Can someone explain Classic WoW to me?

[Wyviner]

Obviously I know what vanilla wow is, and I played through most of it back in the day, but this idea of Classic WoW doesn't fully make sense to me. I haven't been following any of the news about it. The questions I have are as follows:

Will it release exactly like the original game in terms of content, meaning they will release AQ and Naxx over the course of 2 years?

What happens after we reach the end of that content?
(IE. Do we have TBC released or do they make new content that we never had in vanilla, or do they leave it as vanilla indefinitely?)

Are they making any improvements to the game that didn't exist in vanilla?
(EX. 5 minute buffs were horrible in 40man raids)

Will they keep any of the features that the current game has that wouldn't affect the quality of the game?
(EX. Transmogs)

I'm very curious about the game, but I'm skeptical at the same time. What will be "new" about classic wow that I haven't experienced already? Lets face facts, nobody would still be playing vanilla if vanilla was all we had for the last 15 years. Seems to me like there has to be new content, or they have to re-release all the existing expansions in order, like a full reset to WoW.

[A Chozo]

You should read this:

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/ne...ic-panel-recap

It may answer some questions, both asked and some that you didn't even think about. I don't think it's listed there, but naturally there's no transmog since it's Classic WoW.

Nothing will be "new" in this WoW Classic - it's just a game that was purged from existence, coming back. Like finding copies of Super Mario 64, in a universe that Nintendo activated a self-destruct sequence on every existing official copy.

Classic WoW is about an opportunity.

And you are mistaken. Some players would still be playing vanilla, in the same way that some people still play fucking Gunbound. Old games are still games!

[Wyviner]

Thank you, that was useful. I guess it's not a fact but a debatable opinion. I know many games are still being playing decades after release, but I can't imagine people would still be playing vanilla wow if there had been absolutely no new content for the last 13 years. Sure some people would be playing, but I feel the game would mostly be dead. So it does make me wonder what they will do after Naxx.

[Fascinate]

Thank you, that was useful. I guess it's not a fact but a debatable opinion. I know many games are still being playing decades after release, but I can't imagine people would still be playing vanilla wow if there had been absolutely no new content for the last 13 years. Sure some people would be playing, but I feel the game would mostly be dead. So it does make me wonder what they will do after Naxx.

Ive played all the way through from 06 til now, its not that i miss a time in my life or i want to re-live a memory i legit believe all things considered, classic WoW is a better game than retail. I plan on dropping my 1400+ day /played account for classic when it launches. Instead of playing classic on downtimes for retail ill be playing retail on downtimes for classic

Retail=easy gear for low effort
Classic=more work for lesser rewards, but in turn the rewards feel sweeter

Bottom line tho is classic was a better representation of a role playing game, with more rpg elements baked into core gameplay. Yes there will be annoyances for players new to the game, but id suggest you give the game a couple weeks before making up your mind on if you like it or not

[LBStx]

I can't imagine people would still be playing vanilla wow if there had been absolutely no new content for the last 13 years. Sure some people would be playing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalrius
https://www.reddit.com/r/wowservers/

There's a subset of players that hasn't stopped playing Vanilla, since release. Or went back to it shortly after TBC or Wrath.

They keep playing. Regardless of new content.

You realize that, for example, Final Fantasy VII has been essentially unchanged for 21 years, yet people still play it, right? Some people simply like to revisit old games they played before.

A lack of new content won't keep people that want to experience WoW the way it used to be, from playing.

In Classic, the world is static and will have a definitive end state (e.g. max level will never increase, BiS will never be invalidated by a new tier, new recipes will not be introduced.) This will allow people to actually play to something resembling a "completion" state, in a way you never really can with live WoW, since live WoW will always have another tier, another expansion, etc etc. That's actually very appealing to some folks, and provides a very solid gameplay loop of "level character to max, acquire BiS over months of raiding, roll new character, repeat."

The point of classic is to preserve that original game, and make it available to players in its initial state, so they can experience is, as it was, unchanging.

It seems, based on Blizz statements, that they're not really worried about sub numbers, or if people even really play it. They assume (correctly) that there will be enough of a built in audience to keep the endeavor profitable, which is really their only concern.

[Gavll]

Read the FAQ :P

[Mullet Man]

I started WoW in December 2004 as a working adult with a family and many other social commitments.
I was able to raid MC/BWL/AQ20/ZG. I even got Benediction/Anathema on my Dwarf Priest.

