Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run

GamesMMOWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft: The War WithinDragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

World of Warcraft The War Within screenshots

That’s shorter than Warlords of Draenor, an expansion ranked as one of Blizzard’s big blunders. And yet, it felt way more constructive. Taking a leaf out of Guild Wars 2’s book, Dragonriding pretty much reinvented Blizzard’s approach to travel and zone design—and is a hoot to use, too. Borrowed power systems, a staple of past expansions, were nixed entirely.

Just to properly lay out how Dragonflight transformed the game: in a single expansion, Blizzard fired up a new, less stingy reputation system, gave us thetrading post, revamped the talent trees, improved the base game’s HUD (though lets face it, we’re all still using addons anyway), and more. All while somehow managing to walk the line of providing an expansion with a solid hunk of content, whilealsoreinjecting hope into its remaining playerbase and not keeping them waiting too long for new dragons to slay.

More impressive, though, was Blizzard throwing down the gauntlet. The company began touse roadmaps in 2023and, wouldn’t you know it, actually delivered on them. World of Warcraft hasn’t had a content drought or major hiccup since it started doing this—and has, so far, met most of its targets, exactly when it said it would meet them. 200+ day radio silences are a thing of the past.

Then there’s all the secondary stuff that came with Dragonflight. World of Warcraft Classic and Season of Discovery—which rolled into experimental weirdness like Hardcore, Plunderstorm, and Mists of Pandaria: Remix. Suddenly you’ve got, like, four different ways to play this thing, on top of the main game’s well-staggered patch cadence. Blizzard got so confident, in fact, that it announced athree-expansion saga. Just—right out of the gate, swinging for a hattrick. Now we’re coming up on The War Within’s first major patch, was that confidence earned?

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

I mean, look, I’m not going to say there haven’t been problems. If you’re a WoW player yourself, you’ve probably been rolling your eyes at my glowing words, so in the interest of fairness: Delves, theexpansion’s new feature,have been extremely messy. Most rewards for events, such as the anniversary celebration, wereborked upon arrival and had to be fixed later.There was thatstupid $90 dinosaur. The auction housebroke for, like, a week. And hero talents, one of the expansion’s major features, are either sometop-tier thematic foodor requireexcessive WeakAura fiddlingto have them deliver any dopamine at all. I also hear the Mythic+ raiders aren’t happy over the state of tanks, for which they have my condolences.

But I want to point out that these are like… normal MMORPG issues. Not to be taken lightly, sure, and I’ll dutifully stick my tongue out and nyeh-nyeh at Blizzard every single time they happen, because it’s one of the biggest gaming companies out there, and it can take its licks.

If we’re comparing them to the lows of Shadowlands, where the earned power systems of the expansion were ill-conceived from the word “go”, where the story had fans frothing at the mouth, where a mass exodus to Final Fantasy 14 happened, where there wasn’t a new patch for over 200 days? I mean, ‘game’s a bit janky sometimes’ isn’t that bad, all told. Besides, World of Warcraft players will complain about anything—and I say that with love. It’s tradition.

When you get everything in perspective, I am forced to put my cynic’s hat away and state, without a shadow of doubt in my heart, that the downrighthaulthat’s taken place from 2022-2025 to get this thing back on track is genuinely impressive. And with Warbands continuing to be expanded upon,player housing set for the next expansion, and, uh,goblin racecar drifting—the future’s looking interesting, even if I fully expect to be writing articles about how said cars are punching holes in the game’s code, or making Anduin bald, or something. Dragonflight, a short and sweet little expansion about dragons, got WoW back on its feet. Now let’s see if Blizzard can keep its momentum as the Worldsoul Saga runs.

TOPICSBlizzard Entertainment

TOPICS

More about world of warcraftWoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand’Game has become mahjong': WoW Classic player installs over 3,600 addons in a bout of eldritch madness, somehow only needs to remove 20 to get it to ‘work’LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

More about world of warcraftWoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand’Game has become mahjong’: WoW Classic player installs over 3,600 addons in a bout of eldritch madness, somehow only needs to remove 20 to get it to ‘work’LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

More about world of warcraft

WoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand’Game has become mahjong': WoW Classic player installs over 3,600 addons in a bout of eldritch madness, somehow only needs to remove 20 to get it to ‘work’

World of Warcraft

WoW’s finally upgrading its dreaded swirlies so players can actually tell where it’s safe to stand

Believe it or not, this is a screenshot of World of Warcraft Classic, though it’s rendered completely incomprehensible by over 3,600 UI addons.

‘Game has become mahjong’: WoW Classic player installs over 3,600 addons in a bout of eldritch madness, somehow only needs to remove 20 to get it to ‘work’

LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

Latest

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

Cruel

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals