World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is letting the dracthyr evokers, and everyone else, return to the Forbidden Reach with patch 10.0.7, learning new lore and uncovering a whole new dungeon of Zskera Vaults. As a midseason patch, this is providing an immense amount of content, and it all leads into the upcoming 10.1 patch which should be coming in the next several months. Now that Raszageth is defeated, it is time to come back to the Forbidden Reach and uncover all of its mysteries.

Dragonflight has a whole roadmap of World of Warcraft content coming in 2023, with this patch 10.0.7 being just the second of major content releases that fans will get to enjoy. This patch is live now on retail servers with bits and pieces of 10.1 starting to show up on the PTR. WoW's Narrative Director, Steve Danuser recently sat down to chat with Screen Rant about what 10.0.7 means for the lore of WoW, the dracthyr, and more.

Screen Rant: With this patch, the Forbidden Reach is opening up as a brand-new zone now that Raszageth has been defeated. So what does this mean for the dracthyr evokers?

Steve Danuser: Yeah, for the dracthyr, it represents a sort of homecoming, if you will. Thinking about their experience, what they've been through, what you can play through as you start a dracthyr. They awaken kind of bewildered, not knowing, not remembering what's caused them to be put into this stasis, why things have changed there; they weren't really aware at first of the passage of so much time coming into this world that felt different. Suddenly, there's these blue dragons that are kind of trying to keep them suppressed, all of the storyline of really getting their feet under them and realizing what's going on. And then only to have this primal dragon Raszageth released and create this huge storm that drove them away and set them off to go to the Alliance and Horde capitals.

But now that Raszageth has been defeated and that storm is abating, this is a chance for them - having gotten some of their feet under them and returning to the Dragon Isles and getting some perspective - this is a chance to go back to this place that had been their home, their training grounds. They had worked with the Earth-Warder Neltharion there and followed his advice to hone them into this elite fighting force. Now there's no Neltharion anymore; what does that mean for them, what kind of legacy is left behind? That's a really cool story angle to explore and really delve into the dracthyr - what they believe in, what they stand for, and what kind of future they can find.

And this happens between two of the major characters; here you have Emberthal, who represents the dracthyr who are trying to do the right thing and find a new future and get this place in the world, versus Sarkareth, who leads this group called the Sundered Flame that believe they are owed a legacy, and that whatever power was left in this place or elsewhere in Azeroth for them they need to seize that. And it's really the conflict and different points of view of these two characters that kind of drive the action that the dracthyr and other characters will experience as they adventure in the Forbidden Reach.

So is the story going to be focusing a lot on those two characters and their differences of opinions?

Steve Danuser: They are two of the main protagonist and antagonist figures, but we see other characters as well. There's other dracthyr that have come back and are helping the initiative and you'll work with them on different kinds of questing and content. But another big figure that is working with Emberthal is Ebyssian, the black dragon who had been known as Ebonhorn in High Mountain from our Legion expansion. Ebyssian - who also plays a part in that dracthyr awakening experience - has struck up a kinship with Emberthal, and I think sees in her someone who faces a lot of the same challenges that all the black dragons did after learning of Neltharion becoming Deathwing and then betraying the flight and all that that entailed. And Ebyssian struggles with his own doubts and inner demons, and in Emberthal, these are two characters that have a lot in common, but also different perspectives. And seeing them interact I think is one of the real emotional centerpieces of the story content.

We're going to be seeing a lot more of the backstory of the dracthyr as I understand, correct?

Steve Danuser: Yeah, you will get to delve into some more history of them. This will start here and then lead into our Embers of Neltharion update as well. But all of this is about exploring that history and that legacy. Do you embrace what we were, or do you find a new path forward that gives us a different place in this world? I think that's the core question that the dracthyr are struggling with. And exploring that both by looking at the past and seeing what is to come, and what these questions are doing to the people in their own ranks, that's very much what we're exploring in the storyline.

You mentioned the Storms, and of course, the Storms have been a big part of the whole Dragonflight expansion. There's the whole Mega-Storm event that's going to be taking place in the Forbidden Reach, how is that going to be different from the other Storm events?

