Is Azeroth a Titan? Is Xal'atath a Baddie? The Ending of Last Titan... Maria Hamilton Interview

**** THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS VIDEO FOR THE OPENING OF THE WAR WITHIN ON ALPHA****
Check the chapters to skip
On our trip to London for the War Within alpha launch sumit we were given the chance to talk to Associte Design Director Maria Hamilton, and it's probably our favorite interview we've ever done!
Join us as we chat about the challenges of planning a narrative over three expansions in the World Soul Saga, where each expansion is at in terms of development, who Xal'atath really serves AND whether Azeroth is really a Titan or not!
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00:00 No Spoilers
06:31 Spoiler Section
09:00 No Spoilers

[@TaliesinEvitel]

***** THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS VIDEO FOR THE OPENING OF THE WAR WITHIN ON ALPHA***** Check the chapters to skip

[@d.j.9739]

No one went to comments first to see this warning, but thank you anyway. :D

[@UnCuriousGeorge]

A little late guys. Huge story spoilers in the video with no warning. Now that is all I am going to be thinking about as I play through the game for the first time. Thanks.

[@AxeloftheKey]

Thank you!

[@ThatOneGuy15270]

​@@UnCuriousGeorge Small violin noises

[@Nathanyel]

@@UnCuriousGeorge watch the segment then. It likely would've been spoiled to you either way before launch, unless you avoided all WoW-related news/social media, so I think it's better to inform players in a controlled way, instead of random datamining or alpha quests referring to it, with way less context.

[@fazithebear]

"the world is the most important character" love that

[@jakubpelikan2393]

Yep thats why so many noobs just wants world to be ruined by making this backround faceroll thing what we all just rush go trough and be done with it.

[@josejuanandrade4439]

@@jakubpelikan2393 The "remove leveling" crowd. "I just want to log in to raid"...

[@gustav2867]

Yep, been saying that myself for many years. Azeroth is the main character, and when it shows properly in-game, you know an expansion is good. For example Mists of Pandaria and Legion, which weren't just laser focused stories to achieve a specific thing, but rather an exploration of Azeroth and a journey of discovery. It's also partly why SoD is so popular.

[@ProfoundFamiliarity]

This was one of WoW's core design philosophies.

[@Retro64_]

the world and the players in the world is what makes it an MMORPG, instanced content is just multiplayer stuff.

[@ilmstreams]

Maria Hamilton is a gem. She seems to care so much about WoW.

[@sam5634]

She would make an awesome DM.

[@Velshin1986]

Like almost every developer in the company why is that a surprise? Are people really that dense and gullible that they get surprised by pretty much every god damn regular things in life?

[@alihorda]

​@@Velshin1986since most big companies are soulless, yes this is surprising and welcomed. This should be norm but reality is like this

[@Velshin1986]

@@alihorda you are either living in a cave or you dont pay attention. Almost every fucking Blizzcon when blizzard announce a new expansion of course there will be hype and passion its been like this for years and years. How is that hard to understand are people so dumb nowadays and washed up to the point every regular basic behavior surprise them?

[@zenmindgamer]

I caught myself thinking that early on. It feels good to hear a discussion like this and have it feel like WoW's trajectory is in the hands of people who actually care about telling a story. I'm excited.

[@oblivionsmuse]

"I think the world is the most important character" Oh man, WoW is in GREAT hands. I. Love. This. So. Much. I cannot wait for the story to unfold AHHHHHHHHH

[@MorganRhysGibbons]

Maria is so rad. She seems so witty and sharp, but also earnest and creative. Great to have her working at a high level to make the game great.

[@michaelschaaf1155]

5 mins in, absolutely fascinating to hear her talk about them working on 3 expansions at once. It’s quite comforting honestly. Communication HAS to be a priority for something like this and im so glad they’re taking that seriously

[@milkshakeguru7118]

I'm so thankful FFXIV pulled of a multi expansion story first so that WoW would feel challenged enough to adapt or die. So far this upcoming expansion is taking the best from ESO, GW2, Lost Ark, and FFXIV. And WoW has always done it's best when it takes good ideas and adds its own spin on it. This is such a huge W for everyone now.

