New World of Warcraft: The War Within Zone Has Incredible Dynamic Environment Effect

06.05.2024 - 22:59 / gamerant.com / Eric Law

Warning: Spoilers for World of Warcraft: The War Within below.

Hallowfall, one of the new zones in World of Warcraft: The War Within, has a stunning new dynamic environmental effect involving Beledar, the radiant star on the cave’s roof. The crystal briefly shifts from light to dark and back again every three hours, transforming the entire World of Warcraft zone in the process.

The War Within, World of Warcraft’s next expansion after Dragonflight, takes place on Khaz Algar, a new island with four new zones, three of which are underground. The third zone players visit in The War Within is Hallowfall, a massive underground region lit by the light of Beledar, a bright crystal jutting out from the ceiling of the cavern that is central to the culture of the Arathi who live there.

However, Hallowfall holds an amazing feature that elevates the gorgeous zone even further. Every three hours, Beledar darkens for 30 minutes, becoming a deep purple until it goes back to its original state. What’s more, the creatures of Hallowfall seem to change as well, with some getting new particle effects and buffs while under the dark star. Wowhead captured footage of the breathtaking animation, which dynamically alters the ambient lighting of the entire Hallowfall zone when it shifts.

Beledar is crucial to the story of the Arathi of Hallowfall. When they first came to the region 15 years ago, they began to venerate Beledar as a manifestation of their Sacred Flame. Then, five years later, the star shifted for the first time in what they refer to as the Day of Darkness – an event that happened to coincide with Sargeras plunging his sword into Azeroth in WoW: Legion. In the lore since then, it has shifted back and forth in unpredictable patterns, though the in-game cadence seems to be consistent.

That said, when players first enter Hallowfall, Beledar will always be bright. The star actually transitions for the first time during the Hallowfall story, and its transformation likewise plays a role during World of Warcraft: The War Within’s new Dawnbreaker dungeon. As of the alpha, the three-hour cycle seems to kick in after the zone story is completed.

Needless to say, World of Warcraft fans were stunned by this incredible special effect. Hallowfall was already one of the zones players were the most excited about in The War Within, and Beledar has only served to increase the hype for the region. It is obvious World of Warcraft is pulling out all the stops in The War Within, and players can’t wait to see the zone in person once the expansion releases.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the ninth expansion pack for the iconic massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of