Do you think Blizzard should/will rebalance Vanilla classes?

[Snorkles]

True. While I actually want to have some class balancing, it could be messy if they didnt put some resources into it.

Well they have 3 choices:

Redesign classes and leave Raids alone making them faceroll, given that the hard part of old raids was mostly class limitations more than boss design. People QQ that it's "not vanilla".

Leave everything as is causing the inevitable QQ that "I can't play my favorite class 'cos it sucks dick".

Redesign raids + classes, then get accused of funneling resources into Vanilla servers instead of new content when there's an inevitable shit tier.

Personally I want to play Vanilla (I joined during TBC), and I'd be fine with it left untouched (warts and all) but honestly, this is going to be a huge headache for Blizzard I think.

[TheWorkingTitle]

Agreed, fellow rogue!

Mage, you mean We'll be back on top of the charts for good, as we pure dps always should be! Rejoice!

[MonsieuRoberts]

Are you for real? The way the game was back then is what made it successful IN THE FIRST PLACE!

11 years later and the normies aren't going to put up with that, and normies are Blizzard's target audience these days.

[Demithio]

If you want them balanced and changed from anything other than what they were, then you aren't getting the classic experience. You're going to get a watered down version and honestly that just makes it a waste. Vanilla was what it was. It does not and should not be changed. I say go with however things were during the final patch pre BC and leave it from there. Like I said, if you want them updated then you want something else entirely and should consider a private server or some other option

If you're referring to absolute purists then yes, but I think that number might be very few. However, I believe this is a gesture on Blizzard's part to bring back and appease the 'old crowd', and as such this crowd may not want vanilla in its complete, 100% original state. In fact, most people from this camp want a large portion of old WoW mixed with *some* QoL improvements. Something they never got with current WoW (or since Cataclysm). So basically a balance (with more focus on the hardcore side), without going off the cliff with "efficiency" and ease of access like they did from Cata onward.

[Nnyco]

if they balance and change "classic" it wont be the same as vanilla, but if they wont it will be a shitshow with unbalanced classes and your lack of QoL and you gonna have fun playin heal druid/tank warrior etc because thats all you gonna get

[bryroo]

Ahahahahaha

[Deleted]

i'm waiting for the "I don't want to heal" and "if i want to tank why do i have to be a war" crowd, the tears will fill oceans.

Only by casuals what never played vannila. Classic servers are for people what palyed vannila and want that experience again. We totaly accept this type of desing. And if new players will cry. Well go play other game then. Nobady forces you to play classic game.

[Deleted]

I'd prefer BC game play, so my vote goes for balancing abilities. It was better than vanilla in every way.

[Deleted]

11 years later and the normies aren't going to put up with that, and normies are Blizzard's target audience these days.

Classic game isnt for them. It is for veteran players what want this type of experience again.

[HardlyWaken]

Well they have 3 choices:

Redesign classes and leave Raids alone making them faceroll, given that the hard part of old raids was mostly class limitations more than boss design. People QQ that it's "not vanilla".

Leave everything as is causing the inevitable QQ that "I can't play my favorite class 'cos it sucks dick".

Redesign raids + classes, then get accused of funneling resources into Vanilla servers instead of new content when there's an inevitable shit tier.

Personally I want to play Vanilla (I joined during TBC), and I'd be fine with it left untouched (warts and all) but honestly, this is going to be a huge headache for Blizzard I think.

This is why I had to ask. It’s a bigger question than I think a lot of people let on...

Blizzard is really high quality these days, people are going to be maaaively conflicted between a “raw experience” versus retaining players when they realize that balance is poor.

And it isn’t really an airtight argument to say it’s how it was intended, because they were clearly learning as they went. Instead of further balancing Vanilla, you saw a shift in their mentality at the VERY end of Vanilla toward better balance, but clearly their resources went into BC instead.

Hence why the whole discussion is honestly just really interesting to think about. I’m not deeply passionate about either direction. I do think it might be insteresting to consider what “could have been” if they were better at balance back then too. I also wonder if skeletons are immune to bleeds and things like that.

