On August 7, 2026, a developer interview was held regarding ‘Curse of Ulatek,’ the second season of World of Warcraft: Midnight.
This interview was conducted in two separate sessions. Associate Game Director Paul Kubit and Lead Quest Designer Rachel Bott discussed the game’s overall concept and design, while Lead Combat Designers Taylor Sanders and Andrew de Sousa addressed questions regarding major content and combat balance.
Over the course of an hour, they explained the ongoing Midnight epic that continues in ‘Curse of Ulatek,’ the new outdoor zone ‘Coiled Isle,’ the raid dungeon ‘Venomous Abyss,’ and the new ‘Lair’ content featuring outdoor boss raids. They also addressed updates to existing systems, including housing and the new Mythic+ dungeon rotation.
The following is the full transcript of the interview with the four Blizzard Entertainment developers.
Narrative and Field Content: The Midnight Story Continues on ‘Coiled Isle’
‘The Curse of Zul’Aman’ brings the story of Zul’Aman and the Amani trolls back to the forefront. Rather than simply recycling past content, what aspects were reinterpreted to connect it with the current narrative of World of Warcraft?
Rachel Bott: We are currently in the middle of the three-part Worldsoul Saga. ‘Midnight’ is not just a story about the Void and Xal’atath; it is a much larger tale.
With the launch of ‘Midnight,’ we reintroduced Zul’Aman, updated existing zones, and introduced new Amani characters. Our goal with this story is to honor the past while fully exploring the breadth and depth of the Amani race. The Amani are not just a simple group, and there are many stories left to tell.
In the current story flow, Ulatek’s appearance feels somewhat sudden. There are community jokes that Ulatek might just be a final boss without any dialogue. I am curious about Ulatek’s position in this Midnight story, which is filled with conflict against the Void forces.
Rachel Bott: Ulatek is connected to the main story of ‘Midnight.’ One reason is that Zul’zan is trying to control Ulatek as a weapon to protect the Amani.
Why do the Amani need protection now? Because the Twilight Blade, serving Xal’atath, is plotting something. Also, the Amani’s historical enemies, the Blood Elves, are right nearby. The Blood Elves have just fought a massive battle to protect the Sunwell and are ready to fight again.
Before chasing Xal’atath in 12.1, players will face Ulatek directly in the ‘Venomous Abyss’ raid. After facing Ulatek, the question remains: ‘What happens next?’ Once Season 2 begins, you will join forces with Arator to continue the pursuit of Xal’atath. In that process, you will learn what we set in motion by confronting Ulatek.
Many users have expressed disappointment that ‘Zul’zan’ is being used as a villain in this story arc. It feels like characters with heroic status in the game are being retired too quickly. Is the story team aware of these concerns, and what are your plans.
Rachel Bott: First, I am very happy that so many people resonate with the new characters Zul’zan and Zul’jara in ‘Midnight.’ For a long time in World of Warcraft, the Amani appeared only in limited ways and were often depicted as villains. In ‘Midnight,’ we had the opportunity to show the heroic side of the Amani.
Zul’zan has always walked a different path than his sister, Zul’jara. Zul’zan believes the Amani must be able to stand on their own without the Loa. Zul’jara, as a prophet, has a different perspective. However, both are the grandchildren of Zul’jin and feel the weight of his legacy. In the ‘Curse of Ulatek’ story, we want to show how these complex individuals respond when faced with a serious new threat and how differently each approaches it.
But at the core, there is a deep affection for each other and their people. Both make important decisions that will have a major impact on the future story. I can’t go into detail as it might be a spoiler, but there are parts yet to be revealed. I look forward to players discovering this for themselves in the full context as they progress through the story.
On Coiled Isle, a dedicated growth system is introduced where you collect ‘Corroded Souls’ to unlock abilities at the Altar of Corruption and choose the effects you want. Why was this designed as an account-wide unlock with character-specific selection, and what kind of growth experience did you want to provide?
Paul Kubit = That’s a good question. Generally, when we add a new growth system, we approach it differently if it provides new functionality rather than just making the character stronger. By functionality, I mean opening up new ways to interact with the world or the game.
Unlocking new dungeons is just one example of features we prefer to unlock account-wide. For players who have multiple characters or alts, it can be frustrating to re-unlock benefits they’ve already earned on another character. This is why we designed the Altar of Corruption with shared bonuses that unlock once per account and can be used by all characters. This approach allows players to enjoy the game without feeling overwhelmed by repetitive tasks or feeling like they must do something to earn rewards. We strive to create a balance between fun content and “homework” by offering engaging storylines, unique rewards that complement the content, and the freedom for players to choose the activities they enjoy. In preparation for ‘Curse of Ulatek,’ we have implemented changes to our internal processes to identify and address potential issues earlier in the development cycle, ensuring a smoother and successful launch. Our goal with add-ons in ‘Midnight’ was to provide players with a variety of choices without feeling that any single add-on is necessary for optimal gameplay. Through changes to the API and additional in-game features, we have made significant progress in achieving this goal and continue to gather feedback from the community to improve the overall player experience. Recently, it has been observed that players do not feel that add-ons are necessary to clear encounters or play their class effectively. Players can utilize the default in-game UI or new UI features like the cooldown manager. Additional updates are being made in version 12.1, including the addition of trinkets and consumables to the cooldown manager for easier tracking of cooldowns. The ping system is also being updated.
The goal is to continue improving the game UI so that players can customize their experience without feeling the need to rely on add-ons to enhance their performance. Add-ons still have a significant role in areas such as accessibility, collection activities, and altering how the game presents information, and there are no plans to change that.
A message is also extended to the Korean players, expressing gratitude for their continued support and passion for the game.
The latest update introduces the ‘Lair,’ which reimagines outdoor bosses as instanced content, bridging the gap between world bosses and raids. The Lair aims to address issues related to game performance and the difficulty of finding groups to fight outdoor bosses. The new Lair, ‘Tidebound Grotto,’ offers a single-boss instance with a new ‘World Difficulty’ level for quicker access and loot opportunities.
The introduction of Elastic Mythic difficulty in the Lair provides a challenge for players who may find organizing larger raid groups challenging. This new content aims to offer a bridge between Heroic and Mythic difficulty levels.
While the Lair may create a new axis between Delves and raids, it is not expected to significantly impact participation in Normal or Heroic raids. The World Difficulty is designed to cater to players interested in outdoor bosses, offering accessibility and ease of joining. The Lair is seen as content for different player bases or characters with varying preferences.
Feedback from the community will be considered for potential future developments in end-game content, with the possibility of creating more content similar to the Lair if players enjoy the new options introduced. We eagerly anticipate reviewing player feedback following the ‘Curse of Ulatek’ update and adjusting to meet those demands.
How do you plan to distinguish the mechanics and rewards of the Lair by difficulty compared to world bosses and raids?
Taylor Sanders = Let’s begin with discussing the rewards. The rewards players can anticipate in World Difficulty are quite similar to the Raid Finder experience. These rewards are not Warbound and, like Raid Finder, utilize a group loot system.
Normal, Heroic, and Elastic Mythic difficulties can also expect rewards at a similar level to other raid content of the same difficulty in the game. They are provided in the form of Champion, Hero, and Mythic track gear, respectively.
In terms of mechanics and difficulty, we prioritized the accessibility and ease of participation in the newly created World Difficulty. The aim is to make players feel like they can enter a raid and engage in combat as quickly as possible. This is why we designed the difficulty to scale according to the number of participants, ranging from 5 to 40. You can take on the challenge with a group of any size.
We also allowed flexibility in role composition. When you enter Tidebound Grotto, you are not required to have a tank or healer to progress in combat.
During testing, it was confirmed that Lair rewards were provided as ‘Warbound’ like typical field boss item drops. Will this be applied as is on the live server, and can you explain the intention behind this design?
Taylor Sanders = Loot in World Difficulty is not Warbound. You can consider it a method similar to the rewards obtained from Raid Finder in Season 1.
Our objective is to get players into the content swiftly while offering valuable loot for the character actively participating in that instance. Currently, we believe this is the most suitable way to provide loot effectively to players engaged in the boss fight.
The Season 2 Mythic+ rotation includes not only new dungeons but also dungeons from past expansions. What criteria does the development team consider most important when selecting Mythic+ dungeons, and are you considering redesigning old dungeons to meet modern standards in the future?
Andrew de Sousa = When choosing the dungeon list for a Mythic+ season, we consider criteria such as relevance to the ongoing story.
In the case of Season 2, ‘Kings’ Rest’ is a dungeon connected to the troll races encountered in the ‘Curse of Ulatek’ update. ‘Temple of Sethraliss’ is also linked to the snake theme prevalent in this update.
Sometimes we select specific dungeons to offer visual variety. ‘Ruby Life Pools’ is an example of this. It presents a distinct atmosphere compared to other dungeons this season. We aim to provide players with diverse locations and enemy types throughout the update.
Regarding updating existing content, this has become the standard approach. Whenever we reintroduce past dungeons in the future, we review the entire content, update the design and visual elements, and refine the gameplay flow. We look forward to players experiencing the boss fights in the revamped ‘Kings’ Rest’ and ‘Temple of Sethraliss’ themselves. ‘Ruby Life Pools’ also features new changes for a smoother gameplay experience.
Passing through Midnight Season 1, there were criticisms that the content composition was repetitive. Maintaining a stable system that works can become predictable, while making changes carries unverified risks. Within this dilemma, you decided to overhaul the raid ecosystem this time. I am curious why you chose raids first among several candidates.
Taylor Sanders = That’s a valid question. Determining where to focus development resources is always a crucial consideration for us. When deciding what to prioritize for improvement in the next season, we take player feedback into account.
Especially concerning raids, reflecting on Season 1, we felt that the rewards may not have been sufficient relative to the raid’s difficulty. Players dedicate a significant amount of time, effort, and skill to raids. Therefore, we wanted to ensure that their investment of time could be properly acknowledged through rewards.
In Season 2, we are introducing several changes to the weekly vault system related to raids. For the first time, if a player participating in Heroic raids meets the vault requirements by defeating Heroic raid bosses, they can receive loot from the Mythic track, which is one level higher. The same principle applies to Normal and Raid Finder.
Players who meet the vault requirements by defeating Mythic bosses will receive Mythic track loot upgraded to the highest level. We hope these changes better reflect the time and effort players invest in raids. We understand that organizing people to play and coordinating schedules with friends or raid members to set raid times requires significant effort. We aim to provide rewards that truly reflect that effort.
Regarding raid content in Season 1, the raid mechanics became more intuitive and improved as the development team intended. However, the result was high fatigue for general heroic users, and for core users enjoying Mythic, the feedback indicated that the depth of combat was too low.
In simpler terms, while the combat design was well-received, there was a prevailing opinion that it fell short in terms of the difficulty curve. I’m interested in how the raid content in Season 2 differs from Season 1.
Taylor Sanders – The primary aim in creating raids for a new season is to establish a smooth difficulty progression that caters to all skill levels. Our goal is to provide a structure that guides players naturally from Raid Finder or World Difficulty all the way to the highest level of Mythic raiding.
In Season 2, we focused on making this difficulty curve even smoother. For groups that have completed Heroic difficulty and are aiming for the ‘Ahead of the Curve’ achievement, we want to facilitate a relatively quick transition to Mythic raids, provided they can muster a 20-member team. Additionally, for players who enjoy Heroic difficulty, the revamped raid rewards are designed to help them overcome any obstacles they may have encountered in Season 1.
For Mythic-level players, we are committed to offering new challenges. The new 8-boss raid, ‘Venomous Abyss,’ introduces several fresh mechanics that will test even the most competitive raiding groups. Some of these mechanics involve grappling with hidden information or real-time communication challenges.
Lastly, a message for the Korean players, please.
Andrew de Sousa: I want to express my gratitude to the passionate Korean community for their unwavering support of the game.
During the launch of ‘Midnight,’ I had the opportunity to visit Korea and meet with Korean fans in person. The warm welcome I received during that time is something I will always cherish. It’s an honor to be able to engage with you today, and I am excited for you to experience the upcoming content we have prepared.
Taylor Sanders – I wholeheartedly echo Andrew’s sentiments. I am well aware of the immense passion Korean fans have for the game.
Two years ago, during the launch of ‘The War Within,’ I visited Korea and had the chance to interact with many Korean fans who shared their long-standing dedication to the game, some dating back to the Classic days or even the beta period.
The depth of commitment and enthusiasm displayed by the Korean community left a lasting impression on me. The enduring relationship between Blizzard and the Korean players across various games is truly remarkable. I am delighted to see such a vibrant player base in Korea to this day.
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