World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Gives New Players An All-Azeroth Adventure

Since 2004, World of Warcraft has transported players across the globe of Azeroth, to other planets, timelines, and even dimensions. Over the years, new players to the game leveled through all preceding content to reach the newest expansion. In their ongoing streamlining of the process, Blizzard significantly modified leveling with the Shadowlands expansion. New players began their introduction to the game and combat mechanics onboard a ship and continued through Exiles Reach, a brand new starter zone.

Exiles Reach provided a sampling of WoW content, along with a nice armor set. The new player generally finished the zone at level 10. They were then flown to their faction capital city to begin Battle for Azeroth, the previous expansion. At level 50, they were directed to cross the veil into Shadowlands. Following this format, new players would be expected to progress from Exiles Reach to Shadowlands, and then onto Dragonflight at level 60. Alas, this is not the case.

New players starting World of Warcraft: Dragonflight will flow from Exiles Reach (1-10), Battle for Azeroth (10-60), and then Dragonflight (60-70). Blizzard’s decision to keep BfA makes sense based on the radically different nature of the Shadowlands. New players would be learning the basics of a fantasy game, and then crossing into an otherworldly afterlife to save our eternal fates ala The Good Place. This way, they become more acquainted with the lands of Azeroth and its long history.

An issue I have with the current arrangement is the lack of a summary. New players enter Battle for Azeroth without knowing the purpose of the expansion. I recommend an introductory quest following Exiles Reach where they learn how the events of Legion resulted in the need to embark to the island kingdoms of Zandalar and Kul Tiras. It is not much, but will add to the immersion and connectiveness of the player to the game world.

Dragonflight introduces many progression and quality of life changes. It is reasonable to expect it to replace BfA for leveling when the next expansion arrives. We shall see.