[bryroo]

Ahahahahaha

To hell with that.

Enjoy eating Frost Shocks

[anon5123]

(so no bl for alliance raid)

Bloodlust wasn't in vanilla you dingus

[Deleted]

Only by casuals what never played vannila. Classic servers are for people what palyed vannila and want that experience again. We totaly accept this type of desing. And if new players will cry. Well go play other game then. Nobady forces you to play classic game.

True. Also I remember we had feral druid tank Onyxia. It was a rather casual guild, we didn't get further than T2. So tanking on other classes was possible.

[therealbowser]

If they did, it wouldn't be vanilla. I hope they use the final patch for 1.x, though, as 1.0's content was really, really bad and the classes were terribly unbalanced.

[Demithio]

I'd prefer BC game play, so my vote goes for balancing abilities. It was better than vanilla in every way.

Agreed. TBC fixed up vanilla flaws hugely without becoming putrid slop like we have now.

[wariofan1]

With the initial launch I don't think they should do it, just have it as it was in patch 1.12.1. Then after the game has been out for a while they should look into it, it'd be one of the ways they can freshen the experience up along the way, and by delaying balance patches they can also gather data to see how Vanilla has changed after more than 10 years since it ended.

[Supersomething]

I feel like this will be one of the areas where Blizzard will do some tweaking. Yes they stated they want people to have an authentic experience, but I would not be at all surprised if they improved other less useful specs in Vanilla to actually be useful. For example the BC expansion patch or something to that effect. They already stated that Vanilla had several issues with various hacks and exploits they needed to contend with so it is not so much of a leap to assume they might alter class specs.

[Deleted]

They should not do that at all.

Ppl want to experience the old vanilla game that means with unbalance and bugs aswell ofc.
They should just get it to work and never do a update to it since that was not done back in the day what would destroy the whole idea of a classic realm.

[anon5123]

i'm waiting for the "I don't want to heal" and "if i want to tank why do i have to be a war" crowd, the tears will fill oceans.

These people will never hit 60 to begin with. Hell, I'd be surprised if they made it to 30.

Vanilla WoW's leveling is such a departure from retail that it's almost like a completely different game.

Retail puts you into an on-rails guided tour through each zone, sending you from quest hub to quest hub, with simple quests that are always very close to the quest giver.

Vanilla has you exploring the zone and finding quest givers that are not marked on the map (unless you use an addon) and quests can often be on the other side of the zone, or the other side of the continent even. You have to do 2 or 3 zones at the same time, in order to not run out of quests, and that involves lots of travel, naturally.

The complaints would not be "I don't want to heal" and "why do I have to tank on a war", they would be "omg I got to westfall and there's only 4 quests that I can do at my level, where are all the quests??? why isn't it showing me on the map where the objectives are?????? BROKEN GAME"

[Snorkles]

This is why I had to ask. It’s a bigger question than I think a lot of people let on...

Blizzard is really high quality these days, people are going to be maaaively conflicted between a “raw experience” versus retaining players when they realize that balance is poor.

And it isn’t really an airtight argument to say it’s how it was intended, because they were clearly learning as they went. Instead of further balancing Vanilla, you saw a shift in their mentality at the VERY end of Vanilla toward better balance, but clearly their resources went into BC instead.

Hence why the whole discussion is honestly just really interesting to think about. I’m not deeply passionate about either direction. I do think it might be insteresting to consider what “could have been” if they were better at balance back then too. I also wonder if skeletons are immune to bleeds and things like that.

Ye I honestly can't see how Blizzard are going to reconcile the current balance and quality of class design with the original Vanilla, whilst also giving the "Vanilla" experience. Private Servers could get away with it because they were 1) Illegal so who gives a fuck and 2) No trying to retain and grow a user base to please shareholders.

But then this is a company which has manage to keep a subscription based MMO going with a reasonably healthy player base for over a decade, so who knows.