Highlights included a discussion about Sarkareth and the multiple forces of antagonism in Dragonflight, Season 2, Zarelek Cavern, and the new systems and UI updates.
Highlights
Patch 10.1 Campaigns
- One of the things Blizzard wanted to do for Dragonflight was have multiple forces of antagonism, so it wasn’t just one villian you’re chasing the entire time. While the Primal Incarnates are a primary antagonistic force, you’ll also see Scalecommander Sarkareth and his Sundered Flame come into focus in 10.0.7 and 10.1 as he chases a legacy for Dracthry after feeling betrayed by the Dragon Aspects. Expect to be punching Sarkareth in Aberrus. Villainous forces abound in Dragonflight including the Infinite Dragonflight.
- Content patch cycles have varied a bit with Dragonflight compared to previous expansions. The 10.0.7 patch was not a patch number you may have seen before and gives the opportunity to foreshadow and flesh out the next major content patch. Embers of Neltharion is not the last major story beat of Dragonflight, but they are not announcing anything beyond 10.1 at this time.
Zaralek Cavern
- Deepholm did heavily thematically inspire Zaralek Cavern, but also Blizzard wanted to go above and beyond and tell a new story. They knew the zone needed to be vast and have verticality in order to incorporate Dragonriding. Includes multiple entrances to make it feel like a contiguous part of the Dragon Isles.
- From a content standpoint, Zaralek should feel additive and supplemental rather than replacing the other zones of the Dragon Isles.
- Core end-game loop will include world quests, public events, snail races, Fyrakk Assaults, sniffen seaks. Public events on the Dragon Isles will be updated with Season 2 rewards in order to stay relevant. Yes, Chef!
Season 2
- Vortex Pinnacle, Underrot, Freehold, Neltharion’s Lair all returning into the Season 2 Mythic+ rotation. Looking at really tuning the remaining Dragonflight dungeons before launch and potentially pairing back a few mechanics. Looking at you Brackenhide…
- Feedback is being heard about the Season 1 Mythic+ dungeons had a lot of complexity to them. To tackle that feedbacck, experimentally there is no seasonal affix for Season 2, the rotation of dungeons felt like enough to change up the gameplay of each season. However, Level 7 affixes are being majorly refreshed to create counterplay and give players opportunities to use their utility.
- Aberrus was the hidden laboratory where Neltharion went mad and transformed into Deathwing. The old god presence and whispers that did that and the narrative surrounding that transformation is definitely being explored in 10.1. We can’t necesarily say whether presence still exists in Aberrus. Definitely check out the dungeon journal when the Patch 10.1 PTR begins as Blizzard has really tried to introduce gameplay elements directly from the narrative.
- Having unique effect items, rarer item drops, and tiered item levels within a single difficulty was seen as a real success in Blizzard’s eyes for Vault of the Incarnates. Expect those reward structures to continue in Aberrus.
- Simultaneous raid difficulty and content releases are being done again in Season 2 for Aberrus. It’s unsure if that will be the case going beyond 10.1. They did appreciate the clarity the simultaneous release had for the broader playerbase.
Systems & UI
- Cross-Faction Guilds will be available if not in the first build of the PTR then one of the first builds.
- Professions revamp continuing into Embers of Neltharion with a similar item level mapping for professions in Season 2.
- New upgrade sytem looks to consolidate and unify a lot of the different upgrade systems found in Dragonflight. Blizzard is looking to improve clarity, especially with the various upgrade currencies. Expect it to arrive on the PTR fairly early in order to iterate on feedback.
- When it comes to UI, Blizzard wants to be able to serve the broadest audience and ensure that you have the tools to customize the base UI as much as possible. UI revamp will be continuing in Embers of Neltharion. Focus for 10.1 is group manager, raid frames, quest tracker, and edit mode.
Classes
- Blizzard has never added a spec to a class before, so don’t expect a tank spec for Evokers.
- Paladin mobility was heavily discussed. Considered a lot of different options but chose to reinforce existing abilities rather than giving them a warrior ability like Heroic Leap.
