.

Typically the weekly reset brings servers down from 10am EST to 11am EST, but with the massive patch, we expect Shadowlands 9.1 will finally launch at roughly 3pm EST.

Follow along with all the latest news with our WoW Shadowlands 9.1 countdown.

Shadowlands 9.1 Release Date

That's right, Blizzard have finally given players a Shadowlands 9.1 release date, and the update will be arriving on June 29th!

The announcement came with a brief new trailer for the new content on its way, which you can check out below:

Sanctum of Domination Release Schedule

While WoW Shadowlands 9.1 will go live with regional restarts on June 29th, the Sanctum of Domination raid won't open until the next week , starting on July 6th.

Here's the schedule for the release of Sanctum of Domination after the launch of Shadowlands 9.1:

• July 6: Normal, Heroic Difficulties
• July 13: Mythic Difficulty, Raid Finder First Wing (The Tarragrue, The Eye of the Jailer, The Nine)
• July 27: Raid Finder Second Wing (Soulrender Dormazain, Remnant of Ner’zhul, and Painsmith Raznal)
• August 10: Raid Finder Third Wing (Guardian of the First Ones, Fatescribe Roh-Kalo, and Kel’Thuzad)
• August 24: Raid Finder Fourth Wing (Sylvanas Windrunner)

Patch Notes

We have an official set of WoW Shadowlands 9.1 patch notes thanks to its new addition to the PTR!

Read over the massive changes coming in Shadowlands 9.1 below:

CLASSES

Druid

• Balance
  • New Moon (Talent) now has 20 second recharge (was 25 seconds).
  • Solstice (Talent) now causes Shooting Stars to fall 200% more often (was 300%).
  • Stellar Drift (Talent) has been redesigned – Starfall damage increased by 25% and allows you to cast while moving while Starfall is active, but it has a 15 second cooldown.
  • The free Starfall from Oneth’s Clear Vision (Runecarving Power) ignores the Stellar Drift (Talent) Starfall cooldown.
  • Balance of All Things (Runecarving Power) now grants 24% increased critical strike chance (was 40%) and decreases by 3% every 1 second (was 8% every 1 second).

Mage

• Fire
  • Flamestrike damage reduced by 10%.
  • Flame Patch (Talent) damage reduced by 10%.
  • Kindling (Talent) cooldown reduction for Combustion reduced to 1 second (was 1.5 seconds).
  • Infernal Cascade (Conduit) Fire damage bonus reduced by 20%.

Priest

• Discipline
  • Spirit Shell (Talent) cooldown increased to 90 seconds (was 60 seconds).
• Holy
  • Symbol of Hope has been redesigned – Bolster the morale of party or raid members within 40 yards. They each recover 60 seconds of cooldown on a major defensive ability, and they regain 12% of their missing mana over 5 seconds.
• Shadow
  • Dissonant Echoes (Conduit) now grants 20% increased Void Bolt damage (was 35%).

Rogue

The shield from Cloaked in Shadows (Conduit) is now 50% larger, lasts for 4 seconds (previously had no duration) and no longer decays while the Rogue is out of stealth.

Warlock

Dark Pact’s (Talent) additional absorb shield has been increased by 216%.

• Destruction
  • Chaos Bolt damage increased by 10%.
• Affliction
  • Malefic Rapture damage reduced by 18%.
  • Agony damage increased by 20%.
  • Shadow Embrace now lasts 16 seconds (was 12 seconds) and can now only be applied to 1 target at a time.
  • Focused Malignancy (Conduit) effectiveness reduced by 53%.
  • Sacrolash’s Dark Strike (Runecarving Power) has been redesigned – Corruption damage is increased by 25% (was 15%), and each time Corruption deals damage, it extends the duration of all your Curses active on the target by 2 seconds (was Corrupted targets movement speed slowed by 50%).

