If Blizzard were to make a definitive version of WoW

[micwini]

I often think about them streamlining the game after the last expansion gets released. So if you make a character you start lvl 1 in vanilla, you level to 60 do all the raids and then go on to TBC, etc etc etc to experience all the story. On the way you unlock all the playable races, classes etc. Maybe have AI for raids/dungeons etc if they want to make it a single player experience, something like that.

[Niwes]

i often ask myself how many here really played wotlk the whole xpac AND i.e. TBC the whole xpac. ....

wotlk was way more worse than ppl think it was. dont get me wrong: it definetelly was a good xpac. but really not THAT good. imo ppl not remember on the introduction of LFG and stupid lame fast runs without any m+ alternatives etc. they not remember bad cheap arena raid. they not remember simple and lame dailies, without anything else to do. they not remember that cheap naxx experience. and so on. ulduar was good. icc was ok. but beside that there wasnt that much to hype that xpac to glory...

[Swalload]

Combining the best elements from each expansion and eliminating the worst elements

Which expansion should be used as a framework and why? (Not which expansion is best)

I think Vanilla would be the best framework as imo it only really needs updated class balance and a modern lick of paint (graphics/mechanics).

You're tapping into a subject that is 100% alien to people of this forum. They don't know what makes a good game, they'll just vote for the content they liked most without even asking themselves what's a framework.

Good poll idea on paper but I doubt you'll get the answers you're looking for.

[McNeil]

WotLK is the easy answer. As said before it had proper content for every player: hardcore, casual, PVP, collectors, RP and such. Later expansions only try to focus on a few things, like Cata and WoD focussed to much on raiding and now its just mythic+ and transmog stuff while mythic raiding and PvP is pretty much dead. Vanilla and TBC has strengths of their own where it feels like a major accomplishment to get trough the latest content, but its not so great for casuals and by todays standards they would just leave the game. MoP might've been good but the overuse of the Asian theme did not do well for the game at all, and I think its a fair criticism towards the game.

Thats not to say that WotLK was perfect either, it just did the most thigns right compared to other expansions. I would've loved to have a harder difficulty for Naxx10/25, replace ToC with an Azjol-Nerub raid, more story for Kel'Thuzad and Anub'arak who were both major Scourge characters in WC3.

[Kantoro]

Wrath. Why? Because proc based dps is stupid. Cata made every single class less fun to play. To this day, it is still stupid, proc based, priority rotations. So much fun looking at your buttons., instead of the environment or raid mechanics.

[A Chozo]

Never clicked Pandaria so quick in a poll;

[bloodstripes]

TBC was far better than WOLK. People vote for WOLK because they didnt play TBC.
Things started going bad when they added CCs/Stuns/Bubles/DKs...

Exactly. If only TBC had more 10-man content and flex, it would be just about perfect.

[TaurenNinja]

1. Legion
2. Mists
3. WoTLK
4. TBC
5. Cataclysm
6. WoD
7. Classic

Legion and Mists pretty much have to be at top because they delivered the most content, never had a dull moment (not counting the obviously boring situation "end of an expansion while waiting for the next one" which every expansion suffers from), and had quality raids.
WoTLK might be slightly over-hyped at #3 but it had probably the story-line that everyone likes plus 2 extremely well-designed raids.
TBC was decent but is generally over-hyped and its mechanics today wouldn't be up to par anymore. Cataclysm had a good start but then a sharp decline. WoD was just bad. Classic made sense back then but is not at all a competitor anymore.

[Marston]

If you simply want the framework, I think anything that doesn't say "Current Expansion" is wrong. All the systems are there, unless you define "framework" differently than me.

Anyway, I would still argue they should use Legion. Mythic+ and World Quests added longeviety to most of the world. Things could still be balanced differently, I am not sure which expansiond had the best PvP or where PvE balance wise was best. I do think though that Legion offers the most systems (even if we only count new ones) which add some of the best replayability.

[therealbowser]

this is exactly what made the game good. And honestly it is exactly because blizzard listened to feedbacks from people like you that the game is dying. "game is too hard, why is the end raids unaccessible for everyone". Look now they made the game for grand mothers and children. You still have 5 other raids to do, still you wanna do the hardest one...

lol.

I want to be able to participate in all of the content. WotLK did that best, and hard mode on raids was an excellent idea. It started shaky with the easy Naxxramus -- which was repeat content anyways -- but Ulduar was golden and the addition of heroic raiding was a great idea.

You didn't even get around to saying why this makes the game bad. I'm assuming it's because you couldn't come up with a valid, logical reason. Have a good one!

[Littleraven]

MoP with heavy Wrath influence. That is the best combination to start with IMO. MoP had the most balanced amount of things to do objectively even if they swung too far in the daily direction. This is why i think it with Wrath influence would be by and large the best place to start.

[Deleted]

WotLK was THE BEST era this game had, content for everyone, easy catch ups, old raids were still relevant without some dumb shit like legendaries chances but a quest who helped you with current content, it was perfect

WHAT? the healing mace wants a word with you sir! that was a fucking horible lego destri system wotlk had.

[Kallisto]

Cataclysm 4.0 was peak WoW. It went to shit by the time 4.3 rolled around, though, so overall Mists was the perfect expansion.

Yeah such a peak that it had the largest pre WoD sub drop that 4.3 additions (transmog and lfr) stopped

[Apology]

Yeah such a peak that it had the largest pre WoD sub drop that 4.3 additions (transmog and lfr) stopped

The drop can be entirely attributed to the fact that prior to Cataclysm, WoW was the game to be playing. It was at its peak popularity during WotLK, and there were plenty of casual people who jumped on the bandwagon to kill Arthas...then Cataclysm hit, the story seems to have reached a natural end, and suddenly the game is challenging. You can't just faceroll your way through everything anymore, so yes, everyone that was just playing the popular game at the time decided it was too much effort and quit.

4.0 introduced two new playable races, five new zones (eight if you want to include Kezan, Lost Isles and Gilneas), revamped literally the entire world, and had a tonne of fun and challenging dungeons. Yes, I think it was the peak of WoW. Cataclysm as a whole was a pretty dodgy expansion (and 4.3 was rubbish outside of transmog, come on), but 4.0 was the biggest, most significant update the game has ever seen.

[Dakara]

Since it's a Framework, I can only go with Wrath... Far enough back before the game became a bloated mess, but not so far back as to still be somewhat casual friendly.

[Byleth]

We're playing the definitive version of WoW...

Next thread.

[Leyre]

How were old raids still relevant? Naxx through Ulduar hard modes was 200-232 and you could buy 245-264 from vendors, including your 251 4pc. Also as for content for everyone you could only do 25 of the 80+ dailies each day.

weekly quest for frost badges

[cparle87]

weekly quest for frost badges

Frost gear was the 264 gear I was talking about. You could run normal for 251 tier, and buy a few 264 pieces. Why would you do even ToC which had gear gear 19-32 ilvls lower?

[Bruscha]

For best class design for my main class (warlock) it would have to be MOP. All three specs played differently with three different types of resources. Warlock class design since then seems to be more focused on making the specs the same then different

[Super Kami Dende]

Mists of Pandaria.