Do you ever get regular flying in Dragonflight?

Yes, World of Warcraft players will still have access to regular flying mounts in most old zones after Dragonflight releases. The key exception being that a new system called Dragonriding will replace regular flying when exploring the new Dragon Isles areas.

Let‘s dive into the specifics on how flying will work in Dragonflight! There‘s lots to break down across the old content as well as the new Dragon Isles zones, especially key details around Dragonriding.

Dragonriding brings an innovative flying system custom-fit to the Dragon Isles

Dragonriding introduces a whole new flying system just for the Dragon Isles areas in Dragonflight. It offers a much more dynamic and visceral flying experience than regular flying:

• Tighter turns, quicker dodges, sudden surges of speed – Dragonriding provides unparalled maneuverability and control compared to regular flying mounts.
• The base speed rating is 310% – faster than even epic flying mounts at 280%! Experienced Dragonriders can go much quicker.
• Over a dozen unique Drakes to collect, each with different speed/maneuverability stats to suit your preferences.
• Deep customization to your Drakes with glyphs that alter flight functionality in various fun ways.

Based on early testing phases, Dragonriding vastly surpasses traditional flying on all fronts within the Dragon Isles. Check out this comparison I put together:

However, this new system only replaces flying when exploring the new Dragon Isles zones added in the Dragonflight expansion. Traditional flying mounts will still work fine everywhere else that enabled flying previously.

You‘ll still be able to fly regular mounts across old Azeroth/Outland zones plus expansion areas like Kul Tiras/Zandalar

Veteran WoW players have amassed huge collections of iconic flying mounts over the years. And the good news is that Dragonflight will NOT take away regular flying capabilities anywhere aside from the Dragon Isles!

• Expect no changes to flying access in legacy WoW overworld zones like Northrend, Pandaria etc. Your mounts will still take to the skies as they always have.
• Previous expansion areas that required earning flying through achievements like Kul Tiras, Zandalar, Mechagon etc will all still enable regular flying as well.
• Even untouched zones like Draenor have not had flying restricted after years of player requests. This will stay status quo.

So feel free to keep cruising along on your fancy store-bought mounts and raid/PVP reward flying beasts! Dragonriding aims to enhance flight in Dragonflight specifically, not replace everything that came before.

What about unlocking flying in Shadowlands zones in the Dragonflight era?

• Shadowlands will shift to Chromie Time along with all past expansions once Dragonflight launches.
• The mechanics to unlock Shadowlands flying after completing campaign chapters + earning Pathfinder meta-achievement will likely stay as-is.
• But with Shadowlands timewalking campaigns being much quicker after tuning, getting Shadowlands flying should feel faster even if requirements stay identical.

Based on the Chromie Time patterns we‘ve seen, Blizzard tends to keep legacy expansion flying requirements intact rather than change previously implemented rules years later.

So in summary:

• Dragonriding – new Dragon Isles exclusive flying system with extra speed and maneuverability
• Regular flying – everywhere else flying was already enabled before Dragonflight
• Shadowlands flying – same unlock criteria still planned afaik

Let me know what you think! Personally I‘ll miss my flying sand drake but Dragonriding still has me super hyped to take to the skies across the dragon-filled islands. What will your mount of choice be when Dragonflight releases this year? Let me know in the comments!