Is the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Collector’s Edition worth it?

World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion Dragonflight is purchasable in a plethora of digital options, but perhaps one of the most popular versions of the game is the physical copy, which is also the most expensive.

The Collector’s Edition of Dragonflight comes with everything from the digital Epic Edition of the game, but it includes a few pieces of memorabilia that put its retail price at $129.99.

Along with a large, intricately designed box that contains all of the goodies, the Collector’s Edition comes with an Alexstrasza Mouse Pad, “The Art of Dragonflight” hardback book, and five pins that represent that five Dragon Aspects.

The packing also includes a code for the Epic Edition of the game which retails for $89.99. So in order for the Collector’s Edition to be worth your while, the physical items that come with it will need to be worth $40.

If you’re the type of gamer that just wants to play and doesn’t care about cosmetics or collectibles, the Collector’s Edition isn’t for you, and frankly, the Epic Edition of the game probably isn’t either. Much of what the Epic Edition offers above the Heroic and Base Editions of the game is cosmetics and in-game goodies that have no barring on in-game performance for raiding, dungeon running, or PvP.

Is the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Collector’s Edition worth buying?

In order to determine if the Collector’s Edition is worth its price, we need to assess the value of the items we get from it and reach, or surpass, the $40 mark, since that’s the difference between it and the Epic Edition of the game.

That $40 of value has to come from this set of various pieces:

• “The Art of Dragonflight” – a hardback art book that contains pictures as well as some lore and background information.
• Alexstrasza Mouse Pad – The mousepad is 9” in height and 10.5” wide, and also has a plastic surface.
• Five-pin Collector’s Set – Each pin represents one of the five different Dragon Aspects
• Collector’s Edition box – The box is relatively sturdy and displays artwork that fits the style of the expansion.

The Art of Dragonflight

As a hardback book, “The Art of Dragonflight” has a combination of illustrations and little tidbits of lore information that span just more than 200 9”x10.5” pages. The book includes sections that detail the Aspects, The Waking Shores, Ohn’aran Plains, Azure Span, Thaldraszus, and Dragonkind. Giving it a look through can give fans a quality visual rundown of all of the different areas of the Dragon Isles as well as its inhabitants.

This book alone could get you more than halfway to that $40 value threshold. Similar hardback books that Blizzard sells in its gear store cost more than $20.

Alexstrasza Mouse Pad

I personally prefer softer topped mouse pads, and the size of the mouse pad itself isn’t ideal for someone that keeps low sensitivity settings, but the artwork is everything you’d expect. Blizzard doesn’t have any similarly sized mouse pads on sale in its store currently, but the value of this couldn’t be any more than around $5-10. 

However, given the fact that most people getting this likely aren’t in the market for a mouse pad, it feels disingenuous to include it in the total valuation of the Collector’s Edition. At best, the mouse pad is something that a gamer might keep with them when they’re traveling and want to use a mouse while on their laptop.

Five-pin Collector’s Set

This set includes pins that represent Kalecgos, Ysera, Alexstrasza, Nozdormu, and Wrathion. They feature a weighty metal base to them that indicates they aren’t just throwaway pieces that might easily break, and all of them are uniquely designed to match the appearance of the aspect their color represents.

While they all have a rustic golden colored base, each has a glass-like filling that includes coloring that adds depth to the artwork of the pin. The circular base of each pin is about 2” in diameter.

Compared to other pins that Blizzard sells, any given one of these pins would cost about $20, which seems a bit expensive for a singular pin. However, considering that you get five pins in this set, it seems reasonable and fair to say that the pins could be valued as at least $20, and perhaps more.

The Collector’s Edition Box

Blizzard doesn’t advertise the box for the Dragonflight Collector’s Edition in its description, but the artwork on it pops in a way that outshines much of the contents inside it. Keeping the box from a collector’s edition is a staple of WoW fandom, and this 10.75”x12” masterpiece will make for a great edition to any player’s shelf.

The flat coloration of the cream, concrete colored portions of the box are juxtaposed with vibrant foiled-out blue and gold that bring back memories of your first time seeing a holographic Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Meanwhile, the box is textured and made with a slightly sturdier cardboard than one might expect from a typical video game delivery vessel. The added detail and craftsmanship is likely because Blizzard knows everyone that gets one will keep it on display in their game room.

Though there’s definitive value we can give to the box itself, it’s safe to say that when added in with the other elements of the Collector’s Edition, it gets us past that $40 difference between it and the digital Epic Edition.

That isn’t to suggest that every player should get one, or that it is the best option for any gamer. But for those that take a liking to memorabilia and collectibles, the Dragonflight Collector’s Edition will not disappoint.

WoW: Dragonflight launches globally on Nov. 28 at 5pm CT.