Since WoW Classic has celebrated its release, our author Benedict spends most of his free hours diving back into the 15-year-old adventure. He finds that playing Classic is like reading a good book again, even though you already know it.
What does Classic have to do with books? Games and books have many things in common for me. Both take me into their world, both allow me to immerse myself in another character, and both tell me great stories.
Books allow my imagination to run a little freer, while games continuously reward me with new items, great events, or simply more story. This is one of the reasons why people play games at all.
It is precisely these stories that, at least in role-playing games like WoW, ensure that they feel like a book you already know when played a second time.
Many great moments come back – but I also notice new nuances that I didn’t see or appreciate the first time.
What is so great about playing Classic a “second time”
This is how the story captivates me a second time: As I relive the game I started playing about 14 years ago (yes, I started playing WoW after its release), I keep noticing moments that I had before.
It often happens that I come across a character who offers me a quest, and I think: “Oh yes! That was that quest line where I was so desperate back then. Will I do better this time?”
Even though I already know what to do and how I can master it best, I look forward to experiencing it again. I am less interested in whether I can really do this quest better, but more whether I notice details that I missed before.
They are simply moments connected to emotions from back then that resurface. As if they had been stored somewhere, only to come back with the same strength once again. Cortyn has such moments in WoW Classic as well.
That’s why the “second time” is so important: What captivates me so much about the game on the second playthrough are the details and quests that I previously paid no attention to.
Many of these quests hint at events that occurred in later expansions of World of Warcraft.
Only with the knowledge I now have after the long history of seven expansions of WoW do I even understand what it’s all about.
Stories from WoW from today – already back then
In many stories, I probably still run past them – simply because they are told by NPCs with whom you never have to talk. Other stories are hidden in quests and remain relevant even today.
First quest – Battle for Azeroth: One of these quests is “The Third Fleet” for the Alliance in the Wetlands, at the harbor of Menethil. A sailor reports that he was a member of the third fleet from Kul Tiras when something terrible happened.
The Third Fleet is part of Kul Tiras’ armed forces and of the “Lost Fleet” – which also includes the ships that Jaina Proudmoore saves from the fog in Battle for Azeroth:
There is much more history tied to the fleet. One of the sunken ships, from which the drunken sailor talks, belonged to Derek Proudmoore, Jaina’s brother. He is later manipulated by Sylvanas for her plans as an undead, but rescued by Baine.
Second quest – Cataclysm: In another quest, which comes from a long dungeon quest line after receiving an undelivered letter from Edwin Van Cleef in the Deadmines, there are hints about Cataclysm hidden.
After the letter is delivered, the Master Spy of SI:7, Mathias Shaw, investigates a bit further. Eventually, he ends up with Elling Trias, a cheese merchant. At the end of the quest, he says:
The Brotherhood of the Defias, you say? Well, you really are the bearer of wonderful news, aren’t you? Next, you’ll tell me that Deathwing is still alive and attacking the city.
By the way: Elling Trias himself is probably a relative of Lucian Trias, who owns a delicatessen in Dalaran. Here he serves as a liaison for the Rogue class hall in Legion. So there’s another hint.
Third quest – Wrath of the Lich King: The third quest that stood out to me during the second playthrough is the quest line “Nothing But the Truth” for the Horde in the Swamp of Sorrows.
A human spy, Marksen, apparently has important information regarding the Alliance and the Horde. However, before he can reveal anything, Apothecary Faustin and Deathstalker Zraedus ensure that he gets poisoned. As he dies, Marksen says:
I believe the Forsaken are misleading the allies of the Horde… Wait… I’m feeling so… dizzy…
This sentence can predict two historical events from WoW:
- First, the current course of history with Sylvanas. Some fans suspect that she is not acting for the good of the Horde.
- Second, and more likely, what happened at the Wrathgate during Wrath of the Lich King:
Such connections, as they already exist in Classic, could not be understood by players 15 years ago. Many of the old quests have also vanished with Cataclysm and the reshaping of Azeroth or simply been forgotten later.
Now that Classic can be played again in its old form, I find it exciting to relive all of this and understand how much history WoW already contained in Vanilla. And even some skeptics are convinced:
