World of Warcraft: Classic

Kiith

Figured this could use a separate thread, as it's not part of BFA. They announced today that they are using Patch 1.12: Drums of War as the patch for the Classic servers. Some talk about the engineering of the game, and things they've had to overcome.

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21881587/dev-watercooler-world-of-warcraft-classic

Still a long way off, and i think people really over estimate how much they want it, but glad to see some news.

Thibus

Was only thinking the other day that I would love to go back to this game.
Haven't found anything that matches up to it.

nix

I actually totally forgot this was happening, any interest i had has been completely deflated. They should have just kept it under wraps and done a surprise release with it imo..

Probably a stupid question, but will this be a subscription service game?

Kiith

They haven't announced the pricing yet, but i suspect it'll have it's own subscription. They'll have a deal where you get both for €20 or something like that as well.

Niska

There wil be a Classic demo this Blizzcon, with those who purchase the Blizzcon virtual ticket able to access the demo from home.

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22551243?blzcmp=app

Noxin

Be interesting to see what they bring.
It's not gonna be fully classic. They'll have made changes so I'm curious what features will be in and what will not..

Vicxas

Its going to be classic but with some modern conveniences i think is what the said last time.

Noxin

Yea but even at that, I wonder how classic.

I mean are they gonna be allowing shamans to run around with a two-hander with the old SS into a triple WF proc full of crits. I mean that thing pretty much one shot every other class. I had endless fun with it but balance-wise, it was way off.

Was a totally different ball game back then. Things I wonder about are:
- Shaman / Paladin faction restriction
- Spell cost and will you have to visit a trainer again
- Weapon skill points?
- Class restriction - if anyone remembers back in vanilla. Some classes, while having other roles available to them, were rarely used in raids outside of a certain role. Examples, Paladin - you healed or maybe got away with tanking. Shamans - you healed due to having no control over your threat. Heck I used to give tanks a good headstart on bosses and could still pull agro in a matter of seconds on most bosses. Druids, you healed due to a lack of gear available for tanking.
- Gear: on the gear note. What will they do? Gear back then didn't have both int and agility etc. by swapping roles. Tanking leather gear for druids didn't really exist. Same for weapons. Shamans looking to be elemental had to use cloth.

Plenty more I could go into but you get the idea. Just look forward to seeing how "classic".. classic mode will be.

Vicxas

Noxin wrote: »

Yea but even at that, I wonder how classic.

I mean are they gonna be allowing shamans to run around with a two-hander with the old SS into a triple WF proc full of crits. I mean that thing pretty much one shot every other class. I had endless fun with it but balance-wise, it was way off.

Was a totally different ball game back then. Things I wonder about are:
- Shaman / Paladin faction restriction
- Spell cost and will you have to visit a trainer again
- Weapon skill points?
- Class restriction - if anyone remembers back in vanilla. Some classes, while having other roles available to them, were rarely used in raids outside of a certain role. Examples, Paladin - you healed or maybe got away with tanking. Shamans - you healed due to having no control over your threat. Heck I used to give tanks a good headstart on bosses and could still pull agro in a matter of seconds on most bosses. Druids, you healed due to a lack of gear available for tanking.
- Gear: on the gear note. What will they do? Gear back then didn't have both int and agility etc. by swapping roles. Tanking leather gear for druids didn't really exist. Same for weapons. Shamans looking to be elemental had to use cloth.

Plenty more I could go into but you get the idea. Just look forward to seeing how "classic".. classic mode will be.

Oh god, i remember the aggro hell. You had to take breaks in fights so you wouldn't pull the boss.

Good times.

Kiith

I think most people hope to recapture the idea of Classic Warcraft, rather then the reality of Classic Warcraft.

Vicxas

I dont get the nostalgia, some areas pre-Cata even were a nightmare (looking at you, Desolace)

Noxin

Adding to my above I'm also curious on it's release schedule.
Will they start with just dungeons to begin with? Then add MC, then Onyxia etc. etc.

Will Kazzak be in the Blasted Lands and will he be as psychotic as I remember?
Will AV run for 24+ hours again? :pac:

So many questions:D

PropJoe10

There's already ways to play classic WoW that probably aren't for discussion here, and trust me, you'd forget what a grind it is when levelling in the classic zones. Great fun, but I'm not sure if the current WoW player would want to put that kind of time investment into a game like that anymore. Times have moved on a little. It'll be interesting to see what changes they make to the original 1.12 experience.

