World of Warcraft is kicking off its 20th year with the first of a three-part set of expansions, The War Within. As a sinister threat is rising from deep within Azeroth, The War Within will kick off the overarching Worldsoul Saga Trilogy with new areas, races, and problems for Azeroth. Multiple new game mechanic updates are taking place as well, including raising the level cap to 80, expanding dynamic flight to more flying mounts in WoW, and adding an arachnophobia filter to help everyone be able to enjoy the new spider-filled zones of Azj-Kahet and beyond.
As WoW: The War Within enters the first round of Alpha testing this week, players are getting their first glimpse of what to expect from part one of the trilogy. As an ancient Nerubian civilization has joined forces with the evil Xal’atath, who was first introduced in Legion, they are pushing forward to gain power without regard for others. Players will get to see many familiar characters from past expansions, as well as make new friends with a new allied race: the Earthen.
Screen Rant was invited to join in a press briefing and interview with World of Warcraft‘s Lead Visual Development Artist, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Senior Narrative Designer, Abigail Manuel. The two graciously answered questions regarding the upcoming trilogy of expansions to the game and The War Within expansion.
Screen Rant: With World of Warcraft having over two decades worth of story and lore, and everything that has gone into this whole universe, I know that this trilogy of expansions is looking back at the history of Azeroth and the Titans. How much from the previous expansions are we going to see pulled in?
When further asked if The War Within will have its own standalone narrative arc, or if it is just the first chapter of the trilogy without an end to it separate from the next two expansions, Abigail Manuel responded that it does have an end.
Screen Rant: How will the dynamic flight work being implemented across most mounts? I understand it will be able to be toggled on and off, but will this work for all mounts, or will it be certain mounts? Will it work in all areas?
The major antagonists for The War Within are a race called the Nerubians, who are spider creatures. This presents a lot of hesitation for players who have a fear of spiders who may want to play the game but would not enjoy it because of this design choice. For this reason, World of Warcraft developers are adding a new arachnophobia filter to the game which will make spiders look like crabs instead.
Screen Rant: Regarding the arachnophobia filter, it is going to apply to a lot of the Nerubians to make them look more like crabs rather than spiders, but how will that work for boss battles? Are the bosses going to be designed to look like crabs as well? And will it apply retroactively to spiders elsewhere in World of Warcraft?