World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas recently clarified that early access to The War Within won’t give players any advantages. Though players who purchase the Epic Edition of the next World of Warcraft expansion can play three days early, Hazzikostas is confident they will get no long-term advantage over players who buy the normal or Heroic Editions.

During BlizzCon, World of Warcraft announced The War Within, the first expansion coming as a part of the multi-year Worldsoul Saga storyline. However, one of the most controversial details about the new release was the early access period; while players can jump into The War Within three days sooner, doing so is locked behind the $90 Epic Edition. This has angered many players, who think this period will give players who put down the extra money an unfair advantage for raiding and Mythic+ dungeons.

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In an interview with PC Gamer, Hazzikostas clarified that wouldn’t be the case. The developer assured fans that most sources of player power outside of leveling would not be in the game yet. Rare drops, Mythic dungeons, and profession cooldowns would be unavailable until after the official launch and weekly reset. “The early access period is really pulling in that start by a few days for these people to get a head start on leveling, aimed more at a lot of players who may not have as much free time and not have the ability to take time off work,” he said, “and therefore miss out on that first week of running Mythic Zero [dungeons], or running max level dungeons with their friends and their guild mates who are able to jump in." It sounds like World of Warcraft wants to give players more time to experience The War Within without needing to rush through it or take time off, and to add value to the premium pre-order packages.

“We're looking at end game power advantages. Our goal here is, and we're going to do everything in our power to make sure it's the case, that there's no long-term advantage. You shouldn't be able to tell the difference between someone by the time Season One [with its raid and Mythic Plus dungeons] starts, who had the early access to someone who didn't."

Dragonflight Season 1, which heralded the beginning of Raid and Mythic+ season, didn’t start until two weeks after the game’s launch. Assuming World of Warcraft is planning to follow Dragonflight's example in The War Within, his assurance makes perfect sense. Players who do not get early access will have plenty of time to hit max level and gear up before the raid and Mythic+ dungeons open up.

That said, it seems few fans were persuaded by Hazzikostas’ words. Many are sure players will find a way to get an unfair advantage by playing World of Warcraft: The War Within in early access regardless, and claim Blizzard is greedy for locking the “real release date” behind a massive price tag. These fans believe the system itself is unfair, and that the early access days should be granted to all editions, if not at least the Heroic one.

Either way, World of Warcraft is getting into the early access game in The War Within. Players will have to see if World of Warcraft changes the way early access works in Midnight and The Last Titan, though that will depend on how many players buy the Epic Edition, and how vocal the outcry against it is.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the ninth expansion pack for the iconic massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.

Dragonflight features an overhauled user interface, raises the level cap to 70, and introduces a new race and class.

Franchise

Warcraft

Platform(s)

PC

Released

November 28, 2022

Developer(s)

Blizzard , Activision

Publisher(s)

Blizzard , Activision

See at Official Site