World of Warcraft: Shadowlands completely changes the face

The mouth is World of Warcraft: Shadowlandthe most polarizing feature of. It becomes more difficult to survive inside The Maw as players spend more time there, and the area’s Eye of the Jailer debuff ultimately forces Azeroth’s heroes to retreat until the next day.

On the one hand, The Maw does a great job of making players feel oppressed in an unfriendly area – after all, this is the most hellish version of World of warcraft‘shell. But it’s not everyone’s favorite feature. “One of the fun things about The Maw’s Expedition is as oppressive as it does, is that it’s been a bit polarizing in terms of how players feel about it,” said Jeremy Feasel, one of World of warcraftthe main game designers.

In an interview with Polygon prior to the BlizzConline opening ceremony, Feasel and Frank Kowalkowski, World of WarcraftTechnical Director, explained how The Maw will grow and evolve in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands‘next patch 9.1, Chains of Domination. The Maw is on the verge of becoming a war zone, which ironically makes it a much safer place for Champions of Azeroth.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

At the start of Chains of Domination, The Jailer drags the Broker’s realm, Korthia, into The Maw. This fundamentally changes parts of the area, as the jailer grafts this new realm to the side of the playable space, allowing players to explore a completely new area.

“We want it to look like an adjoining space,” Feasel said. “So [The Maw and Korthia] will now all be a transparent area. ”

The 9.1 Maw will be a mix of the new and the familiar – although Kowalkowski has confirmed that there will always be a pre-Korthia instance of the Maw for new characters. Players will attack these new lands alongside their alliances, which will establish Safe Zone bases inside the Hostile Zone.

These bases provide players with several advantages. “An attack on this area, and really bringing everything [the Covenants] forces to endure, repels much of that oppression, ”Feasel said of The Maw’s current restrictions. “The presence of the Alliances and having a home base there will lessen the effects of the Eye of the Jailer. This will allow you to spend a lot more time at The Maw. “

Players can expand their Covenant’s strengths through side quests, such as the one focused on the Eye of the Jailer. Not only will this quest teach players why the debuff exists and the history of this mysterious entity, but it will also allow them to cleanse themselves of the debuff over time.

Players cannot use their own mounts in The Maw either, apart from two very specific mounts that are hard to find. This makes The Maw especially tedious for slow classes like Paladins, Death Knights, and Warlocks. The war on the jailer will also solve this problem.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

“Having the Covenants here in space will also allow your mounts to respond to your call again,” said Feasel. However, Blizzard has confirmed that while the flight arrives in the Shadowlands in 9.1, players will never be able to fly in The Maw.

Feasel and Kowalkowski want this new war in The Maw to make players feel liberated, as their alliances are making a difference in the difficult world they’ve come to know over the past few months. “This feeling that the Alliances would have this impact wouldn’t have been possible without things feeling a bit difficult to deal with first,” said Feasel.

While The Maw has certainly frustrated us and a legion of other players, at times Feasel certainly makes a good point. Players will have to wait and see how much of an impact these changes will have when Chains of Domination launches later this year.