COVENANTS

• New Covenant Campaign Chapters
• 40 new Renown levels
• Soulbinds
  • New Soulbind Tiers
    • All existing Soulbinds now have 4 new rows:
      • 3 new Conduit slots (1 Potency, 1 Endurance, and 1 Finesse)
      • 2 new Traits
      • 1 Capper Trait
  • Kyrian
    • Soulsteel Clamps (Forgelite Prime Mikanikos) now reduces duration of stun and incapacitate effects by 20% (was 30%).
    • Sparkling Driftglobe Core (Forgelite Prime Mikanikos) cooldown increased to 1 minute (was 45 seconds) and now triggers at 30% health (was 35%).
  • Necrolord
    • Sulfuric Emission (Emeni) fear duration reduced to 3.5 seconds (was 4.5 seconds).
  • Venthyr
    • Familiar Predicaments (Nadjia the Mistblade) now reduces incoming interrupt, snare and root effects by 20% (was 25%).

DUNGEONS AND RAIDS

• New Raid: Sanctum of Domination
  • The following encounters will be available for testing on April 16:
    • Tarragrue
    • Guardian of the First Ones

ITEMS AND REWARDS

• The Empyreal Ordnance trinket now puts other on-use trinkets on a 40 second cooldown when used (was 20 seconds).

PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

Death Knight

• Frost
  • New PvP Talent: Shroud of Winter.
  • Heartstop Aura (PvP Talent) has been removed.

Mage

• Kleptomania (PvP Talent) is now Arcane only.
• Dampened Magic (PvP Talent) has been removed.
• Arcane
  • New PvP Talent: Arcanosphere.
  • Arcane Blast now deals 20% more damage in PvP combat.
• Fire
  • New PvP Talent: Ring of Fire.
  • Controlled Burn (PvP Talent) has been redesigned – Ignite deals 100% more damage while Combustion is not active.
  • World in Flames (PvP Talent) now causes Flamestrike to reduce the cast time of Flamestrike by 50% (was 1.25 seconds) and increases its damage by 30% for 3 seconds (was 20% permanently).
• Frost
  • New PvP Talent: Ice Wall.
  • Frostbolt now deals 100% more damage in PvP combat (was 15%).
  • Deep Shatter (PvP Talent) now increases the damage of Frostbolt by 75% on Frozen targets (was 150%).
  • Burst of Cold (PvP Talent) now increases the damage of Cone of Cold by 600% (was 400%).

Monk

• Mistweaver
  • New PvP Talent: Peaceweaver.
  • New PvP Talent: Dematerialize.
  • New PvP Talent: Thunderous Tea.
  • Counteract Magic (PvP Talent) has been redesigned – Each hostile Magic effect removed from a target increases the healing they receive from you by 2% for 10 seconds, stacking up to 10 times.
  • Refreshing Breeze (PvP Talent) has been redesigned – Healing done by Soothing Mist increases the healing of the next Expel Harm on the target during the channel, and causes it to dispel 1 Magic, Poison, or Disease effect.
  • Eminence (PvP Talent) has been redesigned – Transcendence: Transfer can now be cast while stunned and its cooldown is decreased by 15 seconds if it is cast while not stunned.
  • Surging Mist (PvP Talent) has been removed.

Priest

New PvP Talent: Improved Mass Dispel.

• Shadow
  • Lasting Plague (PvP Talent) has been removed.

Rogue

Mark of the Master Assassin (Runecarving Power) duration has been reduced by 40% in PvP combat.

• Assassination
  • New PvP Talent: Hemotoxin.
  • Neurotoxin (PvP Talent) has been removed.

Warlock

New PvP Talent: Shadow Rift.

• Affliction
  • Soul Shatter (PvP Talent) has been removed.
• Demonology
  • New PvP Talent: Fel Obelisk.
  • Call Fel Lord (PvP Talent) now deals 200% of the caster’s Spell Power per swing (was 5% of target’s maximum health). Cooldown of the ability increased to 2 minutes (was 1.5 minutes).
  • Singe Magic (PvP Talent) has been removed.
• Destruction
  • New PvP Talent: Bonds of Fel.
  • Chaos Bolt now deals 40% more damage in PvP combat (was 15%).
  • Focused Chaos (PvP Talent) has been removed.

