The War Within 11.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Dracullus]

You are overthinking it. Allowing dragonriding in old zones will be enough, if some are not 100% suited for it then so what, it's optional content anyway. Most likely in 11.0 Dragon Isles will become newbie/default experience for 1-70 (I don't think its accident they have shit ton of side quests like Zandalar/Kul Tiras - and unlike Shadowlands) and 70-80 area will be builded with dragonriding in mind - doesn't matter if it will be new content or revamped part of old world (WoD style revamp, not Cata).

Bigger issue is what to do with ground mounts and flying mounts that can't be be fit into dragonriding model.

[Makorus]

You are overthinking it. Allowing dragonriding in old zones will be enough, if some are not 100% suited for it then so what, it's optional content anyway. Most likely in 11.0 Dragon Isles will become newbie/default experience for 1-70 (I don't think its accident they have shit ton of side quests like Zandalar/Kul Tiras - and unlike Shadowlands) and 70-80 area will be builded with dragonriding in mind - doesn't matter if it will be new content or revamped part of old world (WoD style revamp, not Cata).

Bigger issue is what to do with ground mounts and flying mounts that can't be be fit into dragonriding model.

I mean, every mount can work with Dragonriding. It just won't have the fancy animations. They could absolutely make it work. Would it look weird for a jelly-fish mount to have to do a nosedive to get speed? Yeah. It would still work though mechanically.

[Nathanyel]

I mean, every mount can work with Dragonriding. It just won't have the fancy animations. They could absolutely make it work. Would it look weird for a jelly-fish mount to have to do a nosedive to get speed? Yeah. It would still work though mechanically.

Exactly. Give mounts without wings but that would be "forward-flying" renamed generic versions of Surge Forward and Skyward Ascent, and maybe give mounts like the jellyfish or certain mechanical "helicopters" slightly changed versions that focus more on vertical motion. Maybe "Surge Forward" is weaker or removed, but "Skyward Ascent" is much stronger, and doesn't just lift you "up" from ground PoV, but relative to your orientation, so you tilt forward and push "up" to move forward.

Regarding "Hover" aka Old Flying, my idea is there is an ability to toggle: out of Dragonriding, your mount slows down, and then behaves just like before Dragonflight:

• no input = hover in place
• any directional input = fly in that direction at up to 310% speed

Use the ability again, and your mount swings into Dragonriding mode.

Maybe have some areas, e.g. high peaks or hostile skies, where only Dragonriding mode is allowed.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Blackrock Mountain being reworked could be interesting.

[Makorus]

I feel like the trade-off between normal flying vs. Dragonflying is already defined enough that you can have both co-exist without much issue.

One is really slow but allows you to hover and be more precise, and one is faster, but harder to make precise landing and just hover up somewhere, plus you are limited by Vigor.

[Lady Atia]

Some interesting bits from the 10.7 PTR:

Transcription of Sending Stone: Protest

My Aspect.
I thought I was doing everything you asked and more. The extraction of black dragonflight essence from the dracthyr has gone smoothly, though I worry it may permanently cripple their abilities. Yet you commanded, and I obey.
You ordered the sealing of the creches, and so I worked with the wyrms of Malygos, as commanded.
Today, I received word that you have ordered my awakened dracthyr to Aberrus, as if they were expendable for some esoteric experiment.

First, this is the reason why Dracthyr have no black abilities. Secondly it namedrops Aberrus which may be either a new zone, raid or the mega dungeon?

[Kiivar86]

Makes me think of a mega dungeon perhaps. Not a nice place from the sounds of it.

[Makorus]

But Evokers do have Black Dragonflight abilities.

[Sondrelk]

Blackrock Mountain being reworked could be interesting.

Really there are tons of mountains and hills in older zones that could be slightly updated to have more stuff on them. An easy way to make zones require dragonriding is to for instance have the mountain areas in the Eastern Plaguelands harder to get to without flying up, or really just generally habe more content on the dividing mountains between zones.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

But Evokers do have Black Dragonflight abilities.

Says cripple not remove so in theory they would have more (say a spec worth)if left as is.

[Lahis]

You still living in denial that DR wont be a perma thing?

There are 4 DR mounts.
There are hundreds of non-DR mounts.

Simple logistics that they will favour the more massive count after Dragonflight.

- - - Updated - - -

But Evokers do have Black Dragonflight abilities.

They're just doubling down that they will never have Black flight tank spec with this lore.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

There are 4 DR mounts.
There are hundreds of non-DR mounts.

