Dragonriding First Impressions
As of the moment of writing this post, I've quested through the Azure Span, the one zone available on Dragonflight Alpha twice, so I've had some time to get myself familiar with the Dragonriding system.
At first, I did feel like the system was a bit hard to get used to, but that could be because the Azure Span is the third Dragonflight leveling zone, so you are supposed to arrive there already familiar with the system and presumably gone through some introduction quests.
Even with these limitations, however, I was able to quickly grasp the system.
The Azure Span has been described by Blizzard as "one of the largest WoW zones to date", and even with having access to a flying mount, the zone still felt large.
Many quests in the storyline involve going around cliffs and its really fun to be able to quickly fly there and continue on foot!
The races are also incredibly fun, and surprisingly difficult to learn to earn Gold times even after learning the route. Overall, I would say normal flying is still superior because you have full control of your mount and are not dependent on constantly earning momentum to stay airborne, but it is a decent replacement until normal flying is unlocked in the Dragon Isles... if that happens, that is.
Dragonriding Basics
Here are some basics on Dragonriding, how the mounts work and limitations:
You will earn Dragonriding mounts as you level through the Dragon Isles, one mount per zone.
Currently, you can only use Dragonriding mounts in the Dragon Isles - These don't work outside the continent.
In the Dragon Isles, Dragonriding mounts function as normal ground mounts, and will start flying with a double Spacebar press or when falling off cliffs.
While in the air, Dragonriding mounts are constantly moving, you cannot stand still and AFK in the air. You need to create and keep momentum to keep the mount flying.
Momentum-wise, you gain momentum when flying down at an angle, and you lose momentum if you fly up. An easy way of creating and maintaining momentum (not forever, though), is to quickly descend to create momentum and then fly up to gain altitude with the burst of momentum created.
Once your Dragonriding mount runs out of momentum and can no longer keep a consistent flying speed, it will start descending, slowly landing. You do not take fall damage by having your mount lose momentum and land in this way.
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Known Dragonriding Abilities
As stated above, staying in the air with Dragonriding requires momentum. You are able to use and create momentum by using abilities that you will learn through your Dragonflight leveling experience. Before we list the abilities, some basics on them:
Dragonriding abilities use Vigor as a resource. On the current Alpha build, all mounts have a maximum of 3 Vigor. While grounded, you gain one Vigor every 30 seconds. You do not need to be mounted to regenerate Vigor.
You do not gain Vigor while flying at normal speeds. However, if you start flying at higher speeds, via abilities or even just flying downwards, you'll gain Thrill of the Skies, regenerating 1 Vigor every 15 seconds while you're able to maintain high speed.
Once you're mounted on your Dragonriding mount, your main Action Bar will be swapped for a special ability bar containing your Dragonriding abilities.
Your Vigor resource bar will also show up when mounted, showing how much Vigor you currently have (the three jewels) and a bar displaying how long left for you to gain another Vigor point.
With that said, there are currently three known Dragonriding abilities:
Surge Forward (1 Vigor): Flap forward a short distance, gaining some speed.
Skyward Ascent (1 Vigor): Flap upward, gaining height at the cost of some momentum.
Whirling Surge (3 Vigor): Spiral forward a great distance, gaining speed.
Dragonriding Races
Scattered around the Dragon Isles, you can find Bronze Timekeeper NPCs that will challenge you to a race! You're guided through a course with many twists and turns, to showcase how fast you can go while Dragonriding.
Optimal usage of your Dragonriding abilities is required to obtain gold times. You are provided with plenty of gale winds to keep high speeds and guarantee Vigor generation viaThrill of the Skies!
We have filmed a race below as a demonstration of the Dragonriding system:
Dragonriding Customization
As previously announced by Blizzard, you are able to customize your Dragonriding mounts! Customizing your Dragonriding mount requires aRostrum of Transformation.
Currently only one Rostrum of Transformation can be found in Azure Span, working for theHighland Drakeonly.
It is assumed there will be one Rostrum of Transformation per zone for the zone's respective mounts, as well as one in Valdrakken for all Dragonriding mounts.
Interacting with the Rostrum of Transformation opens a barber shop menu for your Dragonriding mount, with many options!
List of Dragonriding Customizations
There are many customization items for your Dragonriding mount.
We have compiled a list of all items that add customizations to the mounts.
These seem to be obtainable from a variety of sources like questing, rare drops, and more.
To add that customization to the pool of options for your mount, use the item at a Rostrum of Transformation.