WoW Dragonflight players praise new NPC for deaf representation

WoW Dragonflight players are praising a new NPC in the Dragon Isles for putting deaf representation in the spotlight.

World of Warcraft’s latest expansion adds tons to the long-running MMORPG, including Dragonriding, a completely new UI, a new zone called the Dragon Isles, and much more.

While there are tons of new features catching players’ eyes in the early days after release, there is one new NPC in the Dragon Isles storyline that has gripped players’ attention for its representation of deaf people.

WoW Dragonflight praised for deaf representation

In the Ohn’ahran Plains, there is an NPC character named Sansok Khan, leader of the Shikaar Clan. As you speak to Sansok, you discover that he is actually deaf, and has both a translator who speaks to you named Okir, as well as a service dog.

WoW player and ASL student heyitslin posted a screencap of Sansok praising the deaf character and said, “As an ASL student, it is SO cool to have a Deaf character and interpreter in the Dragonflight storyline!”

The post instantly shot to the top of the WoW subreddit with over 200 comments and nearly 1,000 upvotes in less than a day after being posted.

As an ASL student, it is SO cool to have a Deaf character and interpreter in the Dragonflight storyline!!
byu/heyitslin inwow

In the comments, other WoW players praised developer Blizzard Entertainment for finally beginning to incorporate more underrepresented groups in the MMO.

One user said, “It’s actually so good. It’s one of the things that breathe life into the expansion. It feels genuine, not tokenistic.”

Another added that the representation was done quite tastefully, “Subtlety goes a long way. It doesn’t feel like they’re making a big spectacle of any of it, which is nice and more importantly, probably a better way to represent the unrepresented.”

While WoW hasn’t gone a fantastic job in the past of representation in their games, Dragonflight seems to have hit the mark for fans.