[@skipmcilvaine]

This was the most inspiring information, sincerity and confidence I've seen from Blizzard in a long time. Protect Maria at all costs. I want HER looking out for my interests for the next 20 years. 🥰

[@abydosianchulac2]

She felt less like a dev giving out safe answers in an interview, and more like the friend who's watched the movie already and wants to convince you to watch it without spoiling anything.

[@enchantedecho57]

This! Despite how excited I am (for the first time in a LONG time) I was still sceptical but this interview alone has quelled some of my worries. The fact they know exactly what they're doing with the story this entire arc, and know how it'll end..! I love this!

[@Morphzz]

I'm mostly a mythic raider that interacts with story very little, but when she said "I'm a big RP enjoyer"; I was like this shit is in good hands. What a perfect individual to be in control of the world as a whole; someone who finds joy in aspects of it that directly related to her job.

[@ZiroZerserus]

"All lose when dalaran goes down" It's a phrase for a poster

[@Kritigri]

So glad we have someone like Maria Hamilton working on this game, she seems very passionate about it

[@philipje1]

"You can walk on water for some reason". So no, I would rather have her be fired this very day. The narrative choices that have been made are so incredibly bad, it's mind-puzzling how you would say such a thing. Did you like the Lich King crown being changed to a Burger King crown story arc?

[@Tristana.Keauna]

Maria was wonderful to listen to! I hope we get many, many more interviews with her

[@PayoMetal]

Dude the confidence in the story that Maria has, it's hyping me up to EVEN BEYOND LEGION LEVELS. I've never been so hyped for a story in Warcraft like The World Soul Saga. I've been playing this game since 2006 and what I love the most about Warcraft as a franchise is the story and the lore and I can't wait for this and in the end in the Last Titan be so happy and so proud that I stood by this team and trusted in them. The hype is real.

[@samadams2315]

I love how there not wanting to fit everything into one expansion and rush or cut content but instead let it breath and tell the full story I'm loving the 3 expansion previews.

[@user-ez8ed4gw6x]

i can't imagine the feeling of sitting next to someone who knows exactly what the story is going to be, but I have chills. When you asked about stakes, and Maria had that sly smirk, I just felt it in my bones. This is going to be great

[@metzli5797]

TBH, it gives me a lot of hope for the game going forward that Maria and Chris are leading the charge.

[@hoazl.]

"And I'm in charge of the world" - what a badass way to introduce herself :D Love the interview!

[@barrma03]

Damn, this has me hyped. I love that they’re going to be able to tell a story arc over years instead of jamming it into a short patch. Let’s see if they can pull it off!

[@jamwisethebrave]

I love Maria Hamilton, she's the best. More of her!

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

Maria: "IS she a baddie?" My heart: "Oh boy let's fucking gooooo"

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

"I cannot tell you that" Let's fucking goooooooooooooooo

[@spaceowl9246]

Oh she IS a baddie alright :)

[@rfjohnson69]

My guess is they will try for nuance and mostly hit the mark in the story telling. As for how it plays out in the story, I'm thinking she has her own motivation and her actions will be both good and bad from our PoV on service to that.

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

@@rfjohnson69 Yeah, I'm hoping she ends up an Illidan style figure - not outright evil, but ruthless enough in her methods that it leads us to conflict with her, though never quite killing her. Alternatively it'd be fun if she ends up stuck in Alleria's body and Alleria has to deal with Xal commenting on everything she does like we did in Legion.

[@michaelkovalsky4907]

@@TaliesinMyrddin Imagine her commenting on Alleria husband "Why did you marry him and not xxArthasxx?"

[@nitomurray6137]

Honestly, 10 years from now, there needs to be a study on the trajectory of wow before and after this amazing woman joined the team. Every time she engages with us, every thing she had done, it breathes new fresh air into the series.

