[Update #2]: World of Warcraft will finally be adding cross-faction dungeons, raids and rated PvP in Update 8.2.5!

[Update]: Blizzard will be showing off the next big Shadowlands update on November 11th.

While it doesn't offer much in terms of new content, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands' freshly launched Update 9.1.5 does bring with it some much needed and often requested quality-of-life changes and tweaks. You can now freely swap between Covenants, explore new customization options for Allied Races, solo Island expeditions, level alts through Torghast, and the list goes on for a while.

Most importantly of all, this update has also reworked Legion's Mage Tower singleplayer challenges. So once Legion Timewalking rolls around in early December you'll be able to challenge all of the old bosses in order to collect an assortment of new class-based armors, a fel-colored version of Guardian Druid's 'werebear' form, as well as a new Spellbook mount if you manage to conquer all of the different encounters.

Unfortunately, there is a little bit of bad news when it comes to the Mage Tower. First of all, the fantastic weapon skins that made the Mage Tower so popular during its first run will not be making a return in Shadowlands. Furthermore, the Mage Tower will only remain open during Legion Timewalking events, so if you miss it or simply don't finish the one in early December, you'll most likely have to wait about half a year in order to dive back in.

The 9.1.5 update has also brought with it a wide variety of balance changes, the most exciting of which is the removal of the long-hated area-of-effect cap on many abilities. You can check out the full list of changes and additions over at the official patch notes.

On a slightly unrelated note, it's also worth mentioning that Blizzard will soon be launching the World of Warcraft Community Council as a way for players to talk directly to the developers. How exactly the system will work and whether it'll be effective, that remains to be seen, but hopefully this'll be a positive step forward for Blizzard.

Whatever the case may be, I'll make sure to let you know once the whole thing goes live.