But...
I didn't get to see AQ40.
I didn't get to see Naxx.
I didn't get to fully complete any tier sets.
I only played a Priest during Vanilla.

I had so many things I wanted to do in Vanilla, but TBC was released, and everyone moved on.
This gives players like me, and new players, a chance to go back and experience these things.

I also believe the Classic playstyle and pacing is much better than Live.
WoW has become an AoE fest, Diablo clone with Raiding.
I like the slower pace, and community, of an RPG over the anonymous CRZ and sharding shit we have now.

[Kyphael]

I started WoW in December 2004 as a working adult with a family and many other social commitments.
I was able to raid MC/BWL/AQ20/ZG. I even got Benediction/Anathema on my Dwarf Priest.

But...
I didn't get to see AQ40.
I didn't get to see Naxx.
I didn't get to fully complete any tier sets.
I only played a Priest during Vanilla.

I had so many things I wanted to do in Vanilla, but TBC was released, and everyone moved on.
This gives players like me, and new players, a chance to go back and experience these things.

I also believe the the Classic playstyle and pacing is much better than Live.
WoW has become a AoE fest, Diablo clone with Raiding.
I like the slower pace, and community, of an RPG over the anonymous CRZ and sharding shit we have now.

This in a nutshell. Classic will fill that niche and there are many out there who share this mentality.

[voidillusion]

I still play tetris despite of no new content they could release a new piece shape damn it....

[konway]

I can't imagine people would still be playing vanilla wow if there had been absolutely no new content for the last 13 years.

Probably true, but most of us never got to experience a lot of the content because it took forever and we ran out of time. Only .01% of players cleared Naxx during Vanilla. I personally never saw a single Naxx boss so it'll be nice to have the chance to finally see that instance.

There are also a lot of people who would like a second chance at the PvP ranks.

Sure some people would be playing, but I feel the game would mostly be dead. So it does make me wonder what they will do after Naxx.

I think they hinted at the fact that they'll move onto BC if Classic is successful. I could see some type of Season system working with a rotation of Classic -> BC -> Wrath.

I do think Vanilla will get boring once all the content is cleared and everyone gets the PvP rank they want, but I could play BC and Wrath indefinitely thanks to Arenas.

[Trend]

Only .01% of players cleared Naxx during Vanilla.

Made up numbers make arguments 72.46% more compelling. Thank you.

[konway]

Made up numbers make arguments 72.46% more compelling. Thank you.

Blizzard published the official number so it was actually easy to calculate but thanks for letting us know how clueless you are.

[Playintrafic]

Thank you, that was useful. I guess it's not a fact but a debatable opinion. I know many games are still being playing decades after release, but I can't imagine people would still be playing vanilla wow if there had been absolutely no new content for the last 13 years. Sure some people would be playing, but I feel the game would mostly be dead. So it does make me wonder what they will do after Naxx.

Yet you have thousands who are. You got some people that have been playing the same class on the same quests pvp and raids for 14 years now.

I miss it, but I'm waiting for real classic berfore I jump back in

[Wyviner]

In Classic, the world is static and will have a definitive end state (e.g. max level will never increase, BiS will never be invalidated by a new tier, new recipes will not be introduced.) This will allow people to actually play to something resembling a "completion" state, in a way you never really can with live WoW, since live WoW will always have another tier, another expansion, etc etc. That's actually very appealing to some folks, and provides a very solid gameplay loop of "level character to max, acquire BiS over months of raiding, roll new character, repeat."

This is a very good point that I hadn't thought about. I can understand perfectly the need to complete a character. I know all of you are right, there are people who have been playing vanilla since, and there are most likely others that would have been playing this whole time if there had been an official server. I just imagine that, at best, there might be / have been 10,000's of people playing Vanilla, but not millions. I can't see millions of people having played vanilla since release. In any case, I did play a lot of vanilla. I played Paladin and Warrior back then, my warrior was a 30ish twink (don't even remember why), and Paladin was my main. I experienced everything except Naxx, as I believe I took a few months break before TBC was released.

I love the idea of classic wow, and I do believe vanilla was the best the game ever was. However, I'm not convinced the game could have been successful without additional content, at least for the vast majority of players. I have the feeling upon release the classic wow server will be popular, but if no new content is released after a few years, it will die down heavily. I guess that's just my opinion. I am looking forward to it though. In fact, I'm trying to figure out how to secretly play it without my wife finding out.

