World of Warcraft players won’t be able to fly on the Siren Isle in patch 11.0.7 — although it may be a temporary grounding

The War Within patch 11.0.7 brings a new area for players to explore, the freshly-discovered Siren Isle. While the activities there should keep us occupied between the end of the 20th Anniversary and the arrival of patch 11.1 — especially with Plunderstorm returning for a limited time — there’s a sad reality to a storm-plagued island: players will not be able to use flying mounts (whether Skyriding or steady flying) on Siren Isle. Like the Isle of Thunder and Timeless Isle, there will be a “High Winds” debuff that keeps us grounded and when a storm arrives there will be a second debuff known as the “Seafury Tempest.”

This does not mean we’ll be completely grounded. There is a jetpack/glider combination known as an Experimental Go-Pack that players unlock pretty early on. It’s a consumable, so you’ll want to pick as many up as you can to help you get around. There’s a lot of verticality on Siren Isle and grappling hooks to help you climb the peaks. Engineering gliders will also work, and it would not surprise me if there are other consumables that give one a boost into the air. At the minimum those who have a favorite ground mount they never get a chance to use will be happy.

There are hints that being grounded may be temporary, however. The biggest clue is the fact that there are separate debuffs for “calm” and “stormy” conditions on Siren Isle — this suggests that at some point we’ll be able to use flight as least when the storm isn’t present. The ability to fly may be tied into Cyrce’s Circlet, an item players will be upgrading on the island similar to the Onyx Annulet on the Forbidden Reach.

Of course there’s a question whether the ability to fly on Siren Isle is even necessary — it’s smaller than Mechagon, an island that can be crossed in six seconds with a Skyriding mount. Still, the fact that the game is providing grappling hooks and jetpacks means we’re expected to get up into the air somehow, so while Skyriding may be overkill the Steady Flight option will be very welcome. Hopefully we’ll know before patch 11.0.7 releases how and when some level of flying will be available on Siren Isle.