If creepy-crawlies such as spiders give you the major heebie-jeebies, the latest quality-of-life feature in World of Warcraft: The War Within will come as something of a relief. The newly added Arachnophobia Mode allows those of us who would rather keep the spiders at bay a shot at enjoying the game without making our skin crawl.
Since the entirety of the new expansion takes us deep underground into the realm of the Nerubians, there will be a ton of spiders. Here is a quick rundown of how to toggle on the new mode in World of Warcraft: The War Within and what types of content it can change.
How To Toggle Arachnophobia Mode
Once you have logged into your character of choice, hit “Escape” and select the “Options” menu. Select “General” within the Accessibility tab, and scroll to the bottom of this menu. You will see the new option to put a checkbox into “Arachnophobia mode” here, as well as toggle it off the same way whenever you’d like. Maybe some days you do like spiders? Toggling the mode will not affect difficulty, nor anything else other than the look of certain enemies, bosses, or NPCs.
What Arachnophobia Mode Can Do
The new mode will turn specified creatures and bosses—whether in the outside world, raids, or dungeons—into other creatures like crabs that are less intimidating (for some) than our eight-legged friends. This mode won’t only apply to spiders, as some spider-like creatures will also be changed, based on which creatures Blizzard believes will trigger discomfort by those affected by the phobia.
The developers do recommend toggling the mode to on as soon as you launch the game, to ensure that all the spooky spiders are managed prior to you running into one along the way. Certain creatures, such as those in pre-rendered cinematics, journal boss entries, loading screen art, item or icon art, and 3D or 2D cobwebs or webbings in-game, will not be changed.
It’s only taken 20 years for Blizzard to think this might be an idea to make life more pleasant for its arachnophobic players! There’s a good chance the developer might have been inspired by other games recently making similar changes, for instance Obsidian’s Grounded and Hogwarts Legacy. For those not fussed by spiders it can seem a peculiar demand, but for those who are affected it can be the difference between not being able to play, and having another mighty game to enjoy.
Kabourphobics still have longer to wait.
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