The first expansion of WoW Classic is coming soon and MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus is really excited about it. The Burning Crusade is one of his best memories of gaming. Only the release timing dampens the joy.
When Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2020/2021 that they are remaking The Burning Crusade, I was totally over the moon. WoW Classic was already a cool thing, but Burning Crusade is the anchor for WoW for me and always will be.
In this expansion, I had my first real experiences with raids and met people with whom I still have contact today. There is a lot of memory and emotional value tied to TBC for me.
Karazhan is, in my opinion, the best raid WoW has ever had and I farmed the dungeons almost daily back then, even when I didn’t need anything anymore. I know, of course, that the “old times” won’t come back, but they don’t have to.
I am just happy to be able to reminisce once again. And soon it will happen, soon I can step through the Dark Portal again and fight the Burning Legion.
When is TBC Classic coming out? It starts on June 2nd, and TBC Classic will open its doors. Two weeks earlier, on May 19th, the pre-patch begins, during which I will level up my Draenei, just like back then.
Actually, I am really looking forward to all of this. However, when I heard the release date, I was first confused, then a bit disappointed. The signal that Blizzard is sending with this is anything but good.
Patch 9.1 would be much more important for WoW
That’s why the date is so bad: In World of Warcraft, the new Patch 9.1 for Shadowlands and Burning Crusade are being developed simultaneously. Until the release announcement, it was still very unclear what would come out first.
The WoW chief, Ion Hazzikostas, already stated in advance that 9.1 and Burning Crusade will not be released at the same time. A survey by Wowhead showed that more players want the new patch and not the old content remade.
The hope of many players – including me – was that Patch 9.1 would be released earlier. It sounds logical since certainly more people play Retail than Classic. Moreover, those who have completed the content of 9.1 can then spend time in TBC afterwards.
This “filler” function serves as an activity to bridge a longer content drought. The signal that Blizzard is now sending is that: You will have to wait a long time for Patch 9.1. In the meantime, you can play Classic.
Why is Patch 9.1 so important? Many players are already frustrated with Shadowlands. The new covenant system rubs some players the wrong way, and many are already finished with the content for themselves. Even Cortyn is running out of steam after the kill on the final boss.
At the moment, there is simply not much to do unless you are still chewing on the mythic final boss or engaging in PvP. Nevertheless, the content is being stretched somehow, says the biggest WoW streamer in the world. Too bad, because Shadowlands has been a lot of fun so far.
With 9.1, something new would finally have happened. A new raid, finally a fight against Sylvanas and new Legendaries. All things that I am looking forward to and want to see. Shadowlands had a strong start but quickly lost its momentum for me. 9.1 would have been the chance to reignite the spark from the release. But now, it seems, it will take a while longer.
TBC shortens the wait, but in the wrong place
What would have been much more important is the wait for the later Patch 9.2. The time until 9.1 has already been extended with a strange interim patch that brought some new content but not really much.
Patch 9.0.5 contains everything PvE players wanted to hear, but it cannot be milked forever. The update came out in March, and the next patch certainly won’t come before July. That’s at least four months.
With TBC, the wait will be shorter, but I would have preferred that for after Patch 9.1. After all, class sets will finally return, which were taken from us in BfA – something I’m looking forward to at least as much as Burning Crusade.
TBC Classic would have been ideal to bridge the time between 9.1 and 9.2. But now I miss that bridge, as Burning Crusade comes too early…
After 14 years, I could have waited a little longer
If Patch 9.1 had been released before TBC, I would have seen that Blizzard is making an effort with the current content and not just trying to keep us entertained somehow. Of course, I have no insight into the developers’ decisions, but as it stands right now, it leaves a very bland aftertaste.
Burning Crusade was released in 2007 – so 14 years ago. I could have easily waited a little longer to revisit the shattered world. What does a few weeks or months more or less matter?
To BC or not to BC?
Nevertheless, I am not one of those players who now sulk and completely quit WoW and turn their backs on the game. I will play Burning Crusade and even welcome the changes being made – such as the increased visibility for nameplates.
For me, it’s not about getting the original Burning Crusade back, but a version with which I can have just as much fun as before. If that means the game makes some things easier for me, then so be it.
Nonetheless, I would wish that Retail WoW would get a little more love. I still spend a lot of my free time in Azeroth and would like to continue doing so in the future. But when my only real activity is riding in circles in Oribos, that’s also not great.
