The nextWorld of Warcraftexpansion is just around the corner, and more details are being revealed about what exactly that update will bring to the game.Shadowlands, the bold new adventure that allows players to cross throughthe veil of death into another world entirely, already boasts many changes to how the base game is played. One big change to character customization that will be implemented inShadowlandsis how character gender can be changed.
World of Warcraftplayers have already seen some of the larger changes that will be coming withShadowlands. The world itself will see a big change when players can choose to level their character in any expansion zone. Therewill also be a giant level squishas Blizzard reworks the entire leveling system. Fans have seen many sneak peeks into the upcoming realm ofShadowlands, including new allies and zones, but the gender change is one of the smaller, more intimate updates.
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Normally, a player can change their character’s gender by spending real money in the game shop. A gender change costs $15 and allows a one-time change for a character. AfterShadowlandsreleases in a few weeks, players will be able to change their character’s gender at any barber shop, just like changing their appearance.
The discussion of changing gender comes alongside the reveal ofWorld of Warcraft’s first transgender character, Pelagos. One of the races inShadowlandsis the Aspirant, NPCs who can choose their mortal form. Blizzard revealed that one of these beings, Pelagos, was a woman in his mortal form but chooses to be a man in theShadowlandsrealm. Since there is an entire race of characters in this expansion that go beyond the binary male vs female split, it makes perfect sense that the game developers would look to player characters and see how this conversation could also be addressed there. It seems thatWorld of Warcrafthasa finger of the pulse of the gaming community.
While many players are claiming that it is too small of a feature for Blizzard to focus on, others are thankful of the message of inclusion that it sends to the community. Any change big or small that lets players feel more at home in Azeroth is a great change to make. Now is as good a time as ever forplayers to get back into the world of Azerothand raid their way to victory.
