Blizzard announced "Classic" World of Warcraft

[Lyric Suite]

Well, like the "you think you do, but you don't" guy said, it's on now. They can't back down now.

 

[Parabalus]

Something like that, where a vanilla server progresses to TBC, but when 2.0 hits they clone the server so the 1.12 version stays up forever. Would make everyone happy, except their server costs.

Wouldn't it make more sense to revert the vanilla one to pre-MC? The part I don't get is why you would want the vanilla server to stay at Naxx forever. The main problem with this is obvious - the majority of people will stop playing after they get their T3s. Then what? You'll never get an active vanilla server again because the only one is stuck at Naxx forever with no people in it.

Why revert when they could just open a new one? If legacy servers will feature patch progression it makes sense to open up new ones periodically after the initial batch.

Depends on how much interest there is in the servers after the initial rush, they can do lots of whacky stuff.

 

[Lacrymas]

Why revert when they could just open a new one?

That was my initial idea -

I'm interested how they are going to handle all the other expansions. I'd do it like this -> have vanilla run its course then progress it to TBC (then go through the expansions), opening a new vanilla server in its place. If they do it like that, I imagine it overshadowing retail at one point, maybe around the middle of TBC or at the start of WotLK. It's not like it's unprecedented, classic Runescape is the template for that kind of thing. It HAS to progress, though, it gives meaning to the whole experience, perpetually sticking to vanilla will devalue it because there are no stakes at place. This might set up other MMOs doing the same, like a relaunch of Guild Wars 1.

But you want them to keep the vanilla server, while making a new TBC server for the people who want to move on AND create a fresh vanilla server from pre-MC? That sounds a bit much and I doubt Blizzard will do it like that, but we'll see.

 

[Direwolf]

Well, like the "you think you do, but you don't" guy said, it's on now. They can't back down now.

They don't need to back down. They can drag it a long for years pretending that they are working out the kinks and deciding on this and that. And then they will quietly forget about it. All potential "classic enthusiasts" will die from obesity related illnesses by then, and there will be nobody left to complain.

 

[Parabalus]

Why revert when they could just open a new one?

That was my initial idea -

I'm interested how they are going to handle all the other expansions. I'd do it like this -> have vanilla run its course then progress it to TBC (then go through the expansions), opening a new vanilla server in its place. If they do it like that, I imagine it overshadowing retail at one point, maybe around the middle of TBC or at the start of WotLK. It's not like it's unprecedented, classic Runescape is the template for that kind of thing. It HAS to progress, though, it gives meaning to the whole experience, perpetually sticking to vanilla will devalue it because there are no stakes at place. This might set up other MMOs doing the same, like a relaunch of Guild Wars 1.

But you want them to keep the vanilla server, while making a new TBC server for the people who want to move on AND create a fresh vanilla server from pre-MC? That sounds a bit much and I doubt Blizzard will do it like that, but we'll see.

Yeah, I doubt it too.

It seems like the option to keep everyone happy, but the forking would likely be prohibitively expensive, even if the "museum vanilla" has a minuscule playerbase - don't really know how their servers are structured. They might do it as a pay extra feature.

 

[J1M]

1) It's still an open question as to how WoW Classic will handle things like supporting Win10 instead of WinXP. One option is to take the current game engine, new art assets and everything, and create a server with old maps and classic versions of the character classes, combat formulas, etc.

2) At this point, they are quite good at character transfers and character copies. There's no reason to force people who wanted a vanilla experience into a TBC one. As others have mentioned, if they remaster any other old content, it will be opt-in.

3) Everyone should temper their enthusiasm. The chance of them fucking this up by 'balancing' the classes or adding cross-realm group finder is absurdly high.

 

[Beastro]

The server will catch up with retail and become a normal retail server. That's the only realistic option. I very much doubt they'll make more content for older expansions. At most, if classic servers overshadow retail, they'll shift their design on retail to more closely match the classic era.

T'is the plan for EQs prog servers.

It's a foreseeable problem! Why wouldn't they think about that? What is the allure of a never-ending, stuck at Naxx vanilla?

We'll get a taste of how quickly such a server dies out, or if it will last, when Agnarr on EQ reaches PoP and stops progression then.

Expansion releases around every 3 months, IIRC. It's about to have Velious launch on it which is just two expansions away from PoP.

 

[Direwolf]

They only announced this clusterfuck on Saturday and there is already thousands of different opinions on what "authentic vanilla experience" actually is. Good luck with that. This is going to be worse trainwreck than Star Citizen.

 

[Beastro]

They only announced this clusterfuck on Saturday and there is already thousands of different opinions on what "authentic vanilla experience" actually is. Good luck with that. This is going to be worse trainwreck than Star Citizen.

I find that amusing, since there is no issue between Everquest veterans as to what constitutes the Classic EQ experience.

 

[Lacrymas]

The only reasonable and justifiable course of action is to make vanilla exactly how it was. No QoL changes, no class balancing, no UI enhancements, no touched-up graphics. The problem is on which patch to start, I'd start at 1.2 when most classes were insanely shit at their job and loot wasn't so powerful and well-itemized, so progression won't be as easy.

 

[Whiny-Butthurt-Liberal]

WoW is shit for autists.

