World of Warcraft added a new item in a recent build of the Public Test Realm that gets rid of an annoying feature from the new Niffen race in Patch 10.1, Embers of Neltharion. Though a seemingly small addition, this new World of Warcraft item is actually a great accessibility tool.
The Niffen are a race of mole people who live in Zaralek Cavern, the new subterranean zone in Embers of Neltharion. Throughout the story, players will interact with these charming folk as they explore the forgotten secrets of the former Black Dragon Aspect.
As giant moles, one of the biggest traits of the Niffen is their poor eyesight and exceptional sense of smell. Unfortunately, this leads to many Niffen characters making a lot of loud sniffing sounds–a maddening trait to some players with misophonia. Luckily, World of Warcraft created a consumable potion called the New Niffen No-Sniffin’ Tonic. When used, this tonic ensures players don’t hear these sniffing sounds for the next week.
Misophonia is a relatively common chronic condition where certain sounds can trigger strong adverse reactions. This fight-or-flight response can kick in when exposed to everyday noises like chewing, yawning, or sniffing. While it may not seem like a big deal, this tonic is actually a useful accessibility tool, especially if it also works for other in-game sniffs as the description suggests, like those the Worgen race in WoW occasionally does as an idle animation.
Many World of Warcraft players will be glad to see the New Niffen No-Sniffin’ Tonic once Embers of Neltharion goes live on May 2. The Niffen are a new Renown faction in Dragonflight, so fans have to interact with them extensively to earn all of their cosmetic and progression rewards, not to mention complete the campaign in Patch 10.1. Players with misophonia will now be able to earn these rewards without driving themselves mad in the process.
World of Warcraft has historically been very good with in-game accessibility tools. Several iconic World of Warcraft dungeons like Grimrail Depot and the Maw of Souls triggered motion sickness with some players, prompting the creation of a special potion to shut off certain animations. Likewise, the accessibility menu keeps getting expanded in Dragonflight, with options for colorblind mode, mouseover casting, click cast binding, UI scaling, text to speech, and more all added to the game recently. The New Niffen No-Sniffin’ Tonic is just another way World of Warcraft is helping everyone navigate Azeroth more comfortably.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.