5 ways Dragonflight shows that World of Warcraft devs are listening to fan feedback

It is no secret the World of Warcraft and Blizzard as a company has fallen on some extremely awful times in the past few years. Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands both did not receive amazing player reception, and so it has been up to the next expansion reveal to regain some good faith with the community. While World of Warcraft Dragonflight is still a ways off, the initial reveal has given players some hope to believe that Blizzard is listening to their feedback and making positive changes for the health of the game. Here are the most prominent reasons fans can feel cautiously optimistic about the next expansion.

• New Class and Race – A new class or race is a surefire way to get players excited about a new expansion, and Dragonflight is delivering on both accords. While the Dracthyr race is limited to just the new Evoker class, it does provide fans with a fresh aesthetic and class that will likely play extremely different from the current classes that have existed since 2016. Playing as a dragon is also a concept that many players have hoped for since they first encountered Kalecgos in The Burning Crusade.
• User Interface Update – World of Warcraft’s UI has largely remained similar to its inception back in the early 2000s. Bringing the UI into the modern era allows players to rely less on add-ons and is extremely friendly to new players who know nothing of utilizing UI elements not provided by the base game.
• Revamped Talent System – It was a very controversial decision when the classic talent system was removed in favor of the current one in Mists of Pandaria. Dragonflight seems to be taking what was loved about the talent system in the past and merging it with the positives of the current talent system, allowing for more freedom of choice and hybrid playstyles while letting fans play around with different builds and utilities.
• Professions Matter – Professions are getting a major overhaul in Dragonflight. The goal of this new iteration is to feel like the effort you put into crafting is rewarded and players will seek you out based on your reputation and progress in a skill trade. Professions have largely felt like they have been an afterthought for the past few expansions, but the addition of work orders and the ability to work together with other players to obtain rare crafting materials seems like a promising start to making them feel relevant again.
• Flying Matters – Flying has also been a controversial addition to the game since The Burning Crusade. While it brought a drastic change to navigating the world, it also made the world feel smaller, and Blizzard has been hard-pressed to find a way to merge these issues into a solution ever since. The Dragon Isles seem to be incorporating flying from the start, however, and are even introducing Dragon Riding to develop flying into something that matters. Players will be able to earn and unlock new flight abilities over the course of the expansion, including new animations. These unlocks will provide the opportunity to explore areas of the map that characters cannot access with basic flying, essentially adding a unique exploration system that develops over time.