New World of Warcraft: Dragonflight cinematic capitalizes on dragon-riding spectacle to create expansion hype
There is no house for these dragons.
Michael Stoyanoff 
Image via World of Warcraft Youtube
Blizzard is kicking off the hype for its World of Warcraft: Dragonflight expansion with a new pre-launch movie-quality cinematic during a developer livestream. Phase Two of the pre-patch starts November 15 and allows players to create the new Dracthyr Evoker class while stopping primal invasions. While this cinematic has probably been in development for quite some time, it is definitely capitalizing on How to Train Your Dragon spectacle and the recent House of the Dragon finale to impress fans.
The cinematic shows off a female Wildhammer dwarf and a troll flying through the skies of the Dragon Isles. This is the first time a female dwarf has been featured in a World of Warcraft cinematic. Seeing a Tuskarr fishing on a boat in full cinematic glory is going to be a huge hit with fans as the race is very popular.
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While the initial scenes are those of beauty, the cinematic eventually shows off the danger of the threats on the Dragon Isles when the skies go dark and storms begin to form. Raszageth, the primordial proto-drake villain of the expansion, chases the two in a frightening sequence. Fun fact: Raszageth’s open mouth is influenced by the open mouth of a penguin, which is actually quite terrifying.
The cinematic also showcases the new Dracthyr Evoker race and class. Its wings glow as it launches a barrage of arcane magic at the screen. The short ends with the two dragon riders flying alongside Alexstrasza, leader of the Red Dragonflight and the queen of all the dragonflights.
The cinematic is actually extremely well done and a return to form for Blizzard. It creates a sense of adventure and beautiful mystery that Shadowlands lacked. Blizzard has a chance to impress fans again with a return to Azeroth and a more simple story of adventure with familiar faces instead of abstract concepts in the afterlife with unpopular villains and systems.
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