Dcully

I played vanilla wow on private server for a while earlier in the year, i literally lost any nostalgia i once had when i realized how much of a chore it all was, im not interested in classic wow in the slightest yet i thought i was.

PropJoe10

Dcully wrote: »

I played vanilla wow on private server for a while earlier in the year, i literally lost any nostalgia i once had when i realized how much of a chore it all was, im not interested in classic wow in the slightest yet i thought i was.

I go in spells with it, but its a real grind, for sure. Totally different game to now - the memories of it are nice, but the reality of questing through STV, Ungoro etc as an Alliance is a tough one! If I was Blizzard I don't think I'd be dedicating too much time to it, as I'd say it might not do as well as people think it will.

Relikk

Vicxas wrote: »

I dont get the nostalgia, some areas pre-Cata even were a nightmare (looking at you, Desolace)

Then you have the other side of the coin where you have someone like me. Desolace was one of my favourite zones in classic. And classic being my favourite version of the game, I've waited for 13 years for this to come out and I can't wait.

Not buying a BlizzCon ticket to play it, though.

Vicxas

I would class myself in the "TBC was the best" group, I messed around in Vanilla but i joined WoW properly mid TBC expansion and learned a lot from the community.

Sonics2k

I myself am looking forward to Classic, even if I won't be dedicating nearly as much time as before.

I played, very actively, on a now infamous private server which kicked this whole thing off as a level 60 Warrior.

This was my 3rd time leveling a warrior under the 'old' system and yes, it was just as painful as I remember. -However-, it was also just as fun as I remember too. I had a real sense of challenge throughout the process, stance dancing was always one of my favourite things about the class.

Now, I'm slowly working on a Paladin, which I never played in Classic, and I'm still enjoying it on a 'new' server.

Despite the downsides of Classic, I find that overall it was a far more enjoyable experience. Epics are worth something, they give a sense of value and achievement. Getting your epic mount was a huge deal, even getting your normal mount at level 40 means a lot.
The world feels more real and alive. Having to travel to your dungeon almost adds to the sense of adventure.

Now, personally I preferred TBC for all the reasons RopeDrink gives above, but Classic will always have a special place in the gaming world.

MagicIRL

Has anyone taken the plunge and bought a Blizzcon Virtual Ticket so they can try out the Classic Demo at home?

I know for a fact I'll be playing it Day 1 - but I'll be content with Twitch/Youtube when the demo is released.

I was a NElf Hunter (who wasn't) back when 13 year old me stepped into Azeroth back in Vanilla, and I only made it to level 30. (He's still standing in Darnassus, what- 10 years later? with his dual wielding swords and mismatch leather armour :pac:)

I don't know what class I'll play - I've become a Healer whenever I raided from Cataclysm onwards - so I may follow that path again. So many choices!

Vicxas

Not going to dignify Blizzard with more of my money until they fix what i already pay for.

Ill be sticking to Twitch streamers to see what its like.

Sonics2k

I won't be bothering with the virtual pass.

I'm playing Classic already and enjoying it, the only real difference with this 'demo' is that it's restricted playing times and two zones. I like the idea of starting people at level 15 for the Demo, as I think people will have forgotten the amount of things a level 1 doesn't start with in Classic.

Rogues for example don't get Dual-wield until level 10, Hunter's don't get a pet until level 10.

Kiith

I still remember fondly having to go to the Barrens with my Human Warlock at lvl20 to get the Succubus (or was it Voidwalker)? The fear of walking through enemy territory was brilliant, and something the game sorely misses these days.

Vicxas

Kiith wrote: »

I still remember fondly having to go to the Barrens with my Human Warlock at lvl20 to get the Succubus (or was it Voidwalker)? The fear of walking through enemy territory was brilliant, and something the game sorely misses these days.

I believe it was Voidwalker, Succubus wasnt until mid-late 30's IIRC.

Quandary

No game has ever given me what WOW has given me. I loved it for so many years, played from Vanilla up until 2014 and then I lost the spark . Went back a few times hoping to fall in love again but sadly, it just didnt hold my interest. Plodding around Durotar with my Orc warrior was incredibly satisfying. I just loved the atmosphere and nothing has come close for me in gaming since.

This is almost certainly me chasing nostalgia again, but I want to give classic a go to see if I can regenerate the old spark.

I can't wait.

I started vanilla about a month after launch. Leveled to 60 with my brother and a changing group of 2-3 friends from a previous MMO. We never rushed, just progressed together while chatting in guild and doing the occasional 5 man.

