The new expansion Burning Crusade is on the starting blocks for WoW Classic. We at MeinMMO were able to conduct an interview with Holly Longdale, Lead Producer, and Brian Birmingham, the Lead Software Engineer.
What is the interview about? In the conversation with Holly Longdale and Brian Birmingham, we talked about the upcoming release of Burning Crusade, the general appeal of WoW Classic, player numbers, and also the upcoming Deluxe Edition.
We have already included the most important information from the interview in our hub for Burning Crusade Classic.
Information about the release and pre-patch
MeinMMO: First of all, of course, the most important question: Can you tell us something about the release date of Burning Crusade Classic?
Holly: Yes! I’m so glad you asked. On May 18, we will release our pre-patch for Burning Crusade, and that is the moment when players can decide whether to progress to Burning Crusade or remain in the Classic era.
If they want both, there is a service called “cloning”. This allows you to get a copy of your character and continue with it in both games.
We will also introduce blood elves and draenei and allow jewelcrafting up to level 300. Additionally, there will be a series of pre-patch events where some creatures will invade the world.
On June 1 [Editor’s note: For us on June 2 at 00:00 Uhr], the Dark Portal will open. So everything is moving pretty quickly, and we are already very close.
MeinMMO: In the pre-patch, players will be able to decide whether they want to switch to TBC or not. How does it work, and more importantly: Will items and especially guilds be preserved?
Brian: That’s a good question, and unfortunately, the guild will not be preserved if you remain in the Classic era. However, if you switch to Burning Crusade Classic, it will be preserved. We decided to handle it this way. Based on surveys we conducted, most players wanted to switch to Burning Crusade. And we are very pleased about that.
So you will be able to keep your guild and mailbox if you go into Burning Crusade Classic. However, if you decide to go into the Classic era, we hope you’ll find the opportunity to explore the world again and make new friends who have decided to stay with you there.
Adjustments to weapons, jewelcrafting, and the drums
MeinMMO: We’ve already talked to you at BlizzCon 2021 about WoW Classic and Burning Crusade. What have you learned from the beta and changed based on the feedback?
Holly: There are so many players who still remember what happened in 2007, even though it’s hard to remember exactly. When these players return and experience it again, it raises some questions. But Brian will surely be able to tell you more about that.
Brian: Sure. A good example of that was the craftable weapons that could be made by the blacksmith. They were one-handed and you could use two of them. However, for most of Burning Crusade, that wasn’t true at all. During the beta, we then sat down and realized: “Oh yes, that was a change late in the expansion, and it doesn’t make sense now in this early phase. So we made them mainhand-only again.
Another example is actually more of a bug, namely the ability to unlearn jewelcrafting and still retain the specific bonuses that the profession brought. And that was something that wasn’t intended at the time of design. It was just a technical limitation. So when I looked back and wondered: “Hey, if I unlearned jewelcrafting and still retained the bonuses, should that still work? No, it shouldn’t.”
At that time there simply wasn’t a way to do that. And we have since developed one. So we made a corresponding change.
MeinMMO: As close as you want to be to the original, there are still a few bigger changes you are making, such as to the war drums.
Brian: So the drums are a system that we wanted to tackle before the expansion, as they were an important part of every competitive guild. The reason for this is that there was nothing preventing them from having constant rotations. The buff lasted 30 seconds and had a cooldown of 2 minutes. In a large raid, all the buffs overlap, and you essentially have the buff permanently throughout the raid.
We have been concerned from the beginning that this would not fit WoW, also because we want everyone to be able to be successful with any profession and not just as a leatherworker. Otherwise, everyone would feel drawn to that one profession.
So we went back and looked at why it was only the case with some patches, and the first thing we looked at was that earlier versions of the drums weren’t as powerful. So we restored these original drums that were a bit weaker; they had a cast time, a smaller radius, but were still technically overlapping.
We wanted to try this out to see where the drums are similarly overpowered and where we can bring some balance. But some classes were still able to use the drums between their attack and spell timings. For other classes, it meant a bit of DPS loss, but overall, more people chose to be leatherworkers anyway.
So we decided to introduce a debuff that was implemented right after Burning Crusade and came with Lich King. So you can only benefit from the drums once every two minutes, corresponding to the cooldown of the drums.
