Some Thoughts How To Fix Leveling Timeline Mess

[Highwhale]

As everyone knows current leveling timeline is complete mess. Most players start in Cataclysm then go back in times of TBC and WoTLK. And only then they come back in Cataclysm timeline and things gets normal. Death Knights and Pandarens have even more messed up timeline - they jump from expansions timelines back and forward. It mostly caused by Cataclysm revamp and i believe next revamp can completely fix current mess. There idea:

New Revamp of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms:

1 - It's not secret what in last chapter of Legion we deal with Sargeras and his Burning Legion. And its not secret what Ashara and her Naga is next threat looming on horizon. New Old Gods invasion is good reason to complete revamp main two continents and update it's world to current timeline. And i'm talking about DEEP and CONTRAST revamp of current zones. Turn green forest of Feralas into dark and grim haunted forest. Make Plague Lands cleansed. The more changes the better. Blizzard can even change current capitals balance - destroy Stormwind/Darnasus/Undercity/Thunderbluff and rebuild Exodar/Silvermoon.

2 - After revamp Blizzard locks access to Outland/Northrend/Pandaria/Draenor/Broken Isles. Lore reasons why we can't go there can be different. For example: after Naga's (New Threat) attack Alliance and Horde lose it's ships/portals etc.

3 - Old expansions zones and access to them Blizzard put in new shrines in Caverns of Time. Total 5 new entrances in CoT - Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, Draenor, Broken Isles. New Kalimdor and EK zones added in Cataclysm can be accessed through CoT NPC in those zones (phasing).

4 - Finally put Exodar/Silvermoon in Kalimdor/EK continent world and allow flying there (Current Exodar/Silvermoon technically located in Outland). Also new starter quests for draeneis and blood elves!

5 - No need to change start for worgens/goblins/death knights/pandarens/demon hunters. Just call their first quests and zone like some "Long time ago..." session. So after they finish their starter zone they continue leveling in current (new 8.0) timeline.

6 - New Kalimdor and EK oriented for 1-110 levels. Rest levels people get in new expansion zones.

PS Another more radical way to change timeline mess is completely wipe whole world and remake new. But ofcourse Blizzard wouldn't make it.

[Abraxan]

I like the caverns of time idea for old continents, but I'm not sure about Cata zones. I think it would be unnecessary to let players experience those if they do another old world revamp. Cata wiped out vanilla, I don't see any reason another revamp shouldn't wipe out Cata.

Also, at some point soon (e.g., next expansion), I hope they reinforce racial and faction fantasy. I think overhauling all the capital cities (not destroying a bunch of them) would work best for that, and that would fit nicely into an old world revamp.

[Cæli]

I was thinking you're basically crazy until point 3. but it feels like a lot of work for little reward tbh, I believe they'll always prefer adding a whole new zone/continent

however Leper C you should probably think about the necessity to preserve what we do. deleting an environnement is like deleting a game completely. we shouldn't have to rely on unofficial servers to play there. those kind of thoughts are dangerous for the preservation of work worthy of being preserved.

[Directionalk9]

Honestly, Just accept that jumping from Timeline to Timeline, per expansion sucks and wrecks immersion, and move on. The resources dedicated to redoing all the zones from Vanilla will most assuredly "cost us a raid tier."

However if, with the level-scaling and all the revamps were to be new expansion leveling and 120 endgame, maybe we have something. But if you're asking do I want to sacrifice having my own pirate ship and island hopping in the North Sea and South Seas looking for adventure, killing a naga or two and stopping an Old God threat, then definitely no to a redo of the Vanilla zones.

Sorry for being so dismissive, I'd rather focus on new areas, than go back to slightly altered old areas.

[ImEveryCliche]

How to waste a ton on development cash on content no one plays through. Good idea



/s

[Deleted]

3 - Old expansions zones and access to them Blizzard put in new shrines in Caverns of Time. Total 5 new entrances in CoT - Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, Draenor, Broken Isles. New Kalimdor and EK zones added in Cataclysm can be accessed through CoT NPC in those zones (phasing).

