Covenants
In the expanded worlds of Azeroth, the Afterlife exists as a series of countless interconnected realms, controlled by one of four powerful groups: Kyrian, Necrolords, Night Fae, and Venthyr. These groups, called Covenants, each hold their own purpose, responsibilities, and focus, fulfilling crucial roles in the smooth opertion of the Afterlife.
Souls cross into the Shadowlands to be judged by the Arbiter, who assigns most souls to the care of a Covenant. In that Covenant's realms, these souls work out their burdens, hone their Anima, and take their places among their ranks in eternity. A few souls are deemed so vile, so incapable of atonement for their past deeds that they are imprisoned in The Maw, a prison for those who have fallen so low that they are incapable of redemption.
As a powerful hero, you will step into this Afterlife as one who has a foot in the worlds of both the living and the dead. Unlike the dead of the Shadowlands, you will have the choice of aligning with a Covenant that appeals to you and your nature.
Covenants share four major features.
Adventures: Put your tactical skills to the test by sending your allies into the Shadowlands and lending aid to your chosen Covenant by tackling the unique challenges facing them. You’ll need to be strategic about how you take on these combat puzzles, who you’ll send to face them, and how you’ll utilize their skills to claim victory.
Transport Network: Players will be able to access a zone-specific travel network within their Sanctum. These travel networks are specific to each Covenant.
Anima Conductor: Players will be able to enable additional content within the zone by investing Anima into activating a specific area.
Soulbinds: Within your Sanctum, you’ll meet three key members from your Covenant. You’ll be able to choose one of these to Soulbind with. Soulbinding allows you to gain access to traits that enhance your skills so that you can effectively combat all who stand in your way.
Anima
Anima is a resource native to Shadowlands - It fuels all of the realms of Shadowland, helping the covenants keep their purpose. Anima will be obtained from many sources in the Shadowlands and used on a new system called Soulbinding, where you will become soulbound to a NPC of your chosen covenant, and gain access to many new talents while soulbound with this NPC.
Although this does sound like Artifact Power from past expansions, Anima will not be infinitely grindable, with a set limit on how much Anima you can obtain every day.
The Four Covenants
Kyrian
The Kyrian Covenant of Bastion governs over souls that served a life of service, offering them a chance to look over their past deeds and seek ascension to become a Kyrian themselves
The Kyrian of Bastion has the Path of Ascension, which involves inhabiting the consciousness of a Soulbind, then helping them confront their own challenges.
Call your steward to bring you a Phial of Serenity that can be consumed to restore 20% of your health and remove all Curse, Disease, Poison, and Bleed Effects.
Your Steward additionally offers access to a selection of useful amenities for 4 min.
Instant Cast, 5 min cooldown.
Necrolord
The Necrolords of Maldraxxus governs over battle-hardened souls and rewards strength, while weaker souls become fuel for Maldraxxus’ cosmic weapons. Those who are deem determined quickly rise to positions of power.
The Necrolords of Maldraxxus get the Abomination Factory, where players can build their own Abominations.
Form a shield of flesh and bone over 4 sec that prevents damage equal to 20% of your maximum health.
Channeling near a corpse claims their essence to grow the shield, up to 50% of your maximum health. This is most effective against powerful enemies.
10 yd range, 4 sec channel, 2 min cooldown.
Night Fae
The Night Fae of Ardenweald accepts those with a deep connection to nature, using of the Anima in the Shadowlands to infuse slumbering spirits with the knowledge of old and preparing them for rebirth.
The Night Fae of Ardenweald are put in charge of a Soul Garden, which has been compared directly to the farm from Mists of Pandaria.
Turn into a Vulpin, teleporting 15 yds forward and increasing your movement speed by 50%. You may reactivate Soulshape every few sec to teleport again.
Lasts 12 sec, or indefinitely while in a rest area.
Instant Cast, 1.5 min cooldown.
Venthyr
The Venthyr of Revendreth take over souls that were flawed or prideful in life, but can still obtain redemption. The Venthyr punish those who lived a life of sin, determining if they are worthy of redemption in the Shadowlands.
The Venthyr of Revendreth will have the Ember Court, which involves throwing themed parties for distinguished guests.
Wend through the shadows, appearing at the targeted location.
