My first reaction after seeing the announcement was that “the Mists of Pandaria vibe is strong in this one.”

• New Race/Class.
• Revamp Talent Tree.
• No BBEG threat was announced.
• Island being revealed after being hidden away for ages.

Overall, my initial feeling is that this is a filler expansion. No big story development, but some mechanical changes like the new UI and the aforementioned talent tree(s) that will take some getting used to. Best not to throw too much at players right off the bat. Oh, and let’s not forget where the Dracthyr Evokers fit in.

Yes, this is a generalization based on a pinch of information. I don’t know any of the histories of the Dragonflight. But what I do know is that on launch day, people are going to play with the pretty dragon people and many will not ever use them again. I know these talent trees are supposed to offer customization and flexibility, but the Google search for “best talent tree/spec tree” will go through the roof. Most people, the casual folk, won’t spend time playing around with trees. They’ll look for one or two, copy them, and use them. The Icy Veins website exists for this very reason.

At the end of the day, Blizzard still hasn’t shown us everything the expansion involves so poo-pooing things are a bit premature. There are plenty of draconic big bads that could show up, and from the few spoilers I’ve read, I’d be stoked to see them. Shadowlands has existed for me to farm gold. Hopefully, Dragonflight offers more because if it turns out feeling more like MoP, this could be my last expansion. Mists of Pandaria bored me to the point where I left the game for an entire year. If I get that feeling from Dragonflight, I’m done.