Oh look, another attempt at getting vanilla servers...


Here's how to ACTUALLY fix the timeline mess you encounter while going from level 1 to whatever is current max level in any future expansion:

1. Ignore timeline mess
2. Play the game.

[Nakida]

1 - It's not secret what in last chapter of Legion we deal with Sargeras and his Burning Legion. And its not secret what Ashara and her Naga is next threat looming on horizon. New Old Gods invasion is good reason to complete revamp main two continents and update it's world to current timeline. And i'm talking about DEEP and CONTRAST revamp of current zones. Turn green forest of Feralas into dark and grim haunted forest. Make Plague Lands cleansed. The more changes the better. Blizzard can even change current capitals balance - destroy Stormwind/Darnasus/Undercity/Thunderbluff and rebuild Exodar/Silvermoon.

Still complete speculation at this point. How many times have people guessed early and been wrong? Also, leave capital cities alone. Waste of resources that could be spent on making good content.

2 - After revamp Blizzard locks access to Outland/Northrend/Pandaria/Draenor/Broken Isles. Lore reasons why we can't go there can be different. For example: after Naga's (New Threat) attack Alliance and Horde lose it's ships/portals etc.

Why snuff out good content? Cause you don't like leveling through those zones?

3 - Old expansions zones and access to them Blizzard put in new shrines in Caverns of Time. Total 5 new entrances in CoT - Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, Draenor, Broken Isles. New Kalimdor and EK zones added in Cataclysm can be accessed through CoT NPC in those zones (phasing).

Doesn't this literally counter your prior point? Now you want access to those areas, but you want access to be blocked in your prior point? Make up your mind child.

4 - Finally put Exodar/Silvermoon in Kalimdor/EK continent world and allow flying there (Current Exodar/Silvermoon technically located in Outland). Also new starter quests for draeneis and blood elves!

The reason you cannot fly is not because they are in Outland, which you can fly in Outland. You can't fly there because flying option is turned off to block your access to seeing the smoke and mirrors of making the capital cities massive without a lot of actual data. The walls are just flat textures with no dimension to them. If you were to see it from above, you would see the ugly mess that it is. That's why the had to redo all of the capital cities during the cataclysm so you couldn't see the smoke and mirrors devs use to cut corners.

5 - No need to change start for worgens/goblins/death knights/pandarens/demon hunters. Just call their first quests and zone like some "Long time ago..." session. So after they finish their starter zone they continue leveling in current (new 8.0) timeline.

They already are "Long time ago...." scenarios. Think of all the leveling as watching a movie. You are watching what has happened and when you get to the ending of the movie you have gotten to the current state of things. Same as an MMO. Everything prior to current content is memories. I think we should force the people who want to cut everything from the game cause it messes up timelines into playing on RP servers only. They will then realize all the "messed up timeline shenanigans" are actually the way you develop your character into your current content character.

6 - New Kalimdor and EK oriented for 1-110 levels. Rest levels people get in new expansion zones.

PS Another more radical way to change timeline mess is completely wipe whole world and remake new. But ofcourse Blizzard wouldn't make it.

Just no.

[TriHard]

I have a feeling the upcoming expansion is going to address the old world tbh.

[Cæli]

Oh look, another attempt at getting vanilla servers...

there is literally no link between a vanilla server and what he suggested since it would happen on live

[Dhrizzle]

Adjust the level scaling so you go 1-80 in old world content then skip to Cata, carry on as normal from there.

Make TBC and WotLK zones scale to your level and have them as alternative paths accessed through bronze dragon shenanigans.

[Highwhale]

How to waste a ton on development cash on content no one plays through. Good idea



/s

Yea sure ofcourse everyone just buy leveling token and get insta 100. /s

Oh look, another attempt at getting vanilla servers...

