World of Warcraft’s (opens in new tab) new Dragonflight expansion launched at the end of November, introducing a new race, a new class, a new continent, and the ability to own customisable Drakes and master the art of Dragonriding. Now Blizzard is giving existing players who haven’t made the leap into Dragonflight the chance to try out the expansion, through a new limited-time trial.
In a Blizzard “blue post” (opens in new tab) the WoW developer stated that “For a limited time, players who do not own Dragonflight but have a subscription or active Game Time can play the new expansion as the dracythr Evoker beginning today”. The dracthyr are WoW’s new playable race of humanoid dragons, and the Evoker is a ranged caster that can specialise either in dealing damage or healing allies.
The trial allows players to explore the Dracthyr evoker’s starting zone, the Forbidden Reach, taking their character to level 63 through the first chapter of Dragonflight’s campaign. “You’ll be able to experience all the quests, unlock and learn Dragonriding, take your professions to the next level, and even experience two new dungeons during the trial period – Ruby Lifepools and The Nokhud Offensive.”
If you have a subscription, it sounds like Dragonflight is worth giving a try. “Dragonflight positions itself as something of a new foundation for a very old videogame,” wrote Luke Winkie in his review (opens in new tab). “Blizzard has focussed much of its attention on reworking outmoded, atrophying systems, while sprucing up some of the gameplay trapping that had been left to rot back in 2004.” It’s not quite the best thing Blizzard have done with WoW, but all told it is a great way back in for wayward players.
The expansion trial runs through January 2, 2023, after which players will need to purchase the expansion to continue their Dragonflight adventure.