Even with heaven and hell breaking in two in World of Warcraft‘s next expansion, Shadowlands, which was revealed at Blizzcon 2019, one of the more exciting prospects was its reveal of the mysterious Torghast. Toted as something players would “challenge” after exploring the expansion’s new zones, it was immediately clear that this is Shadowlands‘ answer to end-game content.
But after an hour-long Deep Dive session at this year’s Blizzcon, we now know just enough to think of Torghast as something else entirely.
Torghast, and the Maw that surrounds it, is less of an end-game raid and more of a dynamic dungeon for solo players or small groups of friends. Whether you go in alone or in a group, the content scales to your composition, making it easily accessible for groups struggling to track down a tank or healer.
Before players can climb Torghast, they’ll first need to work their way through The Maw. This open-world area is toted as the place irredeemable souls are cast down to, making it World of Warcraft‘s answer to hell. Since the events of Shadowlands – most notably, Sylvanas tearing the Lich King’s Helm of Dominion in two – absolutely anything that dies, redeemable or pure evil, is being cast down to the Maw. As a player curiously capable of entering and leaving the place at will, it’s up to you (and maybe a few friends) to take on the Jailer at the top of the tower.
The first few floors of Torghast are designed to be easy, but you’re encouraged to thoroughly explore them to find what’s known as “anima,” which equates to a soul’s life force. Collected anima converts into unique skills and abilities, make climbing subsequent floors a little easier, and anima combinations are likely to be the key to reaching the top over time.
Adding further flavor to the randomly generated layout of Torghast’s floors, Blizzard revealed that events would periodically kick in throughout the expansion’s lifecycle to further shake up experience, aiding in the “no two runs are the same” idea of a traditional dungeon crawl.
Torghast won’t replace traditional end-game raid content, but will give players of just about any skill level a chance to procure powerful equipment and enjoy a unique storyline. Legendary items can be forged with runes found within Torghast, and the whole place itself will tell the origin story of two of the Lich King’s most iconic artifacts – Frostmourne and the Helm of Dominion.