Best logic i seen on MMO champion forums. You should get Darvin award.

Here's how to ACTUALLY fix the timeline mess you encounter while going from level 1 to whatever is current max level in any future expansion:

1. Ignore timeline mess
2. Play the game.

Lets imagine you new player who focused on lore of Warcraft...

[Deleted]

I like this, especially keeping old content available. Not a fan of content removal.

[Deleted]

Loving the responses here:

Capital cities are a waste of development time.

Leveling is pointless and should be skipped.

Just ignore that the story doesn't make sense.

Please don't revamp zones.

L O L

[Bladesyphon]

The entire "Timeline" issue could simply be solved by moving the portal to the Blasted Lands to the Caverns of Time, and removing the ships to Northrend, and replacing them with Portals to the Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord in the Caverns of Time, and simply place a portal to the Caverns in the Earth Shrine by the Cata Portals.

That's it. Just acknowledge that BC and Wrath take place prior to Cataclysm, and slap them in the Caverns of Time. There, the timeline "mess" is now solved without having to spend resources on revamping the old world again.

[Ehrenpanzer]

Yea sure ofcourse everyone just buy leveling token and get insta 100. /s



Best logic i seen on MMO champion forums. You should get Darvin award.



Lets imagine you new player who focused on lore of Warcraft...

Ha...ha....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....... Lore was tossed into the trashbin YEARS ago for the sake of gameplay and "well fuck what do we do now" storytelling... Anything and everything is open to retconning, rewriting and complete assfuckery if the "writers" think its "cool" to totally abandon established stories (looking at you Illidan "oh look im the saviour of the universe and you are all a bunch of dickbags for killing me at BT" Stormrage)

[Serissa]

2 - After revamp Blizzard locks access to Outland/Northrend/Pandaria/Draenor/Broken Isles. Lore reasons why we can't go there can be different. For example: after Naga's (New Threat) attack Alliance and Horde lose it's ships/portals etc.

Yea these Naga also did personal inspection of every Alliance/Horde member and confiscate every ring/hearthstone/other stuff that allows to teleport there. Makes sense. /nod /nod

[Sierra85]

the last time they tried something like this, cataclysm, it was a success but very few people actually played the new content. it was faster to level in dungeons, and the max level toons did not go back and explore the old world because why bother?

so i am sure blizz learnt from this mistake. focus efforts on NEW content and leave the old stuff behind. why make new stuff for 1-110 when u can put all ur dev time into the 110-120 leveling experience

[Kokolums]

Leveling content was destroyed years ago by streamlining it and making it far too easy to level which removed the fun and interest. They were attempting to please people who hate leveling. The problem is that with those changes, the people who hate leveling STILL hate leveling but now the people who like leveling hate it too because its too simple. Then Blizz compounds the error by deciding "its too late to make it like it was because there will just be outcry" and so they sell boosts to max level for $60 and leave leveling for dead.

They wont touch leveling now except to make crummy content like the awful suramar storyline or introductory stuff like the awful thru the red portal intro storyline or the awful broken shore assault storyline. And they think those disasters are good!

[Deleted]

Adjust the level scaling so you go 1-80 in old world content then skip to Cata, carry on as normal from there.

Make TBC and WotLK zones scale to your level and have them as alternative paths accessed through bronze dragon shenanigans.

This. 110 levels is too much. They should reduce the cap down to 90 or 100, then level 1-60 through a revamps Azeroth, then pick a 2 expansion zones (Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, Draenor) to level through via the caverns of time, with the zones scaling to your level. It would add replay-ability for alts, and make leveling far less disjointed.

[Vorecien]

destroy Stormwind

But it was just fixed. :/

After revamp Blizzard locks access to Outland/Northrend/Pandaria/Draenor/Broken Isles

That's Not Canon!

(Current Exodar/Silvermoon technically located in Outland)

Wat? No they're not.