WoW Dragonflight, the next World of Warcraft expansion, introduces the mighty Dracthyr Evoker to Azeroth. As you dive into the alpha to check out this all-new draconic race, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for a sneaky little Overwatch reference included in the character creator.
As players from across Azeroth flock to the all-new WoW Dragonflight alpha, the first thing on many an adventurer’s to-do list is try out the Dracthyr, the new dragon-inspired race.
A first for World of Warcraft, the Dracthyr are both a race and a class – they can only be played as Evokers, the first cardinal mid-range class in the game. Able to both obliterate their foes using elemental magic, or heal up allies by channeling nature herself, the mysterious new scaly creatures have become Dragonflight’s headline act.
There’s also a whole plethora of different customization tools at your disposal to ensure that your in-game personality matches your IRL one. As I explored the extensive character creator, I noticed a sneaky little Overwatch reference that most have missed.
When building my new character, I happily flicked through the snout options for my dragon form when I uncovered a style called ‘Shimada.’ Adding a small, beard-like appendage to your Dracthyr’s nose, the style is reminiscent of the dragons depicted in Eastern folklore.
At first glance this doesn’t mean much to most players, but this style happens to bear the same name as Overwatch’s Japanese DPS duo, Genji and Hanzo, who hail from the once-proud Shimada family.
When I asked production director Pat Dawson about this, he laughed and stated “I actually don’t know the genesis of that, but good spot! I love when people dig into things and uncover things that were maybe inferring other things. That’s kind of cool.”
Thank you Pat for not simply calling me a sad loser with no life – much appreciated!
We also chatted to Dawson about the current state of Dragonflight in the wake of concerns that the game won’t be ready in time. We’ve got a full breakdown of our first impressions of the Dragonflight alpha, too, as well as a list of all of the best WoW addons to help make your journey through this glistening winter wonderland as smooth as it can be.