After Shadowlands dragged on for quite a while and disappointed many people, fans are hoping for a better World of Warcraft with Dragonflight. Does the new expansion bring the long-awaited improvements? MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus thinks: yes, but the course still needs a few corrections.
I have been playing since the end of Classic World of Warcraft, and my longest break without a subscription was a few weeks in a row. I have personally experienced all the highs and lows of the game, and like many others, I find that Shadowlands was definitely a low point.
I don’t want to dwell too much on it, as that would take too long. But the grind … that damn grind for Legendaries, Artifact Power, and Glory was so exhausting. I had no time left to have fun with all those obligations. Many felt the same way.
Consequently, World of Warcraft fans, of which I am one, are placing a lot of hope in Dragonflight. I was already greatly impressed by Dragonflight during the alpha, especially because it brings back more of what WoW used to do well.
Now Dragonflight has been released and has been playable for a few days. I have reached level 70, looked into the endgame content, and explored the world on the live servers. My conclusion after the first few days: Blizzard can still make good MMORPGs. Hopefully, they won’t forget how to do that again.
The new expansion was released on November 29. You can find all information about Dragonflight in our special, and in the video, you can see once again the most important features:
WoW is making regressions and that’s a good thing
What makes Dragonflight so different from previous expansions? Well, it sounds clichéd, but: it’s going “back to the roots,” this time for real. Instead of introducing new systems, old and overdue content is being revamped first:
- every class has talents again, allowing for some really cool builds
- the UI has been completely redesigned and now has options it should have had for years
- Professions have been completely overhauled and are now genuinely important, as they should have been in Shadowlands
Even the story is already better in Dragonflight than in Shadowlands. The big villain from Shadowlands didn’t really impress anyone. In contrast, the nasty lightning dragon from Dragonflight already has more depth:
So far, Dragonflight has refrained from so-called “Borrowed Power,” as we know them from Legion (Artifact weapon), BfA (Heart of Azeroth), and Shadowlands (Legendaries and Covenants). So far, there is nothing in Dragonflight that makes us stronger “only in this expansion.”
In a way, Blizzard is taking a step back to the time before they had such systems and is focusing on the features that were already there. And not just to use them in this expansion.
As the developers revealed in an interview, Dragonflight is intended to lay the foundation for the future of WoW. And as it currently seems, the plan is working:
- Talent trees can later be easily expanded and built-in “starter builds” ensure that no one feels overwhelmed if they don’t want to deal with them
- the UI will continue to be expanded with new features, as promised. What else is possible remains completely open
- Dragon riding is already the most popular feature from Dragonflight, and some players even hope that it will completely replace regular flying
Although Dragonflight had a pretty rocky start with server issues and bugs and still does, the mood in the community is overwhelmingly positive. Although there are memes and mockery about the problems, the addon is currently being forgiven.
People like Dragonflight too much to be mad at it.
Even experts who, like me, have already played the beta, share this opinion and assessment. One of the biggest German WoW streamers told me in an interview: “Dragonflight is thought out for the long term, and that’s a good thing.” Now I come with a BUT …
We captured how it looked at launch in a video:
How much freedom is too much?
One of the biggest advantages that Dragonflight has so far is the freedom in how you want to develop. Once you reach level 70, you have many options to improve your character.
Shadowlands dictated: gather Glory. Farm 2 Legendaries. Complete the current story. All of this was still associated with a lengthy and repetitive grind. Even switching between specializations wasn’t as simple as it could be.
Dragonflight gives you the choice, at least for now, whether you want to get gear through professions, grind mythic dungeons, raid, or engage in PvP. Even in the open world, there is sometimes stronger gear than in dungeons right at release.
However, this also brings a certain problem. Those who are new may feel overwhelmed by all the options or feel obligated to follow a specific path. I myself have no idea whether the way I’m using my profession is the best. And I’ve spent hours on it …
On the other hand, it also means: whatever you do, everything will somehow advance you. That’s quite good, and with a little adjustment and feedback from the community, it can all work out.
Blizzard is on the right track, but it’s a rocky one
To return to the initial question: yes, Blizzard is currently on the right track. But it is long and not easy for either the developers or the players.
The last few years have taken quite a toll on WoW – and not strongly enough at the same time. WoW languished for a long time, kept running by systems expanded that didn’t really bring any fun, but otherwise offered more of the same.
At Blizzard, there is clearly a change in mindset happening. Where this is coming from? No idea. Maybe it’s due to the impending merger with Microsoft, or maybe the sexism scandal shook the entire workforce up, or perhaps the players have just complained loudly and persistently enough. But Dragonflight shows: WoW is changing right now.
I fully welcome these changes, but I still make sure not to fall too deeply into enthusiasm. Especially because here we compare an addon developed live for 2 years with one that is not even a week old. How good Dragonflight really is can only be finally assessed when the next expansion is released.
Blizzard must now show that they can and want to maintain the course. I certainly won’t tell the developers how to work – but I hope they have realized what World of Warcraft needs. Because WoW has not been this good in many years:
For 12 years, WoW has been slowly dying, but now Blizzard is doing (almost) everything right again
