The artifact weapons from World of Warcraft are powerful. But will they still be around in the next expansion?
No more artifact weapons after “Legion”
With each new expansion of World of Warcraft come new features and gameplay content that have been beloved by gamers. In Warlords of Draenor, it was the garrison for many, and in Mists of Pandaria, the same courtyard in the Valley of the Four Winds. However, transitioning to a new expansion often means leaving certain content behind, such as the mentioned locations. But will this be the case with the artifact weapons as well? After all, they are the most powerful weapons in the lore of World of Warcraft.
In an interview with Polygon magazine, Dave Kozak, the Lead Narrative Designer of World of Warcraft, provided a clear answer: Artifact weapons will likely only be relevant in Legion.
“This is that distinctive, cool thing in this expansion. In Warlords of Draenor, it was the garrisons. We carried some elements from it into the future, but otherwise, it was a Draenor thing. Now you have the artifact weapons, and that will be a Legion thing. Ultimately, we will probably have something else very cool afterward.”
One of the reasons why such features are often “left behind” is, according to Kozak, that otherwise the game becomes too overloaded, which imposes a burden not only on players but also on developers.
“If we were to add such new things in every expansion, the game would be very unwieldy. We would have to bring everything up to date every time. Imagine if we had to keep the entire garrison system this time. That would have become very unwieldy. If you want to keep a game like World of Warcraft, which is now over 11 years old, manageable, you have to think about how to design it accordingly.”
However, since Legion is supposed to last a little longer and deliver more content than, for example, Warlords of Draenor, players will likely have enough time to enjoy their artifact weapons.
Don’t know your artifact weapons yet? Then check out our overview of the artifact weapons to know what to expect starting August 30.