Simple logistics that they will favour the more massive count after Dragonflight.

Literally nothing is stopping them from making any and all flying mounts into DR mounts, there is no logical reason they would do away with DR instead of just expanding it given how well it was received.

[Makabreska]

There are 4 DR mounts.
There are hundreds of non-DR mounts.

Simple logistics that they will favour the more massive count after Dragonflight.

These 4 current mounts are not some super unique models, uniquely fitted DR. We got only four, becasue they have vast customization options. What stops Blizz from easily turning other winged (or not) mounts that they share skeleton with into DR mounts? Nothing. Dragonriding is probably the most well received feature of DF, trying to find imaginary reasons to scrap it is just baffling.

[Raetary]

There are 4 DR mounts.

Indeed, and all them them use very widely used mount rigs.

They can expand the DR animations to every mount that shares their rig.
Literally every Proto-Drake, Proto-Drake adjacent, Drake, Drake adjacent, Wyvern, Wyvern adjacent and Pterrodax, Pterrodax adjacent mount.

[Sondrelk]

Indeed, and all them them use very widely used mount rigs.

They can expand the DR animations to every mount that shares their rig.
Literally every Proto-Drake, Proto-Drake adjacent, Drake, Drake adjacent, Wyvern, Wyvern adjacent and Pterrodax, Pterrodax adjacent mount.

There is also the serpentine mount, so that adds all the cloud drakes and other serpentine mounts. And I wouldnt be shocked if we get a Gryphon adjacent DR mount as well before the expansion is over. That really takes care of the vast majority of mounts in the game.

[Revamp Man]

I'm wondering when neltharion was corrupted and if we are going to see him actually return.

Tinfoil theory:
He's technically still alive which is why the aspects couldn't get their powers back because he still has them. He could have created a failsafe for the possibility of him failing and we find a clone of him

[Zulggun]

Literally nothing is stopping them from making any and all flying mounts into DR mounts, there is no logical reason they would do away with DR instead of just expanding it given how well it was received.

Nothing was stopping them from keep using our class halls for more expansions. Or garrisons, or artifacts, or...

[ChairmanKaga]

But they won't allow it, because dragon riding is an expansion feature that will be buried with Dragonflight.

I Doubt it.

[Sondrelk]

Nothing was stopping them from keep using our class halls for more expansions. Or garrisons, or artifacts, or...

Class Halls are still there, it's just the questlines that would take far too much time. We saw in 7.2 how detrimental to the overall experience it was to just have a single questline for each class.

Garrisons everyone hated, and if you just want player housing then you run into the many issues that need to be sorted before you can really get into it.

Artifacts would require massive rebalancing each expansion, and then only to become either a subpart weapon system, or an extra spec specific talent tree, which we already have.


Dragonriding is a better version of flying that can be used to allow flying without the downsides of removing the actual area traversal mechanics.

[Zulggun]

Class Halls are still there, it's just the questlines that would take far too much time. We saw in 7.2 how detrimental to the overall experience it was to just have a single questline for each class.

They are there, but they are dead content, would ypu respond "dragonflying is still there!" if it was to stay on Dragon Isles only? Sure there is much to do if you want seperate class questlines, but that's what we want, don't we? A lot of good, well made content. Good for alts too. But going forward we don't have to get more separate campaigns for class halls, let them even be a place where you character can gather stuff, your own base of operation.

Garrisons everyone hated, and if you just want player housing then you run into the many issues that need to be sorted before you can really get into it.

Debatable, I know a lot of ppl who enjoyed garrison content. If Blizzard didn't fuck up WoD we could have garrisons in other zones of Draenor, and going further maybe we could relocate it to new continents, transform them to be guild halls, or just habitable with other players. Again, did not have to be abandoned.

Artifacts would require massive rebalancing each expansion, and then only to become either a subpart weapon system, or an extra spec specific talent tree, which we already have.

Do you have same concerns for class trees? Because that what artifact trees were. They could work with that. Add more talents, add more skins, add more cosmetic weapons. There we go.

Dragonriding is a better version of flying that can be used to allow flying without the downsides of removing the actual area traversal mechanics.

Once again, debatable. I like it but for many ppl it's annoying and interrupts their play flow.


In the end, I'm not saying dragonflying won't carry over to next expansion. But we have no rights to claim that it will and that it's easy to work with. Especially looking how many mount we have in game and how it would hurt the mount collectors if they couldnt use them all at will.