World of Warcraft: Dragonflight launched right before the holiday season last year and we got tons of new content but the expansion cycle is far from over the roadmap for 2023 and has a lot of things that we are looking forward to. Something that Shadowlands couldn’t get right was putting out a roadmap. We were reliant on the PTR to predict patch release dates of content updates. With a detailed roadmap and estimated release dates available to us, we know exactly what to expect from Blizzard Entertainment.
The Trading Post System is A Seemingly Great Addition
The World of Warcraft Trading Post launched as a Retail-only feature yesterday and it is a brand new way to earn cosmetics like mounts and transmogs for players. It is accessible to all players starting at level 10.
The Trading Post will contain items that are no longer available for Trading and you can also “Freeze” items to avoid anything you like from being replaced by another item. A Collector’s Cache will be given out to players every month so you will not be forced to do endgame activities to farm Trader’s Tender, which is the currency needed to get the cosmetics.
Why Having a Roadmap is Important
World of Warcraft is a subscription-based game and having a level of transparency that allows players to know exactly what they’re getting with their money is a good change from a consumer point of view. You can easily feel lied to if you pay every month and do not get any new content and experience content droughts. In Shadowlands there was this entire flux of leaks and speculations that players relied on for information and it was so much worse than directly getting information from the horse’s mouth.
Spring 2023 (patch 10.0.7) will have a brand-new quest campaign and some repeatable content in the Forbidden Reach. The story will follow the dracthyr as they return to the Forbidden Reach to understand their origins and destiny. The Spring update will likely serve as a bridge for the upcoming story content that will be available by the end of 2023 or early 2024. We will also get some Human and Orc cosmetic sets and some holiday-themed events as part of the patch.
One of the biggest patches of the year will come between Spring and Summer of this year. The update has promised a new zone, a new raid, a new PVP season, Mythic+ Dungeon Pool, an update to professions, and UI improvements. We expect the quests in the Spring update in Forbidden Reach to lead up to this patch. Not much is known about the raid yet and we can expect some tidbits in the coming weeks.
Summer 2023 will have a Megadungeon as part of patch 10.1.5. It is expected to offer a dungeon experience that is more similar to a raid so expect some fleshed-out battles and lengthy story quests. If you experienced Tazavesh or Veiled Market in Shadowlands, you know exactly what to expect from the content update.
Fall 2023’s roadmap details are a little vague but we are expected to get some story and quests. There is supposed to be a Holiday Refresh but I’m not entirely sure what it means. Players speculate that there will be holiday events in the Dragon Isles during the Feast of Winter Veil but it’s all speculation for now.
The Best of Dragonflight is Yet to Come
Season 3 is expected to be the biggest post-launch update at the end of 2023. We know every little about where the story will lead up, but the developers have dropped a list of things to expect from the update.
It will mark the launch of Season 3 and have a new zone, a new raid, a PVP season, a Mythic+ Dungeon pool, and new content and features. It is also likely to be the last major update of the Dragonflight expansion and we will see story content leading up to the next chapter of World of Warcraft. The story of the expansion has been engaging so far and Blizzard needs to stick the landing to cement Dragonflight as a solid expansion.
While everyone raves over the raids, dungeons, and other content, I can’t believe that Blizzard would be able to redefine flying in the game. We have been used to mounts forever and dragon-riding is a great addition to the game thanks to the speedy movement. It is by far my favorite aspect of Dragonflight on top of all the quality of life changes. Dragon Isles is a great area and I hope to see the story get fleshed out even further in the next two major updates that should both drop by the next twelve months.
My Experience with Dragonflight So Far
The Dragonflight expansion brought tons of content for veteran players and if you have been playing WoW for a while you will love the UI changes, professions, and talents. The dragon-riding skill is fun like most other expansions, it is impossible to give a balanced opinion before the expansion cycle ends. The story continues to impress and even years since I started playing the game it still feels as fun as ever. While I do not spend as much time regularly on the game as I used to, the fun factor of WoW is still there and after dipping my toes in Wrath of the Lich King Classic I find myself back in retail.
If you are a new player, I would recommend going through the power grind and experiencing the story from scratch. While the game offers you an instant level-up, you will be thrown into unfamiliar territory and may need to look up guides to understand how some mechanics and gameplay systems work. The game is massive and takes a while to get used to, so be warned unless you are an MMO veteran and want to dip your toes in WoW for the first time. The quality-of-life systems in retail make me recommend it over Classic to new players.
