World of Warcraftjust began alpha testing forDragonflight, its ninth expansion pack.Dragonflightbrings Alliance and Horde champions to the Dragon Isles, ancestral homeland of dragonkind. Full of new zones and content,Dragonflightis also adding its first new class sinceLegionwith the Evoker, a draconic class available only to the new dragon-like Dracthyr race. The newWorld of Warcraftexpansion is scheduled for release before the end of the year, an ambitious release date that surprised many players, given the tumultuous nature of the last few years for both Blizzard and the gaming community at large.
However,World of Warcraftgame director Ion Hazzikostasis confidentDragonflightwill meet its goals. Game Rant participated in a group interview with Hazzikostas aboutDragonflightand its new alpha testing. During the interview, Hazzikostas outlined whatWorld of Warcraftwas doing differently this time around, and pulled back the curtain on the development process of the game. He also spoke on some of the biggest inspirations forDragonflight, and some of the best ways players can prepare to explore the Dragon Isles.
RELATED:World of Warcraft Game Director Talks Character Customization and Playstyles in Dragonflight
How World of Warcraft is Testing Dragonflight
In the past,World of Warcrafthas started alpha testing while in earlier stages of development. The testing was less-organized, and acted more like a beta test than an alpha. “[We would] slowly trickle content online over the course of multiple months,” Hazzikostas admitted. While this system worked forWoWin the past, it usually relied on longer, meandering testing schedules.
This time,World of Warcraftis trying something different. “All of our zones are ready for testing, and we’re going to be rolling them out over the course of successive alpha builds in the coming weeks, in rapid succession with focused feedback,” Hazzikostas explained. Instead of opening multiple zones at once,Dragonflight’salpha testers will only have access to one zone in the game for a focused testing period. This ensures all of their attention is focused on one aspect of the game for feedback and bug collection before they move on to other areas in the game.
This new testing schedule will also allowDragonflightto preserve more of its mysteries until the expansion’s release.World of Warcrafthas a strong community of dataminers who reveal many aspects of the story as soon as the files are available to the public, including dialogue, models, and cutscenes. Focused testing also meansWorld of Warcraftcan hopefully keep some of its biggest secretsfor the actual launch.
The first round of Alpha Testing is in the blue dragon-oriented zone of the Azure Span, but subsequent weeks will take players through the Forbidden Reach, the Waking Shore, Thaldraszus, and the Ohn’ahran plains. After those first five weeks,World of Warcraftplans to implement the remaining talent trees, dungeons, and other parts ofDragonflightover the subsequent weeks.
“We want a focused experience that concentrates feedback, that’s better and a more-accurate testing experience for the people playing an Alpha, where the zone is actually full of other players because that’s where everyone’s attention is currently focused.”
According to Hazzikostas, the alpha testing period forDragonflightis aiming to wrap up within a month and a half. IfWoWis able to stick to that schedule, beta testing will likely begin in September. Players can expect a couple of months for beta testing, with theDragonfligthpre-patch and launch over the course of December.
This release schedule is ambitious–Dragonflightwas only just announced this year. However, Hazzikostas believes it is both possible and timely. “We wouldn’t have announced that if that wasn’t the case, especially afterthe delay ofShadowlandsa couple of years ago.” The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and Blizzard’s recent controversies had thrown some wrenches in theWorld of Warcraftdevelopment cycle, but that didn’t stop it from working onDragonflight.
World of Warcrafthas been hard at work on its next expansion.Blizzard even acquired Proletariat, the studio responsible forSpellbreak,for the purpose of expediting the new chapter ofWoW. “Dragonflighthas been in development since beforeShadowlandsshipped, and has had the full development cycle that anyWoWexpansion had in the past,” Hazzikostas confirmed, “I think certainly our players are ready to move on by later this year fromShadowlandsto the next thing.”
RELATED:World of Warcraft: How the Jailer Could Have Been a Much Stronger Villain
Getting Ready for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
It seems the second half of 2022 is going to be big forWorld of Warcraftplayers. However, theDragonflightalpha and beta testing is still a closed system; not everyWoWplayer can access it straight away. In the meantime, Hazzikostas gave some tips for both old and newWorld of Warcraftplayers looking to brush up on lore beforeDragonflight.
Wrath of the Lich Kingis one of the most relevant expansions to experience beforeDragonflight. It was one of the first places where theDragon Aspects appeared inWorld of Warcraft. “We went to Dragonblight, we saw the remains of Galakrond and learned about the origins of the Dragon Aspects, and we worked closely with the Aspects,” Hazzikostas explains. The expansion introduced major groups like the Wyrmrest Accord, showed off some culture and history of the dragons, and even pit players against Malygos, the mad Aspect of the blue dragonflight. Players also faced Sindragosa, Malygos’ fallen consort who was raised by the Lich King. As one of the most powerful blue dragons of her time, Sindragosa had a lot of influence over the Dragon Isles, and will play an interesting role inDragonflight.
Cataclysmis also an important chapter in the history of the dragons. Hazzikostas said, “Cataclysmitself was the story of the fall of the Aspects. At the end, as Deathwing was defeated, the Dragon Aspects gave their power to seal his fate and that has left the world without this fully-empowered tier of protectors ever since.” The world needs its Aspects again, and players will be able to learn more about both the past and present aspects inDragonflight.Cataclysmis also the first place Wrathion–the uncorrupted descendent of Deathwing and a major player inDragonflight–took the stage.
Other dragon characters from acrossWorld of Warcraftwill also appear inDragonflight. Senegos and Stellagosa, the blue dragon guardians from Azurewing Repose in Legion, make an appearance in the Azure Span, and Sabellian, leader of the black dragons formerly moored in Outland duringBurning Crusade,is likely to make an appearance inDragonflightas well. The expansion itself takes a great deal of inspiration fromMists of Pandariawith its focus on exploration, discovering mysteries, and Azeroth itself, a focusWorld of Warcraftplayers have been yearning for some time.
“This isn’t an expansion where the kickoff is like ‘there’s an existential threat that’s going to destroy Azeroth and we need to stop it and drop everything!’ There‘s trouble brewing, there’s mysteries, there’s secrets, there’s concerning things, let’s explore and adventure. And I think that’s Warcraft at its best.”
Though the veteran MMO is nearly old enough to legally drink in Blizzard’s home country,Dragonflightis an excellent place for newWorld of Warcraftplayersto get started. Though the world and characters have ties to its long history, Hazzikostas andWorld of Warcraftwant new players to enjoyDragonflightas much as veterans do. “[Dragonflight] is just complimenting the core experience that was designed to be accessible for everyone from new players to veterans.” AsDragonflightcontinues its alpha and beta tests and moves into release later this year, both old and new players alike should keep an eye on whatWorld of Warcraftis doing with its new release.
World of Warcraftis available now on PC. TheDragonflightexpansion plans to launch later this year.
