In Patch 9.1 of World of Warcraft, a very special weapon is coming. It consumes your inventory and becomes more powerful as it does so.
A criticism of World of Warcraft in recent years has been the insignificance of equipment. But that is likely to change with Patch 9.1 Chains of Domination, as some items have really cool, unique effects. Particularly interesting is a weapon that you have to ‘feed’ with other weapons. Only then does it gain power – and whispers dark prophecies in the process.
What is the criticism? ‘In the past,’ it is often said, items in World of Warcraft had more character. Everyone knew weapons like Obsidian Blade, the Mage Blade of Azure Song, or the Director’s Attack. They were unique weapons with special looks, particularly good stats, or special properties that made them sought-after equipment.
Over the years, items have lost this charm. Especially due to effects like Titanforging and the fact that all weapons exist at numerous item levels, individual weapons have had little significance and were easily interchangeable.
What comes for a weapon? In the upcoming raid Sanctum of Domination, there are several weapons that fall back into the category of ‘special.’ One of them is ‘Jaithys, the Prison Blade,’ which you can obtain from Kel’thuzad. This is a hefty two-handed sword, but it has a pretty interesting usage effect. Because according to it, “Consumes a lesser weapon and completely destroys it, in order to nourish the power of Jaithys.”
How does it work? Players can choose to use Jaithys’s ‘Usage’ effect and then select a weapon from their inventory. If the target weapon is deemed worthy – which is presumably epic weapons with an item level above 200 – then the target weapon is consumed and Jaithys changes.
However, the item level of Jaithys does not change; instead, the stats of the weapon shift. Each time Jaithys consumes a weapon, the secondary stats of the weapon – that is, critical strike rating and haste – are reduced. In exchange, the power of an additional bonus effect (proc) that occasionally occurs in combat increases.
At the beginning, the weapon simply gains a chance to deal additional physical damage on an attack. This damage increases as more weapons are consumed. If you continue to feed the weapon, a short buff for a few seconds will also come along with the bonus damage, increasing the character’s strength by 200 or even 400 points later on.
Because the secondary stats of Jaithys’s weapon decrease with each feeding, the pure strength of the weapon remains more or less the same and balanced. However, players can modify their weapon a bit. A trait that gives a weapon personality and ensures that it will surely remain in the minds of players for a long time, even when the upcoming content becomes outdated.
The weapon speaks to you: Additionally, the weapon whispers to you every time (with sound) when you let it consume another weapon. This includes phrases like:
- ‘Behold, Armageddon!’
- ‘Another broken promise.’
- ‘Look at me and behold your doom!’
- ‘They said I was dull. Who laughs last now?’
- ‘You nourish your own damnation.’
A bit creepy, but also pretty cool.
What do you think of such items? An exciting thing that makes loot special again? Or annoying fluff that isn’t needed?
