Would you play on a Vanilla/TBC/WotLK/Cata server if they made them?

[LaughterJones]

I tried a Vanilla server just over a year ago, I logged in expecting to love it instantly and the amount of "quality of life" issues I instantly encountered made me log out shortly after. I didn't go back to this game for a week or two, then I started a new character and began from level 1 and by the time I was 50 I was really in to it.
I joined a guild and raided, eventually we had to start contributing to the guild bank to get the stuff we needed to progress (flasks, Res gear, Potions) and by the time the server went down (roughly 5 months later) we had become a close bunch of friends, we had cleared MC, ZG, AQ20, BWL, World Dragons, and were Progressing through AQ40.
The game wasn't perfect, far from it, but returning to a game as a season MMORPG'er made my 2nd Vanilla experience completely different, I played it the way it was desinged to be played.

I think it would be good to let newer players see the old content.

Awesome story. What you stated I think had two different weights to it: 1) vanilla content 2) guild play. I also believe that the guild play made your experience about 98% of what it was. Most of my experiences post WotLK has seen people move away from close guild play as it is unnecessary. LFR, pugging etc. In vanilla, there was no room for that. You needed 40 people to execute their task or it's a wipe. Those events build relationships like you said and it required continuity from everyone. I'm glad it can still happen. Heck, I might login to a vanilla server in the next few months and try it out.

[vesseblah]

(roughly 5 months later) we had become a close bunch of friends, we had cleared MC, ZG, AQ20, BWL, World Dragons, and were Progressing through AQ40.
The game wasn't perfect, far from it, but returning to a game as a season MMORPG'er made my 2nd Vanilla experience completely different, I played it the way it was desinged to be played.

Wouldn't have got that far in 5 months in real vanilla server, sorry. You didn't play it the way it was designed.

ZG and AQ20 were the original catch-up mechanism dropping better gear than MC so you could effectively almost skip whole gearing through MC and BWL and were boosted into AQ40. Also doing the war effort collection would've taken several months in a low to medium pop realm in the first place to even get into AQ20.

[Peacemoon]

probably WotLK if we didnt have LFD

[Ratboy]

Hehe i would be so amused to see 90% of those Vanilla/TBC server populations abandoning them when they find out how HORRIBLY BAD their favorite class/spec is, and that half of the specs were actually not viable IN ANY part of the game.

Or that the server isn't at the version that they thought was the best. Release a 1.1.0 server with the original hardware setup with no support and see how much fun Vanilla was.

[PenguinChan]

Wouldn't have got that far in 5 months in real vanilla server, sorry. You didn't play it the way it was designed.

ZG and AQ20 were the original catch-up mechanism dropping better gear than MC so you could effectively almost skip whole gearing through MC and BWL and were boosted into AQ40. Also doing the war effort collection would've taken several months in a low to medium pop realm in the first place to even get into AQ20.

A lot of servers aren't gated like it was in Classic. IE: Everything is unlocked for most of them. I know for a fact one of them actually went through the events, and people had to progress through the war efforts. But since that's long and gone, anyone can enter without that once more. Same thing goes for a lot of past events. What they said is all feasible in a 5 month period. And that's not an unexpected "realism" later in classics life time, it happened. Although they probably picked up a few guildless raiders to help them along, or got a bit more lucky than others on progression drops.

[vesseblah]

Same thing goes for a lot of past events, it's all feasible in a 5 month period. And that's not an unexpected "realism" later in classics life time, it happened. Although they probably picked up a few guildless raiders to help them along, or got a bit more lucky than others on progression drops.

I started the game about half year before TBC launch on abrand new realm (was less than two months old). AQ gates were opened by somebody who transfered into the realm with the scepter year after TBC launch and at that point it was medium pop.

[PenguinChan]

I started the game about half year before TBC launch on abrand new realm (was less than two months old). AQ gates were opened by somebody who transfered into the realm with the scepter year after TBC launch.

