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World Of Warcraft's double-XP buff will now last until the next expansion's pre-patch

Persistent Winds

Did this whole "being stuck inside" thing get you reinstalling World Of Warcraft again? No? Well, I'm proud of you. If you did fall back into the MMO (or never left), however, the next few months should be smooth sailing indeed. Blizzard this week announced that the Winds of Wisdom double-XP buff has been extended, and will now run until the pre-release update for WoW's next expansion, Shadowlands.

Whether through genuine concern or seizing the opportunity of a house-bound audience, Blizzard last month gifted everyone with the Winds of Wisdom - a universal buff that doubled all XP gained for quests and kills across Azeroth and beyond.

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Those winds were only s'posed to blow until next Monday, April 20th. Thing is, we're all gonna be stuck in this mess for far longer than a month. WoW players wanted those wise ol' winds to blow for a fair bit longer. In response, Blizzard this Friday announced that the double-XP buff will now last until the World Of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre-patch, due sometime later this year.

When exactly that'll land is still up in the air. Battle for Azeroth and Legion, WoW's last two expansions, saw their respective pre-patches hit around mid-July, ahead of their eventual August launch dates. If Shadowlands follows that pattern, we're looking at another couple months of turbo-charged levelling.

WoW's next expansion just began Alpha-testing its dive into the fantasy afterlife. Being called the Shadowlands, mind, they're not particularly grim - with new zones ranging from lovely autumnal vampire-valleys and neon-blue bug worlds to what has to be Warcraft's eighth take on a Valhalla-adjacent warrior-heaven.

Once it hits, it'll also cut the level cap down from 120 to, well, 60. So gather all the XP you want - just don't be shocked if you find your numeric level halved in six months time.

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