Dev Watercooler - Flying in Draenor

[chaud]

Update (9:30 PM EDT): Blizzard posted a Shipyard overview.

Dev Watercooler – Flying in Draenor
It looks like flight is finally coming to Draenor in Patch 6.2.x. You will earn flying by exploring the world from the ground first and completing:

• Explore Draenor - Explore the regions of Draenor.
• ??? Treasure Hunter - Discover 100 treasures of Draenor. (Get this out of the way now with the HandyNotes DraenorTreasures addon)
• Loremaster of Draenor - Complete the Draenor quest achievements.
• Securing Draenor - Complete the Draenor bonus objectives.
• Earn Revered with The Saberstalkers, Order of the Awakened, and Hand of the Prophet (A) / Vol'jin's Headhunters (H).

We appreciate the spirited discussion on the topic of flying. The subject has brought out passionate viewpoints and sparked insightful conversations on our official forums and blogs, on community sites, and in chat channels. Your feedback has been a valuable part of the ongoing conversations within Blizzard as well, and today, we’d like to share some updated plans for how we’ll handle flight going forward.

The Thrill of Discovery
At the heart of the initial plan to restrict flight in Draenor (even after players reach level 100) lies the design goal of providing the best moment-to-moment gameplay possible in the outdoor world. From navigating the lava flows of the Molten Front in Patch 4.2, to breaching the Thunder King’s stronghold in Patch 5.2, to reaching the heights of the Ordon Sanctuary on Timeless Isle in Patch 5.4, to uncovering secrets deep within Gorgrond’s jungles on Draenor, World of Warcraft is full of memorable moments that are only possible when players explore the world by ground. And as we’ve continued to develop content over the years, we’ve focused more and more on providing players with these kinds of experiences.

However, while we firmly believe that keeping your feet on the ground is a key part of discovery in WoW, we also recognize that breaking free from those restrictions can be fun and rewarding as well, especially for those who’ve already fully experienced the game’s world content. With that in mind, we’re planning some changes in the near future that will allow players to enjoy their hard-earned flying mounts in Draenor—in a way that doesn’t compromise the excitement of ground-based exploration.

Mastering the Outdoor World
In an upcoming Public Test Realm build, we will be introducing a new meta-achievement called Draenor Pathfinder. You’ll earn this achievement in Patch 6.2 by mastering the outdoor environment of Draenor—exploring Draenor’s zones, collecting 100 treasures in Draenor, completing the Draenor Loremaster and Securing Draenor achievements, and raising the three new Tanaan Jungle reputations to Revered. Initially, this achievement will award a rylak mount: the Soaring Skyterror, one of the native beasts that roam Draenor’s skies. Players will remain ground-bound on Draenor until a small follow-up patch (6.2.x), when all players who have earned Draenor Pathfinder on at least one character will unlock the ability to fly in Draenor on all their level 90+ characters.

We believe this strikes the right balance between ensuring ground-based content lives up to its full potential, while providing players who’ve already fully experienced Draenor’s outdoor world extra freedom to “break the rules.” This also provides a general blueprint going forward for content to come. Players will explore new and undiscovered lands from the ground, and then once they’ve fully mastered those environments—a notion that continues to evolve with each new expansion—they can take to the skies and experience the world from a new vantage point.

Thank you for your heartfelt feedback. We’ll see you in (and soon, above) Tanaan Jungle.

Armory Stats - Flying Achievements
While not all of the flying related achievements are in, we can take a look at how people are doing on each achievement before everyone knew they would be required to fly. The used sample is 1.8 million players that have logged in since May 1.

Don't see a chart? Enable javascript!

[reliefsan]

I sense a disturbance in the force

[TheFreeman]

I waited and trusted that this would change eventually. I was not disappointed. I'm so happy. I'm not gloating against the anti-flyers either. I'm just happy I get this feature back and it strikes a balance for both sides. Thanks Blizz, serious.

[Brenno]

Perfect balance imo!

[Xilurm]

This is actually good. As long as flying isn't ingame from the start. You need to make an effort to get it.

[thunderdragon2]

the requirements arent that harsh its probable many already have the pre 6.2 requirements what id like is a bar attached to that achievement for the treasures

[Deleted]

This is actually a really good deal in my opinion:
It gets players out into the world in order to complete the achievement and get a tangible, worthwhile reward at the end (Flying).
It still ensures that players complete all current 'content' without trivialising it through flying.
and, I really like the added bonus of it being account wide, so that levelling on alts will become a different experience compared with ground questing.

Personally very happy with the changes tbh.

[Herecius]

Oh man. Jimmies rumbling all over the place.

[JohnnyQuest]

The perfect solution, really. Players are forced to experience all of the content as intended by Blizzard, and then when they're done their whole account can fly. Personally I'd say this is an even better solution than unlocking flying at max level.

[mitbrandir]

Seems like a pretty decent compromise imo.

[Zervek]

Still doesn't change the fact that the expansion is garbage.

[Celarent]

As an anti-flyer, I love this. Great solution.

[Anaxalexi]

You're not going to please everyone, but for Alt-aholics this is a good change. Master all on your Main, and relax on your Alts.
For those that want flying straight away, without lifting a finger; they are the same as those that buy a new game and then look for the cheat codes. Why bother?

[Kanogan]

Nice solution! This makes me happy!

[Higgit]

Good
/10chars

[TheFreeman]

Still doesn't change the fact that the expansion is garbage.

True, but it does show Blizz is actually capable of compromise. I knew they could if they WANTED to.

[Jokerfiend]

Told. You.

They never had intentions of ever grounding the game. They come back as " We listened" Here is compromise.

What a joke.

[Dristereau]

Good change. Glad they didn't ignore flying completely. Should have been available in 6.0 with something like this, but 6.2.x isn't a bad idea either. Also we get a Rylak mount, which I haven't seen besides the store. Makes sure people explore and then allows you to skip after. In my case, with an armada of 100 Alts (20ish), I'm happy for this to exist.

[Trassk]

We have always leveled though the 'experience' when we level our characters, except for cata, we have always been ground bound, and forced to level up and grind gold in able to fly. Fly has never impacted the leveling experience, because it has never been part of it.

perfect balance my ass, these cowards can't even admit to their own mistakes in saying the shit they thought everyone would agree with. Backed into a corner much?

[Strafer]

Dammit Blizzard, stop caving in to everything.

I was hoping no flying would stick.

I'm disappointed.