It was a tough decision. Because as you said, it’s a small deviation from how we originally did things. And we want to ensure that we do it with the best intentions of the time in mind.
“We approach the Classic content with the expectation that someone will defeat it on release day”
MeinMMO: However, the proximity to the original can be a problem. For example, you need at least 3 physical classes to fight Nightbane, and that can be very frustrating. Is that supposed to stay the same at release and if so, why did you decide that?
Brian: The general reason is that we want players to experience the content again as it was at launch. This is also the general philosophy: “This is something that existed back then that people enjoyed and had a good time with. And we want to ensure that they have the opportunity to experience it again.”
Honestly, I’m not familiar with that specific mechanic you’re referring to, but if it was introduced or removed in a later patch, we want players to experience that “Pre-Nerf Post-Nerf” progression. The intention is to start things off in their pre-nerf state, so people can experience the harder, more challenging, and sometimes additional mechanics that were originally there. And we can already see that players are benefiting from 15 years of experience with WoW and can handle the tough bosses.
MeinMMO: Yes, I’m sure many guilds will progress quickly in the raids.
Holly: I have no doubt about that.
MeinMMO: Even in Classic, the guilds were extremely quick with the raids.
Brian: Yes, absolutely. We generally approach the Classic content with the expectation that someone will defeat it on the day of release. No question about it, because people have had 15 years to practice these things and become familiar with WoW overall.
Since we are trying to recreate a well-known experience, players can prepare much more than they could with the original version. And so that’s actually to be expected. But there are still a lot of players who won’t kill it right on the first day, but who will learn through experienced players coming back and new players who have experienced it before and want to teach them. So, while we certainly expect the content to be defeated on the first day, it is still a significant challenge for people experiencing it for the first time.
Holly: The number of players planning to prepare for the content is unprecedented. They are already active in the beta and trying to perfect their strategies. Some are even going into the modern Burning Crusade to train there. This has never occurred in this form before.
We are also receiving planning around arena teams. People are starting to think about what the teams will look like. And yes, it’s really cool to see all these players and get an insight into how they will tackle Burning Crusade.
MeinMMO: Since we are already on the topic of changes, I would like to introduce an idea from the community. There was a desire to unlock certain items that only existed in Classic account-wide so they can be taken to Retail. Have you considered such a function?
Holly: We had this idea as well. And to be honest, we thought about it and decided against it. That was a conscious decision when we launched Classic. There are basically two things that speak against it:
- The first is that there is simply a feeling of fulfillment for people who have it in Retail WoW. That they can show off and say: “I was definitely there back then”
- But at the same time, the other reason is that we didn’t want Classic to be populated by a bunch of players who were only there because they wanted something from modern WoW, but we want people to play Classic because they want to experience exactly that.
We want players to choose the game that they enjoy the most and not what brings them cool items.
“Sometimes the open world is just as intimidating as the raids”
MeinMMO: When you talk about people wanting to play Classic, what do you think is special about Classic? What makes it so exciting for people?
Holly: Of course, there is first the nostalgic component. Experiencing a game that came out in 2004 again. And then Burning Crusade came in 2007. WoW was simply different than it is now. The great thing about our subscription system is that you can now experience all three games: Classic, TBC, and Retail WoW.
As our surveys show, it was especially a different pace back then. The experience and the community of players were also different back then. That’s something people want to experience again, as it was from 2004 to 2007.
I personally am a casual player, so I love to run around, meet people, and role-play. When I come to Stormwind, I greet people with “For the Alliance” and in general, people communicate differently. In modern games, it’s too much about performance for me, but I want to enjoy everything. My play sessions are also significantly shorter. But I love spending my weekends and longer nights exploring a world just like I did back then. Classic and now the beta are great for that.
Brian: I can agree with that, except for the part about the Alliance. I mean, the phrase is “For the Horde,” right? It just sounds dumb when an Alliance player says it.
But seriously: The cool thing about Classic is that you take things much more consciously and feel: “Okay, I need to figure out how to defeat this enemy best.” Sometimes the open world is just as intimidating as the raids, especially since you are often alone. And so it often happens that you seek help to quest and level together, while modern WoW is much more straightforward and focused. The high difficulty levels are reserved for Mythics and raids there.