By the time I had hit 60 the guild had collapsed and I was bored of rogue, so I ****ed off back to Neocron for a while. Eventually I decided to come back, and again leveled a character to 60 with my brother (me: druid him: warrior).

It was a great experience, and I genuinely got a thrill from 2manning elites and quests that I remembered taking 3-4 of us beforehand. We always chose the less explored zones (which as alliance meant places like Stonetalon & Desolace) and I was never bored. I always had plenty of friends to chat to, and I enjoyed slowly growing into my character even if it was via bland questing.

As I hit 60, I respecced resto and tried healing for the first time. I found that I was pretty good at it even in greens and in PUGs and soon enough I applied to the top raiding guild on the server as a lvl60 resto druid with zero purples. A week later I was healing on Twin Emps. Not long after I was a healer on our server first for C'thun (I think 6th or 7th in the world?) still in mostly blues.

I raided one-two nights a week for 3-4 hours, pvped socially and had a mage I slowly leveled for fun making sure to level via zones I hadn't played before.

I can't wait to go back and I'll play it exactly as I did before. At my own pace, with people I enjoy, savouring the experience rather than rushing to 60 so I can get to the 'real game'.

I'm particularly looking forward to doing vanilla 5mans properly.

Mr. CooL ICE

Got serious nostalgia reading this thread.

Rolled a warrior and played with two friends (a hunter and a paladin), who got bored around the lvl 20 mark and opted to experiment with botting, which meant I was on my own. I was a terrible warrior. Thought stances were optional and could never understand wtf I was supposed to do in instances, or why people were shouting at me. Ignored most of my moves and only used charge, rend and heroic strike. It wasn't until another friend was looking over my shoulder while I was 'tanking' Gnomeregan that I found out why stances were important in certain situations. Started doing stances properly afterwards but still took a long time to kill anything because my build was garbage, so levelling took forever.

Somewhere around lvl 35-40, I rolled a priest alt just for a break because the levelling monotony got to me. Switched between the two each week to take advantage of the double xp when rested thing. Loved how in demand I was as a healer and levelled up at a faster rate than my warrior. Eventually got to 60 as a warrior, but I was still a crap tank and when I realised how much fire resistant gear I needed before being considered for a raiding guild, I kinda gave up.

Got my priest to 60 and was accepted to a guild that had cleared MC a few times and started on BWL (AQ was around by this stage). Had a mix of blues and greens. Was told to stay out of sight and spam heal one tank and passed my trial shortly afterwards. Was amazed that I simply asked and was given some epic fire res boots by a guild officer.

Around this time, I had started doing pretty bad in college. My day involved doing little else aside from running around Azshara farming herbs, waiting for PVP battlegrounds to pop up and then raiding in the evening. The herbs and gold I farmed in the daytime mostly went into raid potions and repairs in the evening. Eventually got enough PVP rep and gold for the AV epic mount. But then TBC hit and like many guilds, mine fell apart. I hit 70, but the rep grind killed it for me so I quit until I finished college.

...

Also remember trying to make the run from Ironforge to Menethil for the flight path and having to pay someone to escort me. Later on, made some modest gold helping others do the same. Also, after getting the tram to SW and then flying back to Ironforge, the first time seeing Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge was jaw dropping.

But I won't give this a go. I enjoyed it at the time but I got burned out from MMOs around the end of MoP. The grind was getting boring then so going back to vanilla rates of levelling wouldn't do it for me any more.

Kiith

Anyone get their names reserved? My sub ran out today, but was up for long enough to get my name on a few servers. Not even sure i'll bother playing, as i'm really enjoying FF14, but figured i'd do it anyway.

uncle_sam_ie

Kiith wrote: »

Anyone get their names reserved? My sub ran out today, but was up for long enough to get my name on a few servers. Not even sure i'll bother playing, as i'm really enjoying FF14, but figured i'd do it anyway.

I got my 3 Horde names reserved on Mirage Raceway.

Sonics2k

Got my name saved on Mirage Raceway too, as well as the RPPvP server.

Dr Bob

3 Alliance names booked on Shazzarah for me..

Kirby

I was on the minute they opened. Didn't get kirby.

I shall henceforth be known as Kirb I guess.

TheFairy

Fair few TiG players are rolling Horde on Pyrewood Village. Or being from the north I've called it Palletwood Village.

Kiith

I'll be an Alliance Paladin, with the same name as my original character from launch. Would feel weird to be anything else, even though i fully expect to stop levelling him at around lvl45 again (paladin's were ****e at that point).

TheDoc

Reserved my names for this but not really sure how much effort or attention I'll give it. Classic was breathtaking and mindblowing at the time, but I find it dreadful in comparison to retail. And that's saying something, BFA has WoW at it's lowest ebb.

Classic was a great RPG game, but not what I've been doing or seeing wow as for so long now.

Going to play as plenty of my guild and friends are, but have a feeling once it hits the infamous 40 bracket people I play with will start dieing off, and imagine I will too

n1ck

TheDoc wrote: »

Reserved my names for this but not really sure how much effort or attention I'll give it. Classic was breathtaking and mindblowing at the time, but I find it dreadful in comparison to retail. And that's saying something, BFA has WoW at it's lowest ebb.

Classic was a great RPG game, but not what I've been doing or seeing wow as for so long now.

Going to play as plenty of my guild and friends are, but have a feeling once it hits the infamous 40 bracket people I play with will start dieing off, and imagine I will too

What server you playing on DOC? I'm rolling on Pyrewood.

Kiith

Watched a few streams and it's actually making me want to play again, even though i know i wouldn't stick with it for long.

I'm on Nethergarde Keep with a few old friends. Feel free to shoot me a PM here, or in-game (Celt#2916)

Xenji

Will not be able to play till the weekend, but how are people finding it?

Lone Stone

i started back today, got on fine till now a 3k+ queue on that village server. It's great to see people around again who actually are on my server. And the thought of never having to look at a world quest again makes me want to play.

Dcully

Anyone rolling alliance on normal pve server with a chilled guild?
I fancy going over to the other side this time round.

Kiith

I'll be alliance, but not sure if i want to do PvE or PvP. Good memories of random PvP back in the day, though i suspect it will be worse now with 90% of the PvPers rolling Rogues.

nix

I decided to give it a try with a friend, the leveling process is rough, even if you managed to find a mob that hasnt been killed by the dozens of people farming them also around you, you have to deal with terrible drop rates on the quest items, partying with a friend makes it even worse.

I wonder what they were doing all these years getting "Wow classic" ready, surely in the state it was in they just had to release the game in the final state it was in before TBC expansion, which they should have in their archives. I honestly thought it was taking this long because they were actually doing stuff

Outside of that i was enjoying the game more when i hit lvl 10 and was looking over the old talent trees, a lot of OP abilities in them i had forgotten about

Sonics2k

nix wrote: »

I decided to give it a try with a friend, the leveling process is rough, even if you managed to find a mob that hasnt been killed by the dozens of people farming them also around you, you have to deal with terrible drop rates on the quest items, partying with a friend makes it even worse.

I wonder what they were doing all these years getting "Wow classic" ready, surely in the state it was in they just had to release the game in the final state it was in before TBC expansion, which they should have in their archives. I honestly thought it was taking this long because they were actually doing stuff

Outside of that i was enjoying the game more when i hit lvl 10 and was looking over the old talent trees, a lot of OP abilities in them i had forgotten about

A key difference between Classic/TBC is that you had to be aware while questing, plan your route and be aware of respawns, this isnt something to consider in retail. I made a fresh Monk on retail and was pulling 6+ mobs at once and bored. In Classic, especially as a Warrior I need to carefully pull mobs or run away.

Blizzard spoke about the process quite a lot, essentially the core right problem was while they had the original source code part of the problem was getting it to work on a modern infrastructure and server system. I don't know what 'stuff' you expect them to do, they're committed to making Classic a 'true experience' as close to the original as possible. They have loads of IAMAs done which talk about the challenges.

nix

Sonics2k wrote: »

A key difference between Classic/TBC is that you had to be aware while questing, plan your route and be aware of respawns, this isnt something to consider in retail. I made a fresh Monk on retail and was pulling 6+ mobs at once and bored. In Classic, especially as a Warrior I need to carefully pull mobs or run away.

Blizzard spoke about the process quite a lot, essentially the core right problem was while they had the original source code part of the problem was getting it to work on a modern infrastructure and server system. I don't know what 'stuff' you expect them to do, they're committed to making Classic a 'true experience' as close to the original as possible. They have loads of IAMAs done which talk about the challenges.

