When Blizzard took the wraps off World of Warcraft Dragonflight back in April, it did so without a public release date. That, combined with the fact that what we’d seen looked pretty far from launch, combined with the fact that Blizzard was many months late in announcing it, and combined yet again with the fact that WoW Classic was clearly aiming its Wrath of the Lich King expansion for this year, led pretty much everyone to assume that Dragonflight wouldn’t be out until next year.
Well, apparently not. Blizzard just announced that the game will indeed launch in 2022, and if you’re not deterred by Blizzard’s current monetization practices in its other MMO, then you can even prepurchase it as of today. The official site goes further and says that the expansion “will be available on or before December 31, 2022.”
The company is offering three editions spanning $49.99 to $89.99, depending on whether you want the cosmetics, character booster, and 30 days of gametime.
“The Dragon Isles feature four lush new zones for players to adventure through on their journey to the new level cap of 70: the vibrant Waking Shores, the verdant Ohn’ahran Plains, the sprawling Azure Span, and the resplendent Thaldraszus. Dragonriding, a new method of aerial movement, empowers players to soar through the skies of each new area in style atop customizable Dragon Isles Drakes. The isles are home to the all-new playable Dracthyr allied race, who mix the magics of the dragonflights with ranged damage and healer specializations as a solely dedicated Evoker hero class that start off at level 58. [… ] The expansion introduces an extensive overhaul of the game’s character talent system, which offers flavorful and impactful talent choices at every level. There are also significant updates to in-game professions with new work order and specialization systems, on top of a modernized and streamlined Heads Up Display (HUD) and User Interface (UI).”
