World of Warcraft: The War Within represents a very heavy first step into a new era of storytelling within World of Warcraft – chauffeuring players on a journey to a colossal tale that has chapters strewn across three entire expansion. But within those larger chapters, smaller tales are told that motivate our path – and in some cases, take us somewhere entirely ethereal.
The newest announced update for the War Within, 11.2, is titled Ghosts of K’aresh and intends to send players to the shattered homeworld of the enigmatic Ethereals – the cunning and trade-smart bandage wearers that first appeared all the way back in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
To my delight I got to spend some more time with the enthusiastic Tina Wang, Associate Art Director and Stephanie Yoon, Assistant Lead Quest Designer, who were more than ready to give me a guided tour of K’aresh – and provide some insight into what may well be the biggest voidwalker players have ever seen.
WellPlayed: We have had so many small tastes of the Ethereals and their culture – how fun is it to really delve into their unique visual style?
Tina Wang: Super fun! So many folks on the team are huge fans of them, and how distinct they were when we first saw them in the Burning Crusade. So there’s a lot of, you know, gathering all the pieces of what we’ve done before with Ethereals and bringing that into one cohesive ‘soup of Ethereal’ – from the little details of the curves of their metal shapes that are on them, to how they wrap themselves. Like, how is the wrapping unique for the different members of their culture? Even when we build the different pieces of Ethereal NPCs, we ask – what would someone a little more tanky look like? What would a super caster look like with a giant floating cape piece on their back.
WP: I was going to ask – what are the key design facets for making something (or someplace) look suitably Ethereal? Besides bandages, I mean.
TW: Oh, interesting. I mean from that art perspective it’s those little details of what their bandage curves look like, it’s got a kind of flame-ish vibe to it. Of course we remember from the Burning Crusade, their buildings and the things they make. It’s this balance of these industrial elements, but also the really elegant elements which you see. In terms of very iconic pieces, it’s all about those pink energy pipes, it’s all the mana forges. And of course, in Netherstorm, we remember the Eco Domes, which were such a nice breath of fresh air away from the devastation of that zone. So it was really fun to bring those elements back as well.
WP: I did see that we will be getting our own eco dome to manage, by way of the ecological succession content. We’re going to be meeting up with Ve’nari and bringing some life back to K’aresh. A question I had is that it is mentioned that players will be bringing wildlife from other Warcraft zones – are these just War Within exclusive areas, or can we head back to Tanaris and capture a turtle, for example?
Stephanie Yoon: So the selection of zones definitely isn’t limited to the War Within. But I want to note that you’re helping Ve’nari out and she knows exactly what she has planned – so she has a list of zones that she’s ready for you to explore and see if these animals will work with the K’aresh biome. So you won’t be able to just head off to Tanaris directly.
TW: My favourite part about the brokers is how they just like to steal things.
WP: There really is no grey area with it is there, it’s not borrowing. They pinch things.
WP: So the last time we saw Dimensius the All-Devouring, he was large – but he was by no means massive. Apparently for the rematch, we will see him at a size that rivals Stormwind City. Does that make him the largest raid boss that players have ever faced?
TW: That is very possible. Probably.
SY: How big was Deathwing? Like, that was a pretty sizable event.
TW: He wasn’t THAT big.
WP: He was large!
TW: …But not quite as large as Dimensius. It’s going to be a really epic encounter – really, the Manaforge Omega raid that comes in Ghosts of K’aresh, the entire facility is based around the idea of them trying to reform Dimensius. So all the details of the place is based around that plan. You even enter via an intake shaft, and when you see the platform he is on – if you look up, which players never do…
WP: It’s true. Players never look up.
TW: …But if you DO, you will see the massive intake shaft from above. You will see they are gathering the energies of an entire destroyed planet to try and reform Dimensius.
WP: So we are not even facing Dimensius at his biggest size? This is just how big he has managed to grow so far?
SY: Yeah, I think that’s safe to say. I think that if we had let their scheme manifest to its full potential, who knows how big this fight could have been, right? But thankfully we do stop them in time. When we were ideating on the encounter, there was a lot of kidding around that we could just take the original blueberry model from the Burning Crusade and just place it right here – but thankfully cooler heads prevailed and Tina and the art team did an incredible job crafting the look of the new Dimensius.
TW: He is Dimensius the ALL-Devouring, the void CONSUMES – that is like, a major theme.
WP: I mean, he devoured a world soul. As far as a resume goes, that’s impressive just to start off with.
TW: Yeah.
WP: Is there any really unique challenges that come from putting together an encounter that large?
TW: There is some fun little aspects, like how do you convey that sense of scale when you move through that space? I don’t want to get too much into spoilers of exactly what happens, but there are people with different graphics settings – different draw distances, amazingly we had some technology for when you go to a specific area, we can flip some things and go past what people might expect.
WP: I also saw something regarding planets blowing up – is that part of the encounter, or just the gist of what a super manaforge is capable of?
SY: I think I don’t want to spoil anything in the encounter. That definitely it’s going to be grand. It’s going to be epic. I can’t wait for players to experience it.
WP: It was mentioned that the campaign story for Ghost of K’aresh actually places the narrative of the new dungeon, Eco-Dome Al’dani, to take place after the events of the Manaforge: Omega raid?
SY: I think the the the choice came naturally as we were talking about how this story is going to flow throughout the campaign. Once we realized, these are the sets of experiences we want the players to have, we are going to have not only a raid, but a dungeon. How does this all fit into the story of Ghosts of K’aresh? The War Within is part of the Worldsoul Saga, a three expansion trilogy. The events of Ghosts of K’aresh is pivotal to what’s coming forth in a way that really hasn’t been the case in a content update of this time and of this cadence. So once we started talking about exactly how we were presenting that story, it became natural. One of the things we’re always looking to do is iterate on exactly what is the best method of presentation. This is another experiment that we’re trying.
