Blizzard revealed in a developer livestream on Tuesday that the next chapter for the World of Warcraft (WoW) will trace the MMO back to its origins with the return of dragons in playable and rideable forms. The new expansion titled Dragonflight introduces a playable race and an exploration to the Dragon Isles.
(Photo by World of Warcraft Youtube Channel/ Screenshot)
It's All About the Dragons
Dragonflight is centered on the return of the Dragon Aspects, Aezeroth's magical guardians who vanished after twhat happened in the Cataclysm expansion 12 years ago. The game will let players venture to the mysterious and magical Dragon Isles and explore five zones, each inspired by the five dragon aspects.
The new expansion will also include a brand new race called the Dracthyr Evokers wherein draconic humanoids with varied healing and damage powers, similar to the Worgen from Wrath of the Lich King, and related to the Dragon Aspects will take part in a race.
However, the only difference between the Worgen and Dracthyr, is that the latter can only be the Evoker class and at the same time they have less overall customization for a more focused moveset.
These Dracthyrs can also transform to people instantly, they can use their wings "to buffet people away, [they're able to] breathe fire out of their mouths, [they're able to] knock people back with their tail," according to the games lead designer Brian Holinka, as reported by Polygon.
WoW will also let its users play as either the dragon or rider of the dragons.
Another special feature implemented recently by the game is the choice to enable the two opposing factions, Horde and Alliance, to play together in one group. WoW's Dragonflight will let the players build on that alliance while working together to journey through the Dragon Isles.
According to the game's story, the Horde and Alliance both sent an expedition of scientists and settlers to venture the Isles. Hence, the alliance is justified story-wise but there will still be restrictions in terms of PVP with other players.
Read also: Game History: How World of Warcraft Influenced the Entire Gaming Industry
A return to a talent system
Blizzard said that they were particularly hands-on in refining the oldest systems of the game, mainly the return to a talent system that is similar to the earlier versions of WoW. The talents will have the ability to use points into at once while transforming into trees and characters can become a more traditional hybrid class- a trait.
In contrast with the current game, players can only swap talents frequently by using presets or changing individual points.
During the livestream, game director Ion Hazzikostas opened up about the issues and complaints about the game ever since the release of Shadowlands in 2020. Community feedback was ultimately the foundation for the game's team to re-examine the foundations of Wow such as the "character investments and mains versus alts" and the "appropriate role of friction" in their systems.
There is still no official release date for Dragonflight, however, Blizzard is currently receiving sign-ups for the expansion's beta test. They also said that the Wrath of the Lich King will be included in the World of Warcraft Classic which will be free for current users, later in 2022.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
