MeinMMO author Alexander Leitsch took advantage of the long May weekend to play MMORPGs extensively. In the process, he rediscovered an old love that can hardly be found in many modern games. He shares what fascinates him about it in a column.
The weekend around May 1st was rainy in NRW, and thanks to Corona, there was little to do anyway. So I decided to subscribe to WoW and take a look at Classic.
Although I am a huge MMORPG fan, my WoW past is limited. Since I was only 12 years old during the Vanilla days in 2004 and couldn’t afford the subscription costs, I primarily played Guild Wars 1. I spent many thousands of hours in both Guild Wars 1 and its successor Guild Wars 2.
Only at the release of Cataclysm did I play for about 2 months in a Let’s Play and later around Legion. But Retail-WoW could never fully convince me. In August 2019, I briefly tried to play WoW Classic, but due to work, a vacation abroad, and overcrowded servers, I quickly abandoned the project.
Now I wanted to know one last time: Can WoW convince me in some way, or am I just not made for this MMORPG?
In addition to the two “Guild Wars” titles, he has played numerous Asia MMORPGs, Black Desert, SWTOR, and Rift.
He just never warmed up to WoW over the years.
Slow leveling is unusual but beautiful
My restart in Classic: From my first attempt, I already had a Dwarven Hunter at level 12. I was to continue with him. However, in the first quests, I realized that I must not overestimate myself at all.
While I can defeat creatures in GW2 that are several levels above me, WoW Classic immediately punishes my arrogance with a death. And I liked that.
Even more, however, I learned to appreciate the slow leveling over time. Because it was exactly the opposite of what I had done in the last few months and it slowed me down immensely.
Why was leveling particularly special for me? In the last weeks, and even on May 1st itself, I tried several Free2Play MMORPGs to pass the time at home.
Among them were TERA, which is surprisingly receiving many updates, and Lineage 2. In both, I leveled up very quickly, in my opinion. In addition, I even created a guide for Black Desert for fast leveling that I, of course, tested.
But especially in the current situation with Corona, speed is not necessarily decisive, but rather a good feeling. And while I was leveling up to 50+ at lightning speed in Lineage 2, I never truly experienced a high. With WoW Classic, it was exactly the opposite.
The feeling of happiness when leveling up: Every rise in level felt significant. I could suddenly complete quests that were previously too high for me. I could learn new talents and regularly enter a new and higher area.
I had completely forgotten that level-ups can evoke such a positive feeling. For me, they were more of a nuisance than a joy in the last months.
Moreover, the long leveling phase had something refreshing: I got to know the people around me, something modern MMORPGs lack.
During the three days of the weekend, I encountered the same rogue multiple times, with whom I first defeated “Old Murk-Eye” together in Westfall and later beat “Jauler” in the Redridge Mountains. Members of my Deadmines group also crossed my path multiple times. Another player even invited me to his guild after we completed a quest together, with whom I am currently adventuring on Lucifron.
Over a playtime of nearly 12 hours over the weekend, I achieved 14 level-ups, reaching level 26. At no point did it feel like work, which was also due to the fact that I felt no urge to quickly reach level 60.
For the first time since my adventures in Rift, which I started in late 2013 after the switch to Free2Play, leveling really took a long time. And I had an incredible amount of fun.
Long leveling is avoided, and I understand it
What is it like in modern MMORPGs? Many MMORPGs that have been released in recent years skip long leveling phases:
- In Guild Wars 2, leveling to 80 is relatively quick even on the first run and is made even faster later through redeemable scrolls.
- ESO “skips” a leveling phase in the classical sense, allowing the entire content to be explored starting from level 1.
- Black Desert allows fast leveling in the relevant levels but remains open at the top, theoretically allowing endless grinding.
- Even WoW is revising its leveling system with Shadowlands, allowing new players and twinks to level up faster. According to tests by MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus, it takes less than 24 hours of gameplay to reach level 60.
This fact is completely understandable to me. MMORPG players often complain about a lack of time. The number of entertainment options has risen thanks to Netflix and co., while many older MMORPG fans now have jobs and families.
But especially during the Corona time, I found leveling in WoW Classic immensely calming. It briefly took me out of the currently restricted daily life and offered me a good alternative to modern MMORPGs.
Will I remain loyal to WoW Classic? WoW Classic is currently incredibly enjoyable for me. I perceive the leveling and the resulting social contacts as very positive.
It is quite possible that after Corona, when I can pursue other hobbies and regularly meet friends and family again, I will quickly stop playing Classic again. Then time constraints will also kick in for me.
But until then, I enjoy the slowness.