[NightElfMohawk]

This is a very good point that I hadn't thought about. I can understand perfectly the need to complete a character. I know all of you are right, there are people who have been playing vanilla since, and there are most likely others that would have been playing this whole time if there had been an official server. I just imagine that, at best, there might be / have been 10,000's of people playing Vanilla, but not millions. I can't see millions of people having played vanilla since release. In any case, I did play a lot of vanilla. I played Paladin and Warrior back then, my warrior was a 30ish twink (don't even remember why), and Paladin was my main. I experienced everything except Naxx, as I believe I took a few months break before TBC was released.

I love the idea of classic wow, and I do believe vanilla was the best the game ever was. However, I'm not convinced the game could have been successful without additional content, at least for the vast majority of players. I have the feeling upon release the classic wow server will be popular, but if no new content is released after a few years, it will die down heavily. I guess that's just my opinion. I am looking forward to it though. In fact, I'm trying to figure out how to secretly play it without my wife finding out.

It needs additional content, but they need a way of implementing it that doesn't involve always invalidating your previous rewards and constantly moving the finish line.

[Schattenlied]

Are they making any improvements to the game that didn't exist in vanilla?
(EX. 5 minute buffs were horrible in 40man raids)

Greater Blessings existed in vanilla, so, 15 minute buffs.

Will they keep any of the features that the current game has that wouldn't affect the quality of the game?
(EX. Transmogs)

No. and transmogs would detract from part of the vanilla experience, and that is knowing exactly what the hell someone was wearing, and what they've done, just by looking at them.

[ablib]

I still play tetris despite of no new content they could release a new piece shape damn it....

This.

I don't understand why people think new content is needed. Perhaps that's Millennial mentality thinking. But I fire up my old games from the 80's and 90's and love the shit out of them. There was never any updates or new content back then. You bought a cartridge and it never updated.

Vanilla WoW is SO much bigger than any of those classic games I loved. I can't imagine ever not playing it. There are people on private servers who have been stuck at level 60 for years now.

I assume though, that if Classic WoW is popular enough, the expansions will then follow. I don't understand why anyone would think Blizzard would create new content for Vanilla. Lots of people are floating that idea, and it doesn't make sense. They don't need to make new content. There is already a TON of content in the game, they just need to re-release it.

[A Chozo]

what they will do after Naxx.

They will level a new character and do all the journey again.

And again,

And again. And after that, lots of times. And while they do that, they'll take breaks, do PvP, do weird stuff at the Inns, or maybe just farm whatever content they want. Play the economy maybe.

Such is the nature of "stale" mmo-rpgs - there's away a core playerbase that remains in it.

[Battlebeard]

I honestly can't believe it took 12 years to get these servers.

There should have been Vanilla servers at the release of TBC.
Vanilla + TBC servers at the release of WotLK.
Vanilla + TBC + WotLK servers at the release of Cata.

etc, etc.

They should not have forced the expansions on us unless we wanted them, in order to play. Lets go back 12 years, Vanilla is ending, and every player get the choice: "Move character into TBC (expansion applied)" or "Keep playing your character in the old world" and you chose where to go with your main, if you wanted to continue just playing vanilla or move into TBC.

If you chose to remain in vanilla, your char got moved into a vanilla server where nothing from TBC was applied and it was the pure vanilla experience.

Like, I wonder if this was even discussed, if not, HOW could not they not even reason wheter we WANT an expansion or not and what to do with those who don't want it.

[Lochton]

World of Warcraft - Classic; is a museum created by Blizzard Entertainment to permit people to experience, or re-experience the old days of the founding blocks for the MMORPG, World of Warcraft. This game version is, seemingly, going to be off the franchise list and won't serve for anything of progress and development other than permitting people inside an old forgotten world to explore things before the many changes we have experienced.

Set yourself on a new journey as Blizzard Entertainment opens their doors for explorers and heroes, in July 2019. Witness the past as you travel through the plains of an unbroken Barrens, experience the chances to be included in the exhibition of a past not forgotten but remembered.

You will experience as the developers attempt to connect the dots, and rearrange the shards in attempt to form a once glorious era to its almost authentic experience. During the first opening days of the BlizzCon 2018 Demo a few added parts to the exhibition was applied to increase the experience, among them; enhanced graphical interface and support, as well as a newer technology for sharing the servers to attempt to offer players a better starting experience than what players experienced in 2004/2005.

The board of new and old developers has been discussing for when and what to achieve and their goal seem to be a release after 1.12.

As for the subscription, players who are currently subscribed to the main franchise, will be able to gain access to World of Warcraft - classic.