 

[Direwolf]

They only announced this clusterfuck on Saturday and there is already thousands of different opinions on what "authentic vanilla experience" actually is. Good luck with that. This is going to be worse trainwreck than Star Citizen.

I find that amusing, since there is no issue between Everquest veterans as to what constitutes the Classic EQ experience.

That's because 99% of people asking for vanilla never played it when it was current. They just heard all those amazing stories from other people who played it. So they imagined all sort of amazing shit that never actually existed.

 

[Lacrymas]

So they imagined all sort of amazing shit that never actually existed.

Yes, vanilla is completely different than what people have mythologized it over the years. It's still a better version than retail, though, so that's incline, I guess. It will be interesting to see how far this goes and what the results will be, also whether many people will stick with it to the end, or they'll go back to retail en masse before they even hit 60. There is a market for vanilla, obviously, private servers have proved that, but we'll see how large that market is now that everyone who plays retail has "legal" access to it. People will obviously return specifically for it, too.

 

[Jaesun]

Why do people still keep playing this??

 

[J1M]

Why do people still keep playing this??

Virtual progression can satisfy psychological needs that people have to feel a sense of progression in their career or personal lives. A cruel, but addictive, trick for the brain.

 

[Makabb]

Why do people still keep playing this??

first wows is similar to diablo 2, fun grinder

It was blizzard first another RPG after diablo 2, vanilla shared a lot of similiarities with diablo 2

Vanilla is good in part thanks to that, that it is a diablo 2 rip off, a lot of design choices come directly from diablo 2 (like skills, abilities, progression which are a copy of D2 etc)

Like Diablo 2, vanilla WOW is all about combat and loot the story comes 2nd. WoW took everything that made diablo 2 great, and they put in there thousand of players instead of 4-5 that were in diablo 2.

Vanilla had world pvp and not battlegrounds, people were not instanced into the pvp like late in the game, while going around the world you could meet opponents etc, thats very immersive.

There were no flying mounts like today, flying mounts destroyed world pvp and exploration because you can get anywhere instantly avoiding combat - the heart of the game.

The first wows (vanilla, TBC) still had a great RPG combat that based on mechanics first and was fun even tho the classes were unbalanced (this is the part of fun, one class might have advantage in one thing, the other in something else).
Balancing destroyed fun.

 

[Makabb]

Why do people still keep playing this??

Virtual progression can satisfy psychological needs that people have to feel a sense of progression in their career or personal lives. A cruel, but addictive, trick for the brain.

eh or it's just a hobby? instead of drinking yourself to death everyday it's healthier to play a video game

 

[Parabalus]

The only reasonable and justifiable course of action is to make vanilla exactly how it was. No QoL changes, no class balancing, no UI enhancements, no touched-up graphics. The problem is on which patch to start, I'd start at 1.2 when most classes were insanely shit at their job and loot wasn't so powerful and well-itemized, so progression won't be as easy.

Problem with such a patch progression is that there is full patch history, so people will be ready to jump on a particular patch's imbalance, e.g. on 1.2 you could walk on walls to skip stuff, fixed in a later patch - people then didn't jump on it because it was unknown, now there would be thousands of tutorials in preparation.

Why do people still keep playing this??

I seriously doubt that anyone in this thread is still playing.

 

[Makabb]

IDK I've never really had a problem with LFG tbh. I don't care about making "new best friends" in WoW, and knowing all my guildmate's IRL pets' names or favorite pickle rick quotes or whatever the fuck.

Yea this, with WOTLK they peaked the casual-hardcore balance...... post wotlk they just went too full casual

 

[Makabb]

Why do people still keep playing this??

I seriously doubt that anyone in this thread is still playing.

Yea I haven't played since WOTLK so that's 7 years...... but I will probably play the classic.

 

[Cyberarmy]

- 5 mans were serious business.

This,
Also I missed Scholomance and Stratholme school runs.
Well, I have some extra € in my blizz wallet so what the hell.

Edit:

Missed my druid, Riverwind

https://youtu.be/EekNxwQ7izg

Back then we can "mix" the talent trees just like this. Results are not always optimal but often fun.

 

[Lacrymas]

Problem with such a patch progression is that there is full patch history, so people will be ready to jump on a particular patch's imbalance, e.g. on 1.2 you could walk on walls to skip stuff, fixed in a later patch - people then didn't jump on it because it was unknown, now there would be thousands of tutorials in preparation.

They have said they can fix bugs and exploits if the players want that.

 

[Lyric Suite]

If they are considering keeping the bugs it means they are taking the same approach as the Starcraft remaster. I think they should just fix everything and let people come up with fresh strategies. Wow isn't an e-sport game. Bugs shouldn't be treated as features.

 

[Lacrymas]

They didn't fix the bugs in SCR because they have become a regular part of gameplay. Like stacking flying units into each other. I don't know if there are comparable bugs in vanilla. I've read something about warrior charge being slower or something, but I don't play warriors, so I wouldn't know.

 

[hivemind]

BC WAS PEAK

VANILLA WAS SECOND

WRATH WAS PEAK FOR BRAINLET CASUAL BABIES

EVERYTHING ELSE WAS SHIT