The new World of Warcraft expansion, Midnight, is almost here! Players who purchased the Epic Edition can start playing on February 26th, with the full release coming on March 2nd. Midnight brings a lot of fresh content, including updated versions of Eversong Woods and Zul’Aman, areas originally seen in The Burning Crusade. A major new feature, called Prey, will also be available, offering challenging, multi-part battles against unique and powerful enemies.
TopMob interviewed game designers Jake Shillan, who worked extensively on the Zul’Aman area, and Kim Flack, a key developer of the Prey system. They discussed how Zul’Aman was a particularly significant and challenging new zone in the expansion, and how Prey introduced a potentially game-changing feature. Both designers emphasized the dedication they put into these elements and explained their process for meeting player expectations.
‘This Culture’s Been Here the Whole Time’: World of Warcraft on Building the Amani of Zul’Aman For Midnight
Warcraft’s OG Troll Tribe Finally Gets Its Time In the Sun
Forest Trolls, originally known as Amani Trolls, first appeared in the game Warcraft 2. Their leader, Zul’jin, formed an alliance with the Horde during the Second War, but this ended when Orgrim Doomhammer didn’t uphold his side of the deal. Later, in Warcraft 3, the Darkspear Trolls became strong supporters of Thrall’s Horde and eventually became a playable race in the original World of Warcraft. The Zandalari Trolls joined the game in the Battle for Azeroth expansion.
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The Amani trolls have been part of World of Warcraft for over 20 years, but they’ve mostly been portrayed as villains. According to Shillan, while players recognize the Amani, very few can name many individual Amani trolls beyond characters like Malacrass and Zul’jin. Despite their long history in the game, the Amani haven’t had a chance to be the heroes of their own story.
Image via Blizzard Things are evolving with the new Midnight zone. The developers wanted to move beyond simply portraying the Amani as disposable enemies. To build this area, the team thoroughly researched existing Amani history, drawing from WC2, World of Warcraft quests, and older Warcraft books and stories. This research ultimately led them back to the origins of the Amani and their leader, Zul’jin.
We started with Zul’jin, who was already the most complex Amani character, and asked ourselves why he acted the way he did. We wanted to explore the full story – not just his personal history, but the entire history of the Amani culture that shaped him. We aimed to understand everything that led to his birth, upbringing, and ultimately, to him becoming the Warlord Zul’jin.
Shillan explained that simply having Zul’jin wasn’t enough. They needed to build a solid foundation for the Amani culture to thrive, even beyond his character. He described taking all the existing characters, story elements, and background details, and then expanding on them massively. They asked themselves what the broader context was and filled in the gaps, ultimately leading to the creation of Midnight‘s Zul’Aman.
The Amani tribe, from whom all Amani Trolls descend, were the original Forest Trolls. However, many other powerful tribes also inhabit the region of Midnight, including the Revantusk, Shadowpine, Witherbark, and Vilebranch.
Shillan described Zul’Aman as a complete experience – not just the environment, but everything within it, including the structures, characters, quests, lore, and even small details like dialogue. While Zul’jin is a significant figure in World of Warcraft, the team wanted to create fresh narratives using these established elements, rather than simply repeating old stories.
Image via Blizzard Zul’jarra and Zul’jan are central characters in the story of Zul’Aman. The game follows Zul’jarra as she rises to become a spiritual leader, chosen by the Loa, with her brother Zul’jan serving as her advisor and protector. The legacy of Zul’jin, who players may have fought and defeated in the Burning Crusade raid, heavily influences them and their people. The story explores the long-term effects of Zul’jin’s past actions – and whether those actions were right or wrong – through the experiences of his grandchildren, Zul’jarra and Zul’jan.
Image via Blizzard According to lead narrative designer Shillan, the characters Zul’jarra and Zul’jan are meant to be long-term additions to the game, even after the current storyline, Midnight, concludes. He explained that they aim to create characters players will be invested in and want to follow, specifically highlighting the Amani siblings. The Amani family, as a whole, isn’t just a temporary element; they were created to represent a continuing presence within the world of Azeroth, with stories planned for Midnight and future content.
Image via Blizzard We might see the Amani appear on Atal’Utek, the island many World of Warcraft players believe will be featured in the upcoming Patch 12.1, or in other future storylines. Regardless, the Amani are a permanent part of the game’s world. As Shillan explained, “This culture has always been here.” He added a warning: “Welcome… but be careful, they’re dangerous!”
Shillan emphasized the importance of showcasing the Amani Trolls with detail and respect, and he’s excited to see how fans react to them in the upcoming World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion. He explained that the team worked diligently to properly represent a culture that has been part of the game’s history for 30 years and to deliver what fans have been hoping for. The Amani Trolls have been present in the game’s lore for decades, but haven’t received the same level of development as other cultures, including other Troll tribes.
Amani Troll fans have long deserved this level of detail and focus. According to Shillan, the team aimed to both honor the established Troll identity and expand upon it, finally revealing the full story of the Amani Trolls – a history players have only glimpsed or speculated about. This was a passion project for the developers, many of whom grew up playing the game and are now helping to build its world.
Most of the people who create World of Warcraft are also passionate players themselves. Many of us have played the game since childhood, and we’re dedicated to making it great both for our community and for ourselves, as we’re all players at heart.
World of Warcraft’s Prey System Is the Sum of Many Parts
Image via Blizzard A New Type of Evergreen Endgame Content Arrives In WoW: Midnight
The new Prey system received a lot of dedicated effort, much like the development of Zul’Aman. Players can take on contracts from Astalor Bloodsworn to hunt targets with varying difficulty. However, these targets aren’t passive – they’ll actively hunt players back, ambushing them repeatedly before culminating in a final showdown. Many players have compared this system to the Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor and the World Tiers found in Diablo 4.
Image via Blizzard Flack wanted to give each enemy a distinct personality. He achieved this by giving each of the 30 ‘Prey’ targets memorable lines when they attack, and even varying the quotes based on the game’s difficulty. These targets aren’t just generic monsters – they include diverse creatures like Blood Elves, Draenei, and Void beings, all with their own unique backstories and characteristics, making each encounter interesting and different.
Prey borrows ideas from a variety of games. One example is how enemies attack, which is similar to ambushes in World of Warcraft. However, the challenging ‘Torment’ enemies on higher difficulty levels were also inspired by several other games.
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Image via Blizzard Naturally, a system like this has some initial issues. Because Prey is an optional feature for players who’ve reached the endgame and takes place in the open world of WoW, the developers had to make sure it didn’t bother other players. They also needed to prevent ambushes from happening at bad times – there were a few cases where players returned from watching a cutscene to find they’d been defeated! Fortunately, Prey will pause during activities where it would be difficult to react, and it will resume where it left off.
It sounds like Prey will be a long-term feature in the game. Flack hinted that there’s plenty of room to grow and add to Prey in the future, similar to how Delves work in WoW: The War Within. While details are still under wraps, the system is designed to be consistently updated and offer solo players even more ways to improve their gear.
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2026-02-25 18:08