Classic? How Does This Even Work?

[jimboa24]

So, what version of Classic are we going with here? Release day, 1.0? A couple patches in? Classic as it was just before the release of Burning Crusade? There were a LOT of changes made during the course of vanilla WoW, so what is the point at which vanilla servers will decide, "there, that's as far as we will have things advance." I just don't get the logistics of it. What happens when players want a TBC-limited server? WotLK?

I also don't understand where and how it will work. Will mounts not found in Classic be usable in Classic servers? Will Achievements be a thing? Basic UI improvements? The announcement of Classic servers is a can of worms, IMO, because no matter how they implement it, people will bitch and not be happy.

[Deleted]

The common ground so far is that we want an authentic vanilla experience
This is what we know so far:

http://www.pcgamer.com/this-is-how-b...a-wow-servers/

"Brack is clear that using modern server architecture doesn’t mean that these Classic servers will have the same features that current World of Warcraft does. There won’t be cross-realm servers or Looking For Raid and Dungeon Finder automatic party matchmaking. There’s still a lot of questions about how the team will tackle it, but Brack says they’re committed to recreating an authentic Vanilla World of Warcraft experience."

[Jetstream]

I'm assuming they're gonna start from patch 1.12, since that'd be all the Vanilla content.

[Vineri]

Blizzard stated only an "authentic version" of Vanilla WoW.

Mounts not found in classic should never EVER be used in classic. You are free to show them off in retail, however. If Blizzard let paid for bling go into their Legacy servers, this project will go down the drain very quickly.

Imagine a time when you worked for every scrap you had.... a time when you couldn't just buy it.

[Hubbl3]

I'm assuming they're gonna start from patch 1.12, since that'd be all the Vanilla content.

Yeah, they are gonna start and end right there. After that Vanilla was over.

[Zutroy]

Blizzard stated only an "authentic version" of Vanilla WoW.

Mounts not found in classic should never EVER be used in classic. You are free to show them off in retail, however. If Blizzard let paid for bling go into their Legacy servers, this project will go down the drain very quickly.

Imagine a time when you worked for every scrap you had.... a time when you couldn't just buy it.

No non-classic mounts. No battle pets. No transmog. No Inscription or Jewelcrafting. No heirlooms. No toys. Alliance Paladins only. Horde Shaman only. No goblins, worgen, draenei, blood elves. No death knights. No demon hunters. No monks. Original class/race restrictions. No LFR/LFD. Potentially no meeting stones either.

Really excited for this. It's a neat way to "start over".

[Deleted]

I hope it's day 1 release and they progress through the patches, minus all the bugs and exploits

[randomnamegenerator16]

I hope it will be essentialy 1.12 when it releases with content being rolled out in appropriate pace.

I am looking forward to AQ opening.

[Deleted]

Finally we're going back home, enough of this casual normie trash like LFR/transmog/flying mounts/no reagents needed for anything/instant teleportation to dungeons/1 button mash dps.

I want to struggle and REE along with friends as we wipe for the hundredth time in old Scarlet Monastery.

[zorkuus]

Finally we're going back home, enough of this casual normie trash like LFR/transmog/flying mounts/no reagents needed for anything/instant teleportation to dungeons/1 button mash dps.

I want to struggle and REE along with friends as we wipe for the hundredth time in old Scarlet Monastery.

That won't happen though unless you and all of your friends are absolutely terrible at the game. Stuff gets cleared very fast on private servers. Why? Because people know the encounters by now unlike in real vanilla where everyone was a noob.

[Gorsameth]

That won't happen though unless you and all of your friends are absolutely terrible at the game. Stuff gets cleared very fast on private servers. Why? Because people know the encounters by now unlike in real vanilla where everyone was a noob.

Indeed, people forget just how SHIT we all were back in vanilla. And how little we understood of the game.

The mechanics are very basic compared to what we are used to today.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

I am not sure it will be a mirror release of the product. They will likely chance some things. Including massive bugs and such. Here is my primary example I have been thinking about:

BGs - they were not in the game at first. But, I get the feeling that they could slide them in at the start. While this isn't a purely authentic vanillia experince it isn't something that edits the game all that much. Mostly because it was something that was in the game. It worked in the game.

Aposed to:

LFG - This would dynamically edit the game play and is something that was NEVER in the vanillia experince. It cuts into the need to actually be social instead of merely being scanned by a social media style tool and then determined if you are worth or not to hit accept.

[Deleted]

That won't happen though unless you and all of your friends are absolutely terrible at the game. Stuff gets cleared very fast on private servers. Why? Because people know the encounters by now unlike in real vanilla where everyone was a noob.

Stuff got stomped even back in 2005. The first night Conquest went into the 'untuned' Molten Core they killed everything up to Garr (you couldn't get longer than that cuz of massive bugs)

The first week of it actually being released people killed everything up to Majordomo the first night they went in there, BWL had everything dead up to Chromaggus the first night (you couldn't get further cuz of needing sand to kill Chromaggus) AQ first night was everything dead up to Hu'huran and people left Naxx after the first night with 5 bosses dead.

Progression was only halted in Vanilla because of 'artifical' walls. Like Ragnaros having a fire aura that would kill your entire raid within like 10 seconds of pulling him (until Blizzard 'fixed it) or you being forced to have sands in order to kill Chromaggus, or C'thun being broken beyond belief until they fixed him, or the shit they pulled in Naxx with the amazing design that 4hm had.

