When players enter the afterlife in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, they will likely need to grind at least for a little while to reach the new max level cap, Level 60. Though that seems like it would be an end goal for players, it is in fact only the beginning. During the course of the Shadowlands main story, players can choose to align with a Covenant. Covenants are powerful groups that correspond to and control the four major zones of Shadowlands: Kyrian, Necrolords, Night Fae, and Venthyr. Each carries out a specific duty needed to keep the afterlife running properly. According to World of Warcraft lore, souls are assigned to a covenant by the Arbiter, where they will need to work, hone Anima, and eventually join the Covenant's ranks.
Unlike the dead who enter the Shadowlands unwillingly, players' characters still have one foot in the land of the living. They are therefore allowed to choose the Covenant that they most align with. Once players select a Covenant, they will need to earn trust and favor with the group to unlock special, Covenant-specific rewards like cosmetics, legendary recipes, and new Soulbind Power rows, among others. This favor is called Renown, and, to earn it, players will need to complete quests. It can't be farmed forever, however. Here's how to earn Renown in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.
How to Earn Renown in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Players can currently earn Renown up to rank 40. At rank 40, players unlock all the best features and rewards available.
The easiest method for earning Renown is to progress the Covenant's story once the character has joined. Players will need to complete quests and dungeons to progress forward, and each Covenant has a different set of tasks based on their personalities and goals. Each chapter a player completes will earn them a new Renown rank-up. It is unlikely players will be able to do this weekly, however, as many quests won't unlock until the player has reached a certain Renown rank.
To reach those needed Renown ranks, players will receive two weekly quests in addition to the Covenant's story campaign. Each of these quests rewards a Renown rank-up. The first of these will almost always task players with depositing 1000 Anima into the Covenant's reservoir at the Sanctum. Any Anima the player has prior to that quest going live at the start of each week will not count toward the needed amount. Players will instead need to farm Anima, either from their Covenant's zone or by completing other quests, looting, and killing rare spawns.
The second weekly quest will task players with rescuing Lost Souls. To do this, they will need to enter The Maw and recover souls from tower Torghast. Each week, players will receive a different soul meant for their Covenant's realm to rescue. These Tormented Souls will eventually become Redeemed Souls that can be used to improve the Sanctum.
Players can only rank up two Renown ranks each week, unless they have a new Covenant chapter unlocked. At those times, they will be capped at three. There is an integrated catch-up mechanic for alts and for players who miss a week, however. When players use an alt or miss one or more weeks of play, their Renown cap will be the current ceiling, rather than the typical three. They can keep grinding for Renown until they reach the current cap. This means, during Week 2, an alt can climb 6 Renown ranks to catch up. During Week 4, they can climb 12 Renown ranks in a single week until they reach that cap. And, during Week 6, they would be able to climb 18 Renown ranks if needed. Other endgame activities like Raids, dungeons, and Callings will reward Renown in these cases.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available for PC.