As Sunders indicates in a post to the official forums tonight, the Soaring racial talent will be changed in the next Closed Alpha build of Dragonflight. Its maximum speed will be reduced from 930% to 640%.
In the Dragon Islands, all characters of all races are equal in their movements because each can summon a Drake from the Dragon Islands. However, this is not the case in other areas of the game where flying mounts are the primary means of travel. In the Eastern Kingdoms, Flight is currently more than twice as fast as Epic Flight which has a speed of 410%. The Dracthyrs thus have a drastic advantage over characters of other races during non-Dragon Island content, whether it be Chromie quests, old raids for transmogs, pet battles, etc.
Flight is an important part of the Dracthyr identity. From the start of development, the developers knew that the Dracthyrs had to be able to fly in some way, although the details weren’t determined until later. But Flight is also a racial talent, and this one was not intended to be a massive efficiency or performance boost over other races. These two goals somehow conflict: To make Flight fun and to fulfill the fantasy of being a flying creature, but not to give one race an outsized advantage in much of the game.
During internal testing, the developers have determined that this gear change does not diminish the enjoyment of this mode of transportation. The control scheme, momentum-conserving gameplay, and obstacle-navigating challenge are still present, while also rewarding good use of Soar by being able to travel faster than epic flying mounts. This fulfills both purposes perfectly – Dracthyrs can partake in the dynamic and immersive movement of Dragonback flight, but are unable to traverse a continent twice as fast as other characters.
Alpha allows for experimentation, testing and learning, and this often leads to change. As Flight is an ability that will always be present for the Dracthyr race, the developers feel that it is necessary to reduce its maximum speed for the long term good of the game.
