Chosen Identity is low-key the best Dracthyr ability in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight

I’m smitten with my new Dracthyr Evoker—a big blue boy who’s thrown his lot in with the Horde. But this honeymoon period has not been without its bumps. Really it’s just one bump. The Dracthyr can’t really take advantage of World of Warcraft’s gargantuan wardrobe. This has been a big issue for me, given that playing dress-up is half the reason I’ve spent so much time in MMOs. 

There’s a reason you get to customise your Evoker’s armour before you start your adventure in Dragonflight: you’re not going to get many more opportunities. When you get your hands on some new mail armour, you’ll notice that your appearance hardly changes at all. And all those transmog options you’ve unlocked? No longer available. It’s not a bug, it’s just the price for looking like a draconic badass. 

Shoulders and belt buckles are the exception, so it’s not all bad—WoW’s ridiculous shoulder armour is, after all, the flashiest part of most sets. But it does mean you’re going to struggle to make a look that’s consistent. 

This has prompted some dismay among my fellow fashionistas, but there is a solution. Your Visage form is not so limited. Go from dragon to human(ish) and you’ll see all that lovely armour the way it was meant to be seen. But do you really want to keep changing just to see your transmogs? It’s a hassle. Or at least it would be, if it wasn’t for the Chosen Identity ability.

Chosen Identity changes you into your Dracthyr form only when you’re in combat (you change shape the moment you use your first draconic ability) or when you use Soar. The moment combat ends or you hit the ground, you return to your Visage form. 

I love this. When shapeshifting is an optional, manual thing that doesn’t have a practical benefit, it doesn’t really feel like you’re a shapeshifter at all. But with Chosen Identity you’re constantly reminded. It also gives your imposing Dracthyr form more impact. When you suddenly transform and start spitting out flames, it’s so much more of an event. And then when you’re just wandering around, you get all the aesthetic benefits of your big collection of transmog appearances. The best of both worlds. 

Activating Chosen Identity is really when the Dracthyr clicked for me. I’d already been entranced by all the novelties, of course—you can spew fire while flying across the battlefield, it’s wild—but now I can see myself playing it for a long time. It’s becoming more than a novelty. 

It’s also a solution that I actually prefer over making all of WoW’s armour work with the Dracthyr Evoker. They have such a different look that squeezing them into WoW’s huge, over-the-top sets would just be awkward. I like that, when I’m in my scaly form, I’m not wearing the same stuff as all these orcs and humans scurrying around. I’ve got elegant armour designed for a long-limbed flying creature with nasty claws. 

Naturally, Worgen players are hoping for the same treatment, and while it’s been more than 8 years since I last checked in on my Worgen Hunter—the poor guy has missed out on so many expansions—I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them. For a shapeshifting character, it feels essential—even if it is pure aesthetics.