[@KirkpatrickSounds]

Great interview. The whole team is knocking it out of the park. We could be about to head into another peak era for WoW

[@kornfreak78]

"I think the world is the most important character.. but that's, that's just me..." I couldn't agree more!

[@Red1Green2Blue3]

This was such a good interview. She gave thorough answers that actually communicated intention without having to change the topic and not answer the question and not giving spoilers. Some other interviews have seemed totally pointless because they just equivocate constantly.

[@kinocrone7275]

I didn't know her, but she instantly won me over. Great interview

[@kwow3641]

Maria's love for WOW is obvious, and it's a joy to watch interviews with her. I genuinely feel like the game is in great hands, and can't wait to play the results!

[@zushiba]

11:05 I have a Priest but I don't main a priest, but I'm still happy that Maria asked the question, tongue in cheek style "Is she a baddie" Because I REALLY want Xal'atath to be more of a begrudging ally. I want there to be delineation in the Void, I want there to be good and bad void duders like there's good and bad in the Light as well. We got that whole, "The Light could possibly be bad guys", peek back in Legion with the audio dramas, where Alleria saw that vision of a realm where giant creatures were literally shackled by the The Light and used as batteries to power their war against the void. I want Azeroth to be square in the middle of that conflict and I'm hesitantly hopeful that we'll get a veil drop moment in the future where we learn that the Void isn't necessarily the boogeyman that the Naaru made them out to be and that the vaunted Light, isn't the good guy that they're made out to be.

[@Mister_Vyar]

I think this is a difficult thing to pull off without turning the universe into a dull grey place with no heroes, just villains and antiheroes. It's the difference between having the Scarlet Crusade be evil, and having the Naaru try to forcibly Lightforge Illidan while making them the source of the Light's power. Originally they were just "messengers of the Light" and we could choose to believe them or not, but then one of the Chronicle books went and changed it so that even the Church of Holy Light was founded on a human priest's visions of the Naaru, though she did not recognize them as Naaru at the time because we hadn't met the draenei. I don't like the idea that my human paladin is an unwitting agent of evil for a bunch of fascist wind chimes, and that using the Light can "corrupt" you just as much as actual corrupting influences like void or fel magic. I'm okay with groups abusing the power of the Light for evil purposes, but not that the Light can turn them evil.

[@SoldierSide88]

"I can not tell you that!" - So basically "No, she's not a titan." with extra steps.

[@dannydlrs]

I LOVE HER SO MUCH HER ANSWERS MAKE ME SO HAPPY

[@denarIhsan50]

I love Maria! Thanks T&E for bringing us this nice interview 😊

[@yellzz]

idk how to describe the feeling i've got when Maria said that she knows the ending of Last Titan. Like its obvious that devs are should be knowing this and so many people in Blizz are aware, but the confidence she has when she says it - WOAH, SHE POSSESSES THE SACRED KNOWLEDGE

[@mattcavanough]

Nice interview but you forgot one question: Where the hell is our goddamned TUSKARR ALLIED RACE???

[@darkxknightx15]

I'm quite worried about Silvermoon now that we know nothing is safe. :O

[@Sparda11222]

This lady is such a pro. Gives me a little bit of hope honestly. Thanks for this interview guys :D

[@KibaWolf04]

Taliesin looks like a kid on Christmas morning 😂 the pure joy is adorable

[@Dofladingus]

I think we already knew it when the trilogy was announced, but "pacing" and "planning for the future" are answers I could've only prayed for. I'm so excited man, I have hopes the story is tighter than Cata - Mists

[@TheZinistra]

She seems like such a lovely person, so happy to see her in interviews and presentations :)

[@Kittiezzx]

Maria is such a breath of fresh air

[@WarMonkeyPlays]

Riot if Earthern don't have a /silly that's along the lines of "I'd help ya, but I'm a bit stoned right now". Also need a /flirt for "Look at the rocks on that guy!" or "Do you want to feel my rock hard...well, everything?"

[@esetiawan]

"Hello welcome to Maria Hamilton..."

