A month has passed since the release of WoW: Dragonflight. But how is WoW doing, actually?
World of Warcraft is one of the oldest MMORPGs on the market and has experienced many highs and lows. Especially in recent years, players have had rather disappointing memories. With “Battle for Azeroth”, the community largely agreed that it went downhill. Shadowlands exacerbated the problems.
In November, Dragonflight was released, marking the ninth expansion of World of Warcraft. Signs point to a new beginning. But how is WoW doing a month after the release of the expansion? Is the content already exhausted? What does the future hold? We at MeinMMO are taking a close look at this.
This is how World of Warcraft Dragonflight is doing after a month
Exactly a month has passed since the release of WoW: Dragonflight. Although the launch night was a bit bumpy and problems made playing difficult in the first hours, frustration quickly turned into:
Dragonflight has convinced.
Initial skepticism regarding dragon riding decreased with each hour of gameplay. Once players got used to the “new flying”, they didn’t want to switch back.
The game world also impressed. While there are “only” 4 new areas, they are significantly larger and more extensive than in previous expansions. Especially the multitude of quests was sometimes overwhelming, prompting Blizzard to dramatically increase the maximum quest log so that heroes had enough space for all tasks – and even that was sometimes not enough.
There has even been some rather unusual praise. Many players celebrate that they no longer have to “log in” to WoW – there are simply no obligations. Instead, everything is optional and everyone can pursue exactly the goals that are important to them. Whether it’s “grinding reputation with Furorion”, extensive fishing adventures with spontaneous windfall or participating in the big hunt – there are many small events, the usual world quests, and at the same time many hidden contents, like Otto the otter.
However, the “standard” content is solid again. The 8 new dungeons are interesting and feature exciting new mechanics. The first raid with the final boss Raszageth has also turned out really cool and has kept even the professional guilds on mythical difficulty busy for a long time. Up until December 23rd, the raid bosses held up against the pros from Echo, Team Liquid, Method, and others.
The Problems of World of Warcraft
Even though quite rosy times have begun in World of Warcraft, not everything is perfect. There are still a number of annoying bugs and errors that affect developers and players. At the same time, the fact that WoW is currently doing “a lot differently” is also a burden for some veterans. Some of the biggest “problems” are:
- Aimlessness of players: Not everyone can cope well with the fact that World of Warcraft currently offers few “strict goals”. Those who rely on a clear guide or just a well-defined “to-do” list might feel a bit lost on the Dragon Isles. Because in WoW, a lot is currently possible, but none of it is really mandatory.
- Dragon riding requires getting used to: For almost 15 years, WoW veterans have become accustomed to “classic” flying. Therefore, not everyone copes well with dragon flying, which requires a lot more action. Simply “autorun and afk” doesn’t work with dragon flying. Those who are not open to new things here and do not give the system at least a fair chance may feel overwhelmed.
- Bugs and server problems: Even after weeks, there are still some disturbing issues. Thus, from time to time, the auction houses, the servers for trade orders, or the group search for PvE and PvP are affected by issues. Also, “fast flying” into walls or trees can cause a disconnect.
- Lost trust: Last but not least, many do not fully trust the developers yet. There is great concern that WoW will revert to the “old pattern” again in the next patch. It will take time until trust is once again established in the community.
The Future of WoW Dragonflight – This is how it continues in 2023
Dragonflight has launched with a pretty solid abundance of content and a large game world – but WoW expansions almost always do that. What will be important is how the ninth addon plans to deliver more content. Blizzard has also promised drastic improvements there and has already brought the first patch (10.0.5) to the PTR almost immediately after the launch of the expansion.
This patch is quite small but brings a number of interesting features:
- The Forbidden Island will be a “new” area – it is the starting island of the Dracthyr, to which players will now return.
- Orcs and humans will get their traditional armor, allowing these quests to finally be continued.
- The trading post is a new, permanent system through which players can unlock numerous cosmetic rewards. Some refer to this as a “battle pass” – but that is just a very superficial view. The feature is completely free and rewards active players.
But that is just the beginning. Throughout 2023, Dragonflight aims to release a total of 6 patches. Two of those will be the usual “big chunks” that will bring new zones, new raids, and a new season. The other patches are smaller, bringing new story content and improvements. In doing so, the developers want to leave plenty of room for feedback and be able to respond to the community’s wishes and needs quite spontaneously.
All information about the aggressive release plan for new WoW content in 2023 can be found in our large roadmap for WoW in 2023.
Conclusion: WoW is stronger than it has been in a long time
Summarizing all these points, WoW: Dragonflight stands quite solid a month after its release. Although there haven’t been any official player counts for years, if you look at the official forums, the subreddit, or simply the chat channels in the game, the mood is more positive than it has been in years.
Dragonflight had a good start and the potential to herald a real turning point for World of Warcraft. If the developers utilize the strong start of Dragonflight and release upcoming content with a similar philosophy – and at a faster pace – then 2023 could be the best year for World of Warcraft since Legion.
Exciting times for all WoW fans – and even abstinent veterans might want to take another look at their old favorite game. It may have changed for the better.
