So far, the only feature that unironically sounds absolutely solid is the profession bit.
The talent system of having class + spec specific is something I have been saying for 8+ years now. So it’s nice to see them trying something with that- Though, again, I think they are making it far more complex than it needs to be.
Everything else looks like hot garbage.
While I expect we will see a big bad emerge at some point* I agree: Lack of any clear villain is a good move. It’s not an expansion of building up ‘our Azeroth’ but it seems to be adjacent to that.
*Plot twist: It’s Alexstrasza who wants to control the planet because she’s tired of us screwing it up.
there’s a place for dangerous zones but they need zones you can just vibe in to provide contrast
Also they didn’t mention anything about Aspect Power.
Of course they also didn’t mention not having ‘Aspect Power’…
Absolutely. In Pandaria, going beyond the wall resulted in a high mob density and made the wilderness feel dangerous in comparison to the wholesome and safe in-lands, which further boosted the atmosphere of both zones because it had visible contrast.
I also liked the profession cosmetics we were shown. I hope alchemists get potion vials and stuff. The secondary professions too, like first aid and archaeology need some love too.
yes please, let me get that sweet kill confirm on Alex.
It won’t count.
Jenit would absolutely wear those.
Might lead to me changing my transmog more than a little for the first time in nearly a decade.
And yeah, Pandaria had impeccable vibes.
“Deathlord, we need you back.”
“I’m retired, Thrall, you know that. Ever since that damn Shadowlands expansion I got out.”
“It’s Alexstrasza.”
sighs, hefts big axe. “One last job…”
As would my mage who in the absence of evidence claims themselves to be the best alchemist on the continent. Waiting for the day someone proves her wrong, but most people I come across in RP who do alchemy just brew a little health potion or two on the side.
where my alchemical transmuters at i wrote a whole headcanon about alchemical formulae
Somehow I got the feeling of the talent tree system, that they’re basically just taking everything each class and spec is (how everything is earned as you level etc) and just… placing it in a tree. Boom - skill trees.
Nothing new, nothing bold, just “It’s skill trees! Look guys, just like you’ve been asking this whole time! SKILL TREEES ARE BACK!”
Unless I missed something, I hope they’re actually doing something new with it. I liked how the trees for artifact weapons worked in Legion.
Shut up it will count, it will, it wiill!
They haven’t shown any specific details yet on what goes into the trees.
Probably better to actually see what they’ve got first.
Based Deathlord dealing with overgrown iguana population since Legion.
We’re back on Azeroth, dealing with Azerothian matters on a scale (heh) that isn’t immediately cosmic or potentially world-ending. It felt a little dull when I saw the cinematic the first time, but the vibe is steadily growing on me.
Dragons. I’m legit stoked to see the various flights return from the off-screen decline that Cataclysm implied to be a certainty, and finally have the veil lifted regarding the Dragon Isles themselves.
I’m digging the revamp of talents and professions. The former have been rather dull more often than not for years (not sorry), so being given more options to experiment and toy around with sounds great. Additional small plus point for being able to save each constellation of talents individually.
Evokers sound cool on paper. I think it’s a nice nod to Deathwing’s ultimate design of the Dragon Soul, combining the powers of all flights into one powerful weapon, but in its earlier draft as a breed of soldiers rather than an object. Seems to hint that even as Neltharion, the black aspect had a fascination with the notion.
The zones look pretty solid to me. Not too fantastical to make me stop and wonder if it’s still Azeroth, but suitably amazing to fit the vibe of a draconic cradle of life and culture. Plus we’re getting ducks, which immediately bumps any 5/10 zone into a solid 10. Until now they’ve been to Azeroth what unicorns are to us IRL.
The crafting overhaul sounds like a a slew of QoL changes, hopefully encompassing previous expansions’ worth of crafting tiers as well. Personally I never did much crafting however so it’s a nice, but ultimately sorta meh addition to me.
Dragon Riding. I don’t particularly get the point of it, but maybe that’s down to me being used to any ingame system having a set of tangible rewards at the end of the ordeal. Whereas dragon riding seems to be more about having fun and playing a game of Pimp My Dragon-Mount.
New default UI. Too soon to say for certain, but on principle I like the idea of a more streamlined interface with greater baked-in customization for players without an addon.
Dracthyr. Setting aside their re-re-rehashed model skeleton and bit underwhelming looks, seeing as nothing is final as of yet, I’m a little underwhelmed that they’re locked into the Evoker class. I don’t see why them being mages or warriors would have been much of an issue, but I suppose we may learn of some relevant lore-wise reason later on.
I honestly cannot think of anything that I’d consider outright bad at this point, which is in itself a rather nice sensation.
Regarding Evoker, I especially like the empowered cast mechanic which based on this preview will split the bar into 3 stages during which you cast whatever stage you’ve progressed it to when you release.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/639828493789822987/966036412799529020/unknown.png
But above all, I’d want that mechanic incorporated to other classes as well, scaling the ability’s power with the amount of time you’ve put into casting it. Stage 2 would probably still be the sweet spot, balancing power vs cast time. It seems like something that would be easy to incorporate into mage, warlock, priest, druid, shaman, paladin spells.
Stage 1 frost bolt would do very little damage, but for utility it’d allow you to apply that quick snare in PvP f.ex.
I agree, though probably not something you want to play with high ping or when there’s more than 30 people on the screen.
According to the expansion site, the Dracthyr were locked until the recently. As in, asleep or in stasis. So they couldn’t develop beyond what Neltharion taugh them I assume?
Also, I hope I can make my humanoidform appear with almost no dragonlike thingies. How else am I gonna go undercover in cities for the few times I have too?
Are they actually Isles this time or are we in for another broken Isles
Moreover, I hope there will be a glyph to make your dragon form humanoid, like moonkin glyph of stars(?). Really not vibing with the look of it. For once I actually think a bulkier and even somewhat hunched model would look better.