At the same time, the retreat of pressuring, artificial power-gating systems promotes a more healthy gameplay loop.
Dragonflight feels full of freshness while simultaneously borrowing heavily from the tried-and-tested design principles of the past.
But one thing is certain: WoW has reclaimed its place among thebest PC games of all time.
And praise the void, it has worked to tremendous effect.
Only now, they have been unleashed.
We know who the wonderfully-voiced and uniquely-designed Raszageth is and what her goals are.
It’s also the only quest in Warcraft history to make me teary-eyed.
I play WoW to get epic loot generally, but, damn it, Blizzard made me feelfeelings.
While there are physically fewer zones than usual, each is absolutely vast and features multiple biomes.
The game has picked up some new techniques that enhance visuals too.
Raytraced shadows are in, for those with a rig powerful enough for it.
Blizzard has also implemented AMD FidelityFX and NVIDIA DLSS for those who like using it.
A recurring theme of Dragonflight is that of renewal.
Multiply that by 18 years' worth of expansions, and that can lead to significant ability bloat.
The biggest aspect of this, for me, is the reintroduction of talent trees.
You could even go as far as to tailor builds for specific raid bosses.
Previously, Blizzard waited for entire expansions to pass before doing these kinds of revamps.
These lithe lizard-like drakonids are the creations of Deathwing, sent into slumber for millennia.
They are casters in essence, using breath attacks and dragon powers to heal friends or damage foes.
I suspect Blizzard will give the Dracthyr more capabilities in subsequent patches throughout this expansion, though.
Another improvement in Blizzard’s design philosophy pertains to endgame content in general.
So how are dungeons and raids these days?
There are still some annoying affix combos in Mythic+ dungeons.
These affixes are modifiers that add additional dimensions of difficulty to end-game 5-player dungeon runs.
The dungeon designs are great too.
Veterans will remember the last time Blizzard tried something like this with the much-hated Oculus dungeon.
I also really enjoyed the Azure Vault dungeon, which is a forgotten library of magical apocrypha.
However, I’m not a fan of Blizzard’s decision to pull old dungeons into the current seasons.
It’s yet another Titan facility taken over by a rogue force, namely Razsageth and her cultist lackeys.
The opening to the big raid is ablaze with lava giants, evoking nostalgic feelings of Molten Core.
However, I can’t see it being remembered as fondly as something like Ulduar or Naxxramas.
I would like Blizzard to try a little harder in this regard.
Another aspect of Dragonflight that I would like to see Blizzard try harder with is the new-player experience.
Dragonflight offers no improvements whatsoever for the new player experience, and that’s a shame.
Overall though, and particularly for returning players, Dragonflight is the healthiest the game has been in years.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight ($60)
Dragonflight is a return to form for Blizzard.
Unless you’re a newcomer, that is.
