Are you afraid of spiders? Then World of Warcraft has found quite a clever solution. All spiders are replaced – by crabs.
Although World of Warcraft has a very harmless comic graphics at its core, it has changed significantly over the course of 20 years. The details have become clearer, and many creatures look more realistic due to increased detail. This can be uncomfortable for anyone with a fear of spiders (arachnophobia) when they encounter such beings in the game world.
Blizzard offers a solution for this. All spiders can be transformed into crabs in The War Within with just one click.
How is this activated? The setting can easily be found in the options once The War Within goes live. You just need to check a box if you suffer from arachnophobia, and you can immediately see how all spider models are replaced with the corresponding crabs.
By the way, one developer manually configured this for each spider in the game so that the crabs always match the environment in which their spider counterparts would otherwise be found.
Why is this being introduced now? Over the years, the WoW developers have repeatedly heard that some players have a problem with the spiders in the game. Recently, there were also developers who felt very uncomfortable working on such game content. Since this has been recognized as a real problem, it was thought that WoW could become a little more pleasant for people with such fears.
In a group interview that also included PCGamer, the Game Director Ion Hazzikostas said:
Before we decided on crabs, we looked at different options… we tried ‘what if the legs aren’t attached to the body?’ We tried a number of things and tested some internally… it turns out that crabs are the best choice. Nobody is afraid of crabs.
While there are now a few concerned voices in the forums who also find crabs uncomfortable, at least temporarily, this change should help many enjoy The War Within.
Cortyn says: In my guild, there are also a few players who have always had issues with the spiders in World of Warcraft. Especially during visits to Naxxramas or even in some caves of Elwynn Forest, I often heard a “Ugh, let’s get out of here quickly.” The combination of “narrow cave” and “spiders” was just off-putting.
For some, the idea of venturing into deep caves in The War Within and encountering not only a few spiders but an entire kingdom of Nerubians was quite a “downer.” The option to replace spiders with crabs has led to a contented sigh of relief.
And for those who find all this “silly” – they don’t have to use it.
Our author Karten Scholz has already played the new expansion.