[@aaronjohnson2215]

Hope Xalathat is well explained in War Within as I know nothing about her despite playing wow.

[@LegendFromWoW]

Glad they sat down and had this chat with you. Good they did something outside of BlizzCon, would love to see more of that!

[@dwimors]

Best interview I've seen with someone at Blizz. Maria gives reasonably transparent and insightful answers within the realm of what she can say right now, and doesn't feel stiff or rehearsed.

[@ozrhyel2234]

I have to say I did enjoy Talie being so open and specific with his personal interest/investment, with SP and Xal'atath story relationship! I LOL so hard... very wholesome relatable moment as a WoW player. (IMO)

[@moosewild4239]

Great interview. I feel like we are heading towards another great period for the game. I believe they have the passion required to make WOW great again.

[@theorem27]

Great interview! Thank you both.

[@lordfieldsworth595]

So simple but so nice to have one of the higher leading devs say they know exactly where the story is going.

[@StoovTV]

as someone who is currently playing SoD i'm quite enjoying seeing Zal show up and knowing that my classic bros dont really understand what that means lol

[@VoidPoet]

Maria is just a generous interviewee. Her answers are insightful and thoughtful, first time I’ve seen a dev interview where they never really stonewall a ~spoilery~ question but carefully consider how to still give a good answer. Even her “I can not tell you that” in response to Azeroth’s status as Titan feels like an invitation to speculate instead of just avoiding the question.

[@Jerryz0t]

I'm pretty satisfied with how the narrative is going. But if we could take the vibe of the warlords of draenor trailer and dial that up some, I think the feeling of warfraft will be exactly where it needs to be.

[@redlady37]

Great interview guys

[@TheHybrit]

Well done Tallie, very nice interview!

[@SuddenlyCapricious]

wish this was another hour longer! what a cool interview

[@otterotterottercid]

I have a huge amount of respect and love for this woman!

[@snobgoblinDK]

I like her she seems more honest and professional

[@sirhc_knil]

Tali could have let that "World" "...of Warcraft" hang inbthe wir for a second more 😭 Evi was so proud

[@Kaybris]

My fav WoW dev person. I am glad they promoted her! :)

[@smoogieboogie1694]

Every time I've seen Maria Hamilton she seems so positive and passionate. I love her!

[@darthbane6958]

Great interview keep the content coming

[@SylvieMoon]

Very excited she seems to care about the game very much it was entertaining to listen to what she had to say looking forward to this expansion

[@WalterRiggs]

I really like Maria. She really cares and has her shite together about all this and might not be part of the “enemies destroying beloved locales” cabal that I originally thought. Evi rockin the shiny trousers and the (apparent) googly-eyes on Tali’s pullover are pretty distracting though 😆. Googly eyes are awesome

[@ternel]

Its nice to know we have a path with landmarks to look forward to

[@alexcombes]

This woman sounds so kind

[@ninjor9800]

Great interview

[@erica2980]

I'm very excited to see where they take this story. It puzzles me a little that she addresses the destruction of Dalaran and the response they want to see from it and the word Mage not being spoken. I'm still very excited to see where this goes of course.

[@slytherben]

I'm so upset, but bravo Tali for asking the hard questions. Seriously, appreciate your courage here

[@theloa7154]

Marian is awesome so happy they gave her the reigns as well as others for lone interviews absolutely fantastic

[@AlexGJams]

Ok, Maria seems like a total badass!

[@BattlestarHavoc]

"I think the world is the most important character, but that's just me." Gave me chills. Looking forward to the future of WoW so much.

[@2298766]

"You´ll only need to play this exp. to know whats going on" on top of "the wolrd is the most important charakter" makes me have a good feeling for the overall story and the things to come. Hope they´re going to remake the new player experience, if the story in war within should be as great as i think it could. :)

[@davidrobertson9174]

What an asset for Blizzard Maria is! Great job.

[@wtff]

I've never really cared about the story so much before but, hearing her talk about TLT actually made me giddy, lol. Being able to tell a story over multiple expansions is going to be awesome.