Corrected my post, for more clarity. Tired, didn't mean to mix up my words. What they had access to isn't impossible to progress in a 5 month period when everything was unlocked. At least I'd assume it was, unless they magically came into AQ on a server that just opened.

[elmoe420]

Sorry maybe this has already been answered but I really am always confused by this concept.

What exactly do you propose to do PvE wise on an old content server when you have full cleared?

The idea of playing an MMORPG where by design no new content will ever be released just has never made any sense to me. Am I missing something major here?

[PenguinChan]

Sorry maybe this has already been answered but I really am always confused by this concept.

What exactly do you propose to do PvE wise on an old content server when you have full cleared?

The idea of playing an MMORPG where by design no new content will ever be released just has never made any sense to me. Am I missing something major here?

Look at EQ's progression servers. More than likely it would work like that, as Blizzard would probably stand by some form of progression no matter what. You start off at the base, than a year or two later you upgrade to the next expansion with all those characters.

[Keoren]

I would probably level a character on a TBC 2.0.3 realm. It would be fun to give the content a second spin, even at the risk of killing some of the nostalgia.

That said, I would likely also stop playing on the realm quite soon after clearing some the content.

[PenguinChan]

I would probably level a character on a TBC 2.0 realm. It would be fun to give the content a second spin, even at the risk of killing some of the nostalgia.

You'd be amazed how thick Nostalgia can run and last you; and at the very same time how thin and scarce it'll shelter you from past games. There are a lot of small things people forgot about in previous expansions like TBC. Hopefully if you're stalwart enough to go past these bumps, it'd be enjoyable. :P

[SuperomegaOP]

I am playing a WOLTK private server right now and its great.

damn straight, wrath ftw.

[Felarion]

i'd start at vanilla as i didn;t play back then, and after clear naxx 40 switch to tbc realm

[Celista]

I loved playing on a vanilla realm again recently, the thing that made me quit though was a shitty realm community and the fact that the bosses weren't 100% vanilla tuned and a bit buggy, I just didn't have faith they could get Naxx fully running in the future (MC was out and BWL being released on this realm, slow phased release which was awesome). Also the herbs being on the same spot with exactly 30/45mins respawn made herbing so impossible, if you had your route, you couldn't lose it basicly since you would arrive at your herb and it would spawn if you timed it right. All these little things made me not so enjoy it the way I could've. Should blizz come up with 100% vanilla realm (and I mean 100%, not some shitty TBC talents or w/e), I would switch to that realm.

But if the miracle happens and they infact ever release vanilla realms, I do hope for a gated release. 6 months or a year or so between UBRS -MC - BWL - ZG - AQ- Naxx etc, so you can experience some sort of progression again.

I'd play on a TBC one as well, preferably the first patch with the 20mins trashrespawn and bosses tuned with worldbuffs in mind so you couldn't kill bosses the first week even if you tried for your life, but the patch after that should be fine as well.

Yeah. Really the thing about not having old content servers is, you have people turning to private servers to get an "authentic" experience, but even the best servers aren't all that authentic--they make the tuning easier, for example, or give away sets/mounts that didn't even exist for that expansion, etc.

Example from a Wrath-capped 3.3.5a patch private server:


Yeah, that's a goblin wearing challenge mode gear, riding a dragon that isn't even in game yet.

"Official" throwback servers could at least give players a chance at experiencing that old content authentically, and hopefully generate some revenue for Blizzard.

[crakerjack]

I went from having an obvious answer to having no idea after I read that it's last patch... well fuck that rule... I'd pick classic, pre 1.7 when they nerfed windfury... why can't my windfury proc another windfury which procs another windfury which may possible proc another windfury? Why was that a bad thing? DAMN YOU BLIZZARD!!!

[-Superman-]

There is no "None" option. After having lived through things the way they were back then before some improvements, I would have to decline playing on them. I "MIGHT" go back to a TBC locked realm if the game play remained the same but progression was locked. I would NEVER go back if it was:

No flying in Azeroth
No mounts til 40
Hunters lose a bag slot and have a ton of pet restrictions
Had to level every weapon and unarmed skill individually
etc...