Summary
World of Warcrafthas officially announced Guardians of the Dream, its second major content patch and third raiding season for Dragonflight. The update will see players join forces with Vyranoth, the rogue Primal Incarnate, to stop her destructive brother Fyrakk before he corrupts Amirdrassil, the fledgling World Tree germinating within the Emerald Dream. After getting glimpses of the mystic realm for years,World of Warcraftis finally adding the Emerald Dream as a full-fledged zone in Patch 10.2.
Game Rant spoke with senior game designer Allison Steele and lead quest designer Josh Augustine about some of the activities and rewardscoming toWorld of Warcraftin Guardians of the Dream. This patch is building on the foundation set in Dragonflight to ensure players always have something to do when they log on. The developers shared a few sneak peeks at the bountiful spread of content awaiting them in the upcoming update.
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Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope - Dragonflight’s Third Raid
The main story of Guardians of the Dream revolves around Fyrakk’s scheme to take Amirdrassil’s power for himself. “And, since we fight Fyrakk inside the raid, you can guess what the outcome is there,” Augustine joked. The campaign chapters will focus on the buildup to theshowdown against the Primal Incarnate himself withinDragonflight’sthird raid, Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope.
According to Steele, players can expect to face two types of enemies in the Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope raid. “There are the fellow dream defenders who are testing you,” Steele explained, “and then you havethe Druids of the Flame and Fyrakk’s buddieswho are testing you perhaps in a different way!” One of the encounters of the former variety involves a boss who plants down roots that divide up the battlefield in a way reminiscent of the Echo of Neltharion encounter. Players must use special fire to burn down these roots to open the battlefield once more.
As for Fyrakk’s forces, players will battle Druids of the Flame, fearsome fire elementals, and Primalist-aligned Djaradin. “There’s also a giant lava serpent boss you’re fighting in, if you imagine a donut, the lava serpent is in the middle,” Steel said. “It’s this cool fight where the lava serpent is throwing lots of fire and polluting the ground with tons of magma you should probably not stand in, and there are tentacles that come down and thwack players for standing in the wrong spot. It’s this huge, frenetic fight to down the serpent before the whole area is unlivable.” Augustine even described a fight in Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope that uses one ofDragonflight’s fan-favorite featuresduring the encounter itself.
“They’re actually doing a boss fight that is using Dragonriding as part of how you deal with the threats and encounters. I haven’t personally played that one yet, but that is the one I’m most looking forward to playing because that sounds really cool.”
Plenty of rewards await players who tackle Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope. New tier sets and powerful gear can be earned from the bosses, and Fyrakk himself drops three unique cosmetics, manuscripts to transform one’s Dragonriding Drake into the Primal Incarnate, and the Fire Owl -World of Warcraft’s first non-draconic mount that uses the dynamic flight system.
Guardians of the Dream Lets Dragonflight’s Gameplay Loop Bloom
Most ofDragonflight’s patches have introduced some sort of new world eventto the game. “We’ve been iterating on public events throughout Dragonflight,” Augustine said, “That was our new experiment in the outdoor world this expansion.” Guardians of the Dream is following this trend by adding a new event called Superbloom.
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However, Superbloom is like three events in one. “[The main event] is a mobile public event where you’re getting [mini-Torghast powers] alongside [a treant helping to grow the tree,]” Augustine explained. Once the Superbloom ends, it leads into the Emerald Frenzy and then the Emerald Bounty. This sprawling, zone-wide activity sounds like a combination of the best parts ofDragonflight events like Time Rifts, the Siege of Dragonbane Keep, Researchers Under Fire, and the Community Feast, and will let players drop in or out at any stage.
“[Emerald Frenzy] is essentially a short-term farm event where an area of the zone surges in nature… so after everyone finishes the public event, you roll over into this farm area, get some currencies… which then leads into Emerald Bounty… It’s this public garden spread throughout the zone where players can plant seeds that create a public activity where everyone can contribute and help grow the tree up, attempt to get it to its full potential, and its full potential is, of course, becoming every Warcraft player’s favorite thing – a treasure chest!”
For Dragonriding, players can earn a Faerie Dragon Drake and manuscripts for several mounts, including theGrotto Netherwing Drake introduced viaWorld of Warcraft’s Trading Post. Players will also be able to participate in new races, and unlock the Swift Skimming and Wind’s Respite Dragonriding talents. Swift Skimming allows Ground Skimming and Thrill of the Skies to work simultaneously, while, according to Steele, Wind’s Respite “turns down gravity for two seconds after you [use Aerial Halt] so it’s easier to find a soft landing spot.” These skills are unlocked via new glyphs found in the Emerald Dream.
New upgrade systems, activities, and a Renown track can all be found in Guardians of the Dream, and players will be able to test many of these features on the Public Test Realm over the weeks leading up to its release. Augustine couldn’t confirm Patch 10.3 was in development yet, but he was hopeful about the future of the expansion. “This is not the end of Dragonflight. This is an awesome turning point in the story, but there’s still lots of cool activities and stories ahead that we’re really excited about.” Players will probably have to wait until Blizzcon to get a glimpse at what isin store forWorld of Warcraftafter Guardians of the Dream.
World of Warcraftis available now for PC.
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