[@Shervin86]

Evitel's leatherworking skill has increased. Look at her in thosr BoPs.😅

[@savitarr1162]

SHE IS AMAZING!

[@derkuma]

"It's actually kind of a philosophy that we're pursuing, which is that you don't need to go do, play or read other things. You just need to play this game and this expansion to understand what's going on." This sounds great!

[@1Forn61]

speaking of player choices, im totally fine with non impact purely RP-player agency stuff like siding with some one get some dialogue and cutscene without any impact. Thats the easiest way for an online RPG and still brings me joy, i enjoyed to have the choice to side with sylvannas or not.About Azeroth not being a Titan, thats something whats a given for me for few years now for me the question was always was is she then, gonna sit back and enjoy the ride of the World Soul Saga and find out.

[@corksterx1]

I'm obsessed with Maria Hamilton!

[@iGizmoTech]

I'm glad we have developers who really care for the story and the continuity of WoW. I believe the next 6 years will be peak WoW, and might exceed their growth they had in Wrath.

[@EloquentTroll]

Never have I been so happy to hear "I can't tell you that" as an answer. Let's get our tinfoil hats on lads, lasses, and those between.

[@elilawrence7166]

Ayyyyy, wow leadership is in such a good spot, I’m hopeful and I think there is good reason to be

[@gleadr6869]

Really like her views and thoughts bout WoW. Would love to sit in a corner and listen to all those like her and Chris and just geek the F out. Really looking forward to 10.2.7, don't really care for season 4 not much there but .7 gonna be good to hold me over till War Within.

[@Ozymillie]

That last sentence, brilliant.

[@trmooreztube]

I love Maria!!! ❤❤

[@sarki20]

i cannot agree more with her when he said; "world is most important character"

[@AlexKosSaheli]

Please dont hurt Khadgar I love him so much ;_(

[@Hagersen]

honestly i think Maria Holly and Ian make one hell of a front team now for WoW

[@GrandpaApollo]

Possible spoilery questions!!!........................... My biggest questions after this and after finding out some of what we know from the alpha so far: If Khadgar is really gone, who will take up his role as Guardian? And the second thing will we see Dalaran be rebuilt in the future, bigger and better than ever? I mean it has been destroyed before, right?

[@cyndrigaming]

Maria is such a delight

[@Trazynn]

I want Chris Metzen to do the Shadowlands right. Make all the afterlives of the actual Azerotian cultures real afterlives. Like the Quilboar or the Ancestral Plane. More 'primitive' prehistoric afterlives with the kobolld and troggs. Not as an expansion, but more like the occasional content patch.

[@teej143]

Fantastic questions and Maria’s answers seemed sincere and thoughtful. Very insightful interview that makes me want to play TWW even more

[@scw55]

This is encouraging. I wonder if they've been looking at FF14 for ideas on how to get the narrative stronger.

[@DarenC]

Will my Dalaran hearthstone still work? I'm a bit unclear about that. Can I still go to Netherlight Temple and complete the order hall campaign?

[@Horos101]

Yes it will still work. Legion Dalaran won't be removed just like how Wrath Dalaran wasn't removed, and how you can still phase back to Teldrassil and Undercity. You can still do Priest Legion questline.

[@Aspectt10]

10/10 interview ❤

[@UltimateGamerCC]

Xal'atath working for herself would be an interesting notion to think about, i always thought that she was returning to the Void Lords after aiding N'Zoth in BFA.

[@harrylong2796]

Love Maria

[@thanatsdarkbourne458]

Taliesin trying to find some smart questions to ask, so that he can sound serious and professional, while we all know that deep down the little kid inside him is suffocating because he wanna start go straight to the spicy gossip details and what blizz has been keeping from us

[@AlexKosSaheli]

awesome

[@GorehowlBeardhead]

'Can you clarify that?' 'No.' 'Okay'

[@thirtysilver33]

Such a sweet person.

[@TUXXREVIEWS]

Was this shot at Blizzard HQ?

[@virus5877]

When can i get that SICK Xal'atath hoodie!?!