If Blizzard is going to open official Vanilla servers, I expect they will feature a lot of vanity items that are currently exceedingly rare. I'm thinking primarily of the original epic class mounts that were retired in 1.4, but a lot of other things fall into this category, from the Zul'Gurub mounts to T3 and Naxx crafted gear, and perhaps even the Amani Battle Bear if legacy servers continue on to Burning Crusade.
Since I primarily play the game to collect stuff, I can't help but wonder... what sort of effect should we see from this on the Standard servers?
I'm sure many people will want to use the Classic servers to add legacy items to their Standard collections. It makes sense in a way. Since these items will be at least temporarily, if not permanently available on Vanilla servers, their value as keepsakes for people who used to play back in the day will be greatly diminished. Right now, your only chance of seeing a
Green Kodo or an
Ancient Frostsaber is to encounter a veteran player lucky enough to have kept one. With Classic servers, all you need to do is log there and you will potentially see them everywhere.
That being said, I don't think the people who lobbied for Classic would like their game to be modernized with mount and transmog tabs just for the sake of collectors, and many collectors might not enjoy feeling like they "have to" play Classic intensively to get something they want to use in Standard.
So I propose two potential solutions that would make everyone happy:
1. Simply reintroduce these mounts and transmogs to the Standard game, or change the means of acquisition from BMAH to actual gameplay. They can come from current content rather the old vendor or instance. They can even have new names, in order to preserve the integrity of the originals, simply add new mounts using those models. Since horses are receiving a graphic update in BFA, kodos already received one, and other mounts may get one too in time, the extra colors are particularly desirable.
2. Add hidden achievements on Classic servers that translate into rewards on Standard. For example, leveling a char to 60 will grant you a token in Standard WoW that you can exchange for one of the original epic mounts, killing KT on a Classic realms grants you a token you can exchange for a full T3 set in Standard, etc. This is more of a middle ground solution. There is no visible intrusion on Classic realms in the form of a Collector tab, and players still need to invest somewhat in their Classic characters to get the rewards, but a bit less than it would take to actually buy the mount or collect individual items.
What do you guys think? How would you like this handled?
P.S. To edgy Vanilla lovers who think Vanilla mounts and mogs should remain exclusive to Vanilla servers, don't be hypocrites. You wanted access to retired content in a way you could enjoy, and Blizzard listened to you. There is no reason why collectors shouldn't have the same expectations - only we don't want the gameplay, just the vanity items.