In an interview with Polygon, World of Warcraft lead designer Ion Hazzikostas had said that Blizzard had decided to not allow flying in the new zones introduced in Warlords of Draenor. It seems that Blizzard has had second thoughts on the matter.
In a post on the official World of Warcraft blog, Hazzikostas states: “World of Warcraft is full of memorable moments that are only possible when players explore the world by ground.” However, Hazzikostas acknowledges that many players still want the ability to fly. Now it seems that Blizzard has found a way to enable flying without taking away from ground-based exploration.
The ability will come in an achievement. In patch 6.2, Blizzard will add a new meta-achievement called “Draenor Pathfinder.” Until at least one character on a players account receives this achievement, flying in the Warlords of Draenor areas is restricted. Once the achievement has been earned, players will be able to fly, and will receive a new mount: the Soaring Skyterror.
Hazzicostas writes: “We believe this strikes the right balance between ensuring ground-based content lives up to its full potential, while providing players who’ve already fully experienced Draenor’s outdoor world extra freedom to ‘break the rules.’ This also provides a general blueprint going forward for content to come. Players will explore new and undiscovered lands from the ground, and then once they’ve fully mastered those environments…they can take to the skies…”
Blizzard has not yet put out a release date for patch 6.2, with the ability to fly coming up in a follow-up patch after the new content is unlocked.