Xelnath Post-Mortem: Redesigning Warlocks in Mists of Pandaria
Finishing a story five years in the making, former World of Warcraft game designer Alexander Brazier (aka Xelnath) shares the chaotic tale of the famous Warlock class redesign in Mists of Pandaria, from Burning Embers to Dark Apotheosis and every wild idea in-between!
Told through post-mortem examinations of lessons learned from over twenty years of experience in the video game industry, including work on World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Ori & the Will of the Wisps, and other AAA projects, Brazier shares an intimate view of a process rarely seen by players — the successes, failures, and sometimes wildly impractical ideas that shape game design.
Part 1: Redefining the ClassPart 2: A Novel Resource SystemPart 3: Going Wild
One of the most polarizing yet successful redesigns in World of Warcraft history, Mists of Pandaria overhauled virtually every aspect of what had become the least played class in the game, introducing new unique gameplay elements for all three Warlock specializations.
While the first chapter of this story, which includes the origin of the secretive Black Harvest player council, was released several years ago, the tale has now been concluded with a review of the chaotic journey to redesign Demonology — from Pikmin-inspired Wild Imps, to Warlock players swapping perspectives with their pet, and even completely redesigning melee combat in order to create a fast and mobile Metamorphosis driven fighter that's suspiciously reminiscent of today's Demon Hunter...
While these concepts and a serious attempt to turn Demonology into a full-fledged tank specialization complete with taunts and survivability cooldowns were ultimately scrapped, that iterative process led to the development of Dark Apotheosis — creating a unique and memorable experience for the tough and tanky demonic class fantasy.
Dark Apotheosis allowed Demonology Warlocks to remain permanently in Metamorphosis, trading damage for dramatically stronger defensive capability.
Though his
