Introduction to Dragonback Pass

 

Dragonback Pass is a new Tier 1 Dungeon designed for groups of up to six players, with an optimal level range of 9-11. A unique addition to the world of Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning, this dungeon was custom-built and launched in November 2024. It was not present on the original Mythic servers and features entirely new bosses, scripting, voice acting, and a rich, story-driven experience. The dungeon serves as a tutorial, teaching fundamental game mechanics to new players in an engaging and immersive format. A typical run takes approximately 15-30 minutes, with optional content and Tome of Knowledge unlocks for those who wish to explore further.

 

Entering the Dungeon

 

The entrance for Dragonback Pass is a single location in the zone of Ekrund, found at coordinates approximately 53k/21k.

• For Order Players: The entrance is easily accessible by dropping down from the nearby Ekrund Warcamp.
• For Destruction Players: Head northwest from the Chapter 4 camp, utilizing the Rock Lobba’ to launch yourself closer to the dungeon’s location.

While the dungeon is balanced for levels 9-11, players of any level can enter to assist newer characters.

 

Dungeon Mechanics: A Tutorial Experience

 

Dragonback Pass is designed as a story-driven tutorial. Players are guided by fully-voiced characters who introduce and explain key mechanics for each boss encounter. The skills taught here are essential for both PvE and PvP content.

The main story character, marked by a bright light, will initiate the dialogue and the dungeon’s progression once the party is assembled.

The core mechanics taught are as follows:

• Tanks: Learning to use Guard on allies, performing Guard-swaps mid-fight, maintaining aggro, and positioning bosses to face away from the group to prevent cleave damage.
• Healers: Practicing essential roles such as resurrecting fallen teammates, cleansing critical debuffs, and executing burst-heals.
• DPS (Damage Dealers): The importance of swapping targets in response to specific boss mechanics.
• All Roles: The crucial skill of moving out of incoming Area of Effect (AoE) attacks, which are visually indicated by “Red Lights” on the ground.

 

Boss Encounters

Each boss encounter is tailored to reinforce specific class archetypes and their corresponding mechanics.

Boss 1: Slayer/Choppa

This first boss, a Slayer for the Order faction and a Choppa for Destruction, focuses on basic group coordination.

• Resurrection: The boss will periodically kill a player at specific health percentages. The deceased player will have a Skull icon over their head, alerting healers that a resurrection is required.
• Cleave: As with most melee bosses, tanks must face the boss away from the rest of the party to prevent frontal cleave damage.
• Target Swapping: The boss will summon “Game Objects” that grant him powerful buffs. DPS must quickly swap targets to destroy these objects to prevent the boss from becoming overly empowered.

 

Boss 2: Shaman/Runepriest

The second boss, a Shaman for Destruction or a Runepriest for Order, begins with a unique challenge.

• Bridge Duel: This boss will initially challenge the party to a duel on the bridge. Players can either accept a 1v1 fight or coordinate to overwhelm him as a group.
• Post-Duel Fight: After the initial duel, the boss can be properly engaged.
  • Cleansing: The boss applies a potent Damage over Time (DoT) debuff that deals 20% of a player’s maximum HP per tick for six ticks. Healers must prioritize cleansing this debuff to save the affected player.
  • Punts: The boss has two types of punt abilities: a single-target punt that launches a player into the air, and an AoE punt that pushes the entire party back. Players should be aware of these abilities and adjust their positioning accordingly.
  • AoE Placement: The boss places an AoE puddle (Red Light) on the player furthest from him. This targeted player has a short window of time to move and place the puddle in a safe, non-obstructive location, preventing it from damaging the rest of the group.

 

Boss 3: Black Orc/Ironbreaker

The final boss, a Black Orc for Destruction or an Ironbreaker for Order, is a culmination of all previously taught mechanics.

• Cleave: Tanks must continue to face the boss away from the party.
• Guard and Guard-Swap: This is the most complex mechanic of the fight. The boss will target a non-tank player and hit them with an attack that deals 130% of their maximum HP.
  • The targeted player will be marked with a Shield icon on their head, and a yellow text message will appear in the chat and on screen.
  • A tank must use Guard on this player to split the incoming damage, reducing it to 65% for both the tank and the guarded player, making the hit survivable.
  • This requires swift reaction and communication between tanks.
• AoE Management: Adds that spawn during the fight will target random players with the AoE puddle mechanic. DPS must quickly kill these adds to cancel the AoE and prevent the ground from becoming covered in damaging zones.
• Add Management: Throughout the fight, the boss will spawn additional adds and champions at specific HP percentages. The party must be prepared to handle these adds efficiently to avoid being overwhelmed.

Upon defeating the final boss, the story characters will reappear to commend the party, signaling the successful completion of Dragonback Pass.

 

Lore & Story

Dragonback Pass features new loading art and a custom-built map. The narrative unfolds over two weeks within the game’s timeline, with a different instance for each faction.

• Destruction’s Perspective: The story begins with a goblin named Gitbag and his friend Duff, who stumble upon a Destruction party. Together, they fight back against the entrenched Dwarfs, successfully capturing the camp.
• Order’s Perspective: Days later, a Dwarf reinforcement party led by Grom Brindlesson arrives to find the camp sacked. After a fierce battle, they recapture the base but suffer heavy losses, forcing them into a defensive posture. When a new wave of Order reinforcements arrives, Grom sees an opportunity to take the fight back to the Greenskins and rescue captured Gyrocopter pilots.

 

Trivia & Development

 

• Scenario Origin: The map for Dragonback Pass was originally planned by Mythic as a scenario, but it was likely deemed too large for a standard 3-flag scenario. The Return of Reckoning development team rebuilt and refined these unfinished areas, adding the new lore and content.
• Tome of Knowledge References: The dungeon contains various references to Mythic’s original plans, including the rescue of gyrocopter pilots and Tome of Knowledge unlocks that reference the original titles for Battlefield Objectives.
• Development Timeline: The concept for Dragonback Pass as a tutorial dungeon existed for years. Initial story concepts were written in early 2024, but the project was put on hold until a new ability system and custom voice line support were developed. Following the Chapter 22 Raids, the project was resumed in September 2024.
• Technical Achievement: The dungeon’s scripting for character movement, dialogue, and text display was highly complex, representing a significant technical undertaking.
• Collaborative Effort: Dragonback Pass was the result of approximately three months of dedicated work by the Dungeon and PvE teams, with invaluable support from voice talent, source coders, artists, and testers.