Can You Fly with Normal Mounts in Dragonflight?
As an avid WoW player and guide writer since the early days of Vanilla, I‘ve been eagerly awaiting the chance to take to the skies over the Dragon Isles. However, I know many fans have been wondering:
"Can I fly with my regular mounts like dragons and gryphons in the new Dragonflight expansion, or is flying different?"
No Regular Flying at Launch – Dragonriding is the Only Option
The short answer is no – you cannot fly with any of your normal mounts when you first arrive in Dragonflight. Instead, a brand new aerial movement system called Dragonriding must be unlocked through an introductory questline before you can take wing explore the skies of the Dragon Isles.
Dragonriding allows adventures to bond with colorful Dragon Isles Drakes and train them to fly. It offers a whole new layer of personal progression, customization, and interaction compared to our old flying mounts. So even veteran players with years of flying experience will need to earn their wings in Dragonflight by mastering Dragonriding first!
| Regular Flying | Dragonriding | |
|---|---|---|
| Use normal flying mounts | Yes | No |
| Personal progression | Little to none | Extensive training system |
| Interactivity while flying | Low | Very high |
Based on early Dragonflight testing, the Dragonriding system is an exciting evolution to aerial movement – but it means leaving our trusted mounts grounded until we‘ve honed our newfound draconic flying skills.
When Can You Fly with Normal Mounts?
Blizzard has confirmed that our full menagerie of flying beasts will once again take wing later on in Dragonflight. But first, players must reach Revered reputation with the Dragonscale Expedition faction located in the Waking Shores.
| Faction | Reputation Needed | Estimated Time to Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Dragonscale Expedition | Revered | Few weeks |
Earning reputation involves completing world quests, daily quests, campaign chapters, and otherwise helping out the Dragonscale Expedition. Based on typical reputation grinds, expect it to take roughly 2-3 weeks depending on your playtime.
So while dragonriding remains a unique form of aerial movement, our hard-earned mounts won‘t gather much dust before we can fly them over the Dragon Isles too! Just don‘t stash them away just yet after arriving.
Blizzard‘s Reasoning Behind Dragonriding
According to an interview with WoW developers:
"We wanted the feeling of the player growth as you level up and strengthen your bond with your personal dragons over time. The team went all-in on building upon that fantasy. Dragonriding builds on the feeling of learning and mastering something with your dragon."
So Dragonriding aims to recapture some of the early magic of unlocking flying for the first time. I‘m thrilled by the idea of establishing real rapport with my drake and going on an aerial adventure together!
Dragonriding vs Regular Flying – Key Differences
While you‘ll need to experience Dragonriding hands-on to fully appreciate it, here is a brief overview of how it differs from our familiar flying:
Mastery – Your Dragon Isles Drake levels up as you complete challenges and obstacles. Periodically earning new abilities to pull off daring aerial maneuvers.
Customization – As you strengthen your bond, you can customize the drake‘s outfit and aesthetics using collected Dragon Glyphs.
Gliding & Climbing – Dragonriding allows airborne navigation similar to Demon Hunter gliding, not just flying in a straight path. You can climb thermals and then dive down.
Combined Ground & Air Movement – Mounting up and taking off is one seamless motion compared to our sometimes clunky two-phase system currently.
So in many ways, Dragonriding promises to be an exciting evolution to the thrill of flying – not just a temporary gating mechanic. I can‘t wait to push my drake partner to become an aerial ace ready for even the most skilled Dracthyr!
But for times I just want quick and convenient travel around the Dragon Isles, it will be nice to eventually break out old faithful mounts once normal flying unlocks several weeks into Dragonflight‘s launch.
Final Thoughts on Flying in Dragonflight
While the Dragonriding system means we can‘t simply use our normal flying mounts right away in the new expansion, I believe the long-term payoff will be well worth the wait! Forming a real affinity with my drake partner sounds like an exciting direction to take the thrill of aerial movement and exploration.
And before long, we‘ll once again be able to use our full menagerie of flying beasts after unlocking normal Dragon Isles flying. So fear not – our dragon and gryphon collections won‘t lose their wings for good!
I hope this guide gives players new and old alike a detailed overview of what awaits us in Dragonflight‘s skies. I‘ll be sure to provide additional tips and commentary once I‘ve had a chance to fully test Dragonriding for myself when the expansion launches.
Clear skies and happy flying! Let your dragon adventures soar to new heights.
