World of Warcraft Patch 12.1 brings four new Endeavors to player neighborhoods.
There are centaurs.
There are kobolds.
There are tortollans.
And then there is Griftah.
Which means we can probably stop pretending this is going to be an entirely respectable commercial operation.
The legendary troll salesman returns during the new Knock-off Amani Endeavor, offering what Blizzard describes as “traditional Amani goods.”
They are almost certainly not traditional Amani goods.
They may not even technically be Amani goods.
But they are for sale, and that has always been enough for Griftah.
Knock-off Amani Is Available With Patch 12.1
The first of the four new Neighborhood Endeavors arrives alongside Curse of Ula’tek.
During Knock-off Amani, Griftah and his travelling traders appear in your neighborhood with a selection of troll-themed decorations and other suspicious merchandise.
The Endeavor also opens a direct portal from the neighborhood to the Coiled Isle, tying the Housing activity into Patch 12.1's new outdoor zone.
That alone is rather useful.
The fact that the portal is attached to a man whose business model has historically involved selling things like invisible shoes is perhaps less reassuring.
Griftah Has Invented Another Currency
Naturally, Griftah isn't satisfied with ordinary Community Coupons.
The Endeavor introduces
Griftah's Token of Appreciation.
Players can receive these tokens from completing Endeavor tasks, with the amount depending on the difficulty of the task.
One token can then purchase a
Bag of Totally Legitimate Amani Goods.
The bag supposedly contains a variety of Amani items that may be useful to your neighbors.
“Supposedly” is doing magnificent work in that sentence.
If anyone else sold you a mystery bag full of possibly authentic tribal artifacts using a currency they personally invented five minutes earlier, you would contact the authorities.
In World of Warcraft, we call it content.
There Is Plenty of Actual Amani Housing Decor Too
Behind the joke, the Endeavor adds a substantial amount of new troll-themed decor.
Players can earn or purchase items including:
- Forest Troll Fences and Fenceposts
- Amani Road Markers
- Woven Forest Troll Rugs
- Amani Wicker Crates
- An Amani Anvil
- An Amani Water Well
- A Witch Doctor's Punch Bowl
Later Endeavor milestones also unlock shrines dedicated to Halazzi, Akil'zon, Nalorakk and Jan'alai.
Those names should be immediately familiar to anyone who spent enough time inside Zul'Aman.
And if they aren't, congratulations on maintaining a healthier relationship with old raid content than some of us.
Three More Endeavors Are Coming
Knock-off Amani is only one of four new Neighborhood Endeavors being added in Patch 12.1.
The others rotate in afterward.
Every Bakar Has Its Day brings Ohn'ahran centaurs into the neighborhood to help residents train and care for their pets.
Rewards include Maruukai furniture, barricades, rugs and several bakar-themed items.
Candle Culture involves the kobolds of the Ringing Deeps investigating mysterious wax deposits.
As you would expect from kobolds, there are candles.
Many candles.
Enough candles that somebody at Blizzard apparently looked at WoW Housing and concluded the primary problem was insufficient fire hazards.
Finally,
Vacation Season brings tortollans into the neighborhood with travel-themed decorations, cooking equipment, storage pieces and sea-inspired furniture.
A turtle has made it to your front lawn.
This Is Exactly What Endeavors Need
The more interesting thing here is what Blizzard is doing with the Endeavor system itself.
Housing doesn't really need another generic weekly bar that fills because you did twelve unrelated activities.
It needs personality.
Visitors.
Small stories.
Strange vendors.
Rewards that make sense for the people currently occupying your neighborhood.
Griftah showing up with counterfeit Amani merchandise is exactly the sort of silly little worldbuilding that makes Housing feel connected to Warcraft rather than like a completely separate furniture simulator.
The centaurs teaching people about bakar works.
Kobolds holding a candle workshop works.
Tortollans deciding they were technically vacationing in your neighborhood before you even moved in is extremely tortollan.
None of this changes raid progression.
Nobody's Mythic+ rating increases because they bought a Forest Troll Fencepost.
And thankfully, not everything in World of Warcraft needs to.
Sometimes Azeroth just needs a dodgy salesman standing outside your house offering you a mystery bag.
Griftah has been preparing for this moment his entire career.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment / Wowhead
Post a Comment