Blizzard has announced its long-awaited 10.0 expansion, Dragonflight. After dozens of rumors, theories, and outright leaks, the developer has confirmed that for World of Warcraft's ninth expansion, we'll be heading to the mythical Dragon Isles, a landmass lost in Azeroth for 10 years.
Dragonflight introduces the first racing class combo: the Dracthyr Evoker and a new method of traversing the skies of Azeroth: the Dragon Ride. But the expansion doesn't just add new toys, it (*18*) adds a much-needed overhaul to older World of Warcraft systems. Progression will be revamped, with a new talent system designed to replace the "borrowed power" approach of recent expansions; A crafting overhaul gives gathering and production skills some much-needed love; and a comprehensive HUD update, the first in World of Warcraft's 18-year history, brings the MMO user interface up to modern standards.
there are dragons
The Dragon Isles are a place of primal wonders, focusing on the elemental forces, ancient secrets, and prismatic dragonflights we've encountered throughout World of Warcraft's long history. Game director Ion Hazzikostas states that the new continent is one of the largest land masses the development team has ever created.
You will come into contact with races that have not been disturbed by strangers for generations.
Located northeast of Azeroth, the Dragon Isles have been inaccessible for 10 years. Naturally, the emphasis is on exploration in this expansion: you'll come into contact with races that haven't been bothered by outsiders for generations. Native centaurs, gnolls, and tuskarr are all present, along with a new race of newly awakened elemental half-giants called Djaradin, whose animosity toward dragons will play into the story.
The Dragon Isles are home to four new areas: Shores of Awakening, Azure Reach, Thaldraszus, home to the expansion hub city of Valdrakken, and Plains of Ohn'ahran, a place so vast that the team had to ramp up the game. . draw the distance so you can experience its full, mountainous views. The new landmass features diverse environments dotted with icy debris, verdant lands, volcanic rocks, and sandy shorelines.
The stakes will be lower in this expansion, Hazzikostas tells us. There is no great threat to Azeroth in Dragonflight; instead, like Mists of Pandaria, it's a story of discovery. We travel to the islands not to fight a big evil boss, but because the dragons have asked us for help. Hazzikostas confirms that fan-favorite characters like Khadgar, Tyrande, and Wrathion will be in attendance.
we are dragons
It would be a bad dragon expansion if we couldn't play together. Billed as a "hero class" similar to death knights and demon hunters, the new Dracthyr race begins at level 58 in a unique starting area located on the Dragon Isles. They are a bipedal race of dragon-humanoid hybrids with two forms, a more traditional dragonborn form and a "face" form that more closely resembles elves and men.
Dracthyr is limited to the new Evoker class, which includes both a damage and healer spec, using the fantasy and aesthetic of Warcraft's prismatic dragonflights when casting spells. They are the first class to have the "booster" ability to carry extra weight spells and can be cast while briefly flying across the battlefield. Hazzikostas describes the class as a ranged variant of the Legion Demon Hunter, focusing on combat mobility.
Dracthyr's humanoid and dragon forms will take advantage of World of Warcraft's latest advances in character customization, with jewels, horns, scales, hair (including ombre color fades), and more.
In the past, Blizzard has had issues with armor spawning on its more beastly races, such as worgen and tauren, but the team may have fixed that issue. "In their humanoid face forms, you'll be able to wear the full set of armor you normally wear," says Hazzikostas. "And unlike worgen, who can't be in their human form during combat, we're looking for players who will display their humanoid forms during combat.
"Though of course abilities like deep breathing or wing flapping will require you to be in your dragon form. We want to allow some armor to transfer over, although yes, armor mounting is unlikely "Helm Happens on the head of the dragon Something like a shoulder. It's much more likely pads or a straight transfer, and it's something the team is actively working on right now."
Dracthyr will be available at the start of Dragonflight's pre-patch with expansion pre-purchase, and when creating them, you'll choose either Horde or Alliance, though unlike Pandarans who choose their faction for story reasons, Dracthyr players simply they will find that faction first depending on your choice.
cross the islands
In Dragonflight, the team rides dragons, a new form of flight that will be limited to the Dragon Isles, at least initially. You will be able to increase its power, like an ability, during the expansion.
Instead of traditional World of Warcraft flight, in which players float listlessly to their destination, dragon riding emphasizes momentum and gravity. It also allows you to create spins, spirals, and speed changes while floating in the sky. Hazzikostas says that the current gear design is limited by a stamina bar, which you can upgrade as you go.
You will only fully appreciate the level of verticality in the new Sky View expansion.
At the start of the expansion, you'll choose a dragon to befriend from a host of different options, and you can further customize your mount as you discover upgrades and skins on the islands. While the team believes that exploring the new continent on foot is the most satisfying way to experience Dragonflight's new areas, there's a promising level of verticality to the new expansion's environments that you'll only fully appreciate from the air.
Redesigned Systems
Blizzard has been criticized for tying player power to certain expansion-specific MacGuffins, such as the artifact weapons in Legion, the Heart of Azeroth in Battle for Azeroth, or the pacts in Shadowlands. It's something you level up throughout the story, only to drop it at the start of the next patch cycle. It has been referred to as a "borrowed power" by the community, and according to Hazzikostas, it was implemented to fill in the gaps left by the new talent system adopted in Mists of Pandaria.
In Dragonflight, Blizzard is returning to a talent tree system that will allow you to customize aspects of your class and specs with the points you earn as you level up. Hazzikostas says that Blizzard is also considering a method of earning points after reaching the level cap, but hasn't decided if that's the right way to go. The new system allows you to freely redeem points and even create builds for different scenarios, such as one for PvP, one for Raid Night, and one for Mythic+. The team is aiming for zero borrowed power items beyond gears and level sets.
Blizzard is also overhauling professions and giving the UI a much-needed update. The quality of goods, leading to higher item level gear or better potion effects, for example, will now be a factor, and you can specialize in a profession to hone your craft. The example given was of blacksmiths who focus on making weapons or armor. You will also be able to equip specific crafting gear in new slots to show off your skills as a master craftsman to the world.
For the many players who don't want to commit to professions, the new crafting order system allows them to request an item once they have the necessary materials, and can even be limited to crafters in their crafting list, friends, or their guild. Soulbound items can also be crafted by other players for the first time.
It's not just the Profession UI that's getting an overhaul: Blizzard is updating the 18-year-old World of Warcraft UI to include features previously only available in add-on modules. Early screenshots look like the popular ElvUI plugin, and the team promises a highly customizable system that will focus players' attention on the game in front of them, rather than the hidden health bars and cooldowns around the corner. from the screen.
While the simultaneously announced Wrath of the Lich King Classic is set to release in 2022, Dragonflight does not have a set release date. This is apparently due to learning from repeated Covid-19 delays and working remotely. A playable alpha and beta are on the way, which you can sign up for via Blizzard's site, though beyond "as soon as possible" the timelines for these two releases and the final release are being kept under wraps for now.
It will be a tough wait, the systems that need to be overhauled in Dragonflight have had to be maintained for years, knowing that they are on the horizon is going to be hard to bear.