Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Chickat]

The way the cypher system is handled in ZM is actually a great template for open world progression, though it could do with less timegates. The fact you unlock more quests and higher gear (normal raid level!) just through open world stuff is nice.

Honestly MoP had it right to a point as well. Having world quests is fine. But at every new rep level there should be another end game chapter. To finish each reps story or lead it into a raid.

[delphiskye]

been staring at leaked pic got bored and enhanced logo anyone else see the welps?

[Local Ardenweald Faerie]

I've not been this excited for a expansion build up since Legion. I mean, I'm probably gonna be let down, but eh!

[Golden Yak]

been staring at leaked pic got bored and enhanced logo anyone else see the welps?

I see some flappy wings. They could be whelps, I suppose. Neat logo.

[horizon nowhere]

I wonder if Chromatus could actually swing it as an expansion big bad?

Kinda rape-y.

I would say it all depends on how blizzard builds him up. From BFA I would say we can count on seeing a black flight resurgence with more of a chromatic presence.

[Zankai27]

A healing spec that plays exactly like all the other healing specs. You target people and you heal them.

You must not play healers if you think that's how healing specs are. By that logic, all DPS specs play the same because you target something and damage it.

[delphiskye]

I see some flappy wings. They could be whelps, I suppose. Neat logo.

one head is above the word Flight ....yees im bored not sure if its one welp or 2

[Nymrohd]

Honestly MoP had it right to a point as well. Having world quests is fine. But at every new rep level there should be another end game chapter. To finish each reps story or lead it into a raid.

I know people hate the Golden Lotus rep but I think it was brilliant and its only problem was player goals, not gameplay. It had an interesting story which I'd love to be able to redo as a Timewalking campaign, same with Legendary campaign. The dailies shifted areas as you progressed (as did the Klaxxi which also had a superb story) but you could also keep grinding rep by farming treasures in the Guo-Lai halls, one of the best areas in the game with a fairly interactive environment to spice up combat.

The issue with MoP dailies wasn't really that the content was bad or that the pacing was bad. It was that valor rewards were locked behind them and raid loggers wanted that gear.

For me it all starts with gear progression

While the Creation Catalyst points to the opposite direction, I think WoW would work best if it offered multiple progression paths, each of which is BiS at its own content. And yes, I would include World Content which is a large part of WoW (probably the largest) in that equation. If PvP, M+, Raiding and World Content each had their own progression paths, the game would just be easier to design by virtue of not having to consider what the other paths do and as long as catchup was relatively easy, we'd all have a chance to move across the different routes and have meaningful progression on each. If they actually considered challenging world content as an opt-in we could get very decent gear out of it even. I think they have fully figured it out with PvP gear for once; the PvP ilvl boost covers most slots and the trinkets are covered by the set bonus (and by actually having interesting trinkets). I can come up with ideas on how that would work but I am sure it very much is possible.

[pacotaco]

What if the Gargoyles/Stoneborn and Kyrian wings and how they work were practice for Drakthyr?

Female Stoneborn didn’t have back wings but I can see that model being a test for how Draconic women could look. They have the hind legs and all.

Stoneborne model reuse the skeleton of the DH meta (male) and slim arakkoa (female)

[ercarp]

Only 50 hours to go. We're getting closer.

[KayRule]

Once an esteemed magister, Dar'Khan Drathir would become one of Quel'Thalas' greatest traitors. His limitless ambition, combined with his egotistical mindset, made him an easy pawn for the forces of the Lich King. Empowered by the treacherous Prince Arthas himself, Dar'Khan opened the way for the Scourge to enter Quel'Thalas and ravage the land in their march to the Sunwell.

[Sondrelk]

Honestly MoP had it right to a point as well. Having world quests is fine. But at every new rep level there should be another end game chapter. To finish each reps story or lead it into a raid.

Really i think what Blizzard needs to do is reuse the covenant framework, trim it down, and then tie it more to the reputation.

You don't get any player power that is useable in raids or other instanced content, but you do get a storyline, zone upgrades, and a few unique cosmetics.

Then, instead of choosing one covenant or rep and sticking with it, you instead have all of them available, but limit how much progress you can do with them.
You can still opt for one reputation and go fast with that one, but that would mean everything else going slower, or you can try and spread it out, but being slower overall.

This way you have most of the upsides of covenants, but tied more to reps instead of being a weird not-quite rep. If you like one zone more than others you can still focus on that one and get full rewards. Or if you want everything you can try and spread it out and still get everything.

[zernie]

Has the datamined Queen's Gift been discussed here? It probably hints at a new World Tree. One of the possible locations is right atop of Sargeras' sword to heal the wound

[Raetary]

Has the datamined Queen's Gift been discussed here? It probably hints at a new World Tree. One of the possible locations is right atop of Sargeras' sword to heal the wound

Yes, consensus is that it's either a new tree or used to revitalize Teldrassil.

[Hitei]

Has the datamined Queen's Gift been discussed here? It probably hints at a new World Tree. One of the possible locations is right atop of Sargeras' sword to heal the wound

Yes.

I doubt they would put it on top of the sword though, which is canonically in space, unless Night Elves are going to become space elves, which I'd be okay with.

[SniperCT]

Yes, consensus is that it's either a new tree or used to revitalize Teldrassil.

I hope it's a new tree. I mean I despised that teldrassil burned but I never actually liked the tree itself lol

[Raetary]

I hope it's a new tree. I mean I despised that teldrassil burned but I never actually liked the tree itself lol

If they bring Teldrassil back i'm confident they'll actually instance the zone and just keep the 2D background image in Darkshore, so there's no longer a huge and ugly stump.

[Leaker69]

Yes.

I doubt they would put it on top of the sword though, which is canonically in space, unless Night Elves are going to become space elves, which I'd be okay with.

I could see it overgrowing the sword. They would probably keep it as a monument though. It would also be just asking for another NE wipe when 'whoever' decides to take the sword. Wasn't datamine something like a sapling? I doubt we will see a new tree this quickly - even with magic. Would be cool if we had something like Arcan'dor growing campaign

[ercarp]

Yes.

I doubt they would put it on top of the sword though, which is canonically in space, unless Night Elves are going to become space elves, which I'd be okay with.

They already call themselves "children of the stars" so it wouldn't be too far-fetched. Could even have been foreshadowing for the night elves' eventual ascension to space'dorei. This way they'll also get closer to their precious Elune!

[zernie]

Whatever the location is, I hope it's an actual magnificent tree, instead of a weird shrub that Teldrassil was. It looked like a baobab on steroids. It's 2022, come on.

And yeah, if there's a quest line where we help to grow the tree, that's an instant buy from me.