The idea of WoW Classic was to bring World of Warcraft back like it was “back in the day”. However, many things have been adjusted and still are, as the latest patch shows. In the current Burning Crusade Classic, there are now 4 dungeons that are different. The reason for this is boosters.
What kind of dungeon is this? Stratholme has been in the game since Vanilla WoW, which was released in November 2004. The dungeon is home to countless undead. The later Lich King Arthas Menethil exterminated all its inhabitants in an attempt to contain the deadly plague.
As a dungeon, Stratholme has been in the game since Classic and has been changed several times since then – most recently in its Classic version. The enemies in the dungeon now use a “knockdown” mechanic that can specifically stun paladins – even through Divine Shields.
Why is Stratholme being changed? The reason for the change is Blizzard’s plans to combat boosting groups. Boosting refers in WoW Classic to a method in which players – mostly mages or paladins – pull lower-level players through the instances.
This allows for extremely fast leveling, where the pulled players usually just stand AFK somewhere while the booster does the work. They pay for this with gold, which according to Blizzard often leads to illegal transactions with real money (via WoW forums).
As part of the change, Stratholme and other dungeons will receive updates that have been active since the latest patch on July 25:
- In Shadow Labyrinth, enemies now teleport to mages after being slowed or rooted/frozen often enough.
- Enemies in Maraudon become immune to all slow and root effects after a certain time, similar to the Season of Mastery.
- “More dungeons” have been adjusted so that enemies now teleport to the player when pulled along cliffs and walls.
The timing of these changes is likely due to the recent announcement of the release date for WotLK Classic. Because the dungeons will also be important there to quickly get new characters to level 60 or 70.
You can watch the trailer for the release date of WotLK Classic here:
WotLK Classic will launch without boosting
According to Blizzard, boosting and related services are one of the biggest nuisances in WoW Classic. The chats are constantly flooded with offers, which is already forbidden.
With Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard is changing even more things, thus affecting much of the original experience from 2007:
- The “Quest Helper” is no longer available, making quests a bit more challenging.
- There are some changes to Naxxramas, the first raid in WotLK.
- The dungeon finder will not be implemented, as it simply does not fit the community.
Additionally, the famous Battle for Wintergrasp will receive a change, of which the developers themselves are not really proud. The originally open area is to be instanced because the battle is otherwise too overcrowded.
What, however, largely returns as it was back then, is the new class: the Death Knight. It has changed significantly over time, but in its original form, it was much more versatile than today – and more complex:
