NewsOct 5, 2017 2:05 pm CT

Update: Argus won’t have flying, now or in the future

By Rachelle Riddle

Updated

Update: Sorry, everyone. In a developer Q&A Ion Hazzikostas repeated what Ornyx said in September: we are definitely not getting flying in Argus. Here’s what Ion had to say:

Read on for our original post and Ornyx’s explanation.

We knew ahead of time that Argus would not have flying. However, it’s rubbing a lot of players the wrong way as they venture to the new planet only to find demons as far as the eye can see. Ornyx popped in on the official forums to offer some insight into the lack of flying on Argus and clarify that they don’t plan to add it. This isn’t that surprising for any veteran players, given that places like Isle of Thunder and Timeless Isle still don’t have flying enabled. A particularly interesting part of Ornyx’s reply is that Blizzard actually designed the area to be dangerous, and that the vertical terrain is meant to aid us in avoiding that.

Originally Posted by Ornyx (Official Post)

I think plenty of folks disagree with you on the first point, and Argus has been one of the best parts of Legion to me personally, but just to clarify on the second:

This is nothing new, and we don’t have any plans to change this going forward. New zones added in patch content have never to my knowledge had flying allowed. Even when flying was introduced in 2.0, flying was not available on the Isle of Quel’danas when it released in 2.4. The same is true of Isle of Thunder and Timeless Isle from 5.2 and 5.4. These zones have always been about exploration, with a bit of danger, and Argus fits quite nicely into that theme.

I can understand that you may have recently earned Pathfinder and want to fly, but no one is stopping you from flying anywhere you want over the Broken Isles – but this is Argus.

If you’re having trouble getting around Argus, you’re probably not paying attention to the landscape. If you’re dying in Fel flows, you’re probably charging head first into them instead of leaping across the rocks floating about. If you’re constantly being tagged by mobs, you’re probably missing an easier way around the groups.

Argus isn’t supposed to be a friendly and hospitable place, and I wouldn’t bet my gold on a demon sitting down for tea with me any time soon. If you’re having trouble and finding it difficult to get around and avoid pitfalls, then Argus is working as intended.

I respect the points Ornyx is trying to make and, yes, previous patch zones did not have flying. But Pathfinder changes the paradigm a bit. In previous expansions we had flying from the moment we hit max level, so adding a small zone without flying wasn’t that daunting. Pathfinder is a new concept — we spent the majority of our time at max level on the ground and then had to work hard to acquire flying later.

While Ornyx is correct about those new zones not having flying, he’s also leaving out the exception to the rule: last expansion’s Tanaan Jungle and this expansion’s Broken Shore. Granted, both of those instances are where we acquired Pathfinder and then found the ability to fly. But the point remains that we can fly there. Perhaps we’re only talking about zones introduced after we get the ability to fly

I can’t really fault Blizzard’s reasoning for not enabling flying in Argus, regardless of precedence. Yes, Argus is supposed to be dangerous and annoying. It’s the home base of the most dangerous foe we’ve ever faced. Yes, new zones introduced after flying is available have not historically allowed us to be airborne. But there is something annoying about earning flying only to have it taken away a short time later, no matter how much actual sense it makes.

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