Senior Combat Designer, Systems - World of Warcraft | Irvine, CA

Senior Combat Designer, Systems - World of Warcraft | Irvine, CA

Combat designers on World of Warcraft help to create the connection between the player and the world of Azeroth by working on the minute-to-minute gameplay and create fun and engaging abilities and mechanics to deliver engaging and fluid combat. As a Senior Combat Designer for the World of Warcraft team, you must have a strong aptitude for critical thinking and investigation, boundless creativity, a strong visual aesthetic, and a passion and recognition for what makes World of Warcraft classes and combat interesting.

You will contribute to the ongoing development of player spells, talents, game balance and tuning, and any related systems.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

What you bring to the table:

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced live service environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Build upon existing class fantasies by designing new and interesting spells and talents for players to use in various combat situations.
• Stay current of player expectations, perceptions, and behaviors with regards to class design and game balance.
• Work closely with the production team to ensure timely completion of deliverables.
• Collaborate with fellow designers, producers, artists, sound designers, and engineers to create interesting and fun spells and talents.
• Participate in and contribute to a culture of inclusion and diversity.

Minimum Requirements:

Experience:

• 8+ years of game design experience or a portfolio demonstrating equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience with game development best practices in a professional or academic setting.
• Experience designing class abilities or combat mechanics in open world RPG's or MMO's.

Knowledge &

Skills:

• Familiarity with World of Warcraft classes and specializations.
• Proficient knowledge with industry standard tools such as Excel, game engines, and other proprietary tools required.
• Creative thinker who enjoys finding fun solutions to design problems.
• Ability to break down what makes combat in World of Warcraft fun, accessible, and engaging.
• Proven experience working collaboratively cross-functionally.

Extra Points:

• Excellent communication skills that can be used for comprehensive documentation.
• Knowledge, understanding, and familiarity with the Warcraft Universe and Lore.
• The ability to consider multiple, conflicting viewpoints and make the best overall decision.

Application Materials

• Resume
• Cover Letters are not required but highly encouraged. Please include:
• A bit about you (fun facts, hobbies... tell us about you!)
• Why you're interested in working on World of Warcraft
• What excites you about game design