Since they segregate expansions in classic, should they do the same in retail?

[epigramx]

For example: should they keep in the battle.net launcher Shadowlands as "Shadowlands - WoW" (like the classic versions are now) and then release a "Latest WoW" game that is what people want in a "2.0" (two birds with one stone right?)?

[epigramx]

So... having classic for each expansion?

Not exactly but yes and no. E.g. Shadowlands ends and you can still remain in Shadowlands as a separate installation (if you want to) while the latest wow has always its own "Play".

I believe the biggest benefit of something like that might be to finally make that "2.0" that everyone secretly wants (it wouldn't be called 2.0 but "WoW" plain) because it would be very easy to change the game engine that way and refurbish almost everything (and old players can still satisfy their vanity if it gives them feats of strength).

[Accendor]

Not exactly but yes and no. E.g. Shadowlands ends and you can still remain in Shadowlands as a separate installation (if you want to) while the latest wow has always its own "Play".

I believe the biggest benefit of something like that might be to finally make that "2.0" that everyone secretly wants (it wouldn't be called 2.0 but "WoW" plain) because it would be very easy to change the game engine that way and refurbish almost everything (and old players can still satisfy their vanity if it gives them feats of strength).

I have no idea what working on a 2.0 has to do with your idea, could your elaborate again?

[Varodoc]

Not exactly but yes and no. E.g. Shadowlands ends and you can still remain in Shadowlands as a separate installation (if you want to) while the latest wow has always its own "Play".

I doubt anyone wants to remain in Shadowlands.

[epigramx]

I have no idea what working on a 2.0 has to do with your idea, could your elaborate again?

Because if even the last expansion can be accessed in full with another installation then there is little excuse to complain that it is gone from the latest game in the way that it was.
A "latest WoW"/"2.0"/"Soft-rebooted/etc. WoW" can have the luxury to get an entirely new game engine and entirely new artwork without the need to retain the old expacs.

I doubt anyone wants to remain in Shadowlands.

They are always minorities but if you add them up they become a lot; e.g. the more you go beyond Vanilla the fewer players want to replay back then; besides: if you truly played an expansion in full (hours a day for months) do you really want to replay them in full again (most people move on)?

[Super Kami Dende]

I'd call this idea: How to fracture your community even more 2021

[epigramx]

I'd call this idea: How to fracture your community even more 2021

No. it's more like how to rip off the band-aid quickly and get something better in return. The people that become attached to old expansions are minorities per-expansion that only look a lot of you add them up from all the expansions while refreshing the game from the ground up can bring a metric ton of new players that don't give a shit about the nostalgia of 40 year olds.

[sam86]

I doubt anyone wants to remain in Shadowlands.

also depends on how it goes in total, i agree, ppl rarely will want to stay in exp that just finished, u literally been doing this exp for 2 years
i know if i had option to stay in Legion for example or move to BFA, i'd stay, even if I did love the idea of warfront and island exp and wanted to see them, i still wanted to do a lot of stuff in legion, like unlock every skin possible for artifact

[Accendor]

Because if even the last expansion can be accessed in full with another installation then there is little excuse to complain that it is gone from the latest game in the way that it was.
A "latest WoW"/"2.0"/"Soft-rebooted/etc. WoW" can have the luxury to get an entirely new game engine and entirely new artwork without the need to retain the old expacs.


They are always minorities but if you add them up they become a lot; e.g. the more you go beyond Vanilla the fewer players want to replay back then; besides: if you truly played an expansion in full (hours a day for months) do you really want to replay them in full again (most people move on)?

But... 2.0 has to be its own game either way. I still fail to see how it's connected to permanent expansion servers.
Lets they the would announce that there is no 10.0, they stopped developing WoW, but there is a 2.0 coming. The 1.0 servers wont go away and the 2.0 needs new servers and a new engine, and therefore a new executable, either way.
This still seems to be not connected at all.

[Clone]

I'd like a classic version for each expansion with linked achievements to retail to unlock stuff no longer available.

[Falkeshall]

Ehhhhhhhhh?

[Relapses]

Yeah, I'm sure an intern at Blizzard could easily whip up a button to do this in about 37 minutes. You just saved WoW!

[Dread Pirate Phayde]

You need to find a better way to spend your days off bud.

[Revamp Man]

This is essentially just WoW classic lol

[MoanaLisa]

No, they shouldn't. However, it wouldn't hurt if the world were used more and the entire thing felt more like one game than a bunch of separate pieces.

[Razion]

There's no value or demand for Classic expacs Cata+. All modern content Cata forward can be played more or less as it was. Classics of Cata forward don't add anything new and frankly aren't being asked for.

Stopping retail and making a new WoW MMO would have to be transformative enough to warrant a sequel. New combat system would be one way, but there'd still be a camp of players who would prefer the old style get more content going forward. Both Retail WoW 1 AND new MMO WoW 2 would need to be worked on and get new content periodically and there's not as much reason for there not to be as the two games playing differently enough would gravitate different audiences to warrant multiple games and content updates.