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With the announcement of World of Warcraft's next expansion, Dragonflight, players have been given a host of updates and new content to look forward to. There is no release date as of yet, but Blizzard Entertainment has revealed many of the changes that will be made to the game, some per popular request. Players are eagerly awaiting more news detailing what can be expected from the game's 9th major expansion.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is set upon the mystical Dragon Isles, a fabled continent where Azeroth's dragons once thrived in a land of their own. 10,000 years ago, when the Sundering occurred and the dragons were needed elsewhere, they entrusted their ancestral home to a handful of Titan constructs, men made of stone. When Azeroth was finally ready, these guardians would re-awaken the Isles and call its original inhabitants home, ushering in a new era for the dragons.
The Dragon Isles have been shrouded in mystery since World of Warcraft's conception, only alluded to in scant pieces of dialogue or concept art. What little is known about this magical place involves how the dragons were created, transformed by the Titans from mere beasts into valiant guardians that embodied various aspects of the planet they protect. All five dragonflights can trace their roots back to the Dragon Isles, but much has changed in their long absence.
WoW: Dragonflight Offers The Newest Playable Race & Class Combo
Many of World of Warcraft's expansions have boasted new races and classes for players to sink their teeth into and reinvent their experience within the game. While the current World of Warcraft expansion, Shadowlands, did not offer either, Dragonflight will give players both a new class and a new race in one. The Dracthyr are anthropomorphic dragon-mortal hybrids that were created by the Aspect of Earth, the black dragon Neltharion (WoW: Cataclysm's main antagonist), 10 millennia ago. This race also hails from the Dragon Isles and will allow players to incorporate being a dragon into their gameplay. The Dracthyr boast a myriad of available customizations, as the player can decide which of the dragonflights they would like their character to look like, along with every tiny aesthetic in between.
More importantly, this race brings with it a new class, the Evoker. Only Dracthyr can be Evokers, and it is the only class this new race can play as. Evokers are a ranged class that can fulfill either a healing or damage dealing role, complete with unique animations that bring their draconic nature to life, such as swooping over enemies with wings outstretched and roasting them with fiery breath. The dragon-like Evokers are a WoW Hero Class, just like death knights and demon hunters before them, meaning they begin at a higher level than other classes and have lore that is specific to the expansion they arrived in.
WoW: Dragonflight Will Revamp The Entire World Of Azeroth
As is standard for many of World of Warcraft's expansions, a number of models in the game will either be introduced or updated. WoW: Shadowlands brought with it a wide range of new character customizations and spell effects, also introducing some new creatures never seen before. Dragonflight is no different, already having shown some juicy new looks for fan-favorite characters such as Alexstrazsa the Dragonqueen and Kalecgos of the Blue Dragonflight. More impressive, however, is the fact that the entire world of Azeroth is going to be reinvigorated with new graphics.
This old-world revamp will affect all of Azeroth, particularly its older zones in Kalimdor, Northrend, Outland, and the Eastern Kingdoms. Many find the old polygon look of these zones appealing, but since the immensely popular release of WoW: Classic and Burning Crusade: Classic, there is no more need to keep outdated art in the game. Buildings, monsters, animals, landscapes and other well-known models (many of which have remained totally unchanged since the game was released 17 years ago) will be overhauled with a more modern look that suits how the game's appearance has evolved over the years.
Professions, HUD, UI & Talents Will Get Overhauled In WoW: Dragonflight
Professions have been a huge part of World of Warcraft since its release. Whether they take the form of gear, potions, enchantments or any other kind of buff, crafted items depend on dedicated players leveling up their professions, collecting the raw materials and making the items that everyone will need to overcome various challenges. The professions system has undergone some quality-of-life changes over the years, but nothing compares to what's been planned for them in Dragonflight.
Players will be able to formally request that items be made for them by crafters- either their friends, guildmates or open to everyone- and can even provide the materials themselves in an interface similar to the existing Auction House. All of WoW's classic professions will have unique gear and intricacies tied to them, enhancing the flavor and feel of players' characters within their unique crafting roles. Crafting will also become more specialized, and the worth of crafted items will vary depending on the materials used.
World of Warcraft's Interface (UI) and its Heads-Up Display (HUD) include all the information a player can see on their screen as they play, including nameplates, buffs, debuffs and all of their slotted abilities. This interface has remained largely the same since the beginning and players currently have to employ third-party addons if they want to customize this layout beyond what can be done in-game. Blizzard has announced that this will be updated with a lot more choice and flexibility to help players perform at their best.
The Talent system in WoW was changed all the way back in the Mists of Pandaria expansion in 2012 and severely narrowed down the players' choices in the interest of simplicity. Before then, players would earn points as they leveled up and could spend them on whatever talent they wanted and combine any number of class abilities to suit any situation. This well-liked variety of playstyles has been stifled for a long time, but it seems WoW is finally going to return to this old-school Talent system in Dragonflight.
WoW: Dragonflight Will Offer Dragonriding
The ability for players to fly around on their various mounts has been around nearly as long as World of Warcraft has, but the mechanics involved in flying have remained extremely simple, both mechanically and visually. Blizzard plans to update the mechanics of flying by making it more dynamic, such as adding the ability to dive, roll and bank with proper flying physics instead of just the same old wings-flapping animation. To suit this, there will also be a new drake mount that, for the first time ever, players can customize themselves. This special mount can have its appearance tweaked in almost every way, and the WoW: Dragonflight expansion's Dragonriding animations will likely only apply to this mount. Whether more dynamic flight physics will be applied to all other flying mounts is not yet clear, but it would make for a much better mount experience overall.
All of this content is coming to the game in its next expansion, Dragonflight, which is likely still a long way away at this point. Regardless, players are champing at the bit to sink their teeth into the Dragon Isles and all the magic and mystery it has to offer. Surviving a rocky public opinion of World of Warcraft's current expansion, Shadowlands, one can only hope Blizzard will find a way to restore players' faith in their most popular game in the months to come with Dragonflight.
