Summary
On the second day of BlizzCon 2023,World of Warcraftgame director Ion Hazzikostas gave players a deeper look into the gameplay systems that will be featured in bothThe War Withinexpansion and the upcoming Patch 10.2.5. In addition to new content such as Hero Talents, Delves, and Warbands, Hazzikostas showed some improvements to the user interface and the Great Vault that are being made as Blizzard prepares forthe Worldsoul Saga ofWorld of Warcraft.
TheWorld of WarcraftDeep Dive panel followed up on the Delves that were revealed as one ofthe gameplay elements ofThe War Within. According to Hazzikostas, Delves will last around 10 to 15 minutes, as players will explore the dark depths of Khaz Algar with a seasonal NPC companion, with several difficulty tiers and rewards to pick from. Hazzikostas said thatthe Great Vault would be adjusted to account for world activities such as world quests and delves, and that Patch 10.2 will see the dungeon tab updated to include Heroic and Timewalking dungeons for casual players.
Hazzikostas then revealed that the Earthen Allied Race would be available upon reaching level 80 and completing a specific quest series on one character. OnceWorld of Warcraftplayers have the Earthen unlocked, they will be able to play as any class except Druid, Demon Hunter, and Evoker. As for classes themselves, Hazzikostas then said that the development of the Hero Talent system started with a focus on Druids first, since they had four specializations and were trickier to balance compared to other classes such as Paladin and Mage. Hazzikostas then revealed the names of each Hero Talent that players can choose from.
World of Warcraft: The War Within Hero Talent Names
Hazzikostas then stated thatWarbands would be able to share resourcesvia a new bank tab. The system was built to be added onto in the future as a way to counteract some archaic systems that involved reputation and the way items were handled in the past. He then showed a new weapon type called “Warbound Until Equipped,” which would be at a lower item level than normal Soulbound gear. Hazzikostas then gaveWorld of Warcraftplayers a glimpseat some interface changes to the quest log and spellbook and cited that some changes were done as a way to help colorblind players out with finding objectives.
To close the panel, Hazzikostas confirmed that Dynamic Fight would be used going forward as an evolution of Dragonriding, and that Patch 10.2.5 would allowolder mounts to use regular flightand Dynamic Flying. All in all,World of Warcraftplayers will have a lot to chew on soon.