RUNECARVING

• New Runecarving Powers
  • Death Knight, Druid, Warrior and Mage have new powers available in this PTR build.
• Some existing powers have been updated. See the Classes sections for details.

THE MAW

• New Zone: Korthia
  • Archivist and Dreadlord Questlines
  • Visitor Dailies
• New: Maw Assaults
• New: Tormentors of Torghast

READ MORE: WoW Shadowlands Sanctum of Domination Raid

Shadowlands 9.1 Leaks

A number of details about WoW Shadowlands 9.1 have arisen from reported leaks - and while we can't confirm them at this time, they paint a very interesting picture from the upcoming update!

Here's what leaks have suggested about the WoW Shadowlands 9.1 Chains of Domination update so far.

New Mawsworn Covenant

Anduin's moral downfall has been the most interesting part of the WoW Shadowlands story so far - and update 9.1 looks to push this further along according to leaks.

These leaks suggest Anduin will form a new covenant in the update, the Mawsworn. Players join the Mawsworn by forsaking their covenants, and are rewarded with a unique new mount and more.

Sylvanas Is Heading Toward Redemption

The fears of many WoW veterans seem to be coming true in Shadowlands 9.1 according to leaks - Sylvanas Winderunner will complete an ill-advised redemption arc to become a good or sympathetic character in the storyline.

This is of course inferred from a recent character model leak from a dataminer, finding a Sylvanas Windrunner character model from before her Banshee conversion.

After burning down the world tree, committing war crimes, and genocide on thousands in her reign - Sylvanas may soon make entirely out of character decisions to be seen as "good", or somewhere close to neutral, or sympathetic.

WoW players have predicted this path from Blizzard for months, but the shoddy story writing may continue to plague the game's retail expansions.

WoW Shadowlands 9.1 Update

WoW Shadowlands 9.1, the Chains of Domination update, is going to be absolutely massive.

Here's what Blizzard have leaked about the upcoming update just ahead of BlizzCon 2021:

"The traitorous Site Denathrius has been defeated... but the power of the Maw still grows. In Chains of Domination, the upcoming first major content update for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, players will delve into new depths of the Jailer's hopeless domain, seeking to understand the true nature of his malignant plans.
But the Banished One has a terrible new champion in his service - a cruel instrument of despair conscripted by Sylvanas Windrunner, capable of installing dread into the hearts of Azeroth's heroes like no creature of the Shadowlands.

Discover the Mysteries of Korthia - The Jailer is searching for the key to fulfill his twisted designs - and he has pulled a fragment of a long-lost domain into the Maw itself to find it. Seek answers in ancient Korthia, the City of Secrets, and engage in new quests and outdoor activities.

The Covenants Strike Back - With the strength of the kyrian, night fae, necrolords, and venthyr restored, embark on a new campaign to unite the four covenants - and together, launch an assault against the Jailer in his home territory.

Raid the Sanctum of Domination - Brave treacherous, unexplored reaches of Torghast in a new 10-boss raid: the Sanctum of Domination. Encounter the true Eye of the Jailer, turn the tide against the Tarragrue, and come face-to-face with the Banshee Queen herself in a fateful confrontation.

New Mega-dungeon - Tazavesh, the Veiled Market - Gather your party and discover exotic wares and strange creature in an eight-boss Mythic mega-dungeon set in a bazaar of the mysterious Brokers, and culminating in a high-stakes heist to steal powerful artifacts from Azeroth.

And More - Gear up for Shadowlands Raid, Dungeon, and PvP Season 2, with a seasonal Mythic Keystone dungeon affix themed around the Jailer's power; don new Covenant cosmetics armor sets that any class can wear; expand the powers of your Soulbinds and Conduits; add new mounts and pets to your menagerie; Unlock flying in the Convenants' four domains; and much more."

Chains of Domination Officially Revealed at BlizzCon 2021

BlizzCon 2021 has put any doubts to rest about the Chains of Domination leaks (which came directly from Blizzard itself!)

The event has revealed Chains of Domination, the Shadowlands 9.1 Update.

You can watch its new trailer below: