Shadowlands: Journey Through the Gates of Zereth Mortis
By Blizzard Entertainment 2022/02/17
Venture into a land unlike any other and unravel its mysteries.
Tucked away in the fabric of the Shadowlands itself lies Zereth Mortis. Created by the First Ones as a workshop to forge afterlives, its denizens—the automa—have built all that exists in the Shadowlands. It is an otherworldly location that defies all concepts of reality or physics.
It's here in this strange land that you'll meet new allies, delve into the runic and lyrical language of the automa, and engage in the campaign to push back the Jailer's forces before he reaches his end goal within the Sepulcher of the First Ones.
Note: No water shoes required. You’ll be able to walk on the waters of Zereth Mortis without the use of your mount or spells.
With the aid of the Primus, you and your allies will establish a path to Zereth Mortis. The fate of the Shadowlands and all the realms beyond is at stake.
The Road to Haven
Once you've passed through the gates of Zereth Mortis, you'll meet Firim the Mad, who will help introduce you to the land and set you on your way to Haven. Serving as the base of operations for the Enlightened, you'll meet up with your allies here and begin a new campaign.
Note: Within Haven, players will be able to purchase tokens from Hadja and buy ilevel 226 gear for anima. Don’t worry if you don’t have the anima to spare. You’ll be able to earn gear as you progress through the zone campaign or from killing rare enemies.
Find common ground with The Enlightened to succeed and defend Zereth Mortis.
New Faction: The Enlightened
Once members of the Cartel Al, the Enlightened have abandoned the pursuit of profit and glory out of devotion to the First Ones. By earning their favor, the brokers may be willing to share the knowledge they have gleaned.
As you aid them in a new campaign in defense of Zereth Mortis against the Jailer's forces, you'll gain access to a variety of additional pets, mounts, and rewards.
Note: These are the Ways—To make your travel a little easier, you’ll want to keep an eye out for waystones (Ancient Translocators) which work similarly to flightpaths and can transport you from location to location.
Decode the Cypher of the First Ones
The automa of Zereth Mortis speak in a musical language that is incomprehensible to mortal races. Team up with a curious automa sidekick in this new progression system to learn the lost language of the Progenitors and delve deeper into the secrets of Zereth Mortis, unlocking an array of new zone activities, daily quests, events, and rewards.
After completing the first three chapters of the Eternity's End campaign, you'll make a new automa friend—Pocopoc—and unlock the Cypher of the First Ones system. Pocopoc will serve as a valuable ally helping guide you toward unlocking more of the language of the First Ones and aid you as you progress through the zone.
The Cypher System is key to the outdoor progression system in Zereth Mortis. Gaining advances in the system will ultimately allow you to earn raid-level gear from outdoor content, with an ilevel of 252, equal to what you would find on a Normal-difficulty Sepulcher of the First Ones raid boss.
On the Cypher console, in addition to the various Cypher research that you can unlock, you'll see a number labeled "Cypher Equipment Level." This number starts at 1 and increases up to 6. You won't need to research a specific talent for it, though you'll increase it by researching any talent at the Cypher console.
You'll be able to earn Cyphers of the First Ones currency through a variety of activities that you can use to research and unlock additional understandings to enhance your experiences in the zone. The more Cyphers you earn and spend, the higher that level will go. You'll earn Cypher gear as you progress through the zone campaign and the occasional side quests, but you'll also be able to collect this gear from the Cypher-Bound Chests across Zereth Mortis. When you get a new piece of Cypher gear, its item level will be determined by your current Cypher Equipment Level.
For each Cypher Equipment level you gain access to, you'll be able to get gear with the following item levels:
| Cypher Equipment Level | Item Level |
|---|---|
| 1 | 233 |
| 2 | 239 |
| 3 | 242 |
| 4 | 246 |
| 5 | 249 |
| 6 | 252 |
You can find Cypher gear for all armor slots, but not weapons.
What's more, there are special abilities found only on Cypher gear armor pieces that can help you in your adventures in Zereth Mortis (and, in some cases, elsewhere in the Shadowlands). You'll be able to have up to three of these abilities at a time, and these abilities will scale in power with your current Cypher Equipment level, no matter the ilevel of the item in question.
- Battle Rhythms—Battle Rhythms gear has abilities that enhance your effectiveness in combat within outdoor Shadowlands zones. These abilities can be found on cloth chest pieces, leather head pieces, mail shoulder pieces, and plate head pieces. All those Cypher gear pieces will have one of these three abilities.
- Scouring – Scouring gear will cause your attacks to have a high chance to dispel buffs on your enemies. Or, if they don't have any, to put a debuff on the enemy that reduces damage dealt and increases damage taken.
- Nova – Nova gear will cause your attacks to have a chance to deal bonus Cosmic damage with every hit.
- Crystallic – Crystallic gear has a "crystallic" socket for a crystallic item obtained from Enhancement Consoles after unlocking the Elic Cypher research.
- Pocopoc Harmony— Pocopoc Harmony gear has abilities that enhance your and Pocopoc's abilities within outdoor Zereth Mortis. These abilities can be found on cloth shoulder pieces, leather shoulder pieces, mail head pieces, and plate chest pieces. All those Cypher gear pieces will have one of these three abilities.
- Synchronous – Synchronous gear will improve Pocopoc's combat stats, regardless of what mode.
- Empathic – Empathic gear will allow Pocopoc to take over coreless automa and use its abilities without paying any Pocopoc energy.
- Broker's – Broker's Cypher gear will allow you to locate additional hidden treasure chests within Zereth Mortis with bonus treasure.
- Personal Melody—Personal Melody gear has abilities that enhance your movement within outdoor Shadowlands zones. These abilities can be found on cloth wrist pieces, leather hand pieces, mail feet pieces, and plate hand pieces. All those cypher gear pieces will have one of these three abilities.
- Temporal – Temporal gear will increase your movement speed.
- Dimensional – Dimensional gear will allow you to cross great distances quickly, leaping straight to a target location within range (like all Cypher gear abilities, this becomes more powerful as you increase your Cypher equipment level, which will increase the range on the jump).
- Recreative – Recreative gear will allow you to re-create yourself upon death.
New Crafting System: Protoform Synthesis
Along the way, you'll gain access to the Forge of the Afterlives in the heart of Zereth Mortis. This mysterious sphere is a powerful instrument of creation left behind by the First Ones. As you collect various reagents in your explorations, you'll be able to utilize Protoform Synthesis to create over 50 Zereth Mortis-themed mounts and battle pets.
Taking Flight in Zereth Mortis
There's plenty to see and do on the ground of Zereth Mortis as you explore the various biomes throughout, but in time, you'll be able to earn your wings and take to the sky. By completing the achievement "Unlocking the Secrets," you'll be able to learn Zereth Mortis Flying.
- Explore Zereth Mortis: Path of Inception, The Great Veldt, Terrace of Formation, Deserted Overlook, The Dread Portal, Genesis Fields, Pilgrim's Grace, Arrangement Index, Resonant Peaks, Haven, Faith's Repose, Catalyst Gardens, Dimensional Falls, Provis Fauna, Zovaal's Grasp, Plain of Actualization, Lexical Glade
- Curious Collections: Discover 5 hidden treasures in Zereth Mortis—Library Vault, Damaged Jiro Stash, Forgotten Proto-Vault, Mawsworn Cache, Fallen Vault, Domination Cache, Architect's Reserve, Overgrown Protofruit, Drowned Broker Supplies, Protomineral Extractor, Stolen Scroll, Protoflora Harvester, Ripened Protopear, Bushel of Progenitor Produce, Submerged Chest, Template Archive, Symphonic Vault, Stolen Relic, Gnawed Valise, Filched Artifact, Crushed Supply Crate, Mistaken Ovoid, Offering to the First Ones, Pilfered Curio, Grateful Boon, Syntactic Vault, Undulating Foliage.
- Path to Enlightenment: Complete 3 side questlines in Zereth Mortis—Small Pet Problems, Not AI Are Lost, A Return to Grace.
- Tales of the Exile: Read the volumes of "Firim in Exile" found in Zereth Mortis—Firim in Exile, Part 1, Firim in Exile, Part 2, Firim Exile, Part 3, Firim in Exile, Part 4, Firim in Exile, Part 5, Firim in Exile, Part 6, Firim in Exile, Part 7
- Adventures in Zereth Mortis: Complete 10 of the following special encounters in Zereth Mortis—Gluttonous Overgrowth, Otiosen, Feasting, Destabilized Core, Sand Matriarch Ileus, Xy'rath the Covetous, Akkaris, Chitali the Eldest, Tahkwitz, Sorranos, Orixal, Euv'ouk, Vitiane, Hadeon the Stonebreaker, General Zarathura, Gorkek, Tethos, Shifting Stargorger, Protector of the First Ones, Mother Phestis, Garudeon, Furidian, Hirukon, Zatojin, Otaris the Provoked, Corrupted Architect, Helmix, Vexis, The Engulfer
- A Means to an End: Complete the storyline "A Means to an End."
Zereth Mortis provides a variety of outdoor content to do while solving its various puzzles and mysteries.
