Hello!
You may not know this about me, but I love Dragon Racing! it’s so fast paced and exciting! The scenery passing in a blur, a tree truck narrowly evading your face with a whoosh…it’s a thrill I never experienced before! Not even the Tram is this fast!
I heard a number of complaints involving difficulties with Dragon Flying in general…I’m assuming that’s applying to the Racing aspect as well! Currently, I am 14/14 Gold rating in all the races I’ve done thus far, and while my dragon isn’t at it’s strongest, it’s sufficient for racing so far!
I figured, as Curator of the Azeroth Exploration Corp., I should document some tips and tricks to use to get started! This is not an end-all guide, of course: I’m not even finished with it! This will, however, help you get started!
Let’s begin!
The Basics:
Despite our world of overly large pauldrons and magic, physics still apply! Wow! Maybe gravity just works different in the Dragon Isles…
It’s recommended to use Mouse Look while Dragon Riding! This is done by holding the Right Mouse Button by default! Don’t ask me what said ‘mouse’ is…it’s not the squeaky kind…
Looking upwards will ascend you, but start slowing you down drastically. When forward momentum ceases you will start to descend slowly. Looking downwards will of course descend at a more rapid pace, but thanks to gravity this will build your speed!
Optimally, spend as little time ascending, and as much time descending to keep your speed high!
While just traveling this is a lot easier to do, in races it’s not so simple: There will be rings you’ll need to ascend to hit, and if you rely merely on your basic momentum you’ll either slow down, or start falling! Both of these are really bad!
However! You have two basic skills to help get around this particular issue: Surge Forward and Skyward Ascent!
Surge Forward gives you a burst of speed. The boost is greatest when descending, average when level and low when ascending. It’s best to use this when descending to maximize the boost!
Skyward Ascent flaps you vertically upwards and boosts your speed too! It’s not as fast as a downward Surge Forward but it’s very useful when ascending to avoid losing speed! Be careful not to go too high to miss the ring!
Both of these skills cost Vigor. It is highly recommended before you start racing to learn Thrill Chaser! This will regenerate 1 Vigor every 10 sec. at sufficient speeds. Outside of very specific races this is the only way you’ll regenerate Vigor mid race, which is very important!
Learning the other skills are important as well, and you can max out the tree early if you’d like! At the bare minimum though I’d recommend Thrill Seeker as a priority.
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Now! For the races themselves! As mentioned this is not a catch-all guide, so I will only provide some generic tips!
Wind Gusts Are Great! Wind gusts will sometimes appear off the intended path so that you have to swing out of your way to catch them. It’s almost always worth doing this especially if you’re having to go uphill! It saves on your Vigor so you can utilize it when you need it most.
Pay Attention To The Line! Some courses utilize very sharp turns and vertical changes, making it next to impossible to tell where you’re going next…unless you follow The Line! You may have to turn up something called “Graphics” to see it effectively, specifically “Particle Effects”…
…I don’t know what these things are…
But it will guide you to where you need to go next!
Sharpen Your Reflexes! The further you go, the more twisty and hectic the races become! If you’re moving at top speeds you’ll have less than half a second to react to a sudden turn or you’re going wildly off course! Never slow down. If you want to max your time you need to be moving at your highest possible speed!
Most importantly…
Don’t give up! There’s a reason racers of all stripes practice the courses: If you try to nail it first try you’re almost always going to fail! Learn the course, learn what you can and can’t get away with Vigor wise, memorize the Wind Gust locations and eventually you’ll get that perfect time!
If you end up missing a ring or slow down immensely you can always bind the Bronze Timepiece to your bars, land somewhere, and immediately retry the race!
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Whether you just want to complete the racing quests or you are going for gold, I hope this little guide helps you get well on your way on being a pro racer! So pro that Alexstraza may look your way in her Visage form!
…Okay, I’m sorry. I’m giving you too much false hope with that one…
Wow! Thanks for reading! Bye!