The Dragon Isles are the storied homeland of dragonkind on Azeroth. Shrouded by magic for millennia, recent events in World of Warcraft has finally allowed the dragons to return to their ancestral home. Most of the events in the next World of Warcraft expansion will take place across the five new zones in Dragonflight.
RELATED: World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Beta Testing Phase Has Begun
The new map briefly appears on a player’s screen when they take the boat from Orgrimmar or Stormwind to the Dragon Isles to begin their adventures in Dragonflight. According to the map, the Dragon Isles are located north of the Eastern Kingdoms, to the east of Northrend. The silhouette of the Dragon Isles is not yet on the map, meaning this screen could be a placeholder until the final one is added. This also means the exact location could change, though it will likely be in the same general area.
The new region in Dragonflight is far away from the Maelstrom located in the center of many World of Warcraft zones. Some World of Warcraft developers had previously stated the Dragon Isles were located north or northeast of the Eastern Kingdoms, and this map seems to corroborate that information for the most part.
Many World of Warcraft lore hounds are glad to see the general placement of the Dragon Isles on the map of Azeroth. Watching the world expand over the last two decades of expansions has been exciting for many, and a source of hilarious memes for other World of Warcraft fans. The original Dragon Isles concept scrapped during the development of Burning Crusade was also located north of Lordaeron–a callback many fans appreciated.
However, some World of Warcraft fans are left scratching their heads about how the geography of Azeroth works. On the Dragon Isles, the Azure Span–the southernmost zone in Dragonflight–is the coldest, with the regions growing warmer the further north they go. With the Dragon Isles as far north as Northrend, many are befuddled by how there can be any warm regions at all. Perhaps some day, World of Warcraft can situate the continents of Azeroth on a globe to show how it all makes sense. Until then, fans may have to accept the magical world of Azeroth doesn’t play by the same rules as Earth.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC, with Dragonflight launching later this year.
MORE: World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’s Alpha Shows How Dragon Isles Zones Stand Out
