Official Reply to Vanilla Servers and Nostalrius

[charan25]

Its laughable when a company as big as blizzard can't make a legacy server, but a group of random people can

[Azgraal]

That's your opinion. Vanilla wow is the best WoW. Period.

That's your opinion.

[KOREAN DAVE]

There actually is value in going back to Vanilla because it's a fundamentally different game than the one we have today.

There's stuff like weapon skills, professions that are useful, harder content (in that you actually have to group for a good deal of quests even while leveling), full talent trees, a need for resist gear, etc etc

Even in TBC, up until WotLK, all of this stuff applied minus resist gear in Wrath.

If you like the current system that's fine, I actually enjoy it myself, but I do believe that the older systems are different enough to be worth playing.

[Gadzooks]

Blizzard should just say, you can't play legacy servers unless you buy the current expansion.

I can't honestly believe anyone thinks that if Blizzard did legacy realms, that they would be free. But judging by this crowd, I shouldn't be surprised if they do.

[JustAnotherForumPoster]

So pretty much "we don't want to spend money, and it would be hard" is now the official excuse for not pursing something a large amount of players want.

[Edison]

That's your opinion.

Good observation, that was the point.

[Anceron]

Blizzard, a multibillion dollar company says it's too hard to make legacy servers. But a small group of people who have full time jobs can do it in their spare time WITHOUT making a profit. What a fucking joke.

[Tilie]

Hey guys. I haven't commented on here in literally years. But I just saw this and had to voice how excited this may be. Their response seems very open and the possibility that an official legacy server could actually pop up seems slightly plausible. Even if it's a stretch, they don't sound completely against the idea like they were years ago.

[Maple-]

"So what can we do to capture that nostalgia of when WoW first launched?"

This quote makes it feel like they're still not realizing what people actually want here. We're not asking for Legacy Servers for nostalgia's sake, we're asking because we genuinely love and enjoy the old game over the new for a massive amount of reasons (which I won't go into). To clarify, I have nothing against anyone who likes the new game, but I truly don't and I feel the people like me who like old WoW should have a medium to experience it once more.



"We explored options for developing classic servers and none could be executed without great difficulty."

This quote is really stretching the truth. Nostalrius was a team of a few people who had nothing to do with Blizzard and yet they managed to train all of their members and make a perfect re-creation of Vanilla WoW (with progression might I add), 100% scripted/coded, great server stability, and their servers were hosting up to 13k people online at once, which is insane. Note that this was all done without profit and you're telling me Blizzard (a massive company with thousands of highly trained professionals on the matter) can't make the same thing happen??



" Over the years we have talked about a “pristine realm”."

Though this concept isn't that bad, it won't fix anything. This idea is more like putting a few bandages on a large gash, it only looks at a few issues that Legacy players have with the current game. If you're going to do this, I'd say just do Legacy instead, it appeals to a larger crowd. This method is more of a quick fix, but it will not bring me (and a lot of other vanilla players) back, because it doesn't entirely fix what I dislike about the game, it only goes to patch up a few things. Sure it might be a slight step in the right direction, but I feel the game is so different deep within its core that patching a few things up won't do. To fix the game in my eyes tons of stuff from it would have to be out right removed (which can't happen) so Legacy servers are just a far more clear option rather than meeting us like 20% of the way.

[Chaelexi]

There actually is value in going back to Vanilla because it's a fundamentally different game than the one we have today.

But is this value for you or value for Blizzard. As it looks right now there is no economic gain from a vanilla server.

[Gheld]

So pretty much "we don't want to spend money, and it would be hard" is now the official excuse for not pursing something a large amount of players want.

More ironically so they actually have an opportunity with proven demand to make money off of private server licensing.

So many MMO's of days past have gone that route on their way out.

[DaveL]

"So what can we do to capture that nostalgia of when WoW first launched?"

This quote makes it feel like they're still not realizing what people actually want here. We're not asking for Legacy Servers for nostalgia's sake, we're asking because we genuinely love and enjoy the old game over the new for a massive amount of reasons (which I won't go into). To clarify, I have nothing against anyone who likes the new game, but I truly don't and I feel the people like me who like old WoW should have a medium to experience it once more.



"We explored options for developing classic servers and none could be executed without great difficulty."

This quote is really stretching the truth. Nostalrius was a team of a few people who had nothing to do with Blizzard and yet they managed to train all of their members and make a perfect re-creation of Vanilla WoW (with progression might I add), 100% scripted/coded, great server stability, and their servers were hosting up to 13k people online at once, which is insane. Note that this was all done without profit and you're telling me Blizzard (a massive company with thousands of highly trained professionals on the matter) can't make the same thing happen??



