This special offer is only available for players who already have a World of Warcraft account with at least one expansion attached to it. Players who don’t have World of Warcraft on their accounts, or who already have Shadowlands, are not eligible for the promotion.
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For those that do qualify, claiming the free reward is easy. Simply download and open the Battle.net desktop application and click on the gift icon at the top right of the interface near the notification bell. The following window should have an option to claim the Shadowlands Base Edition expansion and the free level 50 character boost. If the gift does not appear immediately, Blizzard recommends closing the app and trying later, as it can take a short while for it to appear. There is no rush–players have until September 5 to claim these rewards
This free offer is an excellent move on Blizzard’s part. With Dragonflight well into its alpha testing, the hype surrounding the expansion has caused a buzz among the community. Some players who skipped Shadowlands entirely may be interested in coming back to World of Warcraft to try it out, and this promotion can get them back to the game early so they can prepare for Dragonflight.
A lot of fans are happy Blizzard is offering this free promotion. Though Shadowlands itself was a divisive expansion, opening the gates for returning players to experience it briefly before Dragonflight can only be a good thing. Many fans have high hopes for Dragonflight and are counting on the expansion to restore their faith in World of Warcraft which has been tested over the last few years.
Of course, some fans are angry at World of Warcraft’s newest promotion. Some players who already have Shadowlands are upset they won’t also get a free character boost like these returning players. Others couldn’t help but notice Blizzard released this promotion the same week as Final Fantasy 14’s most recent content patch. Correlation and entitlement aside, if World of Warcraft’s new promotion allows even one player to return to Azeroth for the first time in years to prepare for Dragonflight, it will be successful.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC, with the Dragonflight expansion set to launch later this year.
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