World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG in the world and one of the most successful games overall since its release in 2005. Now, in the summer of 2019, the Classic version of WoW is making a return, bringing back everything that started it all. Our author Benedict believes that it will repeat its success and overshadow all other MMORPG releases.
I myself only played Classic towards the end. Just before I reached the then maximum level 60 with my Warlock, the first expansion The Burning Crusade was already released. My experiences in Classic are therefore largely limited to leveling, which anyway constituted a large part of the gaming experience.
Nevertheless, WoW made a milestone with Classic and enchanted players in a way that no game had achieved before. Although it was not the first MMORPG, it is the most successful, and rightly so. But where did it all come from?
Why Players Are Excited About WoW Classic
It is hard to grasp where the fascination with “Vanilla WoW” comes from. Part of the excitement probably stems from the especially popular strategy hit Warcraft 3. Behind WoW is simply a vast world that is still not finished telling its story even in 2019.
What Made Azeroth So Great
After old MMORPGs like EverQuest, which is still being played today, paved the way, Blizzard was able to hit right into this niche with WoW. There was a wonderful world that players simply had to immerse themselves in.
Azeroth was not a world created for WoW. The lead storyteller Chris Metzen, who left Blizzard in 2016 amid great fan grief, already had the entire world in mind. He worked on the story of Warcraft 2 and on the development of Warcraft 1.
Books and stories from authors and fans developed around Warcraft, and WoW allowed players to experience these stories for themselves. How good or bad one found the world did not play a major role – it was there and it was incredibly vast.
Why the Gameplay Was Better
WoW has also done some things better than its predecessors. When characters died, there were hardly any disadvantages apart from going to the corpse. Players could heal themselves with food, and there were generally fewer breaks between fights. The action was more tangible.
Additionally, the world felt more alive, simply more immersive. Through a huge system of quests that were mostly intertwined and told stories, leveling was simply more exciting. There was no comparison to the monotonous grind that many games had required before.
For most players, this was their first encounter with such a sophisticated world that could captivate them. They did not just have to invest hours to reach the maximum level; they wanted to. In WoW, it was not about “just one more mob,” but about “just one more quest.”
Why Do Players Want Classic Back?
Purists have been shouting that “everything was better in Classic” since The Burning Crusade. Personally, I disagree and think many changes in BC and also in WotLK are great. However, I can also understand the voices of the Classic fans.
If you look in the forums, many different opinions about Vanilla and the upcoming WoW Classic servers in summer 2019 emerge. Roughly speaking, several reasons for the desire for Classic can be broken down:
- Nostalgia, players want the WoW they started with
- some changes over the years have received little love, such as the LFR
- The desire for more complex classes and “harder” gameplay
How much players wish for a Classic version was also shown by the number of private servers on which Classic was still running. The largest of these was Nostalrius with more than 25,000 accounts, which players sadly bid farewell to when it was shut down.
Classic has even excited players who apparently have never played Classic. A forum user writes:
I had absolutely no interest. After seeing the Blizzcon demo, I can’t stop thinking about it. The fights are so deep. The whole world is so much bigger and more dangerous. […] I’ve heard that Vanilla can be addictive, but that? I feel like I’m in withdrawal and I haven’t even played it.
Gripp in the WoW forums
What Players Want from Classic
When it comes to how players want Classic to be, opinions are divided. Many purists want WoW Classic in its original form. All bugs, all problems, the poor graphics, and all negative aspects should remain. No new features wanted.
Others welcome the polish that Blizzard wants to give to Classic. Classic is supposed to get realm sharding to properly distribute players and the loot system is also being tinkered with. These fans want to enjoy WoW Classic and not just get a pure nostalgia feeling.
Personally, I think a polished version of Classic is better. It not only helps to retain the “rose-tinted glasses” – as Classic really had many problems – but also keeps the game alive. If all bugs are carried over, hardly anyone will want to play, neither new players nor veterans for a long time.
How Will WoW Classic Perform?
Although WoW Classic seems to be enjoying great popularity, it might happen that players are absent. The compromise that Blizzard is seeking between the “original Classic” and a slightly improved version may work or may not.
This Could Go Wrong
Currently, there is the biggest dispute in the community over whether WoW Classic should be “original” or “polished.” The middle path that Blizzard is taking could turn out to be a compromise for both sides or an absolute catastrophe that no one wants.
What is also hotly debated is the requirement of a subscription for WoW Classic. Comments in the forums include: “Why should I pay for such an old game?” In fact, this could become a problem, although from my perspective, not a too big one. A subscription was simply part of Classic, and it is still necessary now.
This Is the Best Case
In the best case, WoW Classic will exert the same fascination on players as back then. Experienced players can indulge in nostalgia and continually experience great “Oh yes…” moments. I had already experienced seven such moments in the first ten minutes of the Classic demo at Blizzcon. (as a rogue, by the way, one shouldn’t fight more than 2 enemies at a time)
New players will get a good insight into what the Classic generation celebrated without being immediately put off by bad gameplay and old mistakes they are no longer familiar with.
Ideally, Classic will provide a new experience for everyone, allowing everyone to have fun again and feel at home in Azeroth. With Classic, WoW can show how it became so great.
This Is the Worst Case
In the worst case, however, Classic will not last long. From my point of view, this is most likely to happen if Classic really comes without any changes at all.
For many players, it sounds as if they just want to “take a look again” instead of truly wanting their old Classic back. New players would not enjoy outdated and poor mechanics, and after a few months, all servers would be dead.
Giants like Nostalrius only had one server where several thousand could play. If the community splits onto multiple servers in Classic, these will only get smaller, and a chain reaction will soon wipe out the entire player base, as there are too few players on each server.
Conclusion: Classic Will Be Great. The Question is: How Long?
When I consider all the considerations, I still think Classic will be a success. Since I could not play all the content in Classic, I am itching to finally see Naxxramas and the Molten Core from the inside, without killing everything with one glance.
Similarly, many other players, as well as those who have never played Classic, will likely feel the same way. Many acquaintances who started with WotLK or later often ask: “What was so great about Classic?” Instead of long explanations, they can simply play.
For me, the question is not whether Classic will be good, but how long it will last. The content is limited, and even though everything took longer, nothing is likely to be added. Moreover, there is a chance that players will find it boring.
On the other hand, there is a good argument from forum user Ristra about time and content:
In Vanilla and every expansion afterwards, there was only a limited time to achieve your goals before everything became obsolete. Classic will not have this problem. You can play at your own pace and still accomplish everything.
Ristra in the WoW forums
This will indeed adapt the factor that leveling and gearing took forever to the players. Those who had time back then but now need to take care of work and family can still play whenever they want. No one is pushing them.
What do you think? How will Classic perform?
WoW Classic has received numerous updates recently, but one big question remains:
