Dragons are making a comeback in World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft devs unveiled Dragonflight, the game’s eighth expansion in 18 years, via a webcast.
The return of the Dragon Aspects, the mystical protectors of Azeroth who vanished following the events of the Cataclysm expansion 12 years ago, will be the centerpiece of Dragonflight. Players will go to the Dragon Isles, which are enigmatic and previously unknown, to explore five zones, each themed after one of the five dragon characteristics.
Dracthyr Evokers, a race of draconic humanoids (think Worgen from Wrath of the Lich King) with ranged damage and healing skills tied to the Dragon Aspects, will be added to Dragonflight. Dracthyr, unlike Worgen, can only be the Evoker class, and the Evoker class is race-locked to the Dracthyr.
A redesigned skill system (again! ), overhauled crafting, and the game’s first UI makeover in 18 years will all be part of Dragonflight.
In terms of crafting, it appears that World of Warcraft is taking cues from the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. Professions will have a separate inventory space as well as a new quality ranking system. Players with the correct raw materials but not the right crafting profession to shape them will be able to use a new method of getting items manufactured.
The work order system will take the place of the tried-and-true trade conversation tradition of /yelling. Rather of flooding the chat with requests for crafters to build a particular weapon or piece of armor, Dragonflight will provide a new interface where players may post what they want manufactured as well as the materials needed for crafters to chose from at their leisure.
Aside from all of the new game modifications and enhancements, Dragonflight will also provide a new dragon riding activity with customizable dragon mounts. There’s no news on whether or not dragon racing will take place, but I’m confident it will.
The revelation that Wrath of the Lich King would be accessible to subscribers shortly brought some good news to WoW Classic gamers. Wrath of the Lich King is one of the most popular and well-received WoW expansions in the game’s history, having debuted in 2008.
Blizzard appears to be increasing up its communications about what’s going on with all of the games in its development pipeline, similar to Overwatch 2, but there’s still no word on Diablo IV or Immortal. There is no release date for either Dragonflight or Lich King Classic.