Exclusive Developer Interview with MrGM - 8-Week Dragonflight Content Cycle and Advancements in The War Within

BlizzCon 2023 brought with it exciting news for World of Warcraft players. In an interview with MrGM, World of Warcraft Production Director Michael Bybee and Senior Game Designer Sean McCann revealed some major details about the upcoming Dragonflight expansion and The War Within. Fans of the game can look forward to an eight-week content cycle for the remainder of Dragonflight and the return of the Renown system in The War Within.

Dragonflight

One of the main goals of the developers is to ensure that players have a constant stream of content to enjoy. With Dragonflight's heightened patch cadence, the developers aim to achieve just that. Although there won't be a Patch 10.3, players can rest assured that there will be plenty to do between now and the release of the next expansion. Content updates will occur approximately every eight weeks and will include exciting features that players have been asking for, as well as some surprises that nobody saw coming.

While details about Season 4 are still under wraps, the developers have discussed the possibility of bringing back the Fated Season from Shadowlands. This news has delighted many players who enjoyed the Fated Season, which was confirmed separately by Game Director Ion Hazzikostas in another interview.

Static and Dynamic Flying

As Dragonriding becomes a core feature of the game, the Dragonriding glyphs and talent trees will be removed. Instead, the effects and abilities associated with Dragonriding will be integrated into the baseline experience, eliminating the need to unlock or discover them.

In Dragonflight 11.0, Dragonriding, also known as Dynamic Flying, will be extended to most mounts, with a few exceptions. The development team is excited to explore more than just dragons or winged mounts and is getting creative with the concept. However, enabling dynamic flying within older zones presents technical challenges, particularly in terms of rendering and visibility while flying. The team is working diligently to overcome these obstacles.

While details about dynamic flying for DruidFlight Form are not yet available, it has been confirmed separately that this feature is in the works.

In Dragonflight 11.0, dynamic flying will become the default leveling experience for new characters after Exile's Reach. The Battle for Azeroth expansion will join other expansions in Chromie Time, allowing players to unlock dragonriding and dynamic flying at an earlier level than before. Whether Chromie Time will extend up to level 60 and then transition into Dragonflight content, or if it will go all the way to level 70, is still being determined.

The Earthen Allied Race

No information has been revealed about the starting level for the Earthen allied race or how it will tie into the Dragonflight leveling content. However, it is tacitly confirmed that the Earthen unlock quest will take place at the maximum level in The War Within.

Several developers are passionate about the allied race system and would like to see it continue. It provides an exciting way to introduce new races to the game. As for the racials, they are still being worked on and will eventually be tested on a realm. However, players need not worry about any abilities that would destroy Dark Iron mole machines!

The War Within

The timing for The War Within Alpha/Beta is still being determined. Due to the release of a significant amount of content across different versions of the game, new processes have been established to handle these releases. Although challenging, it is a great problem to have.

Expanding the available race/class combinations is something the developers would like to explore, but no specific plans are in place at the moment. The introduction of new combinations requires support from the developers for animations, visuals, and must also make sense from a story perspective. This is evident with the recent introduction of Lightforged Draenei Warlocks.

While no specifics have been shared about future customization options, the development team is committed to providing players with a wide range of options to express themselves and create unique characters. They will continue to push boundaries and add new features as much as possible.

The renown system, which allows players to gain reputation with factions, is set to return in The War Within. There will be a "decent number" of new factions for players to build renown with.

The new account-wide Warbands system is designed to provide account-wide progression. The developers are focused on finding the right balance that prevents players from exploiting the system. They want to ensure that the best way to earn renown is not by grinding the same activity with multiple alts in a single day. The details are still being worked out, but the team is dedicated to refining the system in The War Within and subsequently extending it to previous expansions.

Currencies are currently not part of the Warbands system, but the developers are open to the idea. They are committed to making the game more alt-friendly without forcing players to play multiple characters to stay competitive or progress.

It remains to be seen whether cross-class transmog will be retroactively added to collections once The War Within launches. However, collecting everything ahead of time might not be the wisest approach.

Outdoor Content & Delves

The development team aims to create endgame activities for players who prefer not to participate in high-level dungeons and raids. They are planning shorter activities called Delves, with a target playtime of 10-15 minutes. These Delves will not have speed-running mechanics or timers, allowing players to take breaks between combat encounters.

In Season 1, the seasonal NPC Brann will join players even if they have a full 5-person group. He functions similarly to NPC companions from the Exile's Reach dungeon and provides an improved experience for players.

It is uncertain at this time whether reputation or renown will be earned through Delves. The developers are still in discussion with the rewards design team. They want to avoid making Delves mandatory for players who already participate in dungeons and raids.

The Outdoor Row for the Great Vault is more than just Delves, but the activities contributing to it are still being determined. The game offers a vast amount of open-world content, and the developers don't want to exclude any specific aspects. At the same time, they want to avoid overwhelming players with too many options.

Adding cross-faction Timewalking and other queued content that currently does not support it is something that the developers would love to implement. However, it depends on the resources and timing. The team is still exploring whether Delves will support these features.

The development team recognizes that players enjoy revisiting previous content. This extends beyond dungeons and raids, and they are actively considering how they can make other world content relevant and engaging.

Professions

In The War Within, the developers plan to introduce a new version of the existing Profession talents system. This will allow players who have a deep passion for professions to learn talents, specialize in specific areas, and utilize the Work Order system.

The Work Order system will continue in The War Within, and the developers are actively seeking ways to improve it based on player feedback. Additionally, the Archaeology profession is receiving attention, although no specifics have been revealed yet. Players can expect exciting updates in the works.

Conclusion

The War Within promises tons of exciting content for all types of adventurers, but the Dragonflight still have the story to tell, raids and dungeons to conquer and goals to achieve. Dive into the Guardians of the Dream patch with the help of our professional teams, ready to help with any request.