Steve Danuser: As we add updates to the game, we like to look at things that we've done before that players enjoyed and say, "What are the aspects of that that they liked? And what can we modify to give a different change of pace and feel like there's something new and fun and different?" Some of that is having some new rewards and things like that to chase as part of the excitement, but also just being able to dig into the surroundings and the experience, that also adds some change to what's going on.

So there's a lot of cool stuff happening around the Forbidden Reach, some quest-oriented and others much more event-oriented. And we feel like it all kind of fits together to help tell the story of this place that has a lot of history in it. And there's things for you to find, and again, that story will come about through playing events, as well as doing some of the questing, and just finding little things along the way. So it all kind of adds up together to tell this experience.

The Zskera Vaults sound like a really fun area with lots of puzzles and all that. Where did that idea come from? Can you tell me a little more about that?

Steve Danuser: That's a good example of what I was just talking about of things that we've done in the past that we enjoyed, and how we can do some of those same things and put a new spin on it. So we've done different kinds of Vault gameplay in the past, places like the Timeless Isle, or in Legion we had some treasure rooms that you could get keys for, and kind of like, "Oh, am I gonna spend it on this chest, am I gonna spend it on that one?" And have some fun decision making where they're like, "Oh, this time I got a nice reward, and this time I didn't, but next time I'm going to take another chance on it because it's fun." And it's cool to have those surprising moments, so we have some very inventive and clever gameplay designers who were like, "Yeah, we want to do something that's themed to this place."

Because you've got this legacy of Neltharion and the black dragonflight and the dracthyr that were here. So it's a cool way to tie in some little story tidbits and some things you can pick up in the course of this treasure, but also give you something to chase. Which in this case is that you'll have this annulet that you can find different little things that you can slot into that annulet and kind of customize it and make it what you want it to be. So it's similar to the Punchcard thing that we did in Mechagon, which was another case of like, we give you an item, and it has some slots in it, and by doing the activities you can pick up these things and slot it in and make it what you want it to be. We wanted to give players something like that again.

So just that combination of the fun of the Onyx Annulet, the fun of having this kind of treasure room that gives you these runs in which you can pick up some different things, mix and match the combination of stones; it's just a fun kind of chase thing that the adds a different flavor, and it's a nice thing to do in these. Especially an update like 10.0.7, which falls between the launch of the game and the next big chapter of the story, this is a place to put little fun things like that that give players something different to experience and a little slice of fun that they didn't see in the first part of the game.

You mentioned the Onyx Annulet, and I know that it is said to have been an experiment of Neltharion. Are we going to be seeing any more things like that, experiments that he may have done in future updates or anything like that?

Steve Danuser: Yes, very much so. So Neltharion and his offspring, his son Nefarian, was also the villain behind some of our dungeons and raids in the past, but we get to explore the origins of that. Like Neltharion as the Earth-Warder, very smart, very clever, very tactical in his thinking, and he was always trying to perfect things. And obviously, we've come to know that the dracthyr was an invention of his by combining what he thought of as the best of dragonkind with the potential of these young mortal races at the time to create a new kind of soldier, and he wanted something that was under his control.

But starting here, getting some more of that backstory in the Return to the Forbidden Reach, and then going forward into Embers of Neltharion where we get to explore Aberrus, which was a laboratory that he built in order to very quietly and discreetly go down this path of experimentation. All the things that were his path to becoming Deathwing as he eventually would, that kind of darkness that he delved into, he could do that in secrecy and privacy down there in Aberrus. So once we get into that, which will be our raid for the Embers of Neltharion update, you'll really see a lot of the experimentation he did that then inspired other encounters that we've done in the game, such as Blackwing Descent and Blackwing Lair and things like that. This was really the genesis for that sort of experimentation.

I know that Zskera Vaults were also Neltharion's creation, so are the puzzles and supposedly things that he created to protect his loot? What's the story there?

Steve Danuser: Yeah, somewhat. It is, like, some of them are maybe the defenses or protections that were put in place which we're now dealing with. He had a lot of followers, too, that worked on his behalf, so, you know, some of their inventions and whatnot. But yeah, that's kind of the theme of the place is something that has treasures and puzzles and monsters in it. Something that feels like you're trying to get in there and get the things you want and make it out, all of that sort of thing, but really themed around things that are befitting Neltharion and his intellect, his cleverness, his maliciousness in some cases. All of that works together to make a fun adventuring experience there.

