Eighteen years after its debut, World of Warcraft is still going strong, with its latest expansion Dragonflight having finally launched on Nov. 28. Players were awaiting the expansion for a while, but as is usually the case, it launched with a few hiccups, snafus and disappointments.
Indeed, World of Warcraft having a rocky start at launch is nothing new, so most players also expected this before even logging in. For now, the game is stabilizing and running more smoothly now that Blizzard has fixed most of the bugs and issues regarding Dragonflight, and many players are looking more favorably at the expansion as a whole. But here are the problems that bothered them at launch.
Delayed Weekly Quests
Blizzard interestingly delayed all the weekly quests a week alongside many other weekly items of interest. This was done so that players didn't have the feeling that they needed to rush into the game and focus on weeklies already.
While this offered some breathing room for some players, it only added more frustration to those who already found the new expansion a bit disappointing. However, the weekly activities have now begun.
Failed Login Attempts
Players were thrilled to begin the latest expansion of one of the best MMORPGs of all time. However, there were numerous cases where players simply couldn't log into the game once the expansion had launched. This seemed to be due to an overload of players trying to access the game all at once.
However, simply waiting an hour or two, or even a day proved to do nothing and players had to wait until Blizzard fixed the issues. So while there were thousands of players able to get into the game, there were still plenty unlucky enough to not get in at all.
Realm Crashes
There were many players who made it a step further and were able to log in but their realm suddenly crashed. This happened to multiple realms and yet again many players were left unable to enter the realm.
While World of Warcraft (Classic)'s Wrath of the Lich King had launch issues as well, it didn't seem to have nearly as many as Dragonflight did. Fans thankfully are able to access the game now and experience the new expansion of one of the best fantasy RPGs of all time.
The Boat To The Waking Shore
What was probably the most frustrating endeavor that players endured was waiting for the boat that would take them to the Dragon Isles. This boat had a different wait time for every player and players couldn't enter the boat until this wait time had finished.
However, many players still couldn't get on the boat after their allotted time and thus couldn't even reach the Dragon Isles. For many players, they waited several hours simply waiting until they quit the game and gave up.
Dragon Riding Disconnections
The dragon riding feature was no doubt one of the most anticipated features in Dragonflight, and it has been one of the most highly praised features in the expansion, however, it's not without its issues. Unfortunately, many players have been reporting disconnections while dragon riding.
This is usually when they are searching for dungeons, accepting a party invitation, or even when stopping a dragon just above water level. These are issues that will likely be hashed out soon but a bit of a disappointment at launch on top of everything else.
Compulsory Quests
While many players didn't experience this issue there were still quite a few players who hadn't realized that they needed to perform a couple of quests at their Alliance or Horde location before they should head over to the Dragon Isles.
Players can actually head to the Dragon Isles before they even begin these quests, however, they will soon realize their mistake when they reach the islands and then return to their capital and have to go through the long process of waiting for the ship again.
Broken Hearthstones
As usual, when players reach a new area they make an inn their new home. For whatever reason, whether it be because they missed a quest or needed to return for another reason, players who tried to use their Hearthstone ended up teleporting back to their capital instead of where they made their home at the Dragon Isles.
This frustration added to the ceaseless madness of the launch day as they then had to wait for the boat again and try to be as lucky as they were the first time to get back to the Dragon Isles. This is one of the many issues that was addressed in the update and fixes a couple of days later.
Flying Is Limited To Dragon Riding
While most players don't mind the new feature of dragon riding, there is an unpopular opinion about World of Warcraft: Dragonflight in which players feel the lack of additional flying mounts makes the previous ones pointless and frustrating.
Especially considering there was a pre-order bonus that came with a new flying mount which players cannot use in the Dragonflight expansion at all. Some fans aren't really interested in exploring the new mechanics within the game and have no interest even in flying as the new class, the Dracthyr, either.
The Azure Span Lag
The Azure Span is a beautiful location full of vibrant mountains and frozen wastelands. While Dragonflight has been praised greatly for its wonderful visuals there has been a constant report from players that there is a strong lag occurring in the Azure Span.
This seems to be the only zone where players are experiencing this lag with many players even getting kicked from the game and not being allowed total emersion. There are some experiences of lag at other locations, but most players are only reporting issues at the Azure Span.