Covenants

After Sylvanas destroyed the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead, the heroes went to the ShadowLands and ended up in the Maw (a place of torment for the worst sinners), however, thanks to the connection with the power of Azeroth, you managed to leave this prison and now you have to go through the plot through four main zones ruled by specific factions called Covenants. You will start at level 50 in the Bastion and pass through Maldraxxus, Ardenweald and finally Revendreth, doing some initial tidying, riot suppression and similar to this, and after you finish the storyline and you reach level 60, you will be given a choice to follow the main Campaign with one of the four Covenants.

Who are they and what are they doing in hellish landscape

By the way, a rather significant change is that there is no longer a severe restriction in the choice of factions, ex. - if you play as an Orc, you can choose the Kyrian, or be a Dwarf and join the endless celebrations at the Venthyr’s balls. But you won't be able to change your faction at the snap of your fingers; you will have to go through a certain penalty for changing the covenant. On the one hand, this is logical, on the other hand, it may not be very convenient if one faction is impressed by the visual component, and the player sees the beneficial abilities in the other.

Each Covenant offers its own specific abilities, skills, and rewards that you will receive as you progress through the storyline. The main thing is, of course, access to the Capital - the Sanctuary, where all the players of the faction meet, and each covenant provides its ward with one defensive and one combat ability. A soul bond with one of the most powerful members of the covenant, called Soulbind character, will also be available. By doing this, your character will gain the strength of his partner, which will give him powerful bonuses. Over time, you will be able to discover new levels of strength and even change your Soulbind character according to the chosen strategy. Players will be able to quite freely change the connection of the soul, which will give them a wide choice in terms of using bonuses and their settings for certain situations. And of course, nowhere without transmog rewards - helping their Covenant, players will receive various cosmetic rewards that match the style of the faction, be it armor or weapons. You can also dress up a ride mount or wear a item behind your back, such as a gravestone, disc, or glowing wings. 

Covenant’s Renown

Your Covenant will begin sending you out into the world to begin aiding them in a variety of tasks and collecting Anima. As you progress through the campaign and complete the tasks at hand, you’ll begin to gain Renown.

Renown is a Covenant specific progression system that will measure and build your standing with your chosen Covenant, your trust and connection with Soulbinds. For better or worse, Renown is not an open-ended grind. There is a weekly cap on how much Renown you can earn.

Renown can be turned in for the following rewards:

- open tiers of Soulbinds

- recruit Adventurers for your scouting map

- increase reward item levels for World Quests

- earn perks such as legendary recipes, pets, mounts, and Covenant transmogs

- open chapters of your Covenant campaign

- increase the number of souls you can rescue from the Maw each week.

Let's take a closer look at the abilities of each Covenant:

KYRIAN

The Bastion is a zone of breathtaking views, blue skies and high spiers, where order and purpose reign. The Kyrian rule there - immortal beings who accept into their ranks only the most skillful, principled and righteous, they also direct the souls of the dead to Oribos to the impassive judgment of the Arbiter, who decides where they will go next. The Bastion is filled with many other creatures, such as for example - Stewards, otherworldly caretakers and artisans, created with the help of death magic, keep an eye on the purity of the Bastion. In addition, they collect centurions - anima-fueled guards who help the challengers train and protect the Bastion.

Here you will begin your path to rebirth, purifying your soul with the help of a special ritual that will deprive you of the vices of your former, mortal existence.

As mentioned, each Covenant has its own abilities, the Kyrian have these -

Defensive ability

"Unburden" - Transform into pure anima, increasing your movement speed by 300%, slowing your falling speed and guiding yourself forward for 4 seconds. Significantly reduces the radius of detection by enemies. Usage: 1 sec. Cooldown: 1 min.

Combat ability

"Radiant Spark" - Unleash a rainbow flash that deals 4854 Arcane damage. Arcane damage instantly and an additional 1892. damage over 8 sec. Cast: 1.3 sec. Cooldown: 30 sec. Radius of action: 40 m. Cost of mana: 2000 points.

NIGHT FAE

Twilight Ardenweald is an afterlife for those closely associated with nature. When the nature spirits in the mortal world come to an end, they return to the haunted forests of Ardenweald and begin to prepare for rebirth.

First of all, after you appear here, you have to find Winter Queen and send her an urgent message.

