A note on the PTR of World of Warcraft suggests that Dragonflight is already coming to an end with patch 10.2 – at least as far as major updates are concerned.
In World of Warcraft, most players are currently impatiently waiting for the next major patch 10.2: Guardians of the Dream. There, the story of Dragonflight will continue, and there will finally be a big showdown with Fyrakk, the incarnation of fire. At the same time, night elves are looking forward to finally receiving a new home if the World Tree can be preserved from the attack.
However, an item on the PTR seems to confirm what many have already feared: Patch 10.2 is likely to be the last major patch of Dragonflight.
What was found? Colleagues from wowhead found a new item on the PTR of patch 10.2, the “Dreambound Augment Rune”. This is a reusable item that, when used, increases the primary attributes (agility, intelligence, and strength) by 87 for one hour. The rune has a purchase price of 100,000 gold – twice as expensive as in Shadowlands.
Why does the item signify the end of Dragonflight? Looking at the last expansions of World of Warcraft, such a permanent rune has always been introduced only in the last major content patch. This was the case in Zereth Mortis (Shadowlands), as well as in the Black Empire (Battle for Azeroth) and Argus (Legion).
If Blizzard adheres to its previous plans, then patch 10.2 is the last major patch of Dragonflight – thus the last new area and also the last new raid.
However, please note that this is not guaranteed. Even though Blizzard has previously only introduced this rune in the last raid tier, this time could be different. However, looking at the history of the last expansions, it is a clear hint that Amirdrassil will be the last raid, and we can already start looking toward the next expansion afterward.
Will there be more after patch 10.2? Yes. At least the story is supposed to continue a bit. Therefore, one can assume that 10.2.3 or 10.2.5 will be released, which will at least bring new quests and perhaps a cinematic or two.
We will learn how things will progress in World of Warcraft in just a few weeks. Because at BlizzCon 2023, there will be “a lot about Warcraft”.
