World of Warcraft is known for its vast locations, from arid deserts to lush forests, but some of the most interesting zones are densely populated, such as Suramar or Tiragarde Sound. The first major patch for The war within Expansion adds another area with Undermine, the goblin capital, and a huge urban center that doesn’t quite resemble anything else you’ll see on Azeroth.
On Thursday, Blizzard released a video of Undermine, explaining what to expect from the goblin capital. The goblins are underserved by World of Warcraft; since their introduction all the way back in 2010 Cataclysm, they’ve mostly served as wacky comic relief for the Horde. Into the goblin starting zone Cataclysm is also advanced, with cars, highways and even a personal assistant for the player, but was destroyed by the rise of Deathwing.
Some of the goblin collectives in Patch 1.1 (with a clever title Subverted) were enemies in previous patches. Luckily, they’re interested in working with the heroes of Azeroth, and won’t hold you back from past transgressions – so if you’re the kind of player who slaughtered guards in Booty Bay and built a terrible reputation with the Blackwater cartel Baron Revilgaz will not be hostile to you.
Subverted contains a car, which you can upgrade by working with the goblin cartels. In addition to these goblin cars, Blizzard introduces the DRIVE (Dynamic Revolutionary Improvements to Vehicular Experiences) mechanic; they are much faster than a ground mount – and even a little faster than a flying mount in the air. For anyone who wishes World of Warcraft had more drift, this is the patch for you.
Subverted also includes new Delves (one of which has an alarming number of Void constructs hidden), a new Arena, and a new dungeon called Operation Floodgate. Raiders can look forward to the Liberation of Undermine, an eight-boss raid. Here, players can finally beat up Gallywix, the ultra-capitalist goblin who betrayed his people during the Cataclysm and somehow managed to avoid leading the faction. Gallywix sits, as he should, in a giant mech built to resemble his face.
Blizzard has not yet announced a release date for Subverted not quite yet, but it seems like an interesting spin-on The war within‘s zones so far. The goblin antics will tie into the larger plot of Xal’atath, so there will be some interesting mysteries in store.