Winter Queen rules the forest, and her main goal is to maintain the great cycle of rebirth - to restore the dead ancient and other spirits of nature, and then return them to the mortal world. The queen is closely associated with her lands: if they prosper, she will prosper too. But with the onset of the drought of the anima, the queen has to choose which groves to save and which ones to doom and lose with them the precious spirits of nature.

The forest is full of a wide variety of creatures, for example, Faeries - take care of dormant spirits, soothing pain with their singing and creating medicines. Sylvars are born masters and enchanters. Vorkai - formidable and fearless, they serve as the guardians of Ardenweald.

Besides Night Fae, the souls of those mortals who have had a close connection with the natural cycle enter Ardenveld. Hunters, druids, and all those who took care of nature during their lifetime can be rewarded with eternal service in this forest. Upon arriving in Ardenveld, each soul can choose a bestial form, saturated with local heavenly magic. 

Night Fae Defensive Ability:

"Soul Shape" - Transform into a ghostly fox, increasing your movement speed by 30% and forcing opponents to ignore yourself. Lasts 10 sec. or until canceled if you are in a recreation area. Application: instantly. Cooldown: 1.5 min. The ability is customizable and gradually players will be able to unlock additional forms for transformation.

Combat ability:

"Shifting Power" - Draw power from the ground below you for 3 seconds, inflicting 5500 damage. Nature damage to nearby enemies for the entire duration. For every second of use, you will gain 5% haste for 15 seconds. Application: Supported. Cooldown: 45 sec. Radius of action: 15 m.

NECROLORDS

The third location and your checkpoint will be Maldraxxus.

Maldraxxus's armies must guard the Darklands, serve as a military force of scale. In creepy laboratories, only strength is encouraged - the weak are disposed of by letting them go. Necromancers experiment with the souls of the ambitious and warlike. Only the best of these souls become the immortal soldiers defending the ShadowLands. Here the art of necromancy was born: magicians who subjugated death itself, create powerful immortal armies for themselves from hordes of horrible creatures.

Creatures such as Abominations abound here, sewn from various body pieces. Liches are skeletal spellcasters who, with the help of the anima, enhance their powerful enchantments. Gladiators and Murderers - Aranakks are fighting in huge numbers.

The Defensive ability granted when choosing Necrolords is

"Transcend the Flesh" - Separate your soul from your body for 20 seconds. Your soul is invisible and immune, but your body remains vulnerable to attacks. This effect will end prematurely if you move more than 60 meters from your body. When the effect ends or is canceled, your body is reunited with your soul. Application: instantly. Cooldown: 3 min.

Combat ability -

"Contagion Bolt" - Deal 5000 damage. damage magic of Darkness to the selected enemy. For the next 8 sec. your single target offensive spells cast against an affected enemy will cause a disease outbreak that inflicts 3000 damage each. damage magic of Darkness to nearby enemies. Application: 2 sec. Cooldown: 1.5 min. Radius: 40 m.

And finally

VENTHYR 

Souls arriving in Revendreth receive a Sins Stone. All the misdeeds that you committed during your lifetime, as well as your true name, are recorded on such a stone. Keep its location a secret and do your best to erase any past mistakes that are engraved on its surface.

Venthyr are sin eaters who take anima away from evil souls. Outwardly they look very much like aristocratic vampires. But over time, such power over souls began to fill them with the same pride that they should knock out of mortal souls. Because of this, exquisite castles and houses are plunged into devastation, decay and damage.

Venthyr are surrounded by stone gargoyles, acting as protectors, doing dirty work, and any orders. Also, the location is full of bloodthirsty creatures, so the traveler needs to be very careful.

Covenant’s Defensive ability:

"Door of Shadows" - Step through the shadows, transported to the selected location. Application: 2 sec. Cooldown: 2 min. Radius: 40 m.

Combat ability:

"Mirrors of Torment" - Spawn 3 mirrors around the target enemy, which will rotate around him for 6 seconds. Whenever she casts an ability or casts a spell, she takes 7000 damage. from the magic of darkness and is immobilized for 1.5 sec. Application: 2 sec. Cooldown: 2 min. Radius: 40 m.

This is just the beginning of your journey into Shadowlands - and with time and perseverance, you will be well on your way to participating in your chosen Covenant.