Summary

• World of Warcraft Patch 10.2.5, Seeds of Renewal, will update the animations of certain Covenant abilities in the game to better match the aesthetics of each class.
• Players have already noticed the stunning makeovers of skills like Paladin's Divine Toll and Mage's Shifting Power on the PTR servers.
• While a complete list of abilities receiving visual upgrades hasn't been shared, fans can expect most, if not all, to be altered before the next content update releases next year.

World of Warcraft is finally changing the animations for certain Shadowlands Covenant abilities that have since been baked into many class Talent Trees. This cosmetic change will come as a part of World of Warcraft Patch 10.2.5, Seeds of Renewal.

During the Shadowlands expansion, World of Warcraft introduced four new abilities for every class–one for each of the Covenants players could join. With the introduction of the new Talent Trees in Dragonflight, many of these Covenant Abilities became powerful optional skills players could spec into. However, these skills retained their original animations that, though high-quality on their own, matched the aesthetics of their respective Covenants, rather than the class itself.

That is changing in World of Warcraft’s next patch. In the first build of the Patch 10.2.5 Seeds of Renewal Public Test Realm, World of Warcraft announced it would be going through these former Shadowlands Covenant Abilities and updating their visuals to better match each class’ aesthetic. Though not every one of these abilities has been changed yet, players have already discovered several skills, such as Paladin’s Divine Toll and Mage’s Shifting Power, have already been given stunning makeovers on the PTR servers.

World of Warcraft hasn’t shared a complete list of former Covenant Abilities that are receiving this visual upgrade yet, but fans can expect most, if not all, to be altered. Each build of the PTR will likely implement more of these changes as they are completed, with all of them planned to be finished before Dragonflight's next content update releases next year. Players will have to see which abilities receive this facelift over the next couple of months.

"Multiple Class talents that were previously Shadowlands Covenant Abilities (such as Convoke the Spirits, Divine Toll, and Sepsis) have had their spell visuals updated to match their Class visual kit. This is an ongoing effort and more will be added over the course of the Seeds of Renewal 10.2.5 PTR cycle."

Players can still access Covenant Class and Signature abilities within Shadowlands zones, even if they aren’t found on the Talent Trees in Dragonflight. While it is currently unclear if these spell effects will remain in the game unchanged, players who enjoyed these spells in their original versions may still have the chance to do so when visiting these old World of Warcraft areas.

Fans are excited World of Warcraft is finally changing the appearance of the Covenant Abilities from Shadowlands. Many of the spells are powerful, fun to use, and visually captivating, which fit the theme of Shadowlands well. That said, a modern Affliction Warlock throwing out blue Ardenweald magic with Soul Rot sticks out like a sore thumb alongside the purples and greens of their other spells. Most players are glad to see these engaging abilities being changed to better mesh with their aesthetics, and to put Shadowlands behind them.