Two Server Types: Classic & Classic+

[mich4el]

Classic+ Already exist

There should be no changes to Classic not eve graphic changes otherwise it would not be classic
just go play classic+

[therealbowser]

To be clearer: Because they want the input of the players, what that means is: They're not planning on releasing an exact replica of WoW as it was in 2005.

Unless they confirm that that is what players want.

[Wiedzemir]

(2) Classic Plus - servers with some of the niceties of today, AoE looting, cross-realm achievements, updated character models, etc.

Retail version is that way.

[therealbowser]

Classic+ Already exist

There should be no changes to Classic not eve graphic changes otherwise it would not be classic
just go play classic+

No, actually, classic+ does not exist.

If the original level 60 old world content still existed and was accessible, the idea of playing on classic servers would be a lot less popular (but still very much existent; this draws two different types of crowds in that sense).

My main interest for classic servers is to experience the content I never got around to completing, and to reexperience content that is no longer available. Were this content already available, I would have a lot less interest in classic servers.

[Wiedzemir]

So bugs, exploits, healbot type addons should all remain in the game too?

There is a fine line with "QoL" changes and fixing bugs. Why are you people insisting on mixing these things together all the time?

[vitor210]

Two or three years ago when Ion said Blizzard was considering making a "Pristine server" (i.e. current wow locked on vanilla content, with modern QoL except you couldn't use heirlooms, LFG, fast leveling etc, but anything else stayed the same) majority of the vocal players hated that, and said that, if Blizzard wanted to do a vanilla server, they had to emulate ALL the vanilla content, not just the good things and leave the bad things out of it.

Skip forward to today, and it seems more and more people want a vanilla experience with modern day WoW QoL. This is scary! This is the people that will cry the most on the forums, which will lead Blizzard to cater to their needs LIKE THEY HAVE DONE ALL THOSE YEARS. It's "imperative" that we should unite and show Blizzard that we want the purest experience of vanilla, with its imperfections and bugs

[Wiedzemir]

I don't think that the forum outcry is going to sway Blizzards mind. Here's the thing, all of the changes they've made over the years have very clear business goals, which is retaining and luring in more players of the current generation of MMO userbase. Everyone did it, with varying results. Look at SWG, SOE literally turned it into Star Wars WoW because they thought it'll lure more players. Same with EQ2. Companies like Blizzard follow the trends in their businesses, and the current trend is retro gaming, just take a loot at the resent popularity of the Crash re-release, it was overwhelming.

[therealbowser]

This post (and the hundreds of others that are discussing the same topic) is proof that the players don't want that, heck they knew it even before they made the announcement at Blizzcon.

The simple truth is that players don't know what they want; when classic servers finally do release only a small percent of the community will be happy with them and an even smaller portion will play on it more than a month (or even a week).

I admire that Blizzard is trying to find what people are asking for, but I hope they also consider what people will enjoy in the long term.

[Deleted]

Aaaand here we go. Now that pandora's box has been opened it will be the endless: Why not have versions with achivements, qol improvements, bc, wrath and whatnot servers.

[Wiedzemir]

The simple truth is that players don't know what they want; when classic servers finally do release only a small percent of the community will be happy with them and an even smaller portion will play on it more than a month (or even a week).

I admire that Blizzard is trying to find what people are asking for, but I hope they also consider what people will enjoy in the long term.

That's a very likely scenario and that's why I hope Blizzard isn't going to try to release too many servers at the same time. I personally know what I'm signing on for but I suspect that most don't. I remember well all of the ups and downs (mind numbing, frustrating downs) of the original WoW but it's the game I like and want to play. The same way I still play Daggerfall, Morrowind and the god damn Ultima IX (yes I like the game despite everything) from time to time. And I'm sure I'm not alone with this kind of preferences in gaming. However, it's definitely not a "mass market product" nowadays.

[MMKing]

Theres no pleasing some people. Instead of talking about quality of life hogwash. We should be discussing the various patches, and which implementations past launch patch works on wow classic launch, and which doesn't. Should talents stay 1.12 throughout? or should talents change as the months go on?

There are also allot of aspects to the game i'm pretty damn sure Blizzard is not even sure of anymore. Maybe we can help them figuring some of the more nuances out, instead of crying about using 1 bag slot for mounts.

I'm sure most would agree that a guild bank has nothing to do in classic wow. But if Blizzard were to do a TBC server, would you want a guild bank at launch despite it being a later addition to the game? Why? Why not?