Do you have a favorite part of the content regarding the whole Forbidden Reach zone area?

Well, being a story person, I am really drawn to sometimes the more personal moments of what happens. Kind of I alluded to before, how in this kind of quest to find her people's future, digging into Emberthol's character and finding out what drives her is super interesting. And having Ebyssian the black dragon there as this kind of part-mentor, part-sounding board, part-observer, the interaction between them gets very emotional and deep at times, and seeing that play out is really gratifying as a storyteller. So as much fun as all the adventure and excitement is - and there's some really cool questing and gameplay and stuff in this update - that personal side to it I think really hits home for me.

Obviously, it has a lot to do with the black dragonflight, are we going to be seeing any of the other dragonflights coming into the Forbidden Reach and interacting there as well? Or is that pretty much just the black dragonflight's domain?

Steve Danuser: The adventure is really driven a lot by the dracthyr, not just Emberthol, but others as well coming to this place and all of them having different reasons for searching and legacy and things like that. But as we expand out into our upcoming updates like Embers of Neltharion, that's a place where we get some additional dragonflight perspectives and can really delve into some of those stories. While there also is a big emphasis on the black dragons and the things that Neltharion left behind, we really delve into the blue dragonflight, Kalecgos' attempts to kind of pull his people back together who had scattered to the winds so long ago on; that's a big storyline for that update as well.

So we're kind of using the whole arc of dragonflight to have different moments where each of the flights gets the spotlight and has things that we can really focus on and care about. So rather than do a little bit all over the place, we'd like to have these kinds of areas of focus that really allow the players to dig into those storylines and those characters deeply, rather than just stretching them out over a single update like that.

A big part of this update is the Winterpelt Furbolg becoming a faction, and of course, nobody can speak their language. I love the creativity with that, is there going to be a whole story unraveled while players are kind of learning how to communicate with Furbolgs?

Steve Danuser: Yeah, part of it is, we've done some language learning things recently, such as in our Zereth Mortis update. In Shadowlands, you met these creatures called automa that you couldn't understand them at first and they spoke this kind of glyph language. And over time, you could do questing to kind of make that get clarified over time, and we really liked that feeling. Players seem to really enjoy that sort of deciphering and that feeling of getting to know someone better. And we have the Furbolgs, who have been in the game forever that have always been fan-favorites, but they're not known as great communicators, and they have relatively simple and straightforward lives.

So we thought that was a great opportunity to do something that was reminiscent of that language gameplay where you could do quests and things with them that would gradually make it feel like you were getting to know them better; them trusting you, you understanding them better. And again, it's not like the Furbolgs are big city builders that have some big complex society, you know, they are of the world, of the earth, and of nature, and all these things. So this was a nice way to do something where it felt a little more intimate, getting to know them better and just seeing their point of view in the world and helping them with the things that they face.

They've been kind of preyed upon by the Primalists when all of these forces came in service of the Primal Incarnates, and they've been pulling Furbolgs into their ranks and infusing them with magic and things like that. So being able to show the other side of that and like, how can we help these lovable creatures that are native to Azeroth and of the world, it gives a nice little slice of life for them. So again, it's a nice kind of counterpoint to some of the bigger stories that we're telling in the Forbidden Reach, and takes it to another part of the world and lets you dive into that and have some fun.

Any possibility of making Furbolgs become a playable character in the future?

Steve Danuser: [Laughs] You know, that's always a question that comes up, like, “You did a quest line with this group, can it become an allied race or something like that?" And we never say no, but Furbolgs as they are probably a little more keep to themselves than many of the races that become allied races. So no plans at this time, but you never know as things unfold in the future. We look for those opportunities of things that kind of fit and click in the storyline, so we'll see.

I know the new orc and human Heritage Armors are a big part of this patch as well. They look very classic Warcraft to me - was that kind of the idea? Was it based off the original Warcraft games?

Steve Danuser: Certainly we drew a lot of inspiration from them. We've done so many different forms of armor for humans and orcs because they are so fundamental to the early days of the RTS games, you know; Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, that's the foundation. And so when it came to doing the Heritage quests and the Heritage Armor, we really wanted to do it right for both of these races. And there's lots of different directions we could go, but we felt like drawing some inspiration from those early, classic images was the right way to go for both of these.

