WoW Embers of Neltharion: Cross-Faction Guilds Save Dragonflight
The first major World of Warcraft patch after the initial Dragonflight's release dropped May 2nd, 2023, taking us underground to the Zaralek Caverns where Neltharion and his mad science experiments are wreaking havoc on the population of Niffen. But the real headline is of course that Cross-faction guilds finally arrived, and that Horde and Alliance can finally truly team up against the bigger bad of Azeroth.
Welcome to the Underground
Zaralek Cavern proves Blizzard can still design interesting zones. Three biomes packed into one underground space. Biomes consisting of pools of sulfur, volcanic lava flows, and crystal formations that actually look distinct. Despite being underground, Dragonriding works perfectly with enough vertical space for your dragon to spread its wings. This means getting around is not degraded after Dragonflight made this drastically better, the super speed stays useful! The Loamm Niffen, our new mole-people allies, navigate by smell instead of sight. It's peak WoW weirdness that somehow works and is fun to interact with. Their Renown track offers the usual rewards, but their quirky dialogue and sniffing animations make the grind less painful. On top of that, they are also really cute, which makes things all the better!
Aberrus: Where Ethics Went to Die
Within Aberrus: The Shadowed Crucible, the new raid in 10.1, Neltharion's laboratory is showcased. Here he created the Dracthyr and other abominations. Nine bosses culminating in Scalecommander Sarkareth, who's basically what happens when you give a Dracthyr too much power and zero therapy. The new raid launches May 9th (one week after the patch) with the usual difficulty tiers. LFR wings rolled out biweekly through June 20th. The fights feel more mechanically interesting than Vault of the Incarnates, although this is of course on PTR testing and a lot can still change.
The Real MVP: Cross-Faction Guilds
After 18 years, Horde and Alliance can finally guild together. No more maintaining separate guild rosters or missing out on friends who picked the wrong (Horde) faction in 2004. It only took removing most faction restrictions to realize guilds should've been cross-faction from the start. Although it is 18 years late, it is certainly a great improvement now that people no longer need to choose a faction, based on the friendsw they want to play with. Player agency and choice matters, especially in the current age and year.
Season 2 Shakes Things Up
The second season of Mythic plus brought a new dungeon rotation, mixing Dragonflight dungeons with BFA classics Freehold and Underrot. New affixes replaced some older ones and others got nerfed or buffed to be more on the same dissifuclty tier. Although the community already calls every affix a healer mechanic, skilled players try to adjust to the new mechanics and learn that every week changing your talent build slightly, is the real way to go.
Patch 10.1 Embers of Neltharion proved Dragonflight could deliver meaningful content beyond the launch window. Zaralek Cavern feels substantial, Aberrus tells an interesting story, and cross-faction guilds fixed a problem that never should've existed.
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