The Midnight expansion's reveal at Gamescom happened with a World of Warcraft cinematic showing the premise of the story, which sees a battle between the forces of the Light and the Void in Quel'Thalas. Yet, there is a lot more to the expansion that was shared only afterwards on social media, the official website for WoW, and other channels. Based on what is confirmed so far, the Midnight expansion for World of Warcraft will include what follows:
- A new campaign, with the level cap being raised to 90 (current cap is 80)
- Four reimagined or entirely new zones, like Quel'Thalas, Zul'Aman, Harandar, and The Voidstorm
- The Prey feature, which allows players to take on hunting jobs where powerful elite enemies are the target, with multiple cosmetic rewards
- Player housing
- A third Demon Hunter spec, called Devourer
- Seven new Delves, three new Raids, and eight new Dungeons
- Updated new/returning player experience
- New 40 vs. 40 Battleground
- A new Allied Race, the Haranir
Some items on the list are not big surprises, if at all, but others skirt that line. A new Demon Hunter spec in WoW was expected with patch 11.2's life cycle due to the many hints it includes, whereas the Haranir as an Allied Race is an interesting and partly unexpected choice for various reasons. As much as they can be a great addition to the game, though, they come with some caveats.
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Why World of Warcraft's Playable Haranir Make Sense in Midnight
World of Warcraft's Haranir race was introduced in The War Within as part of the campaign, mainly for a short period during the Azj-Kahet chapter of the story, and as a tie-in with the Undermine season thanks to the connection between Orweyna and the Black Blood used by Gallywix. As a mix of sorts between trolls and elves, the Haranir seemed like a perfect playable race in the game, but their story was seemingly cut short. Likewise, there were character models, armor sets, and customization options datamined for The War Within, but the race was not playable.
With World of Warcraft's Midnight expansion focusing on Blood Elves, Xal'athat, the Sunwell, and both the Light and the Void, many expected the Haranir to rear their heads again in The Last Titan, if at all. Not only are the Haranir back for Midnight, and not only are they going to be playable, but fans will also be able to explore their home area, Harandar. Considering that the Haranir will be playable as Druids, alongside several other classes (Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock, Monk, and Shaman), they are going to be a great addition to the game, though not without a fair share of controversies.
Even if played as a different class, the Haranir can provide the best of both worlds with their transformation, feeling like WoW's Druid's ability to shapeshift.
Why World of Warcraft's Playable Haranir Are a Controversy Waiting to Happen
For starters, fans have been vocal about World of Warcraft's Ethereals becoming a new playable race for quite some time now, and with patch 11.2 revolving around them and the new K'aresh zone, Midnight's story premise seemed like a match made in heaven. However, with the Haranir taking the spot as a new Allied Race in Midnight, Ethereals becoming playable seems like a pipe dream now, which is not sitting well with several players. On top of that, another point of contention is the fact that another race that fans have been wanting to play as is going to be present in Midnight, but only as NPCs - the Amani Trolls.
Another potential critique is that the Haranir can transform into bats to fly around, which would follow the same pattern as the Dracthyr in WoW Dragonflight. The problem is that Dracthyr can choose a visage form to use outside of battle, whereas in combat, they have to be in their dragon form, which a lot of players were not happy about on launch and still aren't to this day, almost three years later. As such, the Harani transforming into bats is potentially cool, but it needs to be optional and out of combat only if the race is to be received well by the community.
- Released
- August 26, 2024
- Base Game
- World of Warcraft
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
