WoW Dragon Race Guide: How to Win
Looking for a WoW Dragon Race guide? Here’s all you need to know to clinch that victory!
Table of Contents
One of the standout features of the Dragonflight expansion for World of Warcraft was the introduction of Dragonriding. This system introduced dynamic flights for specific mounts, enabling players to utilize unique mechanics for increased speed and efficient traversal across the Dragon Isles.
Of course, such a system is not only used for transportation. The developers at Blizzard also create Dragon Races, where players can prove their mastery over Dragonriding and receive various rewards. With Dragonriding now accessible worldwide, we have compiled a comprehensive guide with helpful tips and tricks to help you attain mastery. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned player, there’s something here for everyone!
What Is Dragonriding in WoW
Dragonriding is a new flight system that allows players to quickly traverse large distances. Previously limited only to Dragon Isle, it is now accessible worldwide. The whole process is like a mini-game. You can control your mount to dive, soar, glide, and more to experience the exhilarating feeling of sailing through the sky.
This feature opens as part of the Dragon Isle’s main story campaign. Your adventures will bring you to the Ruby Life Pools, where you can get the quest of the same name: Dragonriding at coordinates [62.2; 73]. Progressing through this quest chain will give you access to your very first drake, the flying systems, as well as explain the basics of traveling on the back of a dragon.
Dragonriding Talents and Glyphs
Another crucial aspect of Dragonriding is Talents. With a total of 20 available, these enhancements let you fly faster, longer, and easier. Thus, significantly improving the user experience of this system. Certain nodes provide you with choices, while others grant new and unique abilities.
To activate the Dragonriding Talents, you need to find the Dragon Glyphs scattered around Dragon Isles. Each Talent requires a specific amount of Glyphs to be unlocked. Your number one task should be collecting all the Glyphs to unlock all the talent. This can take some time since some of them are hidden, but using addons like AzerPUG’s DragonRider will simplify your search for these much-needed Glyphs by showing you where to look.
Since you will get all the Dragonriding Talents eventually, the only thing that matters is the order. You will want to focus on getting more Valor first. We have included a community-suggested build below for your reference:
What Is Dragon Racing
Dragon Racing is a special activity to test your mastery over the Dragonriding system. Each zone has a unique course of basic and advanced races. The goal is to pass all the checkpoints (rings) and reach the finish line within a time limit to receive a Gold result. It’s easier said than done, however, since many courses have tricky paths and extra obstacles to add to the challenge.
Each zone of Dragon Isles has a dedicated Tour quest that requires you to complete all the courses. You can take your first quest in The Waking Shores from Celormu [73.2; 52.0]. Completing The Waking Shores Tour will grant access to the next one and so on until you gain Gold in all Dragon Isles’ zones. Doing so will grant you access to the Advanced and later Reverse and Challenge courses for the zones with increased difficulty and new rewards.
Dragon Racing Maps
Below are the maps for all Dragonflight Races locations:
The Waking Shores
Ohn’ahran Plains
The Azure Span
Thaldraszus
Zaralek Caverns
The Emerald Dream
Sometimes, the game also presents limited-time Dragon Racing events known as Dragon Cups. They often happen outside of the Dragon Isles, like the recent Outland Cup.
All the Racing Courses and Cups provide unique rewards, such as achievements, titles, transmog items, various customization features for your Dragonriding mount, and more.
Tips and Tricks for a Successful WoW Dragon Race
And now, it’s time for the most significant part — winning the Race. First of all, if you haven’t, remember to collect all the Dragon Glyphs to unlock the Talents. Even though all the beginner courses can be completed without them, Talents significantly enhance your chances of winning a Dragon Race, especially as the courses become more demanding later on.
Tip 1: Beware of The Race Elements
If you’re a beginner, first you need to learn what all the elements of the course mean. Checkpoints are indicated by Yellow and Blue rings. The Yellow ring is the checkpoint you currently need to pass, while Blue is the next one. The arrow between them only shows the path, but it doesn’t mean you must fly exactly that way.
Green orbs of energy, also known as Vigor Nodes. As you guess, restore your Vigor, allowing you to use more Dragonriding actions. Although not necessarily needed in beginner courses, their usage in Advanced and Reverse courses is vital for successful clear.
Swirls of air known as Wind Boosts provide a large speed increase if you pass through them, so make sure you take them along the way.
Electric and Fire orbs are obstacles and need to be avoided. The first ones stun your mount and make you lose all the momentum. The second only slows your movement but still makes you lose momentum. Having Ohn’ahra’s Gusts talent allows you to dash through them without momentum loss and reduces the duration of negative effects. But it is better to avoid them.
Tip 2: Learn the Course
When it comes to Advanced courses, information is the key. Knowing the details of each course beforehand can save you a lot of time, so looking up the specifics is always a welcome move. Most Orbs effects appear in Advanced courses. The key to saving time lies in finding an optimal path to collect the buffs and dodge obstacles. When tackling a new course for the first time, take it slow to acquaint yourself with the layout, obstacles, sharp turns, etc.
Tip 3: Manage Your Vigor
Vigor management is also another thing to master. Some courses require you to use abilities at the right moment, and others require you to maintain the highest speed at all times to get the Gold status. Collecting Vigor Orbs is vital. When it comes to the most challenging courses, there aren’t any Vigor Orb to collect. So you have to manage your resources properly.
Tip 4: Use Skyward Accent Wisely
Speed is another crucial aspect in achieving victory. More often than not, maintaining high speed throughout the whole course is the key to winning. Add-ons like Dragon Rider provide some quality-of-life features, including a speedometer to let you see how fast you fly.
There is also a trick that allows you to quickly gain maximum speed. Using Skyward Accent, while aiming your camera upwards and then quickly readjusting it back creates a massive boost of speed. It also increases your altitude. With this, you can reach maximum speed limits in mere seconds. You can check the details of that in philosoflea’s video below:
Tip 5: Optimize Your Pathing
When it comes to Checkpoint rings, another thing to note is that you don’t need to fly exactly through them, you just need to touch them. This is important when it comes to flying at high speed. Touching a ring from the upper or lower part may allow you to adjust in advance to incoming rings or for other maneuvers, such as dodging obstacles or getting helpful Orbs.
Extra Tricks
In some courses, mostly Reverse ones, the starting point is situated further from the edge than usual. In such cases, you can’t start flying from the very start or have to spend precious Vigor to begin your flight. This is where the Bronze Timelock ability comes in handy. Placing it in a favorable position beforehand may save you some precious seconds.
And although it may sound like grasping straws, using Windborne Velocidrake as your mount of choice can help sometimes. This dragon has a slightly smaller hitbox than other options. That means it is easier to dodge obstacles and navigate through narrow passes.
Conclusion
Dragon Races are a fun activity that allows you to feel all the depths of Dragonriding and dynamic flight. We hope that with the help of our guide, you will reach your desired heights and win all the Races. Whatever you do, don’t forget to have fun! We wish you good luck in your Dragon Racing journey.
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