Blizzard has let World of Warcraft Dragonflight players test features of the upcoming The War Within without telling them.

Launched in patch 10.1 last May, Zaralek Cavern allows players to explore zones beneath Dragonflight's mainland mass on a scale never before seen in an MMO. It is like the underground area of the Elden Ring, completely accessible without loading screens or long elevator rides. You can go underground, complete quests, and leave the area whenever you want.

In a recent group interview with PC Gamer, game director Ion Hazzikostas said, "Zaralek Cavern was a little test run of what we had planned.

While only a surface-level intro zone is available in the first alpha build of War Within, which will be released this week, Zaralek Cavern's impact is already evident. In the first Delve, a flexible mini-dungeon new to the expansion, you will fight in a small cave with your companions, similar to the activity in Zaralek. There are short quests and some new dangers to avoid, such as being drained of strength in dark areas, but the overall aesthetic is very similar to what we saw in Dragonflight.

The Zalalek similarities are expected to be even more pronounced in later zones like Hallowfall, which will be set entirely underground; one of WoW's oldest races, the bug-like Nerubians, live underground and will be one of the main antagonists in this expansion. In the few screenshots and videos we have seen, Hallowfall is huge, colorful, and hardly seems to be deep beneath the surface. There is even enough space there to fly mounts, something that was possible even in Zalalek Cavern.

"The fact that we didn't explore the Nerubian part of Northrend more 15 years ago (in the "Wrath of the Lich King" expansion) was a disappointment," Hazzikostas said." It was something we knew we wanted to revisit, and telling the story of an expansion that delves beneath the surface felt like a very natural time to really double down on it." Hazzikostas said.

The War Within's alpha version does not yet allow for going underground; Blizzard wants to focus on getting feedback from the intro experience, but as they did with Dragonflight's alpha, they will be adding more zones in future phases. Get your helmets and axes ready, because Hallowfall is surely on the way.