Watcher says no flying in WoW's future.

#1 - May 22, 2015, 7:17 p.m.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/5/22/8645293/world-of-warcraft-no-flying-tanaan-jungle-warlords-of-draenor-mmo-pc-blizzard

Polygon recently did an interview with Ion Hazzikostas. One notable segment was that flying will probably not be in any new zones or expansions:
When Warlords of Draenor first hit, some fans were surprised to discover that even upon reaching the new level cap of 100, they couldn't fly with their air-based mounts in the new zones. Initially Blizzard expected to patch in flying at some point, but now it has changed its mind.

"Having looked at how flying has played out in the old world in the last couple of expansions, we realized that while we were doing it out of this ingrained habit after we introduced flying in The Burning Crusade, it actually detracted from gameplay in a whole lot of ways," Hazzikostas explains. "While there was certainly convenience in being able to completely explore the world in three dimensions, that also came at the expense of gameplay like targeted exploration, like trying to figure out what's in that cave on top of a hill and how do I get up there."

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
Leonardo da Vinci

Crithto

Community Manager

#5 - May 22, 2015, 7:25 p.m.

Thanks for creating a thread on this. As you noted, lead designer Ion Hazzikostas mentioned in a recent interview with Polygon that we’ve decided not to allow the use of flying mounts on Draenor. There’s been a lot of debate about the pros and cons of flying over the course of this expansion—not just in the community, but in the hallways, offices, and break rooms at Blizzard—and we know it’s something everyone feels passionately about.

During Patch 6.2’s development, we continued to discuss how flight would fundamentally change the way players experience all of Draenor’s ground-based content, and carefully weighed that against the benefits flying would bring to the game. Ultimately, after much deliberation, we came to the conclusion that the world of Draenor would simply no longer provide the experience we envisioned it if we were to reintroduce flight in this expansion.

We appreciate everyone who has taken the time to weigh in on this topic. You’ve provided some great insight and feedback, and we ask that you please be respectful of one another as you continue to discuss your thoughts and experiences.

You can read the original quote in Ion’s interview with Polygon here.