Dragonflight, the MMO’s eighth expansion, will take players away from the Shadowlands and into the fabled Dragon Isles. There will be dragons to play with, dragons to ride, and dragons to ride on. We’re going to the place where dragons live, where old mysteries have been reawakened, and both the Alliance and the Horde will have to deal with them.
Now that we know when Dragonflight will be released, we’re curious as to when the pre-patch and the new Drakthyr evoker will be made available. There’s still a lot to learn about the upcoming expansion, what with the beta for Dragonflight and all. New zones and races are only the beginning. Let’s get into what we know about World of Warcraft: Dragonflight at this point if you’re up for it.
Contents
When is the WoW: Dragonflight Release Date?
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is slated to release on November 28, 2022. In addition, the expansion is now available for pre-purchase, albeit the pre-patch date is still unknown.
Wowhead found an interesting article a while back, which listed the release dates for the Dragonflight pre-patch and expansion as October 25 and November 28, respectively. Since the predicted launch date was spot on, we can probably expect the pre-patch around the end of the month of October.
❗️ GIVEAWAY ❗️
To celebrate the announcement of the #DRAGONFLIGHT release date on the 28th of November, I will be giving away 4 Dragonflight Heroic Editions!
EU ONLY! #WoW_Partner
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🐉Leave a comment with the best Dracthyr/Evoker name! pic.twitter.com/ZvvGsPz9dg— Naguura (@Naguura) September 29, 2022
Is there a WoW: Dragonflight beta?
Yes, Dragonflight went from an alpha test to a beta test at the start of September. There is no guaranteed way to join the Dragonflight alpha or beta testing phaseS.
Concerns were raised when it was revealed that Dragonflight would not be available until 2022, especially as there had been no evidence of alpha testing up to that point. It turns out that this was a deliberate strategy for a more targeted testing phase. With the alpha stage complete and the beta phase well underway, it appears like a release this year is still on schedule.
Quick facts on WoW: Dragonflight
- Level cap: 70
- New playable race: Dracthyr, which are Dragons, obviously
- New mounts: Also dragons
- New zones: Four new zones, one new starter zone
- System overhauls: HUD rework, new talent system, professional updates
- Group content: Eight new dungeons and a new raid
- New race/class combinations
Wow’s New Playable Dragon Race is Also Its Own Class
In the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, players will be able to take on the role of a dragon. Both the Dracthyr’s draconic and humanoid forms are up for grabs throughout the character-creation process.
However, Blizzard claims that dragons are so unique that they did not easily fit into any of the preexisting classes. The Evoker is a new playable class for Dracthyr. Although you have the option of joining the Horde or the Alliance, every Dracthyr is also an Evoker.
Their magical abilities center on ranged DPS or healing, and their physical assaults, like as soaring overhead with dragon breath or unleashing wind with their wings, are devastating.
Added Dracthyr information is as follows:
- Dracthyr start at level 58.
- Dracthyr wears mail armor.
- They have their own starting zone.
- Two specializations; a mid-range DPS and a healer.
Wow: Dragonflight’s New Zones and Story
The new region added by Dragonflight is the Dragon Isles, the original home of dragons. Waking Shores, Ohn’ahran Plains, Azure Span, and the old Thaldraszus, where the new capital city Valdrakken stands, are the four new zones that make up this region.
The Dragon Isles have always been shrouded in mystery, but now you may dive headfirst into their buried secrets in World of Warcraft. Blizzard revealed that the Dragon Isles were the original capital of the Dragon Kingdom back in the reveal stream’s “Ancient Times” segment. A long time ago, when Azaroth was divided into its continents, magic went into hibernation, forcing dragonkind to abandon the Isles. The elemental energy that dragons represent can’t possibly remain dormant for much longer.
The Isles are not just home to dragons, but also to a number of other mortal races. The elemental Djaradin, who are half-giants, have long been at odds with the dragons. Likewise, the walrus-like Tuskarr has made a comeback. Blizzard also reveals that ancient Centaur people once inhabited the Isles.
Dragon riding requires a bit more effort than flying in the current version of World of Warcraft. Dragon riding is a new and exciting method to travel throughout Azeroth, and the designers at Blizzard have discussed the role of momentum and gravity in the game, detailing the new animations for diving and barrel rolling across the Isles.
Dragonflight zones will allow you to take to the skies with a new mode of transportation: riding dragons. In most cases, the ability to fly is locked behind a series of milestones that aren’t unlocked until well into an expansion’s timeline. While this will be true for Dragonflight, the ability to ride dragons will allow you to avoid having to rely solely on foot travel in the meanwhile.
Dragonflight Professions Are Getting an Overhaul
New to this expansion are changes to the professions. Although Blizzard has provided extensive information on the new systems at this link I will summarise the most important ones below for Dragonflight. In particular, these are:
- Crafting Orders
- Specializations
- Stats
- Quality
In an “auction house-like interface,” Crafting Orders will enable you to place orders for virtually any craftable object. That’s right, from now on you can pick out the exact reagents you want in a product and have someone else make it for you, making it the best of both worlds. The artisans who fulfill these requests will be paid a fee based on the value of the items they make.
Specializations allow you to hone in on a subset of your overall subject of study. Although few specifics have been revealed, this appears to be a return to the old system’s specializations, such as the need to decide between Goblin engineering and Gnomish engineering.
There will be four new ways to improve your efficiency in the crafting process thanks to the new Profession Stats, and these perks can be equipped like any other.
Here are some key numbers for the Dragonflight profession:
You have an x% chance of feeling inspired while making this dish, which will allow you to do so with even more dexterity.
Ingenuity: There is a chance of x that you will consume less of a tradable reagent like ore.
Multicraft allows you to produce x% more of a given type of craftable item. This feature is restricted to stackable item recipes.
It now takes x% less time to complete a craft.
Similarly, the introduction of quality into professions is underway. There will be five new Quality levels for all crafted products, including consumables, with the final grade depending on the quality of the materials used and your personal crafting statistics and expertise. A higher item level indicates better quality in equipment, whereas a longer duration or additional charges indicate better quality in consumables.
There will be three additional quality levels for herbs, ores, and leather, all of which affect the final product’s quality.
New Dragonflight Profession Bag Slot
We’ve already indicated that we’re revamping professions, so you’ll need a lot of storage space for all the raw materials you’ll be using to make things of varying quality.
In a recent interview, Ion Hazzikostas explained that the reagent bank tab is similar to what a person’s personal bank tab would be in a local institution. “People on the team were quick to point out, “I don’t have any backspace as it is,” as one of the first queries asked and comments made. What a terrible situation. Don’t give me any more useless stuff to carry!”
The new professional bag is considerably larger than the old one, so that’s another difference. Though its actual slot count remains unknown, it appears that you won’t have any trouble finding a home for all of your reagents there. Not endless in the strict sense, but huge in scope,” Hazzikostas said.
Talents Are Returning to Their Roots
The Talent Trees that were present before the Mists of Pandaria expansion are returning. You have the option of selecting three abilities from each row, for a total of six, to use toward your specialization right now. A more nuanced talent system will make its return in Dragonflight.
In Dragonflight, you won’t have separate trees for each of your class’s specializations; instead, you’ll have one primary “class tree” and one additional “specialization tree,” the latter of which will change depending on your current function. The cool thing about this is that you’ll have a lot more options to play with, and you’ll be able to store profiles for different configurations of your talent tree.
The 18-year-old UI is Getting Revamped
There’s no denying that World of Warcraft’s user interface has seen better days, and Dragonflight will provide the first substantial update in 18 years. The forthcoming update will make the UI more organized and flexible in terms of where you may place different components.
You can save alternative user interface configurations in the same way you save talents, and you can even have different configurations load automatically based on your specialization. For instance, a DPS player may want to have their party or raid frames off to the side of their screen, while a healer will want them front and center.
