BlizzCon 2023 Developer Interview With Maria Hamilton & Kristy Moret
In a group interview with Associate Design Director Maria Hamilton and Lead World Artist Kristy Moret at BlizzCon 2023, the developers discussed the future of WoW in The War Within expansion including narrative focus, zone design, Warbands, Dynamic Flight, and AI at Blizzard.
Developer Interview Q&A
Pre-Order grants early access. Are there any safe guards that are going to be put in place to ensure players can't corner the market on certain items in the Auction House which could be considered Pay-to-Win?
Want the early access time to be a leisurely time where players can enjoy the story of The War Within. Season content will not be available. It shouldn't feel mandatory nor give an advantage.
Cross-Realm Guilds are now going to be opening up, but what about regions?
Regions are significantly more complicated and philosophically falls along the same lines, but there's much greater technical hurdles.
In 10.2 we're seeing some additional Druid customization. Will we see this expanded in The War Within and the subsequent expansions?
They hope so. Strong proponents on the team of adding more and they're listening to player feedback.
Chris Metzen suggested that the Worldsoul Saga would be coming in quicker than players have been used to? What does that timeline look like?
We can't get into specific, but yes it will be faster. We want to ensure that players aren't completing this saga in 2030. Teams have been restructured to be able to create this whole saga.
Is flight form becoming a Dynamic Flight option?
We have nothing to announce at this time.
What sorta cadence is expected for Delves? How frequently will players interact with them?
It's completely repeatable with no lockout. Ways to get improved loot may be more
