World of Warcraft: Dragonflight developer discusses Niffen faction - Sniffen Seeking, rewards, new title, and more

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight's Josh Augustine (Lead Quest Designer) recently spoke with Sportskeeda about patch 10.1. He talked a bit more in-depth about the Niffen faction and what players can do while underground in the “Embers of Neltharion” update. This faction is a new addition to the game and consists of a group of moles.

They may have poor vision but have an incredible sense of smell, and need players' help to get some exploration done in Zaralek Cavern. Apart from a wealth of new cosmetics that players will get to unlock, one title distinctively stands out.

Josh Augustine spoke with me about the Niffen faction, the new Sniffen Seeking gameplay, and what it actually is. It goes along with World of Warcraft: Dragonflight's game design philosophy, where players get to experience a wealth of new gameplay types when it comes to questing.

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What awaits players with the Niffen in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight 10.1?

While discussing questing in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, I spoke with Josh about how great it has been in this expansion. There are more ways to complete objectives than ever - from taking photos, rock climbing, and other things of a similar nature. The Niffen will be one of the two new factions underground alongside the Dragonscale Expedition.

“It's a brand new activity and something we're trying throwing out for the first time here where it's almost like an escape room, kind of.”

While the Dragonscale Expeditions’ public events promise to be interesting, the Niffen will have something new and exciting in the form of Sniffen Seeking. According to Josh Augustine, it will be similar to escape rooms.

Players will join a Niffen in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’s new gameplay event, and upon arriving in the cave, you’ll have a puzzle to solve. He provides an example in which you may have a treasure chest in the room, that is trapped in a bubble. So you’ll use the tools and abilities that the mole has in order to figure out what the solution is.

This promises to be perhaps the most unique gameplay event in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. The game already has treasure chest puzzles, where you have to break a code or play a Match-3 game, but nothing like this.

“And so it's like solving the puzzle of how do I get the treasure in this cave with these clues? And so every week you can go on some dives with him, explore new areas, and kind of learn more about the area, learn more about the Niffen, the secrets that are buried underground in the zone, all sorts of fun stuff.”

Sniffen Seeking will be done in the form of treasure maps in WoW Season 2. World of Warcraft: Dragonflight players will get one of these for free per week, with a maximum of three that are completable. You can gain others by trading with merchants and completing other activities for the Niffen.

“Don’t forget, one of the best rewards in the entire patch is you can earn the title “Smelly” by recognition. One of my favorite titles we’ve ever put in the game. It’s so good.”

This race enjoys bartering, so your reward will be these Barter Tokens. You can get these in a variety of ways. They can then be used to unlock new cosmetics, reputation, and other such things. While it will surely be great to unlock a mount known as the “Morsel Sniffer,” the best reward has to be the title.

Previously, we also learned that the Niffen are attached to one aspect of the Zaralek Cavern events, the Snail Racing event. The mole race promises to be an extremely interesting and fun faction to get to know. It will arrive when 10.1 releases on May 2, 2023, in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight.