World of Warcraft’s next expansion, Dragonflight, was revealed by Blizzard Entertainment earlier today. And much like every WoW expansion, a new continent complete with five new zones to explore is coming to the game.
In Dragonflight, players are going back to Azeroth after spending the entirety of the game’s current expansion, Shadowlands, in an ethereal realm that exists between time and space. The five zones of the Dragon Isles had been hidden from view by magic for 10,000 years. But with the launch of the new expansion, the Alliance and Horde will sail to their shores to undertake a new adventure.
The Dragon Isles will present players with a linear questing experience similar to the campaign of Shadowlands. Players will not be able to pick which zones they quest in on a one-by-one basis as they did in the Legion and Battle for Azeroth expansions. The zones of Dragonflight are presented in this article in the order in which they’ll appear in the expansion’s campaign.
Here are all five of the new zones coming in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight.
The Waking Shores
The first leveling zone that Alliance and Horde players will access in their journey through the Dragon Isles, the Waking Shores, is the home of the red dragonflight. Here, players will encounter Alexstrazsa the Life-Binder and the rest of the red dragons in a primal land breathing with elemental energy and magic.
The Waking Shores are also home to the black dragonflight, which has been in a weakened state since Deathwing was defeated by the other four dragon aspects in the Cataclysm expansion. Wrathion, the de facto leader of the black dragons, will travel with the players to the Waking Shores in an attempt to reclaim his brood’s power.
Ohn’ahran Plains
The Ohn’ahran Plains are the second zone players will quest through in Dragonflight. The zone is named after Ohn’ahra, the wild god of the wind, and is the home of the green dragonflight. Here, players will encounter the green dragons in lush groves and verdant forests, while questing alongside the native centaur clans of the zone in its thorough plains and flatlands.
The Azure Span
The Azure Span, which is the third questing zone of Dragonflight, is one of the biggest zones ever created in World of Warcraft, according to Blizzard. Taking inspiration from both in-game zones like Grizzly Hills and real-life regions such as the California Bay area, the Azure Span combines dense forests with endless tundras. The home of the blue dragonflights sports a color palette of rich auburn, forest green, and blinding white, which should make for one of WoW’s most texturally and thematically diverse zones to date.
Thaldraszus
In opposition to the rest of the Dragon Isles, which are largely in a state of time-altered ruin, Thaldraszus, the home of the bronze dragonflight, is a zone of prestigious beauty. This mountainous, largely vertical zone has been preserved through the millennia by the bronze dragons’ magic, which could “lend itself to a variety of gameplay options and adventures for players to undertake,” according to Blizzard. Thladraszus is also the home of the Dragonflight expansion’s major hub city, Valdrakken.
Furthermore, Thaldraszus is home to Tyrhold, a landmark piece of architecture built by Tyr, one of the original Titan keepers. This location, which served as the centerpiece of Dragonflight’s cinematic trailer, will be home to a “story that will be played out through the Dragon Isles,” according to Blizzard.
Forbidden Reach
The Forbidden Reach is not a zone that players will be able to level through on their pre-existing characters. Instead, the zone is exclusively going to serve as a starting zone for the new Dracthyr race. Originally, the zone was a training ground for the Dracthyr, who were created by Deathwing as a race of soldiers. Now, as the Dragon Isles return to life from their once-dormant state, the Dracthyr have reawakened with them.
