After the inaugural "Cup" event in August that took place in Kalimdor, World of Warcraft's next foray into dragon racing, the Eastern Kingdoms Cup, is live! The event runs for two weeks and comprises 14 races across the classic continent, where dragonriding is not yet fully enabled.

If you haven't been keeping up, here's a primer:

  • Dragonriding is not yet available outside the Dragon Isles, so this race is your only current opportunity to dragonride across the Eastern Kingdoms until dragonriding becomes worldwide.
  • Each race has three variations: Normal, Advanced, and Reverse.
  • Each variation has three reward tiers, based on how fast you complete it: Bronze, Silver, Gold.
  • Reaching each reward tier once awards you with 1x Riders of Azeroth Badge. Getting Gold on your first try awards you all three badges.
  • You can trade Riders of Azeroth Badges for dragon customization glyphs and the Drake Racer transmog set (class-agnostic), as well as reputation tokens for the Valdrakken Accord if you've already bought all the unique rewards.

In advance of this event, the Eastern Kingdoms received a small visual update back in patch 10.1.5 that changed the way the 'distance fog' was rendered. I definitely suggest you give these races a go and take a look over yonder while in flight, it's quite beautiful! With view distance set to 8, I was already able to see the entire continent from Loch Modan!

I've also already gone through all the circuits, and here's my take. They definitely seem more balanced than the Kalimdor Cup - the timers for getting Gold are more forgiving. The Eastern Kingdoms generally having less trees certainly helps. That said, there's a few things to look out for in the following races:

  • The Krazzworks Klash (Twilight Highlands) has a bunch of tiny metal poles that you need to sneakily fly through, beware!
  • The Plaguelands Plunge Reverse circuit (Eastern Plaguelands) has a "mushroom tree boss" near the end at a particularly quick turn that you'd do well to avoid.
  • The Elwynn Forest Flash Reverse circuit (Elwynn Forest) has a very tight timer for Gold, and might need several attempts. Still nothing as bad as Uldum Reverse, though.

Here's the full blog post:

Quote From Blizzard Entertainment

Prep Your Dragons and Mount Up for the Eastern Kingdoms Cup

Mount up and rediscover the skies of the Eastern Kingdoms with a new Dragonriding racing event arriving in Azeroth.

“The Riders of Azeroth invite dragonriders to compete in races throughout the Eastern Kingdoms! Talk to Lord Andestrasz in Valdrakken for more information.”

When: October 4–17
Where: Begins in Valdrakken, Stormwind, and Orgrimmar

With fourteen races spread across the Eastern Kingdoms, dragonriders will have a skyful of options for challenging courses in Normal, Advanced, and Reverse variations. Head to Valdrakken and speak to Lord Andestrasz near the Rostrum of Transformation to pick up the initial quest.

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Blasted Lands Bolt (Blasted Lands) Ironforge Interceptor (Dun Morogh)
Booty Bay Blast (Booty Bay) Krazzworks Klash (Twilight Highlands)
Deadwind Derby (Deadwind Pass) Loch Modan Loop (Loch Modan)
Elwynn Forest Flash (Elwynn Forest) Plaguelands Plunge (Eastern Plaguelands)
Fuselight Night Flight (The Badlands) Redridge Rally (Redridge Mountains)
Gilneas Gambit (Gilneas) Searing Slalom (Searing Gorge)
Gurubashi Gala (Stranglethorn Vale) Twilight Terror (Twilight Highlands)

 

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Rewards For a Fancy Flight

In addition to earning achievements for completing races, The Eastern Kingdom’s brave racers can earn Riders of Azeroth Badges. These can be exchanged for unique items and rewards from Maztha in Valdrakken or Dathendrash in Stormwind and Orgrimmar.

Some rewards you can choose from include a new skin color customization for the Winding Slitherdrake and pieces to build the adventurous Drake Racer Dragonriding transmog set so you can dash through the skies with panache.

Brand New Dragon Customizations:
Customizations (Previously Dropped from Racing World Quests, Now Purchasable):
Previous Rewards:
Drake Racer’s Transmog Set:
Purchased Everything? You Can Repeatedly Buy:

The sky’s the limit (unless you’re trying to beat the timer); may the winds be at your back as you go for the gold.

Have you been enjoying Dragonflight so far? Let us know in the comments below!