Oh ive no problem with the one mob at a time, thats the way i prefer it also, more challenging, but the quest items for the lvling process is far too rough, and im sure easily tweaked. Keep it rare for the end game quests and crafting materials. I'm just saying the harsh drop rates on the starting level quests so far paired with the massive population is making progressing far too slow.

For example me and a friend were farming tigers yesterday, we needed 4 pelts each, we gave up for the night after about an hour as he had 3 pelts and i had 1.. It was woeful.. They may be have been going for the "true classic" experience but thats no longer possible with the amount of people that play the game now vs back then (at vanilla launch/early days anyway)..

Maybe im alone in this? but i cant see myself continuing for much longer if its this kinda slog all the way up until 60, and i remember back in the day 50-60 was an absolute mare for the xp gains :pac:

Lone Stone

like lvl 13 nearly on my rogue Hellios the same name i had in bloodhoof at launch i havent joined a guild yet but im really enjoying it very social compared to bfa and talent point every level just feels so rewarding. ah im loving it takes me back to the original days of wow. Probably wont get to play till monday now but it feels like an mmo again and not some endless world quest rep grind.

nix

nix wrote: »

I wonder what they were doing all these years getting "Wow classic" ready, surely in the state it was in they just had to release the game in the final state it was in before TBC expansion, which they should have in their archives. I honestly thought it was taking this long because they were actually doing stuff

The game is in the state it was before the TBC expansion, but with massive engine upgrades.


I'm guessing you didn't actually play WoW vanilla based on your replies, because for me it's been a faithful experience (including occasionally abandoning quests due to low drop rates, and getting frustrated at certain classes solo before they get better talents/skills).

nix

Deleted User wrote: »

The game is in the state it was before the TBC expansion, but with massive engine upgrades.


I'm guessing you didn't actually play WoW vanilla based on your replies, because for me it's been a faithful experience (including occasionally abandoning quests due to low drop rates, and getting frustrated at certain classes solo before they get better talents/skills).

I leveled to 60 in vanilla, two toons actually before TBC hit (didnt get to raid much), i do remember abandoning quests at certain points, but i wasnt doing that in the early levels, not in Tirisfil glades or Durotar anyway..

I'm sure if i wasnt scrounging for mobs it wouldnt feel as bad, i actually got a load of quests done there, but as soon as 18:00 hits its gonna be chockablock until 1am And then the weekend :eek:

I'm not saying this isnt how classic was, but with the amount of players now and the amount of players trying to level, maybe it'd be a better experience to increase drop rates on quests, at least for the first few zones until the questing can spread out more..

Sonics2k

nix wrote: »

I leveled to 60 in vanilla, two toons actually before TBC hit (didnt get to raid much), i do remember abandoning quests at certain points, but i wasnt doing that in the early levels, not in Tirisfil glades or Durotar anyway..

I'm sure if i wasnt scrounging for mobs it wouldnt feel as bad, i actually got a load of quests done there, but as soon as 18:00 hits its gonna be chockablock until 1am And then the weekend :eek:

I'm not saying this isnt how classic was, but with the amount of players now and the amount of players trying to level, maybe it'd be a better experience to increase drop rates on quests, at least for the first few zones until the questing can spread out more..

They added layers as a way to hold all the players and ensure people could still quest normally, without being over crowded.

Ironically, people complained about the layers because they didn't believe it would be needed.

Xenji

Finishing work shortly and my plan is to get stuck into it for the night.

nix

nix wrote: »

I leveled to 60 in vanilla, two toons actually before TBC hit (didnt get to raid much), i do remember abandoning quests at certain points, but i wasnt doing that in the early levels, not in Tirisfil glades or Durotar anyway..

I'm sure if i wasnt scrounging for mobs it wouldnt feel as bad, i actually got a load of quests done there, but as soon as 18:00 hits its gonna be chockablock until 1am And then the weekend :eek:

I'm not saying this isnt how classic was, but with the amount of players now and the amount of players trying to level, maybe it'd be a better experience to increase drop rates on quests, at least for the first few zones until the questing can spread out more..

The whole point of Classic is to have the vanilla experience (though at an end-of-classic point). That you keep talking about how they should have been improving classic suggests you sort of missed that memo.



I haven't seen people in-game complaining about volume of people, I've seen the opposite - people are delighted that you're grouping with strangers, talking to people, having to ask questions in general. You know, the 'MM' part of an MMO unlike later WoW which was just a solo game with multiplayer elements.

Ivan

What realm are people playing on? I'm going to roll Horde and wondering if there is a boards guild ala the old times!