Blizzard's World of Warcraft is one of the most recognizable and long-running video game franchises around the globe. It has almost two decades of content for players to enjoy and remains a behemoth in gaming culture, with major new expansions releasing periodically to help keep the World of Warcraft experience fresh and exciting. The last expansion, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, was released in 2020 and opened up the realm of the dead, as well as adding new raids, areas, and races.
Many thought that Shadowlands was an interesting and ambitious addition, but now they're already looking ahead to the next big expansion, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. This will be the ninth main expansion for the MMORPG, and it looks like it will be shaking things up even more than its predecessor. Dragonflight has already caused a stir amongst World of Warcraft fans ever since it was announced in April of this year, and with a release date rumored to be in the next few months, players are looking forward to seeing the expansion in action and getting to grips with the new features it will be adding, like a revamp to the game's profession system​​​​​​.
The Changes Coming With Dragonflight
In the months since Dragonflight was announced, Blizzard has released more and more details regarding World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion, including all of the changes that it will bring. As the name would suggest, Dragonflight is putting the scaly creatures front and center by adding things like a new playable race of ancient humanoid dragonkin called the dracthyr, as well as the ability to train and ride dragons. It will also be adding a new region called the Dragon Isles, a massive continent that will add plenty of exciting opportunities for exploration.
Like with a lot of previous expansions, some of World of Warcraft's systems will undergo a bit of an overhaul as well. Sometimes this is for the best, as the base game can become a little outdated with each passing year, but sometimes the updates can also be detrimental to the gameplay. Dragonflight will be making changes to the HUD, add a new talent system, and update professions alongside its new dragon-themed content.
The Overhauled Profession Specializations
In a recent development blog, Blizzard went into more detail about some of the updates and overhauls that it will be bringing to World of Warcraft with the upcoming expansion. One of the focuses was on how professions and crafting will work moving forward, and how players will be presented with many more options when it comes to crafting. As well as adding a new function similar to an auction house where players can place orders for specific items and pay crafters commission to create them, Dragonflight will be adding new layers to the crafting system. There will also be more depth to the professions system, which goes hand in hand with this new commission-based marketplace.
Now that players can place and fulfill Crafting Orders, they will also be able to specialize in their professions which could give them an additional edge when creating items. Areas where players will be able to specialize include gathering and primary crafting after they reached a high enough level, which will bring permanent perks and help them create even better gear. Each profession will offer many different opportunities for specialization, which will allow players to create a unique set of advantages and differentiate themselves from others.
Crafting quality will also be another aspect that comes into play, with different crafted items and equipment like armor, weapons, potions, and ores being separated into five tiers. These tiers depend on the difficulty level of the recipe and the reagents used to craft an item or piece of equipment. All of these new aspects will help to create a more comprehensive system that gives players both flexibility and customization options, but they will have to wait a little longer to see if they'll be a positive or negative addition to World of Warcraft.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC. The Dragonflight expansion is set to launch later this year.