[parcus]

Oh, I remember 4 shamans and one warlock going into scarlet monastery. "We can't fail with 4 healers!"

[Lollis]

1 button mash dps..

You didn't play vanilla.

Frost mage rotation: Frost Bolt
Frost mage rotation if you went ap/pom build: Frost Bolt - PoM - AP - Frostbolt

The multiple button use in vanilla was mostly for the different ranks of spells.

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Oh, I remember 4 shamans and one warlock going into scarlet monastery. "We can't fail with 4 healers!"

The shamans were stupid then, because they were semi-viable offtanks for many of the lower level dungeons.

[taishar68]

I think the best way to do it would be to release the pre-BC version, which means Naxx is open, but the same type of progression would be needed, so you couldn't just hit 60 and raid Naxx, you'd need the same gear progression of ZG/AQ20/MC/BWL/AQ40 (if I have that right), plus all the relative attunements and so forth.

The bigger question, will people play it? There wasn't a great deal of nostalgia for "vanilla" until Cata; by then LFG had changed the way we see dungeons, and that was when we began the shift to raids with less punishing mechanics, but so many more of them. I think for many people, the memories we had of classic are so strong that we overlook just how different it was from a QoL standpoint.

I am concerned about the raid structure; I don't care how well they recreate the game, it will be a challenge to get 40 people to commit to 3 hours in MC, which could mean maybe half the raid gets an upgrade if they stick with 3 drops per boss. Of course it will take two months before most players can even think about a raid anyway, and by then they should have an idea of how people are moving along.

I hope it does really well; I think a lot of folks who have only talked about it might get some culture shock going back, and I am not quite sure I want to revisit the idea of walking from Tarren Mill to Uldaman to do that dungeon when I need to update Enchanting, but I think the idea is awesome and I'm really curious to see how it goes off.

[Lollis]

I think the best way to do it would be to release the pre-BC version, which means Naxx is open, but the same type of progression would be needed, so you couldn't just hit 60 and raid Naxx, you'd need the same gear progression of ZG/AQ20/MC/BWL/AQ40 (if I have that right), plus all the relative attunements and so forth.

The bigger question, will people play it? There wasn't a great deal of nostalgia for "vanilla" until Cata; by then LFG had changed the way we see dungeons, and that was when we began the shift to raids with less punishing mechanics, but so many more of them. I think for many people, the memories we had of classic are so strong that we overlook just how different it was from a QoL standpoint.

I am concerned about the raid structure; I don't care how well they recreate the game, it will be a challenge to get 40 people to commit to 3 hours in MC, which could mean maybe half the raid gets an upgrade if they stick with 3 drops per boss. Of course it will take two months before most players can even think about a raid anyway, and by then they should have an idea of how people are moving along.

I hope it does really well; I think a lot of folks who have only talked about it might get some culture shock going back, and I am not quite sure I want to revisit the idea of walking from Tarren Mill to Uldaman to do that dungeon when I need to update Enchanting, but I think the idea is awesome and I'm really curious to see how it goes off.

Patches included updates to classes and QoL improvements that reduced difficulties in earlier raids. If people want the vanilla experience, they are not getting it by starting on a 1.12 server. They wouldn't even experience 15 man UBRS because it became 10 man in 1.10.

[Deleted]

Patches included updates to classes and QoL improvements that vastly reduced difficulties in earlier raids. If people want the vanilla experience, they are not getting it by starting on a 1.12 server. They wouldn't even experience 15 man UBRS because it became 10 man in 1.10.

Yep, I really hope they stick with the release cycle, starting from 1.1 to 1.12. Many OP items were introduced in later patches and dungeons some item stats where changed, if those are available at launch the game will be even easier.

[taishar68]

Patches included updates to classes and QoL improvements that vastly reduced difficulties in earlier raids. If people want the vanilla experience, they are not getting it by starting on a 1.12 server.

Well, I started in July of 06, so the game was already some 18 months old at that point.

I don't see Blizzard rolling the classic server with the mindset "we will go patch for patch, leaving bugs and all", but I could be wrong.

[Lollis]

Yep, I really hope they stick with the release cycle, starting from 1.1 to 1.12. Many OP items were introduced in later patches and dungeons some item stats where changed, if those are available at launch the game will be even easier.

I think 1.5 is a reasonable place to start. It has battlegrounds with AV and WSG, and has all of the levelling dungeons. Maybe 1.7 for AB and to open up ZG as a stepping stone (while also adding BWL in 1.6)

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Well, I started in July of 06, so the game was already some 18 months old at that point.

I don't see Blizzard rolling the classic server with the mindset "we will go patch for patch, leaving bugs and all", but I could be wrong.

Look at it this way, you only played for 6 months. 1.11 was released in June, and 1.12 in August.

I'm extremely unlikely to play it, i've been through that, I raided my ass off and loved much of it in a time that has passed. But if I were ever to even consider returning, I would want it to be on a patch where it is like it used to be, so I can experience that progression again. Throwing people in at 1.12 is not the experience the majority of raiders had. I don't know when the last servers were added before TBC was pushed, but the majority of raiders who were clearing content will have been playing for a couple of months to gear up. They would have been starting before or around 1.8, maybe 1.9 at the latest.