Taliesin & Evitel Interview with Steve Danuser & Morgan Day

Is it frustrating to have 10.0.7 story given away by the 10.1 reveal?

• The exciting part is seeing players uncover the connection between them. Patch 10.0.7 plays a very important part in setting up Embers of Neltharion, the part we see during the cinematic is very much driving the action – showing off new incarnate visage forms and giving some insight into their motivations. They have their own reasons for pursuing Neltharion’s secrets… less about claiming power for themselves, and more about unleashing these things as a way to strike at Alexstrasza and the other aspects.
• We’ll also learn what Sarkareth is after – his quest is about legacy, driven by a belief that he deserves what Neltharion left behind.
• The philosophy of content updates in Dragonflight is getting things in players hands as soon as possible. In the past, we might not have even seen a 0.7 update, but the developers are excited over the opportunity to foreshadow what’s coming next. They had an to do that with Argus appearing in the sky during Legion, and Doomsayers appearing in capital cities in the weeks prior to the patch going live.
• The team is still experimenting with what kind of content will excite players and go into each of these patches, but 10.0.7 is a good opportunity to explore.

Who did the Incarnates base their visage forms on?

• The team talked about hwo the dragons chose their visage forms specifically to communicate with mortal races more effectively. The primal incarnates don’t care about that – they still find value in taking on a smaller form, but detest the titan’s path and aren’t interested in cooperating with mortal forms. Their visages are rooted in the elements – Fyrakk is fiery and serpentine, Veranoth is icy and controlling, while Iridikron is showcasing his mastery of the earth.
• The aspect’s forms being inviting, while the Incarnates are intimidating really showcases their difference in philosophy.

How will Dragonriding change underground?

• Although we’re going underground, they still want the Zaralek Cavern to feel vast in order to take advantage of Dragonriding. One of the things it allows is lots of nooks and cranny to land and survey your surroundings. It’s a different feel than the outdoor world, but still takes advantage to all the existing dynamics and new dragonriding skills.
• To be clear, you will be able to dragonride day one. It’s not something you’ll have to unlock through the campaign. There are also new glyphs, abilities, and dragonriding races in the Cavern. The new trait, Ground Skimming, will let you regenerate skimming as long as you’re close to the ground.

Any thought in encouraging more engagement in multiplayer dragon races?

• Its certainly something that’s been discussed. They really wanted to give players a way to showcase their competitive mastery of dragonriding, but it is and will remain completely optional. They’ve also had a lot of conversations around what other types of content could be engaged with via Dragonriding, such as questing.

Neltharion & Abberus timeline clarification

• Aberrus was built while he was still Neltharion the Earth-Warder. Being a very tactical and clever dragon, he’d want a secret workspace and if you were to overlay a map of the Dragon Isles, it lies directly beneath the Obsidian Citadel. This “retreat” is where could think and plan in secret from the other dragons – it’s where he created the Dracthyr, though Raszageth disrupted those plans.
• The Legacy cinematic shows the point at which Neltharion finally gives in to the Old God’s corruption in order to defeat Raszageth, though he’d been hearing their whispers and keeping them at bay for quite awhile. That event marked the start of his descent from defender of Azeroth into Deathwing, and you’ll get to see that gradual change play out before your eyes within the raid itself.

Is Abberus a bit similar looking to Vault of the Incarnates?

• Once you get inside the zone and see it for yourself, you’ll understand how different the two raids are. It’s very similar to places like Blackwing Lair and Descent, narratively it was the blueprint for them. Alongside the laboratory theme, it should feel very unique.

Who is the final boss of the raid? Will the Incarnates feature?

• Not spoiling the final boss in the interview, which took place before the PTR became available, though we now know from the dungeon journal.
• The journey of Sarkareth is front and center. Feeling abandoned by a father figure, he is obsessed with claiming Neltharion’s power as his own, at all costs. Emberthal is the other side of that, trying to find a new place for her people, and that contrast is a keystone of the 10.1 campaign. Seeing him walk that path from the noble earth-warder he thought Neltharion was to the darkness Deathwing became is very much a “heart of darkness” story.
• We’ll also encounter the Primalist Incarnate Fyrakk, who has gone down to bathe in the molten fire that Aberrus was built atop, which will have a major effect on him. His power being unleashed on the Dragon Isles also ups the stakes. Their long term goals are fundamental to the ongoing story of Dragonflight

Will Story quests be locked behind Niffen renown?

• There are rewards and there is an ongoing campaign, but not the same as in Dragonflight.
• Some story beats will be timed with the raid opening, so there are a few “clusters” of content unlocks, but it’s not as drawn out as in the past.

Will there be new levels of existing renown trees?

• No new renown levels for existing reputations, but Zaralek Cavern is in addition to the Dragon Isles and we’ll see changes above ground reflect that in the form of Fryakk Assaults and planned updates to some public events like fishing and community feasts.

How do you go about choosing Season 2 Mythic+ Dungeons?

• Said jokingly – “mostly threw darts at a dartboard.”
• They’re very aware of community feedback regarding upcoming dungeons that need tuning!
• Neltharion’s Lair felt like an obvious callback for Embers of Neltharion. Freehold was just a fan favorite. Vortex Pinnacle is more of an experiment to see what they need to do in order to get older dungeons up to par.

Will cross-faction guilds be functional by 10.1?

• Goal is for cross-factions guilds to be available day 1 of Patch 10.1, and it should also be testable beforehand on the PTR.
• They want to maintain a fictional divide between the Alliance and Horde, even though individual heroes may decide to work together. We’ll see from there what other changes it might lead to, but the focus for now is just getting cross-faction guilds up and running.