35 yd range, 1.5 sec cast, 1 Charge, 1 min recharge
Renown
Renown is a Covenant specific progression system that will measure and build your standing with your chosen Covenent. Renown builds your Trust within your Covenant, influences your connection to your Soulbinds, and allows your progression in repairing (upgrading) your Sanctum. Unlike the two APs (Artifact Power and Azerite Power) in the previous expansions, Renown is not an open-ended grind, it is a metered progression system that you will work through as you play the game. There is a weekly cap on how much Renown you can earn.
One of the most important aspects of Renown unlocking is Conduit slots for your Soulbinds. Each conduit slot requires different Renown amounts, and below, we have tables for Renown amounts for Conduit slots for all Soulbinds.
Earning Renown
There are three ways to earn Renown:
You will gain a level of Renown for every Chapter of your Covenant Campaign that you complete.
You will be offered a weekly quest to gather Anima for deposit in your Sanctum. Replenish the Reservoir
You will be offered a second weekly quest to enter The Maw and rescue Tormented Souls who belong under your Covenant's purview. Return Lost Souls
Much like Corruption Resistance for the Legendary Cloak in Battle for Azeroth, there will be a weekly cap on the maximum Renown that a character can earn.
Callings
Once you have joined your Covenant and started your Sanctum, you will begin to receive Covenant Callings. These are specific world-level quests that call upon you to perform great deeds for your Covenant, with high rewards for success. You will receive three Covenant Callings at a time, and like World Quests, these have specific durations and rewards. These can only be picked up inside your Sanctum, not out in the world.
Covenant callings replace the Emissary system in Shadowlands. Covenant Callings are scaled to begin at level 50, so alts who join Covenants from the start can also begin Covenant Callings.
Sanctums
Similar to Garrisons of Draenor and Class Halls of Legion, the Covenant Sanctums are meant to be a base of operations for your max-level characters. You will need to develop and reactivate areas of your Sanctum whose powers and abilities have been lost due to the upheavals of Shadowlands and loss of Anima to your Covenant. By restoring these areas to full functionality, you will earn rewards and increase access to your opportunities within your zone.
These will also be the base of operations for your Covenant Campaign, as well as being the place you pick up your two weekly quests to raise Renown and build your power within the Covenant.
You cannot enter the Sanctum of a Covenant where you do not belong. Interlopers will be ejected.
Each Sanctum has three structures in common, and one unique to the Covenant:
- Anima Conductor
- Teleportation Network
- Scouting Map (Adventures)
- (Covenant-Specific Area)
Transportation Network
Every Covenant Sanctum has a Transport Network, which facilitates travel around your Covenant's home zone. There is an entrance to the network inside each Sanctum, and only members of the Covenant who have built up the Transport Network can use it. Like all Sanctum features, it is not operating when you first open you Sanctum, and you will need to invest resources to get it up and working.
Minigames
Each of the four Covenants in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has a unique feature, an aspect of the Covenant featuring unique gameplay that is only accessible to members of that Covenant. Progressing through the minigame unlocks special rewards including mounts and transmog weapons.
Anima Conductor
Anima Conductors control and direct the anima streams to key areas in your Covenant's zone. Anima streams are like leylines, ancient pathways of the mysterious Anima power that flows through Shadowlands. During the Anima drought, these Anima flows were sealed off and no longer work correctly. By improving these Anima Conductors located in your Covenant Sanctum, you can open the flow of Anima, revealing new daily and world quests, treasures, enemy champions, and enhancements just for members of your Covenant.
The Chronicle of Lost Memories is an item that can be purchased via your Covenant's Renown vendor. This legendary book will grant you a memory for a Legendary Effect you have not yet learned. To obtain this item, you need to collect 35 Grateful Offering, a special currency granted by doing activities with your Anima Conductor after reaching Level 3.
Adventures
For Shadowlands, Covenant Adventures are the next iteration of Missions. They are an abstracted, turn based combat system that relies more on tactical ability management and less on pure RNG. As with previous Missions, Adventures is a system for offline progression, meaning that you set up what you want to do and the majority of advancement is done in real time without your direct interaction. You can be working towards your goal while you are playing other content, and even while you are off-line. The system is also available on the Mobile Companion App so you can collect and launch Adventures on the go.
Dungeon Bonuses
Kyrian - Necrotic Wake
Anima Exhaust buff for each player. AoE Damage and Healing every 4 seconds for a minute.
Kyrian - Spires of Ascension
A Spear of Destiny to throw at a group of mobs stunning them and making them 20% additional damage for 10 seconds.
