While World of Warcraft's new housing system is taking up a lot of Midnight's spotlight, another feature I'm almost just as excited for is the Prey system. However, we may never have gotten it if a new slice of War Within content didn't go over well, as Blizzard initially had its doubts.
Prey is best described as a system where you hunt someone who, in turn, hunts you. Initially revealed at Gamescom earlier this year, Blizzard went further in-depth during a preview event attended by GamesRadar+ for the MMO's upcoming Midnight expansion.
Astalor Bloodsworn leads the opt-in bounty hunting in Silvermoon’s Murder Row. You get to hunt targets like Magister Sunbreaker, High Vindicator Vureem, and Executor Kaenius, and there are three difficulty tiers – normal, hard, and nightmare. If you're brave enough to up the difficulty, you'll find they toss in 'torments' that add personal afflictions like time-limited kills or lethal spirits.
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Do be warned, though. None of the above are happy to be hunted and will aim to take you out first – regardless of whether you're questing or enjoying a spot of fishing. If you're familiar with Lord of the Rings: Shadow of War's Nemesis system or Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's Mercenary system, you'll get the gist.
Following our preview, we had the opportunity to ask Blizzard some questions, so I inquired about the origins of the Prey system and whether the likes of The Lord of the Rings and Assassin's Creed provided the team with any notes.
Associate game director Paul Kubit tells me the team takes inspiration from "lots of games," though some of the best notes are found within the MMO itself. In a bid to "get people a little bit more engaged in the outdoor world," Blizzard also looked to the likes of Burning Crusade's Sunwell Plateau.
For design director Maria Hamilton, though, the more recent introduction of Delves in The War Within was also an encouragement. A mini-dungeon for one to five players, Delves pair you with an NPC companion to explore content that can be cleared in around 15 minutes, with plenty of chopping and changing to keep it fresh. And, more importantly, a nemesis who wants to hunt you down.
"We weren't sure how people would react to that," she tells us. "I know I was initially doubting that people would want someone, some enemy jumping in unexpectedly like that. But it turns out people really like it. So we thought, yeah, let's do more of that in the outdoor world."
World of Warcraft's Midnight expansion is set to launch next year.
World of Warcraft ends 21-year drought and adds housing with MMO's new Midnight expansion – but Blizzard has a good reason it took so long: "We couldn't just check off a box and do the minimum."
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