The group feeling – Social cohesion becomes a must
One of the biggest arguments from Classic fans is the unity of the community on a server and within guilds. Back then, there was no tool for group searching and anyone wanting to tackle a dungeon had to first assemble a party themselves.
Due to this fact and the fact that servers were not “merged” back then and cross-realm friendships were impossible, social interaction was mandatory.
I still remember my first dungeon runs in Scholomance, when a warrior directly asked me if I wanted to join. What started as a one-time adventure (where they also taught me the meaning of “counterspell”), became a long-lasting friendship, my everyday evening program, and an invitation to a guild.
I fondly remember the time when our hunter was killed while kiting General Drakkisath, and the laughter in TeamSpeak was great. I still smile today when I think of the panicked screams of our healer when she was “excluded” behind the gate in Stratholme during the obstacle course for the first time. Or when the guild simply met in Moonglade so the characters could sit around the campfire and mess around in TeamSpeak – completely without any RP background.
It is also hard for me to imagine finding that again in the current WoW.
Sure, all these things can still be found in current WoW in some guilds. But due to the necessary pressure in Classic, a denser social fabric on a server was simply more common.
Summoning demons is difficult. Back then, it required entire questlines!
