World of Warcraft Dragonflight's flying mechanics seem pretty familiar to Guild Wars 2 fans

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World of Warcraft Dragonflight
(Image credit: Blizzard)

World of Warcraft players are having their say on Dragonflight's flying mounts.

Yesterday, Activision Blizzard announced Dragonflight, the next instalment in the World of Warcraft series. This marks the ninth expansion for the long-running MMORPG, and as its title suggests, 'Dragonriding' will feature heavily in the newly unveiled addition.

Following the announcement of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, fans have taken to Reddit to share their views on the new flying mounts. Lordht7 posted a video on the game's subreddit comparing them to the flyable dragons of fellow MMORPG Guild Wars 2. And it does appear that Activision Blizzard has been copying ArenaNet's homework, with the flight animations in Dragonflight bearing a striking resemblance to those in Guild Wars 2.

gw2_vs_wow_new_mount from r/wow

Far from being annoyed at the similarity, players are seemingly more than happy to have World of Warcraft imitate the competition's superb flying system. Silverskeejee comments, "GW2 has an amazing mount system, honestly. It's fun, every mount is important, and it really feels like you've earned them. I'd 100% back other games putting it in." User iwearatophat agrees, saying, "I don't want them to reinvent the wheel. I want them to make a good game, and I'm fine with taking parts from other games to do that and putting their own twist on it."

But as another user points out, players may have to use the considerably clunkier mounts when exploring outside of Dragon Isles. "It might only be a new expansion zone thing and everywhere else you'll have to keep using the same helicopter mounts," says GearyDigit. Rigman expresses the same thought in a comical video also shared on the World of Warcraft subreddit. Titled 'How flying in Dragonflight is going to feel,' the video demonstrates how epic soaring through the skies will be in Dragon Isles compared to the considerably less advanced flying style available everywhere else. 

how_flying_in_dragonflight_is_going_to_feel from r/wow

Some fans want to see the old flying mechanics stay, while others think now's the time for change across the board. "They're excited about it, we're excited about it, move forward then," writes kaynpayn. "Any issues or bugs just iron them out when they surface. Being 'a lot of work to update everything' is really no excuse here. Go big or go home."

Activision Blizzard hasn't announced a release date for World of Warcraft Dragonflight, but it could be swooping in in the not-too-distant future. Release date theories are pointing to a 2023 launch.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.