World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has added diverse appearances to certain Stormwind NPCs as part of its latest beta build.
Blizzard already had plans in place to expand the available customization options for player characters in Shadowlands and it seems like NPCs will be getting the same treatment.
Various Stormwind guards, vendors and civilians have had their skin tones and appearances changed, resulting in a broader palette across the Alliance capital.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Diverse Appearances
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ effort to add diverse appearances doesn’t stop at skin tones, though.
As Wowhead points out, Ithurian Whitespire has received new Night Elf eyes, facial hair, and tattoos. At the same time, Ink Trader Sarana Damir boasts a new haircut and necklace.
Blizzard explained its approach to adding more diverse appearances to NPCs in Shadowlands when talking to website BlizzPlanet:
“I think, in some ways we’re frankly viewing this as a bit of a retcon. Like, we’re not going to change existing named, established characters and make them look different. But, walking around Stormwind, walking around other parts of the world, you will see guards and random civilians that have these looks as if they’ve been there all along.
“Because frankly I think we see this as correcting an oversight on our part over the years, as well as just trying to improve representation more broadly. We are custodians of a fantasy universe and a world that we built, and we don’t want to not do the right thing because we feel shackled to a decision that was made creatively in a different era that was fifteen-plus years ago.”
This is one of many changes arriving on the Shadowlands beta as we near the date when the expansion’s pre-patch is likely to go live.
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