WoW Expansion - Dragonflight

[gilraen]

Just announced this morning although the name had been leaked last month:

[Blackhawk]

I still haven't touched the current content (the mood still hasn't struck), but that really looks cool. Blizzard still masters the art of the cinematic.

[coopasonic]

I still haven't touched the current content (the mood still hasn't struck), but that really looks cool. Blizzard still masters the art of the cinematic.

Until it comes to creating an actual movie and then they are a bit less masterful.

[Blackhawk]

I still haven't touched the current content (the mood still hasn't struck), but that really looks cool. Blizzard still masters the art of the cinematic.

Until it comes to creating an actual movie and then they are a bit less masterful.

They'd have done better if they'd completely skipped the live actors and gone with straight CGI. That makes it harder to sell, though, and that means it's harder to justify the cost of making it.

[Daehawk]

Ive not played since Pandaria. This looks neat but I cant see myself ever returning. Least I dont think so.

[Blackhawk]

I'm actually wondering if I ever will. It's almost painful not to go back - I've got characters there in whom I've got 15 years of history, that go clear back to vanilla. Characters played with friends now dead, items in my inventory (like hunter pets) with long stories behind them, back when getting certain pets was a huge challenge (like a horde character with a bird before level 50, which involved taking an Alliance boat and getting through an Alliance city at low level, which took many hours and many deaths.) I have mounts and mini-pets that a real-life friend and I spent days sitting next to each other, sharing a big desk, working toward, and then cheering when we finally earned them. Pets and mounts that were surprise birthday gifts from friends now dead. I've got characters I leveled side-by-side with a friend from level one on, characters I leveled while I was going through chemo.

And yeah, it's all virtual goods, and none it really amounts to anything but the memories, but it is still painful to say, "Yeah, that's all gone now."

It isn't a decision or anything, and I may still get the urge sometime. It's more like the hint of a realization.

[Exodor]

I'm a current subscriber so I'll obviously get the expansion but the features announced so far seem a little light. A new race/class combo is fun but there needs to be more.

[Blackhawk]

Out of curiosity, does the current expansion get away from the same design formula as the last few? Multiple starting areas, very linear progression through each zone, one item (amulet, weapon, hall) to upgrade, no flying until carbon-copy achievements are met, the same selection of factions with variants of the same items locked behind a faction grind, variations of world quests, etc.

[Daehawk]

Im already playing 3 mmos at the same time so no room on my card. Although I think Ill delete STO to make room for more GTA V fun

[Jag]

I've taken breaks, but still playing. I'm playing right now! It's fun in small bits. Gold is so ridiculously easy to get that I havent paid for a sub or an expansion in years. So I look at it as a free-to play game.

[Daehawk]

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight will add playable and rideable dragons

[Isgrimnur]

With a name like Dragonflight, who would have thought?

[Sudy]

At this point I think there would have to be a big mechanics shift to get me back. (I could be convinced to return to Classic though.) Mrs. Nym and I played Shadowlands for a while, but I didn't like Shaman as much as I expected and couldn't decide whether to re-roll. We also weren't having much fun duoing, since the content's just not designed for it. We duoed in WotLK and Cataclysm a lot, and it was never a great experience, but it was better than this.

But to be honest, the biggest factor that keeps me from coming back is having to sort out add-ons/UI and learning/re-learning rotations. It's just not a fun experience for me.

[Jag]

New Dragonflight Cinematic out today with the new pre-patch launching after maintenance.

New Hero class and race, the Dracthyr Evoker available today.

It's pretty cool, as are most of their cinematics. Definitely worth a watch even if you don't play.

[Daehawk]

I forgot about this. Forgot I even posted in here. Got the email today and thought "Neat...hadn't heard of it" Doh.

I lived in WOW until like 2012. Thats when my best bud that I played everything with since 1994 gave up gaming. I haven't really thought of WOW much and haven't played it in 10 years. I thought I was done.

But its back on my may play again sometime list..IF its good for solo play and doesn't have so much crap added to it from all the DLCs that its a mess now to go back and start over alone. One big reason I didn't go back too was I was behind on so many DLC I didn't want to bother with it all and acquire them all ..somehow. My last expansion was Pandaria.

So what would it be like for an old vet to return and start completely over and play ALL ALONE other than a random group maybe?

Oh I forgot I did go back when CLASSIC came out. I think I played 1 week and left. Im going back to SWTOR soon I think.

[Blackhawk]

But its back on my may play again sometime list..IF its good for solo play and doesn't have so much crap added to it from all the DLCs that its a mess now to go back and start over alone. One big reason I didn't go back too was I was behind on so many DLC I didn't want to bother with it all and acquire them all ..somehow.

DLC tend to be self-contained. For the most part, previously released DLC content exists solely within the confines of the DLC. You'll only deal with Pandarian resources and factions when you're physically in Pandaria, for instance. Some stuff from the current DLC will be in some parts of the world (but again, generally not on the areas related to previous DLC - go to Icecrown and you won't see much of anything from anything after 2010.) You can easily jump to the current content and skip everything else in between. You'll miss some story background, but everything else is mostly of interest to collectors and fans of lore at this point.

And, FWIW, all previous expansions are included for free with a sub. If you buy Dragonflight, you get everything up to Dragonflight. If you go back without buying Dragonflight, I think (but you'd want to confirm), you'd get everything up to the launch of Dragonflight just for the price of subscribing.

So what would it be like for an old vet to return and start completely over and play ALL ALONE other than a random group maybe?

I'm an expansion behind (for the first time in WoW's history), but unless things have changed dramatically, you'll be able to do every single thing in the game solo if you prefer, with the exception of current group content. By the time you reach the level cap, you can usually do any group content from any prior expansion solo, and you can do raids from a couple of expansions back and before (depending on your class, gear, and skill.)* Random groups can get you through practically any current content, too, with the exception of some of the harder raid tiers.

*There are sometimes a few older dungeons/raids that can't be soloed, not due to difficulty, but due to mechanics that require more than one person. For example, there was one raid where (if I recall) the boss could mind control you and another player had to free you. If you got mind controlled solo, it was a wipe regardless of your level. But Blizzard also started going back and tweaking those mechanics to make them soloable (I think they turned off that ability for that specific boss if you were the only one in your group) - it just takes them a while for the most recent content.

I've actually considered going back for a while. It usually does a good job of keeping me involved enough to get me through stressful times (IE - it keeps me obsessed), and then I burn out after a few months, ready for a fresh start.

[Daehawk]

Ok so then the dlc ownership is like SWTOR then.

I dont care for raids so thats not a worry Im not really an end game content person. I did used to love PVP though as my rogue. Not sure how I would deal with that these days though. It will be a while anyways. SWTOR again next someday. Im playing STO again. I made two new characters and started again a couple days ago. Not sure how long Ill play as Im noting playing the same old quests for the 20th times is not as fun as it once was.

Far Cry 6 is disappointing me. The control is off and Im dying a lot due to helicopters which seem that I can only kill after 10 min of dying and with jeep guns or something. Plus I die to normal guys too easy....cant figure out how to aim that stupid backpack thing, flamethrower seems to burn em as much as flowers....its adding up to be a disappointment.....like FC2 was. FC 1, 3 ,4 ,5 are all great though.

[YellowKing]

I'm going to jump back into WoW for a bit, but think I'm going to hold off on Dragonflight for now until I'm sure I really want to play long-term. The last time I played was March 2021, so my 1-2 year itch for WoW has returned right on schedule. I've been playing mostly console, and really just want something I can mess around with on the PC when I don't feel like going upstairs.