Just came back after a two year hiatus -- how did you do it?

[Ktulu85]

So I just re-subbed after taking a two year break (left around patch 4.1). I'm excited to come back to the game, but to he honest it's been a tough transition.

I've played on and off since vanilla but this was my biggest break. I feel the new changes to the talents, class specializations, and skills have completely changed how I remembered the classes that I play. I'm lost during combat, my bank is in shambles, and I just feel that the dust on my characters are too thick to brush off.

I'm wondering, has anyone else had similar experiences after taking a long break? What did you do to overcome this? I'm thinking at this point that the best way might be to start a brand new character on a completely different realm and learn from the ground up. Just wanted to hear some of your thoughts and experiences. Thanks in advance for the comments.

[hrugner]

This is pretty similar to my experience. I left just after patch 3.2 and stayed away till 4.3 I think. All the changes they'd made to talents and gear were doubled down on rather than reverted, and dungeons had continued to be more streamlined. I quit when my month was back up and tried again during pandaria beta only to find that there weren't many dungeons at all, the questing had become overly developer directed, gear and character customization had been almost completely wiped out and the disconnect between the current art style and the game I enjoyed was pretty jarring.

I handled it by not buying the game when it went live though. So I don't think that helps you much. It's probably best to think of current WoW as just a completely different game and start over.

[Darsithis]

It's not easy to do, but it's worth it.

Start with one character at a time. Just one. Pick one to play for a bit. Practice on the practice dummies to get your rotation down. Try out a few dungeons so you get more comfortable with it in a small group.

If you have old Cata mats, just sell 'em off. I do suggest, due to Transmog, that you keep any tier gear you have in your bank.