Do we want the item changes from 1.10 to be in the game at launch.
Why? because for the longest time, a whole lot of dungeon items were quite literally garbage in comparison to raid gear
Why not? Because buffing items directly nerf content, and Molten core, BWL, ZG, AQ20 and AQ40 were released PRIOR to dungeon gear stat changes.

Should talents stay 1.12?
Why? Because it's a significantly more consistent experience to have talents stay the same, except for the odd bug fix.
Why not? Because if you played from the very beginning, playing with 1.12 talents will not be authentic at all.

The more hardcore and dedicated players may be able to handle talent and item changes occurring every other month, but do we really want to alienate the more casual player base that don't read up on item and talent changes and may feel they are getting shafted by a system that only rewards those who know all the item and talent changes months in advance.

All this nonsense from patch 2.0 and onward leads us nowhere.

[KayRule]

Are people seriously surprised that people don't want to pay a monthly sub to play the worst version of WoW?

[Wiedzemir]

Are people seriously surprised that people don't want to pay a monthly sub to play the worst version of WoW?

From my point of view, the current version of WoW is the worst. *Anakin SKywalker, Episode III meme*. Also, it's not like someone forces you to play or pay.

[Bumbac]

Or people could just accept that if you want QoL changes to go with your Classic WoW, you don't actually want Classic WoW, and therefore this product isn't for you. Stick to Battle for Azeroth. End of story.

Many people are interested in WoW classic only for 2 reasons:
- much slower leveling pace
- removed content (quests, items, old zones) unavailable in current game

[MMKing]

Are people seriously surprised that people don't want to pay a monthly sub to play the worst version of WoW?

We would not be calling out for classic wow if it in our opinion, was the worst version of wow. Take a serious go at it, and you discover there is more to an MMORPG than item levels. Playing together in a community is the reward in itself, not the item levels you receive for doing so.

[Adamas102]

Or people could just accept that if you want QoL changes to go with your Classic WoW, you don't actually want Classic WoW, and therefore this product isn't for you. Stick to Battle for Azeroth. End of story.

An argument can be made that the appeal of vanilla WoW didn't come from EVERY LITTLE DETAIL that comprised vanilla WoW.

Most people mention only a few things that they remember/liked from that time, such as slower leveling, more impactful milestones like buying your first mount, simplicity of gameplay, particular dungeons/raids, "epicness of epics", etc.

I've yet to see anyone say "my favorite part of vanilla was running around and looting mobs individually" or "I loved keeping my mounts in my bags". The thing I do see is this ridiculous idea that a Classic server can only be fun if it mirrors everything from vanilla WoW exactly. The fact is that the experience can never truly be the same. The novelty and discovery that came with playing this brand new MMO, which I would argue was the main appeal of vanilla, is gone forever.

A Classic WoW that maintains the important aspects such as level cap, talents, progression pace, and so on would not be ruined by CERTAIN QoL additions. I'm sure there are some purists out there that could argue that even the bugs shouldn't be fixed, as if they contributed to a meaningful part of what can be considered "the vanilla experience" . I think most of us would find that silly as well.

[MMKing]

@ Adamas102

Slippery slope. And don't say i'm wrong. People have been ridiculed for calling slippery slope for 10 years already.

[Floofi]

Hmm... Classic+, that might work with a few minor adjustments. Since classic is going to be stuck in the same patch, maybe they should add/fix some additional things; I'm thinking some sort of elf for the Horde and maybe a space-sheep thing for the Alliance to help balance the faction populations out. At the same time, Blizzard could fix the faction-specific classes by allowing these new Horde elves to be Paladins and the space-sheep to be Shamans. To fix the lore for these races, maybe they could patch in some new zones, maybe some sort of Outer-lands. Now, having empty zones can be considered a major bug, so patching in some additional quests, mobs, dungeons, and raids would be great.

After some time though, class stagnation will start to take a toll on players, so Blizzard should patch in a cool and overpowered class consisting of illnesses, dark magic, and heavy armor; maybe some sort of Demise Soldier...

Passive aggressive posting aside, people have been asking for Vanilla/Classic for years exactly how it was then, and that's what they'll get.

[Zka]

It needs to be all or nothing.

I agree. Now we just need to decide what nothing means Which classic patch, are post-release instances like ZG/DiM open or not, what is the addon API and so on ))

[Echocho]

No don't split the community. Figure out what changes are necessary without changing the game experience, don't introduce any new features/systems.

Who really enjoys having to write /run if nil then CastSpellByName("Heroic Strike") end instead of #showtooltip Heroic Strike for example?