Playable fox people and gnome cyborgs coming to World of Warcraft
Furry good news.
The next major free update to World of Warcraft will introduce two new playable races to the game: Vulpera (cute fox people) and Mechagnomes (kind of steampunk gnome cyborgs).
Both belong to the Allied Races that were introduced with the current expansion Battle for Azeroth, which means they start at level 20 and can only be unlocked through grinding reputation with a particular faction in the game. Vulpera will be accessible to Horde players and Mechagnomes to Alliance.
Vulpera in particular have been heavily rumoured - and requested - as a playable race ever since their existence as non-player characters in Battle for Azeroth was first reported. People do love a bit of furry anthropomorphism.
The Vulpera are diminutive, resourceful survivors from a desert realm. Their racial traits include the fantastically useful-sounding Make Camp and Return to Camp, which allow you to teleport back to a location of your choice. To unlock them you'll need to complete the storyline in their home zone of Vol'dun and reach exalted with their faction, the Voldunai.
The Mechagnomes are a maverick faction of gnomes who were once set on becoming completely at one with their mechanical creations, but now "seek a balance between flesh and steel" in their cyber-modifications. Their racial traits include an auomtatic self-heal. To unlock them you need to complete the Mechagon Island storyline and reach exalted with their Rustbolt Resistance faction.
You can find full details of both races over on the World of Warcraft site.
Both races will be released in update 8.3 for World of Warcraft, Visions of N'Zoth, which is rolling out to the public test realms now, but has no release date yet. Alongside the two races, a raid and some new features - including a complete, and long overdue, overhaul of the game's auction house - the update will focus on the awakening of a terrifying elder god, N'Zoth, who is unchained by players' defeat of Azshara in the last update and tears the fabric of reality, showing nightmare visions of a future Azeroth under his rule. According to game director Ion Hazzikoastas in the video below, this will be the first time players have confronted an old god at full power in the whole history of the game.
He'll be no match for a well-specced team of cute fox people, though. (Or People's-Republic-of-China-approved Pandaren, of course.)
