Developer Blizzard Entertainment officially revealed the date of the pre-expansion patch for MMORPG World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. Champions of Azeroth can begin their preparations for venturing into the unknown on October 25th. The Dragonflight pre-patch event will be split into 2 phases that will run until the expansion’s release on November 28.
There will be four new zones to explore, each themed around and revealing more about the respective Dragon Aspect. As the Dragon Isles awaken, so too do long-forgotten secrets, and players will traverse land and sky as they explore what the Dragon Isles has to offer. Other features of the expansion include: the Dracthyr race with its own specific class: Evoker; Dragonriding that allows players to train their own drake to soar through the skies over the Dragon Isles and more.
Players might also enjoy the new talent system that hearkens back to an earlier era in WoW with its skill trees as well as the updated profession system that offers players a way to “hone their craft” and the HUD and UI system updates to allow for better customization of screen space.
If you want to soar through the skies in style, Blizzard also revealed discounts on draconic pets and mounts with the Dragon Pack. Those enjoying Wrath of the Lich King Classic can also add a new draconic mount to their collection on retail servers.
Dragonflight Pre-Patch Phase One: October 25
- Talent System Revamp – Players will be able to explore and set their new class talent trees, including the ability to save different loadouts tailored to their choice of gameplay
- Heads-up Display User Interface (HUD UI) Changes – The first phase of updates for the HUD UI revamp gives players the ability to customize the base UI including location and size of action bars, player frames, and more.
- Accessibility Features – A variety of new features that will include “press and hold” spellcasting, interact keys, gamepad support and more
- Rated Solo Shuffle – A new PVP mode that had previously been a brawl will become queueable as new rated mode joining 2v2, 3v3 and Rated Battlegrounds as a means to earn elite PVP rewards
- New Class/Race Combos: – Players selecting any playable race will be able to make a rogue, priest or mage with more selections coming online as they become available in the future
Dragonflight Pre-Patch Phase Two: November 15
- New Race/Class: Dracthyr Evoker
- New Zone: The Forbidden Reach
- Play through the starting zone for WoW’s newest hero class, the Dracthyr Evoker
- New Dungeon: Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
- In-Game Events: Primal Storms
- Ward off attacks from the Primalists with new quests and world events leading into Dragonflight’s launch
However, all of the new features come with more demanding PC system requirements. For example, solid state drive (SSD) has been added to the minimum requirements. Make sure your machine matches the specs if you want to take to the skies above the Dragon Isles!
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: DRAGONFLIGHT – PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
World of Warcraft will attempt to run on hardware below minimum specifications, including HDDs, DirectX11, and older CPUs and integrated GPUs. However, the game experience may be significantly diminished.
Minimum:
- OS: Windows 7 64-bit
- CPU: 4 Cores, 3.0 GHz processor – 4th Generation Intel® Core™ Haswell // AMD Ryzen™ Zen
- GPU: DirectX® 12 capable 3 GB GPU – NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 900 series // AMD™ GCN 4th gen Intel® Iris® XeGraphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: Solid State Drive (SSD) 128GB available space
- Internet: Broadband internet connection
- Input: Keyboard and mouse required.
- Resolution: 1280 x 720 minimum display resolution
Recommended:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- CPU: 6 Cores, 3.5 GHz processor 8th Generation Intel® Core™ Coffee Lake // AMD Ryzen™ Zen 2
- GPU: DirectX® 12 capable 8GB GPU NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX // AMD RDNA™ 2 // Intel® Arc™ 7 Graphics
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: Solid State Drive (SSD) 128GB available space
- Internet: Broadband internet connection
- Input: Keyboard and mouse required.
- Resolution: 1280 x 720 minimum display resolution
