The Depths are the main new PvE feature of The War Within expansion. With this new game mode, Blizzard is looking to offer an alternative to M+ and Raid content for more casual players, while it is supposed to provide a little more options for those looking to optimize as much as possible. However, does this balance between content accessible for all but difficult at high level, which had not been found at the time on Torghast (Shadowlands) and on Horrific Visions (Battle for Azeroth), deserve attention? carried on him during BlizzCon 2023 ?
Invited to participate in this event, Gamosaurus had the chance to try out the initial version of The War Within Alpha in preview in London. In this article, we share with you our first feedback on the Depths.
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Understanding the game mode in broad terms
While the universe of The War Within will be very underground (¾ of the new continent is underground), the Depths play on this discovery and mining side to offer instanced content, where players will have to venture into sometimes very narrow corridors to help allies solve mysteries.
From the initial concept, Blizzard sought to guide this content in a very specific direction: players must be able to complete it solo or in a group, and in a relatively short time. Indeed, during our exclusive 1-to-1 interview with Ion Hazzikostas (Game Director of World of Warcraft), the latter explained to us that the Depths were there to respond to a specific problem: some of the players did not no or no longer time for Raid, but still wants to enjoy an interesting PvE experience. M+ can be quite long, especially since finding a group also takes time. The Depths are therefore there to offer them an alternative, by being relatively short and soloable.
The solo aspect also uses the data obtained following the implementation of Dungeon Followers, these non-player characters who can follow you in a dungeon in order to avoid having to wait for a group to pex. Thus, you will have access to one, or even several characters, who will be improveable over time.
Additionally, a large portion of PvE players do not participate in ranked PvP activities, which prevents them from completing the third league in their weekly chest. With the arrival of The War Within, this third row of the Vault will now be dedicated to the Depths. Thus, the most invested players will be forced to spend time in this new game mode, in order to maximize their chances of obtaining a good item in their chest, while this will allow others to obtain better coins than in M+ or Raid. Better, the Blizzard teams have confirmed that this content will be a source of high-level objects “ high-end » and set pieces for Season 1.
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Finally, the soloable aspect of the Depths allows them to be included directly in the expansion's narrative arc. So, from the first area, the main quest sends you to complete your first depth in order to advance the story.
Our experience playing the Depths on the Alpha
As mentioned previously, we were able to test the two Depths available on the initial version of the Alpha. However, we already know that there will be many versions of the Depths, like the dungeons. Additionally, only the first two difficulty levels were accessible. Thus, our opinion only focuses on these elements, which somewhat limits the overall perception of the content compared to the final version available when The War Within is released.
The first Depth is available quite quickly in the adventure, since it is directly linked to a quest in the main campaign. Before even starting, the quests serve as an improvised tutorial, explaining a little of the basics of this new adventure.
Exploration is quite easy since no timer or element limiting the time spent in the instance is present. For once, the challenge seemed relatively small to us: a few abilities to avoid, no specific traps and the doors to the next area only open when you have eliminated/looted everything. We advance a bit like a scripted escort quest, cleaning the different monsters that attack the cart to protect.
After finishing this first Depth, the feeling of déjà vu was quite strong. Indeed, ultimately nothing seemed to be different from an escort quest, with the difference that we were in a completely instantiated zone. No real challenge or puzzle to solve, especially since the end boss was extremely basic.
On the other hand, the second Depth would completely transform our point of view on this new game mode. This was a little more hidden, since it was linked only to a series of optional quests. Note in passing for those who don't like quests, that it is possible to directly enter the Depth without completing the story around it.
There, the concept is very different! Time in the Deep is limited by the presence of a darkness-related debuff. The longer you stay in darkness, the more a debuff increases on your character, preventing you from completing the instance if it rises too high. To reduce it (and even remove it), you'll need a lit candle! You are now in the shoes of a Kobold, protecting your candle at all costs.
In addition to the rather fun aspect of the concept, it is quite interesting from a gameplay point of view, since your decisions are based on the time remaining on your candle, which initially only lasts 2 minutes. Almost every room has a light source (or a new candle) allowing you to refresh the duration of the latter.
Better still, traps and monsters (notably the final Boss) will try to steal your candle or reduce its lifespan. This concept is reminiscent of Horrific Visions from Battle for Azeroth, where players had to monitor their health levels. Furthermore, the candle having an area of action around you, it is possible that light management can be done in a group.
In addition, chests give you access to special abilities, improving your movement speed, the power of your spells or adding additional mechanics to them. This element recalls the powers of Torghast, although it seems much more limited (we looted 4-5 during our run) than at the time of the Shadowlands instances.
We are therefore in a game mode which seems much more complex than a simple explorationwith pitfalls to avoid, time management and a certain logic to adopt when traveling.
Note that as far as your companion is concerned, he helps you completely independently, avoiding pulling for you. Better, it does not seem to be an obstacle to your progress, following you without taking traps if you have avoided them.
In conclusion
If after our first experience of the Depths, our opinion was rather mixed, the second instance gave us a glimpse of a concept offering certain potential, both for more casual players and more seasoned players of The War Within. If for the moment, the level of difficulty is clearly not at the level of a Mythical key, we can't wait to be able to test the higher levels in order to really glimpse a PvE challenge different from the content in Raid and MM+.
While the loot system seems to make it a must for mythical raiders and regular players, we simply hope that the repetitive aspect of Horrific Visions and Torghast will not be there.