So in the orcs, you do get that sort of classic throwback feel in the helmet and all of that, and for the humans, this is the Stormwind humans in particular, so you get a lot of those notes of Varian and the Footsoldier, and all of that coming together to make those outfits what they are. And the quest lines are like that, too. The Heritage line for orcs explores their culture and how it was going from Draenor and what they left behind, their traditions and how they can pull some of those forward and make new ones, that's part and parcel of what that quest line is about. And for the human Heritage Armor, you're exploring some of that early World of Warcraft lore of what Onyxia did and the artifact that she had, and what it means for people now. Both of the lines really tie into history in a really cool way, and feel like the armors really exemplify that as well.

That was my next question, about if the quests were going to be tying into that kind of history too.

Steve Danuser: Yeah, I don't want to spoil anything, but I think that orc players, longtime-orc players, will love the things they see. They get to see Thrall and Aggra, there are a whole bunch of characters that are at the foundation of the orcs and their identity over the years. And then yeah, for the humans, you get to see some really cool history brought to life and get to spend time with cool characters. And I think both of them are very satisfying.

Is there anything else in the 10.0.7 patch that you think really should be brought up that maybe I haven't mentioned yet? The story, the lore, or anything?

Steve Danuser: Yeah, definitely. There is a quest line that was done really as kind of a passion project from a few of our designers that is focused on Baine Bloodhoof and him coming to the Dragon Isles, because one of his old friends was in peril and he's come to help them. And Baine, being a tauren, has a huge history with the centaurs of Kalimdor, and they were a huge adversary for the tauren in there. And he's coming into this place where, you know - Ohn'ahran Plains have all kinds of centaur villages in them, and Baine has to wrestle with his preconceptions about centaurs and what they represent. Should he give these centaurs a chance to prove that they are not the same as the ones that he encountered on Kalimdor?

So exploring that, getting to see this personal side of Baine is really gratifying. I think fans of the character and fans of some of the old lore it touches on - again, no spoilers, but if you know the old lore, you'll definitely have some callbacks to things that are familiar. So that's a really sweet and fun quest line that really is one of those slice of life things; it's not that the world is at stake, it's not that if Bain doesn't do this that some big enemy is gonna come in. It's really about him, his history, the people he cared about, and learning lessons.

And that's kind of one of the themes of Dragonflight is like looking at the past in new ways and trying to forge a better future by doing so. And this quest line, it wasn't something that we laid out in terms of like, "You really need to tell the story." It was our own team coming forward and saying, "I've got this idea for the storyline, what do you think about this?" And just loving what they pitched and letting them bring that to life, and players who have engaged with it on on our test realms, it seemed to really resonate with them. Very proud of the team for what they did on that, so please, by all means, play that quest line as well.

I just have one final question then - Horde or Alliance?

Steve Danuser: I get asked this question every now and then, and it sounds like I'm copping out and trying to do the diplomatic thing, but genuinely there are things about both that I love. I play Horde characters and I like the freedom, the sense of freedom and individuality that they have. I love that story of outcasts in a world that shunned them finding their place together. That's kind of the part of the Horde vibe that really speaks to me.

But I also love some of the Alliance races; I have human characters that I play, I have elven characters that I play. I like that sense of camaraderie and working together. They are also very different in terms of their cultures and things like that, but finding a common road and common goals that they can meet together, I like that too.

And I have some of those RP tendencies in me as well, so when I'm playing a Horde character, I'm like, "For the Horde," you know, I have that on my macro bar and I hit that, stuff like that. But I do the same thing when I'm playing an Alliance character, I'm always like, "For the alliance!" and doing all this stuff. So I really do immerse myself in whichever side I'm playing, and I try to get those feelings and those vibes. I think that helps me tell stories for both factions and times when they can work together to achieve goals.

Yeah, I imagine, especially as a story guy, you'd kind of have to be able to really get into both sides.

Steve Danuser: Yeah, you need to see what is appealing, what the audience loves about each of these things. And you try to bring that forward in the storytelling and bring in your own passions and energy and ideas to it as well. It is that mixture of things that I think makes the Warcraft magic that we try really hard to foster that and encourage that on the team and let everybody bring those stories and that love for the game. I think it really comes through in the work that the team does.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight patch 10.0.7 is live now on all retail servers.

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