The WoW demon Cortyn has played all the quests available in Dragonflight and draws a conclusion. How is the story of the expansion? Is it worth it?
World of Warcraft Dragonflight has been playable for almost two weeks and, as is my tradition, I locked myself in my room for a few days and played through all the quests.
But how good is the story of Dragonflight? How interesting is the narrative? Are the side quests worth it or just boring standard fare?
Anyone who knows me knows that story and quests are particularly important to me. I am someone who “levels quickly,” but I read every quest text, click through the monologues of the NPCs around me, and watch every dialogue. I just love the world and want to know what the developers have come up with.
So, it was clear to me that every single side quest had to be played through until I could finally claim the achievement “Master of the Teachings of the Dragon Isles” and thus really experienced all the relevant story content.
The Main Story: Short, but Just Right
The main campaign of Dragonflight, when completely skipping all side quests, takes an average of 5 to 7 hours and thus has a quite solid scope. Compared to Shadowlands, the characters here are convincing all around. Especially the antagonist Raszageth has stayed in my good memory, but also the rivalry between Furorion and Sabellian, as well as the individual aspects of the dragons have received ample attention.
Blizzard has taken sufficient time to fill the previously rather meager story of the dragons with significantly more content, close some knowledge gaps, and make every character interesting without exception.
In particular, I would like to commend the enemies, namely Raszageth and the Primalists. Blizzard has succeeded in portraying them not as “the next crazy cult” but as rebels with a cause that is absolutely understandable from their perspective. Without wanting to spoil too much here, I can only heartily recommend everyone to read the story texts closely and also pay attention to the characters’ voice lines. They are generally not crazy lunatics, but often relatable individuals.
I have caught myself more than once wondering: Are we really on the side of the “good”? Are the Primalists really the bad guys? Or are the Titans not even the real villains?
The story of Dragonflight once again is filled with shades of gray, even if they are subtle, and one has to think a bit longer about certain things.
The only criticism I have here is that the number of “real” cutscenes seems to have decreased. While there are often “in-game sequences,” the elaborate, high-quality cutscenes have been rarer.
But in summary, the main story of Dragonflight is interesting, understandable, and never boring.
The much larger theme of Dragonflight, however, is the side quests – and that’s what I will address now.
Endless Side Quests – Each One is at Least “Good”
The significantly more important aspect of Dragonflight is the outstanding number of side missions to accomplish in every area. A whopping 34 side quest chains are only documented through the achievements, and they often consist of 6-10 quests, sometimes a bit less, in other cases a bit more.
It is particularly noteworthy that Blizzard has significantly enhanced the otherwise annoying “Kill X of these” or “Collect Y of those” missions. Almost always, there are small dialogues between the acting NPCs at the beginning or end of the quest and some “mini-events” where either the collected items are interacted with or the next phase of the quest is initiated. They are often just small sequences, but they make it feel like more than just “turning in a quest and moving on.”
I particularly liked, especially with the side quests, that Blizzard has well highlighted the shades of gray of the enemies.
In one quest, we have to watch over a number of baby dragons hiding from the attack of the “Shardflame” – that’s the rogue Dracthyr faction, which is a major adversary in Dragonflight. In search of magical artifacts, a member of the Shardflame then storms this nursery and is clearly overwhelmed by the situation. He cannot bring himself to harm the little dragons, and after a few quests, he even decides to ensure that nothing happens to the little ones in this conflict.
A theme that particularly struck me in all the quests in Dragonflight is love – in all its possible facets. Whether it’s the romantic love of a couple, the platonic love of a true “bromance,” or the familial love of a mother for her children.
Yes, this theme also includes that Blizzard has a significantly higher representation of homosexual couples with Dragonflight or establishes that in Azeroth, love exists across racial boundaries. For example, one finds a centaur hunter trying to flirt with a dryad (who is quite into it) or overhears a quest line that two research Kirin Tor – an elf and a human woman – are much more than just colleagues.
Whether one finds this cheesy or annoying, everyone has to decide for themselves. I found it all very coherent and logical. It has made the world more vibrant and was usually simply incorporated into the “primary story” of the quest. It makes the characters more relatable, tangible, and multifaceted. Some criticized it as “forced” or “annoying” – I mostly found it cute, but always fitting.
Extremely Many Quests Have Remained in Positive Memory… Actually All
When it comes to side quests, one doesn’t look for a single gold piece, but every single one is interesting if you care about the game world. The “world building” that is done here is top-notch.
There was a blood elf who was paired with a human mage during the dragon scale expedition and actually had no desire for it. The human, on the other hand, is completely overmotivated and wants to explore many secrets. Over the course of the quest chain, the two thaw a little, have funny dialogues, and in the end even become comrades – until the blood elf sacrifices himself to save the human, because the “is the future of the expedition.” The quest suddenly took such a dark twist that it really affected my mood. And all with characters I had not known an hour earlier.
Elsewhere, a small group of black dragons is found, who are somehow mentally stuck in the past and waiting for Deathwing the Destroyer to finally emerge from the Maelstrom and set the world ablaze. It hurt a little to break the little overmotivated dragon’s heart and teach him that Deathwing had already been there and lost. I won’t forget the tear-filled little eyes anytime soon.
The humor is also great, or at least hit my taste. For instance, you’re supposed to bring food to a hunter who immediately starts telling you about his problems with the bears nearby. We’re already rolling our eyes internally and thinking: Yes, we probably have to hunt them for him. But not at all, he says coldly: “What? Do I look that incapable to you? No, I will do that alone.”
Near the capital Valdrakken, there is a quest line revolving around a spa. There, a line has formed, and in true “Karen” manner, there is an elf who “really wants to speak to the manager”.
I could go on for many pages because actually every side quest is worth mentioning. Each one of them is either entertaining, profound, funny, or sad – often several things at once. From each individual quest, it’s clear that here story writers with passion and much love for Azeroth were at work. Nothing felt like “standard fare”.
If the side quests of Dragonflight are the new “standard fare”, then we as WoW fans have very, very bright times ahead of us. Because I want more of that. Much more.
It’s been a long time since the game world has felt so coherent, so much like World of Warcraft, yet so modern.
I would even go so far as to say that regarding quests, Dragonflight is nearly perfect. I wouldn’t know what could still be improved. Every single story was one worth reading. And only a few MMORPGs and even fewer WoW expansions can claim that.
How did you like the quests of Dragonflight? Did you read them attentively? Or did you just “skip through” quickly? Which one has stayed in positive memory?
