After the controversial Shadowlands expansion pushed some players away,World of Warcraftdesperately needed a win. The glory days of this 18-year-old MMO seemed to be over as its last two expansions failed to capture players' imaginations, so no one quite knew what to expect from the future ofWorld of Warcraft. But so far it seems Dragonflight has delivered in all the right areas; especially in terms of worldbuilding and story.
Players were not thrilled with the rushed nature of Battle for Azeroth and the brand-new lore in Shadowlands, so Blizzard chose to take the game back to basics. Dragonflight has brought players back to Azeroth for a story seeping in old-schoolWarcraftlore, and it has been a great ride so far. The story seems to be hitting all the right notes, andthe introduction of a Dragonflight roadmapwith a more consistent update schedule has helped immensely.World of Warcraftused to be tied down by the same patch pattern every expansion, but the introduction of additional smaller patches seems to have done wonders for Azeroth.
RELATED:World of Warcraft: Naga Queen’s Nature is More Important Than Ever
Dragonflight’s Patch 10.0.7 Has Been a Surprise Treat
Before Dragonflight, eachWorld of Warcraftexpansion tended to only have a couple major patches before the game moved onto the next. Most expansions got three major patches to push the story along,introduce newWorld of Warcraftraids, and add a new endgame content area. In between these major patches, Blizzard would release a smaller-scale patch that usually included some quality-of-life improvements and various tweaks. This has been the trend for the last eight expansions, but some got even less content. That all seems to be changing for the better with Dragonflight.
Blizzard has chosen to adopt a new patch model for Dragonflight that will see more patches at a consistent rate. All three major patches will still hit, but the studio is also introducing the concept of a second smaller patch between major patches. These patches will house new content for players to explore, quests to embark on, and sometimes even zones to traverse. This new content should allow Blizzard to tell more stories and progress the plot outside the major content pipeline, as seem inWorld of Warcraft: DragonflightPatch 10.0.7.
The latest patch to hitWorld of Warcraft’slive serverslets players return to the Dracthyr starting zone of the Forbidden Reach for a brand-new story that sets up Dragonflight’s first major patch; Embers of Neltharion. This zone is filled with enemies to kill, loot to collect, and a new mechanic called the Zskera Vault that features numerous puzzles to complete. On top of that, Blizzard also introduced new heritage armor quests, a Baine Bloodhoof questline, another faction to grind rep for, dragonriding abilities, and an assortment of other changes.
This smaller patch has allowed Blizzard to spread out Dragonflight’s story,helping set the stage for Embers of Neltharion. It is a prequel of sorts to the events that are coming in the next couple of months, giving players a reason to log back in during that waiting period. It has givenWorld of Warcraftplayers more to play and helps expand Azeroth’s residents, which will hopefully set a trend that continues for the foreseeable future.
Dragonflight’s first year has been impressive, even before its first major patch. In a couple of months, players will finally be able to experience the next chapter in the larger narrative with 10.1, and then players can expect two smaller patches with even more story content prior to patch 10.2. There is a lot of content to anticipate, and if these first two patches are anything to go by, 2023 should be a fantastic year for Azeroth.
