WoW devs address War Within’s short campaign amid concern from players

World of Warcraft: The War Within is in its beta phase, and the community is working through the content on offer. One of the major points of contention has been the length of the campaign, and the developer has now addressed the thinking behind it.

The War Within’s campaign is noticeably shorter than in previous expansions, with some only reaching Level 75 when progressing exclusively through that method in the beta. This has led some to question why the campaign seemingly doesn’t take players to the new Level 80 cap.

In an interview on the Taliesin & Evitel YouTube channel, Associate Design Director Maria Hamilton said the following when asked about the campaign’s duration.

“The campaign itself is a little bit shorter, and we invested some time in those local stories for zones, with the expectation that you would play some of them while leveling. We wanted you to understand the place you’re in more fully and some of the characters more fully. “

“So, we incorporated a lot of that extra interest into those stories. We made sure that the main campaign was what you need to know to understand the overarching story specifically.”

She went on to add that some of the thinking around The War Within’s campaign design was rooted in offering the right thing to those who don’t enjoy the story.

“There are people, believe it or not, who don’t enjoy the story. They’re not really interested in that. We wanted to make sure we were giving you what was important to understanding that campaign. All of the other stories that we have throughout the zones are local stories that let you learn about the world and enjoy the world,” Hamilton confirmed.

“Additionally, as far as the leveling, we’re still tuning experience points, and there is an introduction that you have not played. There is also some encrypted, additional stuff towards the end of the campaign.”

“We do still have some stuff that you haven’t played yet. I like it when we don’t have you play everything ahead of time. I don’t think you will end up at Level 75. You should not end up at Level 75, but please, enjoy the zones.”

Part of the issue when developing a new WoW expansion is the immensely varied tastes of the game’s player base. Some are in it for Mythic dungeons and raids, others enjoy the story, and some exclusively play PvP.

Appealing to all of those simultaneously is a tough ask, and the decision-making around the campaign is an attempt at compromise on the developer’s part. Whether it will pay off remains to be seen, but the general response to the beta has been good.

The War Within is set to release on August 26 or August 22 for those with early access.