WP: So Ghosts of K’aresh is planting seeds that might not necessarily fully take root until World of Warcraft: Midnight?
SY: Yeah. It’s such a unique opportunity for storytelling of in World of Warcraft that I’m really excited for players to experience.
WP: Is it unique for the team to have that kind of foresight for planning things much further ahead?
SY: The nature of our development cycle means we are always planning ahead, but I think there is an energy in development now, knowing we are planting seeds for Midnight directly. We are always looking forward, we are always looking backwards – but there’s an interconnectivity in a way that usually I haven’t seen.
TW: I love that it gives us the ability to tell these bigger stories and give those stories room to breathe over the course of these three expansions.
WP: K’aresh represents a shattered world, a destroyed world, and oddly enough it is not the first of its kind we have seen in World of Warcraft. What comes into account when designing K’aresh to make it interesting and fun to navigate?
TW: We do live in a very dangerous universe. It seems like a lot of worlds getting destroyed! Jokes aside, when we see K’aresh, we are seeing the stakes of the Worldsoul Saga. This could be us. So in terms of designing a space like that, it is important that for us to deliver a fresh take each time. With K’aresh, the pieces you are these pieces of islands that float separately from each other. One thing that’s really important to us from an art perspective, is making those pieces feel dynamic because they are remnants of that shattered destroyed planet. We wanted to sell the idea that these small shards are flowing visually with all the other pieces in the sky. The manaforges are also a core element, pulling in the actual energies of that destroyed planet.
WP: How does one get around K’aresh? Will flying be available eventually?
SY: You will be able to fly with dragon riding from the very beginning, because of the nature of K’aresh being these shattered land masses that are separated by the twisting void. It would have been impossible to traverse without flying.
WP: A new feature in this update is Phase Diving, which allows us to effectively see the world how the Etherals see it. What are some of the first things you think players will notice?
SY: Honestly the very first thing that you notice when you go into phase diving with your Reshii Wraps is the energies coming off of your character – because your corporeal body is dissipating and your entire body is turning to an energy form. In this form you can enter what the Ethereals call Untethered Space. The first thing you notice is it just sheer colours and breadth of your vision just entirely shifting – The world looks different. I think that is the most striking thing immediately before you notice all the different creatures and world quests and treasures and all those things that you can explore the world and find new things.
WP: And Phase Diving lets you see and interact with things that wouldn’t usually appear?
SY: Absolutely, yeah. ‘Capstone’ World Quests are something that we introduced in the War Within, and those are available only while in phase diving.
WP: The item that lets you do Phase Diving, the Reshii Wrap, is a cloak that will be earned in the main story campaign. As an artifact item, it can be upgraded – what does upgrading it give the player?
SY: There’s a single progression tree for the Reshii Wrap as the item level of the artifact increases. What you can select within the cloak are things that unlock additional abilities in the outdoor world or give you new opportunities in Delves. So it’s not directly tied to combat abilities, but represents an opportunity for more content.
WP: And does the cloak become prettier or fancier as you level it up?
SY: So the look of the Reshii Wraps don’t change as they level up, but once you reach max level, there is an additional unlock
WP: Now K’aresh is a shattered place, but some of its wildlife has survived. What kind of creatures call this world home? Are we going to see all kinds of animals that are also wrapped up in bandages, Ethereal style?
TW: There are a lot of unique creatures that you will find on K’aresh. Some of them are ones just floating around in the void, and then there are others that found themselves drawn here and were ultimately able to survive the harshness of K’aresh’s devastated landscape. And then we also have the ones that you find in the Ecodomes. These natural spaces are meant to be recreating what K’aresh was, or rather, how the Brokers are recreating what K’aresh was.
We did want to create a few special types of fluffy creatures that you haven’t seen before, or in a while.
WP: What are some final things from this update that you are excited for players to engage with, that I perhaps have neglected to ask about?
TW: I’m going to choose two parts. One big, one kind of smaller – but I think this raid space is one of the coolest we have ever built. It all revolves around making this epic form and I think Dimensius is going to be a very worthy final boss.
The small thing is for dungeon players, I am really excited for the ‘waypoints’ feature – like, right now when you die, you will be quite unsure where you will respawn if you release from your body. So you are always asking your group, hey – do I release spirit?
But now, both in the UI and within the game world you’ll be able to see a visual that looks a bit like a meeting stone and that will actually show you what resurrection point you have unlocked. So those high stress moments might be less stressful.
SY: Soooo Tina stole my answers. I am trying to think of something I didn’t say in the reveal video. Oh! I am super looking forward to the “What’s coming next” videos that will arrive after people start completing this content – I am so excited to see the speculation on what is coming next in the Worldsoul Saga.
And number two, very recently I have seen how the Ecological Succession content with Ve’nari ends – I don’t want to oversell it, but I’m really looking forward to seeing people see the end of that feature and how that resolves.
WP: Oh wow, so it’s more than just some side activity? It builds towards something very, very cool?
SY: *Nods*
WP: And finally, Do you have any idea of what kind of answer you’re going to give to warlocks when they ask why they can’t enslave their very own Dimensius?
TW: He’s just too big to fit through doorways.
WP: Amazing, thank you very much for your time.
A heartfelt thank you to both Tina and Stephanie for both their time and myriad of awesome insights.
The next chapter of the War Within looks to offer some truly unique fun for long time players, with an amazing setting that has long been desired – and a returning threat that promises to be an exquisite spectacle. But beyond the surface, there are plot threads manifesting that we will not get to see the end of until the next expansion, Midnight, rolls around.
It is a spectacular time to be immersed in the incredible world of Azeroth – so book your ticket to K’aresh the moment this patch arrives.
