In this blog post, I would like to share with you my casual rating on the various aspects of Dragonflight based on my initial month of playing the game. After all, I have to pay US$14.99 a month to continue playing. So one month is a good time to evaluate the expansion. And as I said, I am a casual player. Our views may vary. And if you are into watching a video review instead, below is the clip.
Now, 28 hours of gameplay on the latest expansion Dragonflight is not considered as long for a huge MMORPG like World of Warcraft. Previously, I have sunk in more than six thousand hours playing up to Cataclysm in the year 2010. I have left the game for around 10 years but I have made a promise in the past that I would return to WoW when Blizzard releases a new class and a new race. Dragonflight has Dracthyr – a new dragon race that offers one new class, the Evoker. Hence, I am back!
Dracthyr the New Race ❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍
I like the deep level of customization on both the dragon form and its visage. I also like the auto-switching between the two forms. I don’t really like the genderless design of the dragon form but I can live with that. Hoovering by jumping is fun though at times during solo combat, it may get me into trouble as I launch ahead and aggro other groups. I can fly for short distances too. I just don’t like the long cooldown. It feels too restrictive.
Evoker the New Class ❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍
I don’t really like the Devastation DPS specialization. The whole hoovering mechanism in dealing damage while moving doesn’t quite work for solo gameplay as I tend to aggro other groups. I do like the Preservation healing specialization. I have played all healer specializations in the game. Preservation Evoker brings something unique to the table. Strong in AoE heal in a tight area with good mobility. But I find myself struggling when the group is spread out or I need to perform a single target or burst heal.
Dragon Isles Storyline and Questing ❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍
One of my least favorite aspects of WoW is questing. It generally breaks down into a few board types: kill something, fetch something or rescue someone, go talk to somebody, or listen to a story. I have leveled to the max mostly through playing the dungeons. I know I have missed out on a lot of progress. I think questing is bearable when in a group. But soloing is boring. The cut scene though is rather nice. Unfortunately, I don’t get much of the story at all.
Dragonriding ❤️❤️🤍🤍🤍
Compared to ground mounts whereby I often see the game designers restricting freeform flying on new zones till late game, dragonriding does give options for traveling within Dragon Isles. The cooldown required for the dragon to recuperate “vigor” does mean I would be doing something else like watching a Netflix video while waiting. I know the experience can be improved by discovering and earning Dragon Glyphs. I just wish there is a better way to track my progress besides having to install a third-party mod.
5-People Dungeons ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I absolutely love playing in the dungeons. While the dungeons are the same, each group is different due to the different class combinations and players’ experience of the dungeon, gear maturity, and skill. Most groups are quiet, just down to business. Occasionally, I do encounter some great groups that have nice and fun people.
Trading Posts ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
One of the new features being added to the game is called Trading Posts. It provides a means to earn cosmetic rewards with the inventory refreshed every month. You can lock one item to be purchased next month if you don’t have enough points or trading tenders. From my experience so far, it is doable even when I don’t have friends or a guild in this game anymore. It compels me to log into the game every month.
February’s reward is a beautiful tiger mount called Ash’adar. You can also spend the trading points earned this month to purchase the Celestial Steed, which I have purchased with money in the past. In a way, even when I don’t really spend that many hours playing the game each month, I would not feel that my subscription is completely wasted.
Moving Forward
I have committed to a six months plan so I will hang around for a while and will do another checkpoint later in the year. Stay tuned! And thanks for watching.
2 replies on “World of Warcraft Dragonflight – A Casual Review”
Thank you for reviewing this. I was given an annual subscription as a gift for Christmas but I haven’t had interest to dive into the newest expansion since my friends mostly play Classic. This gave me a lot of insight in what to expect and look forward to. Is there a certain dungeon is particular that is fastest / best for EXP farm?
Hey Alexa, I like the vanilla days. But I think the newer contents have better quality of life improvements! Anyhow, I think leveling is pretty straightforward. As a healer, I did random dungeons and I leveled my Evoker from 60 to 70 in no time. The flip side is that I leveled up so fast that I am very behind with the campaign content. And that’s bad. As I do need to find time and progress on the lower level quests. Sigh.