While Blizzard Entertainment's long-running and incredibly foundational MMORPG World of Warcraft still has its dedicated fanbase, its popularity is diminishing slightly. With newer MMORPGs on the market like The Elder Scrolls Online and Final Fantasy 14 for World of Warcraft to contend with, it's struggling to keep the attention of players as the years go by. With its periodic expansions, World of Warcraft can freshen up its gameplay, adding new elements and reworking older ones to ensure that the game is in the best shape possible and that gamers are still invested.
The latest upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, was announced earlier this year and is looking to release in the next few months. Along with new story elements and areas for players to explore, Dragonflight will be focusing on dragons (unsurprisingly) and will be adding tons of dragon-focused content. As a typically popular element in fantasy-themed games, the wider inclusion of – and focus on – dragons seems like a smart move, but Dragonflight is still taking a risk with its new features.
The Use Of Dragons In The Expansion
The arrival of a new expansion in World of Warcraft's ever-evolving landscape is always an exciting time. There's inevitably an element of worry in case the newest addition doesn't live up to expectations, or if it changes things that players would rather it didn't, but usually the new additions are for the better. Dragonflight was first announced back in April of this year, but the release date is still a mystery. The previous expansion Shadowlands released two years ago and was received positively by most fans who thought that it brought plenty of great new features.
Players are hoping Dragonflight can emulate Shadowlands' ambition and really shake up the core gameplay, and it looks like the expansion will be bringing some significant updates. A new playable race is being added – the ancient humanoid dragonkin called the dracthyr. There will also be a new class called the Evoker, although this will only be available to dracthyr characters and is also the only class they will be able to select. Having what is essentially a playable dragon is an undoubtedly cool addition, and many players will be looking forward to creating their very own dracthyr character.
There will also be a new area for fans to navigate called the Dragon Isles. This will be the main setting for the expansion and is also split into five different zones, including Thaldraszus which has the neutral hub city of Valdrakken, and the starting area for the dracthyr called the Forbidden Reach. The massive new continent was previously sealed away, but thanks to a surge of power that reawakened the Dragon Isles' magic, players will now have access to it alongside the Dragon Aspects who will also make their return to the area.
How Adding Flight Changes The Game
The biggest and most talked-about aspect of Dragonflight is probably the addition of Dragon Riding. Players will now be able to live out their wildest Khaleesi fantasies as they raise and customize their very own dragon, which they will then be able to use to traverse the land with the expansion's new physics-based flying mechanics. This will give players much more freedom and verticality, but could also just be an incredibly awesome way to get around and experience the game.
Blizzard will be looking to add more features to Dragonflight in the future, including the possibility of PvP dragon races. It is yet to be seen just how smooth and intuitive this Dragon Riding feature is, but the idea of it has certainly intrigued plenty of fans. Combined with the new draconic playable race, and the dragon-focused lore drenched into the new surroundings of the Dragon Isles, Blizzard is really trying to put these popular mythical creatures front and center in the next expansion.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC. Dragonflight plans to launch later this year.