I just learned Flight Form. Actually, I relearned it. You see, flight form is learned in the Outlands once you access The Burning Crusades. It’s learned at level 68. Everyone else has to wait until 70 to fly in the Outlands. But for Wrath of the Lich King, you have to learn it all over again to fly in Northrend, which you cannot do until level 77. This is called “Cold Weather Flying”. Unlike the first flight form, you have to pay the same 1000g for the riding skill before you learn. Epic flight costs 5000g, and once you have it for Outlands, if you got it that early, you can also keep it in Northrend for the cost of the Cold Weather training. The Swift Flight Form no longer requires a quest chain, and the old speed buff trinket does not work for level 71 or above. Way to go, Blizzard, making that totally useless to everyone.

I think everyone gets a little giddy when they first train their flight form. Well, I didn’t get the chance to right away. I was in the middle of a heated argument at the time, and a second after hitting the trainer, I logged out. There was nothing else I could do.. it was nearly bedtime, and I had ended my night’s efforts questing just minutes before. Then, crankier than a crab sleeping in a crooked shell, my male counterpart came into the room with an axe to grind about my less than timely return to bed. Nevermind that I’ve been keeping late hours for as far as I can remember, and nevermind that he’s not mentioned to me any time before then that he had wanted or needed me for something in the morning. An angry male can dodge, parry, and block any reason a girl is able to muster. That is, until she breaks into a fit herself. Hell hath no fury and all that. The night ended poorly after a rampage of cleaning out the spare room and a lecture filled with my fury and disgust for his antics. Yes that’s right, I slept in the spare room. He moaned, he begged, pleaded, and manipulated to prevent it, and when I woke up he brought me breakfast in bed and apologized profusely.

But you wanted to know about the flight form! Well, the thing is I used to have it. Yes, of course if you’re here you probably did too. I missed it terribly. I missed the Outlands and the Burning Crusade badly. It seems such a horrible thing to suddenly become flightless. This special ability is one of the beautiful things about the druid class, the unique ability to instantly go to flight, and add this that an attacker cannot knock you out of the air either (Horde territories are an exception. Guess how I found that out? Go on, guess.) Oh and if you ever find yourself in freefall you can avoid certain death so long as you hit your form in time. It almost makes up for not being a mage with their ability to teleport everywhere without limit. I said “almost”. But add to it 100% speed Aquatic form, stealth capacity, and the ‘Oh Shit!’ dash or speed form, and I’d say a druid easily competes with mages in their utility.

So, the day after I officially learn flight form, I was able to try it out in Northrend for the first time. Gush! I visited new lands and marvelled. I quested and everything went by so quickly, it was transformational. My next step is Epic Flight Form, and I am sure I will doubly gush when I learn that trick. 280% speed boost, compared to 60%. Well, they call it epic for a reason.

(note: edited to provide additional information for visitors)

~ by lily on January 30, 2009.

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