Night Fae - Mists of Tirna Scithe
Activate a checkpoint after every boss, a skip at the beginning and a grove containing the 10 minute buffs for your entire party: Savory Statshroom and Tasty Toughshroom.
Night Fae - De Other Side
Activate Haunted Urn around the dungeon to stun nearby mobs for 10 seconds.
Necrolord - Theater of Pain
Activate a Necrolord Banner to give your party the Necrolord's Command buff granting 10% Versatility and Movement Speed for 10 seconds.
Necrolord - Plaguefall
Use Fleshcraft on dead slimes to get a 3 minute aura to give your party 15% Haste Rapid Infection, 10% Damage Reduction Congealed Contagion, and a AoE damage proc Corrosive Gunk.
Venthyr - Halls of Atonement
Use the Extra Action button when near Loyal Stoneborn to get them to fight with you for 30 seconds before flying away.
Venthyr - Sanguine Depths
Activate Anima Cages for 20 seconds. During this time, any mob that died near the Anima Cage will grant one stack of Sinfall Boon, granting 5% damage and healing done per stack for 60 seconds.
Soulbinding
Upon choosing a Covenant to pledge to at max level, players will be given the opportunity to bind themselves to one of two notable NPCs within that Covenant. A third is unlocked upon completion of the Covenant Campaign. Soulbinding with one of these NPCs borrows a bit of their power, but rather than acting as your bodyguard, it unlocks a tree of progression similar to Legion artifacts, granting several small bonuses. These bonuses vary between combat benefits, utility, defenses, and enhancing that Covenant's signature ability.
Soulbinds is a Shadowlands expansion system that allows further customization of a character once they have reached max level, level 60, and selected a Covenant. As a player, you choose one of three available NPCs within your Covenant. Once you Soulbind with that NPC you have access to a user interface that allows you to pick traits to further customize your character. Each Soulbind has a unique set of traits that are available to whoever Soulbinds with them. The Soulbind interface also allows for the addition of Conduits, class or spec specific traits, that can be socketed to further customize your Souldbind build.
How Do You Unlock Soulbinds?
Two of your three potential Soulbinds will be available to you as soon as you have joined your selected Covenant. You can pick one immediately. When you do you will get access to the Soulbinds UI for that Soulbind, and will be able to pick the path that you want to take. You will also be able to socket any Conduits that you have into appropriate Conduit slots.
To unlock your third Soulbind you will need to complete the Covenant Campaign for your Covenant.
How do you change Soulbind Traits?
Soulbinds can be respecced, currently for a low cost, at the Forge of Bonds in your Covenant Sanctum. Along with the many branching options and three Soulbinds per Covenant, this creates a large number of permutations, making it fairly easy to dedicate one Soulbind or Soulbind Path to each spec or "build" desired.
How Do You Swap soulbinds?
Soulbinds within a Covenant can be swapped at will in rested areas or with a Tome of the Clear Mind or Codex of the Clear Mind, allowing you to use them in different types of content as desired.
Soulbinds
Kyrian
Pelagos
Combat MeditationActivating your Kyrian class ability increases your Mastery by 350 for (10 *) sec and occasionally expels Sorrowful Memories.
Walking through Sorrowful Memories extends this effect by (3 *) sec. [Combat Meditation may only occur once every 1 min.]
Kleia
Valiant StrikesYour critical strikes grant you stacks of Valiant Strikes, up to 20. If a nearby party member drops below 50% health, you consume these stacks to heal them for 1% of their maximum health per stack.
After healing this way, you may not benefit from Valiant Strikes for 1 min.
Forgelite Prime Mikanikos
Bron's Call to ActionAfter using 90 damaging or healing spells and abilities, your next spell or ability summons Bron, who knocks enemies back on arrival and then attacks and heals your targets for 30 sec.
Necrolord
Plague Deviser Marileth
Ultimate FormWhile channeling Fleshcraft, you are immune to crowd control and you regenerate 2% health every 1 sec.
If you finish the full channel, you gain 4 sec of crowd control immunity, during which you regenerate 2% health every 1 sec.
Emeni, the Slaughter Daughter
Runscribed BoneEach enemy you defeat grants you one stack of Runescribed Bone, reducing magic damage taken by 1% for 30 sec.
At 5 stacks, your soulbind traits are empowered for 30 sec.
- Emeni's Magnificent Skin: Releasing stacks deals (34.5% of Spell power + 34.5% of Attack power) Shadow damage to nearby enemies, increased by 1% per stack.