" Over the years we have talked about a “pristine realm”."

Though this concept isn't that bad, it won't fix anything. This idea is more like putting a few bandages on a large gash, it only looks at a few issues that Legacy players have with the current game. If you're going to do this, I'd say just do Legacy instead, it appeals to a larger crowd. This method is more of a quick fix, but it will not bring me (and a lot of other vanilla players) back, because it doesn't entirely fix what I dislike about the game, it only goes to patch up a few things. Sure it might be a slight step in the right direction, but I feel the game is so different deep within its core that patching a few things up won't do. To fix the game in my eyes tons of stuff from it would have to be out right removed (which can't happen) so Legacy servers are just a far more clear option rather than meeting us like 20% of the way.

tihs.. and ten thousand times again this..

[Azgraal]

Good observation, that was the point.

I am known for being capable of making a certain degree of observations every once in a while, after all.

[pallyken]

It's funny that he's using a Trump slogan when the one he's heard the most is "You're fired.".

It's quite appropriate, he's the Trump of wow and the Nostalrius players are his misguided base. Very funny.

[Chaelexi]

"We explored options for developing classic servers and none could be executed without great difficulty."

This quote is really stretching the truth. Nostalrius was a team of a few people who had nothing to do with Blizzard and yet they managed to train all of their members and make a perfect re-creation of Vanilla WoW (with progression might I add), 100% scripted/coded, great server stability, and their servers were hosting up to 13k people online at once, which is insane. Note that this was all done without profit and you're telling me Blizzard (a massive company with thousands of highly trained professionals on the matter) can't make the same thing happen??

It would not be profitable to do so. Nost people did it for the love of Vanilla server, Blizzard would only do it if profitable and there is no way to do so(cost of development, server equipment and bandwidth, maintenance and integration into current Battle.net would not equal the increase/retention of player base it would get)

[KOREAN DAVE]

But is this value for you or value for Blizzard. As it looks right now there is no economic gain from a vanilla server.

If it's a valuable service for a consumer, people will buy it.

Whether or not it's economically viable for Blizzard is something only Blizzard would know and being an armchair economist about it isn't really a valid argument or an effective use of time

[vinmmo]

tihs.. and ten thousand times again this..

And every time someone says, "but nostalrius did it so why can't blizz" a thousand times over, they're told, "blizzard has higher standards so it is NOT that simple." I dig some of the other points though.

[Flower Milk]

I'm guessing, and hoping, that they will license out the ability to run a legacy server to the Nostalrius folks in the same way Everquest did it. They give them the rights, endorse it, and take all the profits. Blizzard doesn't have to take resources away from retail to work on it, people get the legacy servers they want, everyone wins.

[Chaelexi]

If it's a valuable service for a consumer, people will buy it.

Whether or not it's economically viable for Blizzard is something only Blizzard would know and being an armchair economist about it isn't really a valid argument or an effective use of time

It is the only determining factor in whether blizzard launches on or not. And coming from a background of large server farm engineering, it would not be a low cost venture.

[Amaravati]

What I would like to see in 'Pristine Servers'

Experience Per Level increased to a curve in line with:
400% (1 - 20)
300% (21 - 60)

Currency Drop Reduction: 50%
Crafting Level Increase: 200%

- No Flight, Basic Mount Speed
- No Guild Bonuses (Including Guild Bank)
- No Repeatable Daily Quests (excluding areas that require them for progression)
- No Scenarios (excluding areas that require them for progression)
- No Justice or Valor Points
- No Heirlooms
- No LFD or LFR
- No Arenas
- No Visible Item Level
- No Transmog
- No Account Wide Items, Achievements, etc.
- No AoE Loot


Class Retuning

- Druids deal roughly 30% less damage but take 15% less damage
- Hunters deal roughly 50% more damage but get minimum range back
- Mages deal roughly 75% more damage but take 50% more damage
- Paladins deal roughly 75% less damage but take 15% less damage
- Priests heal roughly 50% more but take 35% more damage
- Rogues deal roughly 65% more damage but take 25% more damage
- Shaman deal roughly 50% less damage but totems last for 5 minutes
- Warlocks deal roughly 50% more damage but take 35% more damage
- Warriors deal roughly 50% less damage but also take about 35% less damage
- Death Knights, Demon Hunters, and Monks are removed


Race Changes

Pandaren, Worgen, Goblin, Draenei, and Blood Elves are no longer available as player races