Does game time come with the pre-purchase of shadowlands? or do I need to buy a sub as well as pre-purchasing the new expansion?
I cancelled my sub a few months ago and I don’t remember the last time i pre-purchased an expansion. I can’t remember if I have to have an active sub, or need to purchase a sub prior to being able to pre purchase shadowlands and be able to play some of the content that comes with the pre-purchase??
If you pre-purchase the Epic Edition, it does come with 30-days of Game Time.
https://us.shop.battle.net/en-us/product/world-of-warcraft-shadowlands
I was planning on getting the heroic edition, then maybe upgrade to epic later when i had the extra cash, I’m curious if Heroic edition has 30 days game time as well?
No, it does not. The page I linked has all of the information about the different editions though 
The comparisons are near the bottom of the page.
Well tickle me pink… =/ oh well, I guess i can pay for a sub and then pre-purchase later, i have til the end of decemeber i’m sure i’ll be able to get the money by then. thanx =D
You don’t need to have an active subscription in order to pre-purchase the next expansion, just that your current game license is updated to Battle for Azeroth.
There is no content that comes with the pre-purchase until several months from now when the pre-patch is released, though. And if memory serves, pre-patch content is free to everyone with an active license when it is eventually released.
With one caveat:
Pre-purchase Options
All bonuses from the Heroic and Epic Editions are unlocked immediately upon pre-purchase. In addition, pre-purchasing any edition of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands will open the ability for players to create pandaren and allied race Death Knights once the Visions of N’Zoth content update for the current expansion, Battle for Azeroth™, arrives in the coming months.
Ehhhhhhh, I’ll give it.
I’ve always been one to teeter on the line between playable characters being considered authentic content, despite being referred to as downloadable content, unable to genuinely consider them one or the other, but that’s fair. As it’s specifically unlocked by pre-purchase, I retract the sentiment.
I personally align content to deal more with zones, quests, pet battles, etc.
When does the 30 days of game time start? I’ve cancelled my sub, and am not currently playing. Does the time start immediately when I pre-purchase? Or can I wait and activate the 30 days only when I want to resume playing?
As soon as the purchase clears your financial institution. They don’t have any systems set up to delay game time activation.
Thanks! Then I better not purchase now.
Yes, if you select the Epic Edition, which includes 30 days of game time, it will apply to your account immediately. If you already have game time on the account it will kick in as soon as that expires, if the account is inactive, it will start right away.
Note the base expansion and the heroic edition do not include game time as part of the package. If you want to pre-purchase but aren’t going to play for a bit you can purchase one of those and upgrade at a later date.
Note: The Complete Collections include game time for both the Epic and the Heroic.
If you are on autopay for your game time, will it just start the free month at the end of the pay cycle or will it refresh my regular automatic payments? Wondering if I should cancel the subscription for a month to take advantage or if it will proactively know not to bill. Thank you!
If you have game time added to the account that will take over once the current game time expires. Your subscription will pick up again once all added game time on the account runs out.
So if you normally were set to automatically renew your sub at the end of this month but you purchased the Epic Edition of the Shadowlands expansion, the 30 days of game time would start at the end of the month instead of your subscription renewing. Once the 30 days were over, your subscription would trigger, causing it to bill you can add game time to the account.
I don’t currently have BFA, if I preorder Shadowlands it states in the product description you get access to all previous expansions, will I get access to BFA as soon as I preorder Shadowlands, or only at time of release?
I don’t recall Warlords having the same framework, but Legion was rolled into the base game roughly a month or so before BFA was released, so it stands to reason it’ll be about the same for Shadowlands.
Simple answer: Yes
Complicated answer: You have to buy BFA before you can purchase Shadowlands, at least currently. More information about BFA possibly being rolled into the base game is not available at this time.
but then you say:
so which is it? do the epic and heroic come with game time included? Or does base and heroic do NOT come with game time included with pre-purchase?
Only the epic comes with gametime if you already have an account upgraded, if you are upgrading a new account using the complete collection (which is only for new accounts) then both do.
It is both. Purchasing the Base or Heroic edition of Shadowlands doesn’t include game time, which is standard with most expansions. However, this time around we’re offering the Epic edition which also includes 30 days of game time along with the other listed rewards.
The Complete Collection, is primarily for those who have a new or Starter Edition WoW license, and includes the base game (with 30 days of game time), the Battle for Azeroth expansion (which currently includes a level 110 character boost), Shadowlands (with the various cosmetic rewards and a level 120 character boost).
The Epic version of the Complete Collection also includes the 30 days of game time that I mentioned previously, which gives the Epic version of the Complete Collection a total of 60 days of game time.