- Cartilaginous Legs: Shield amount doubled.
- Hearth Kidneystone: Cooldown reduction doubled.
- Gristled Toes: Movement speed now increased by 3%, up to 30%.
- Gnashing Chompers: Haste increase doubled.
- Sulfuric Emission: Fear duration increased by 2 sec.
Bonesmith Heirmir
Forgeborne ReveriesYour Primary Stat and Armor are increased by 1% for each enchantment on your armor, up to 3%.
Upon death your armor anchors your soul, allowing you to fight for an additional 10 sec. During this time, your damage and healing done is reduced by 50% and you cannot receive healing.
Night Fae
Niya
Grove InvigorationHealing or dealing damage has a chance to grant you a stack of Redirected Anima. Redirected Anima increases your maximum health by 1% and your Mastery by 25 for 30 sec, and stacks overlap.
Dreamweaver
PodtenderWhen you take damage that would kill you, instead rejuvenate within a wildseed, regaining 30% of HP over 10 sec. If the wildseed takes more than damage during this time, you die.
This effect may only occur once every 10 min.
Korayn
Wild Hunt TacticsYour damage to targets above 75% health and healing to targets below 35% health is increased by 10%.
When your spells and abilities are enhanced this way, you gain 15% increased movement speed for 5 sec.
Venthyr
Nadjia the Mistblade
Thrill SeekerWhile in combat, you gain a stack of Thrill Seeker every 2 sec, or 4 stacks on killing an enemy. At 40 stacks Thrill Seeker is consumed to grant you Euphoria, increasing your Haste by 20% for 10 sec. Thrill Seeker decays rapidly while you are not in combat.
Theotar the Mad Duke
Wasteland ProprietyActivating your Venthyr class ability signals the start of tea time, granting 6% Versatility to you and 3% Versatility to up to 4 nearby allies. Lasts (10 *) sec.
General Draven
Service In StoneDamage taken below % health is reduced by %. Upon death you leave a stone husk behind which shatters after 3 sec, inflicting 100% of your maximum health in damage split among nearby enemies, and healing for 100% of your maximum health split among nearby allies.
Conduits
Conduits are a system which allows an additional level of customization to your Souldbind with bonuses that are specific to your class and or spec. They are categorized into three types: Potency (Throughput), Endurance (Survival), and Finesse (Utility). Conduits have ranks which allow you to upgrade the power of your Conduits.
A Conduit can only be be used once per Souldbind at a time, ie. if you are using a particular Conduit in a Soulbind socket, you can't reuse that Conduit in a different socket for that same Soulbind. You can, however, use that Conduit in a different Soulbind.
Replacing Conduits
Conduits can only be reset and reselected at the Forge of Bonds in your Covenant Sanctum once a week. This is mitigated by the ability to change Soulbinds and respec them at will, so you can use a Soulbind's left hand path for one spec and right hand path for another, or have one Soulbind for each spec if you so desire.
Once you have collected a Conduit, it remains in your collection and is not destroyed when replaced in your Soulbind.
Where to Get Conduits
Conduits can be acquired as rewards from playing max level content: Dungeons, PvP, Raids, Reputations, World Quests, etc. Most Conduits will be available from more than one source, allowing flexibility of acquisition across content types. Conduits are a persistent collections system, similar to Essences in Battle for Azeroth. When you acquire a Conduit, you add it to your Conduit collection in your Sanctum. When you acquire a higher ranking version of a Conduit that you have already collected, adding it to your collection upgrades your current version, making it more powerful.
Class conduits collection
Potency
Improve the power of your spells and are spec or Covenant specific. There are four for each DPS and Heals spec, two for Tank specs, and four Covenant specific Conduits.
Example
Mortal Strike has a 10% chance to trigger a second Mortal Strike.
Pain Suppression also heals your target for 15% of their maximum health.
Endurance
Provide your class with additional defensive value through damage mitigation or increased healing. There are three Endurance Conduits available to all specs and another two available only to Tanks.
Example
Anti-Magic Zone's radius is increased by 15% and the duration is increased by 2.0 sec.
Consecration heals you for every 1 sec while standing within it.
Finesse
Conduits provide additional utility to your class. Each class has four Finesse Conduits which are usable by all specs.
Example
Successfully interrupting an enemy with Counterspell reduces its cooldown by 2.5 sec.
Enemies affected by your Hex deal 8% reduced damage for 8 sec after Hex is removed.