The user interface update won’t make addons for World of Warcraft obsolete, but it will allow players to tailor their experience with fewer third-party programs.
Mages, Priests, and Rogues Can Be Any Race
You can only play a certain class if you’re a certain race, with certain races being more restrictive than others (looking at you, druids) While this remains true for a large number of classes in Dragonflight, mages, priests, and rogues are all open to players of any race.
These eight new races/classes are:
- Tauren mage
- Highmountain Tauren mage
- Highmountain Tauren priest
- Orc priest
- Tauren rogue
- Highmountain Tauren rogue
- Draenei rogue
- Lightforged Draenei rogue
New Dragonflight Dungeons
Along with Dragonflight comes a whopping eight new dungeons. Only four of these dungeons will become available as you progress through the Dragon Isles, with the others being accessible at level 70. In particular, these are:
- Ruby Life Pools
- Brackenhide Hollow
- The Nokhud Offensive
- Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
- Neltharus
- The Azure Vault
- Halls of Infusion
- Algeth’ar Academy
The Changing Mythic+ Pool
There will be a shift in the Mythic+ dungeon pool as well in Dragonflight. Like Season 4 of Shadowlands Dragonflight dungeons will come and go from the Mythic+ dungeon pool with each passing season.
All eight Dragonflight dungeons are available on Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulties throughout the entire expansion, so don’t worry about missing out on any of the content just because you’re playing on a higher difficulty.
The first Dragonflight raid
Dragonflight’s first raid, Vault of the Incarnates, features eight different bosses. In particular, these are:
- Eranog
- Terros
- The Primalist Council
- Search, The Cold Breath
- Dathea, Ascended
- Kurog Grimtotem
- Broodkeeper Diurna
- Raszageth the Storm-Eater
Most raid bosses in the current and past expansions drop items of the same item level, with the exception of the final two raid monsters, who occasionally drop items of a higher level. To remedy this, the Dragonflight beta’s encounter diary suggests that the raid bosses in Vault of the Incarnates will begin to drop better gear as you make your way through the zone.
The current item levels for Vault of the Incarnates are as follows; however, these are subject to change before the Dragonflight release later this year.
Difficulty Ratings for Terros, The Primalist Council, and Search, the Cold Breath are as follows: 388 (LFR), 401 (normal), 414 (heroic), 427 (mythic) for Eranog (mythic)
392 (LFR), 405 (normal), 418 (heroic), 431 (Data Ascended), 431 (Kurog Grimtotem) (mythic)
Nazareth, the Storm-Eater, and Broodkeeper Diurna: 395 (LFR), 408 (normal), 421 (heroic), 434 (mythic)
World quests, Renown, and Dragon Racing
Everything else at the endgame seems relatively chill thus far as well. You can earn Renown (Dragonflight’s version of reputation) with many groups, but doing so isn’t strictly necessary to level your character or acquire better equipment. Rather, you’ll receive a variety of cosmetic awards, pets, dragon customizations, and benefits that will make your exploring experience in that area more enjoyable.
Also returning in Dragonflight are world objectives and the option to compete with other players in Dragon Races, which may be found in select zones.
Group Loot Should Be Returning for Raids
While the introduction of personal loot addressed many difficulties with players unfairly dispersing loot via the previous Master Loot system, it also introduced new ones. Hopefully, Group Loot will be available again in Dragonflight, at least during raids.
The goal is to eliminate individual loot and instead have everyone who kills a raid boss participate in a roll for the goods dropped by the boss’s body. You can also give them away or exchange them with your pals. Dragonflight raid bosses will function similarly to those in previous expansions, according to game director Ion Hazzikostas. “That’s a universe we think we want to be in again,” he added.
What about Sylvanas?
Unfortunately, the upcoming expansion is unlikely to catch her interest because she will be too preoccupied with her (endless) weekly Maw quest.
