Blizzard Talks Dragonflight, Dractyr Launch Zone, Reputation System...

Mission Table, Story, Mythic+, Dractyrs…

Blizzard took to Twitter at the end of the day to answer questions from players about the Dragonflight expansion. Below you will find the most important information.

development

The expansion is going well. Alpha is coming soon.

New renewal

Every WoW expansion is a fresh start, a chance to come back and be on the same level as the others.
If something about World of Warcraft long ago captured your imagination and you haven’t felt it for the last two years, Dragonflight returns to pure imagination, exploration and story discovery by encountering characters along the way, this is an ideal one Opportunity to return to Azeroth.
This expansion is the opportunity and return to the classic fantasy themes that originally made us love such games.

Quality of life improvements

The team moves away from temporary power and focuses on core systems like talents and professions. It’s a decision made before Shadowlands even launched.
The feedback let the team know how unsatisfactory it was to lose this temporary power. Losing your artifacts or legendary items will start the expansion negatively.
Knowing that what you gained during overtime is going away is also a negative during overtime.
The team wants to allow players to play the game the way they want and not have to do activities they don’t like in order to reach those they do like.
The team is thinking about how alternate and catch-up mechanics will work in ways never seen before.
Almost everything except getting gear should be account bound.
Going through a linear story should be optional after the first time.
It would not be a satisfying experience to level up your dragonflight with multiple characters.
Developers constantly wonder if you will be happy after the second time or if you will come back months later.
If your dragon can fly longer, farther, and has additional abilities, the team doesn’t want you to relearn those things on your supporting characters. The same applies to cosmetic adjustments.
Aside from items that grant power, if you do something once as a player, you should be able to repeat it on another character if you want, but you don’t have to.
The goal is to be more open to secondary characters from the start, not something to be added in future patches.
No pain for months and adjustments in terms of feedback, the devs know players will be playing their supporting characters from week one.

Dractyr launch area

You arrive full of mysteries and wake up after a long stasis. This one affected your memory, and all you know is that you’re in a barracks with friends in trouble.
You wake up your friends and try to figure out what happened, what caused this.
You realize that you have slept for a very long time.
It’s a voyage of discovery to understand what happened to you and Neltharion.
You discover that as a soldier you were created to protect yourself from an imminent threat. They find out what that threat was and that she’s waking up again too.
It will be fun to see how the dragons react, even Alexstrasza didn’t know you existed.
The Dractyr starting area is used for more than that. Everyone will get there eventually.

reputation system

The reputation system hasn’t really changed since 2004.
Shadowlands Covenants worked well, with a clean Renown UI.
We will encounter “Big Factions” with a clear and elegant reward progression.
Everyone is self-sufficient. Unlike Covenants, you can switch between them and focus on all of them as you wish.
Gatherings had time limits, but this system will be much more flexible.
Some rewards are account-bound, such as B. unlocking a cosmetic item or accessing an area, but not items that grant you power.

mission table

There is no mission table planned for Dragonflight.

story

There is an epic ending involving the characters we will be helping throughout the expansion.
The team wants players to feel optimism and hope for the dragons. You will not care who you experience and land the adventure with.
This expansion is themed around dragons, the threats they face, the goals they have, what we’re doing to help them, and what other dragons are doing to stop them.

Mythical+

Shadowlands and Battle for Azeroth dungeons are excluded for Mythic+. Mists of Pandaria had some that were interesting in Challenge Mode.
The team is open to adapting dungeons to give them the modern gameplay needed in Mythic+
Each Mythic+ season should be a new experience, like raids with new raids.
It is unlikely but possible to use classic dungeons in Mythic+. They are optically and mechanically too late. The team is probably setting the limit on Mists of Pandaria. Anything older would need an overhaul.

Dractyrs

The Dractyrs are a class that uses intelligence.
What the developers envision for weapons is similar to what the shaman uses, without the shields but with the swords.
The latter will probably not have access to the mage tower at first.
Dractyrs have access to Torment, Tower of the Damned.
No artifacts or classrooms.
Artists have added a variety of customizations to both forms. There is an article in preparation where they will discuss the options in more detail.
They are not from one race or from the dragonflight, but are a combination of the best of them.
When you wake up you are in dragon form. There will come a point in the story where you must venture out into the world and tap into your mortality and showcase your humanoid form.
Tank specialization is unlikely. It’s essentially a caster class.
The team isn’t closing the door on a third specialization, but Tank is unlikely. Previous heroic classes had tank options, so this is a reasonably covered role.

Chromie

Chrome works fine. Shadowlands will be added there.
Battle for Azeroth will remain the default experience for new players, but that may change in the future.
Shadowlands offers intricate story concepts for new players.

story

Wrathion and the other Aspects have had many stories over time that will be present in the Dragon Isles.
Something will be happening in Tirisfal Glades in patch 9.2.5 that may affect Calia Menethil, the Forsaken and more.
When the team adds new character customizations, like the ones in patch 8.1, it’s thanks to a story opportunity.

Flight on the backs of dragons

Flying as it exists is similar to swimming in air. No momentum, no physics or gravity.
Flying has the potential to shrink the world, eliminate danger, and limit exploration.
In the long run, practicality is paramount, which is why the team allows players to escape after some time in the expansion.
At launch this time, the developers want to do something new and exciting, rather than just being grounded.
In the first or second level zone on the first day of the expansion, you earn the trust of a dragon pet that you can summon. Basically, they have limited stamina and experience.
There is a stamina bar that goes down as you gain stamina or perform moves.
Classic flight remains the long-term plan for Dragonflight.
The kite flight that we have seen in the videos so far is the beginning of the experience.
How you will advance your dragonflight is not yet certain. Developers don’t want to tie it to a specific type of content as that brings limitations.
In the long term it is possible to allow kite flights outside of the kite islands. In the short term, it’s an extension-specific feature that takes place in a purpose-built environment. Player feedback will be crucial.

cross faction

The truce signed at the end of Battle for Azeroth was the starting point for cross-faction groups. Players are reminded that this is a cooperative adventure.
All is not forgotten between the Alliance and the Horde, there are always feelings and distrust.
We’ll see some characters working together, which would have been impossible before.
In a way, it’s less the storytelling that adapts to a new mechanic and more the mechanic that adapts to the storytelling of the past. Situational cooperation to overcome common threats is the order of the day in Warcraft.
Cross-faction guilds might exist, but there are a significant number of technical challenges.
Community feedback and technical advances will determine how this plays out.

system

No temporary power supply this time.
The team is not bringing back most systems from Shadwolands. There’s gear, outdoor progression, and universal currencies that will help you deepen your might progression.
The outside world experience should stand on its own for players who only enjoy that part of the game.
A version of the Great Vault will be available, with a few minor changes. It’s a clear upgrade to the one-time loot box.

story

The Tuskarr would be too powerful as an allied race.
Alexstrasza has seen much destruction done to dragons, both by mortals and by the dragons themselves. She is optimistic but understands feelings about past actions. She might have something special for death knights. Conditional quest text where there is relevant backstory for the character is a good thing.
Discovering Azeroth: Northrend comes with a lot of cool information.
While working on this collection, the team met with Inuit to see how specific stories could be added in a respectful and appropriate way.