MeinMMO: This difficulty and also leveling itself make the game much more time-consuming. Do you think that players who are now adults, with families and jobs, will find the time to play Classic?
Brian: Absolutely, it works at least for me. I have a lot of fun with Classic and will also enjoy it with TBC. I also have a family and a full-time job, and contrary to some perceptions out there, I still play the games after work. But yes, it can be done with less playtime.
In addition, WoW can be played in various ways. You can just spend time exploring the world and leveling up. You can also complete a variety of dungeons and raids. There are several dungeons in every zone that you can play while leveling up and at max level as well.
Holly: And there are arena teams! We expect players to have a lot of fun and spend time here. And as Brian said, there is just so much to do, and I can be online for hours. I just love this huge world.
Brian: One point about PvP is also that we are accommodating the players here. We will offer region-wide matchmaking and also have a modern matchmaking algorithm that should match teams better than it did back then in Burning Crusade.
Classic has exceeded expectations
MeinMMO: Player numbers are always an interesting topic. How satisfied are you with the development of the numbers in Classic?
Brian: Well, we had high expectations, and to be honest, I had even higher expectations myself. But they have even surpassed my expectations, and I really expected a lot; I love this game very much.
Holly: The love and admiration for Classic remain unbroken, which is why we are delivering what the community asks for. That is why we implemented Classic in the first place, and that is why we continue to offer the Classic era while we release Burning Crusade.
There are a lot of people who love the old world and its mechanics. And we continue to keep an eye on what the community wants.
MeinMMO: And how do you think the player numbers will develop in the future?
Brian: We expect that most people will want to switch to Burning Crusade. We conducted some surveys, and that’s what they showed. That’s also why the guilds, for example, progress to Burning Crusade.
MeinMMO: Holly, you joined Blizzard in 2020 and previously worked on Everquest and other MMOs. How helpful is an outside perspective on the game, and how significant was your influence on TBC?
Holly: I don’t think I ever really had an outsider perspective. I have always been a big fan of WoW. The team is indescribably passionate and dedicated, like with the drums, where discussions go on for hours. So my influence is rather small; it’s a collaborative effort.
Brian: That’s not true. I’m just glad to be able to work with her. Last year, when we were trying to negotiate various things and there were millions of things in flux, Holly ensured that everything made sense and we could make sure that every department gets what they need. She was fantastic.
No cash shop, but a Deluxe Edition
MeinMMO: Okay, after this good mood and the nice words, I do have a serious question. Data mining has revealed things like a mount skin and other bonuses that sound like a cash shop. Do you have anything like that planned for Burning Crusade?
Holly: I wouldn’t call it a cash shop. What we have is the level 58 boost that should be familiar to many. It is intended to help players catch up to Burning Crusade, although it’s not easy to go directly through the Dark Portal after the boost.
But we wanted people to have something they could buy to be able to play with their friends if they didn’t have time to reach level 58, for example. There is only one per account, and it cannot be used on blood elves and draenei.
Then there is something we call “Deluxe Edition”. It will include the boost, but also a mount, the green footprints, the Dark Portal Hearthstone, and game time. So no, there will be no shop, but only this special edition to celebrate the launch of Burning Crusade.
Brian: It’s really more like a collector’s edition to have an extra option. Anyone who just wants to play Burning Crusade and isn’t interested in these bonuses has everything included in their subscription. You can just play and don’t have to buy anything new.
Holly: And these are all models that already exist; we haven’t created anything brand new for it.
Brian: That’s a good point. Things like the hearthstone with the look of the Dark Portal were in the trading card game back then. And since we don’t have those cards anymore, we’re bringing the content into the game this way.
MeinMMO: That actually sounds interesting and not like a shop system. Then I have one last question. What would you recommend to our readers in preparation for Burning Crusade Classic?
Holly: Call your friends and gather them together. And play the pre-patch. Prepare your characters for level 60 and gather some gear accordingly. And plan your arena teams. The arenas will start a few weeks after the release on June 1, and we can’t wait to see players in action.
Brian: Yes, make sure to log in now, prepare yourselves, and be part of the release of Burning Crusade Classic.
MeinMMO: Thank you very much for answering our questions.
More about Classic and the new expansion can be found on our thematic page for WoW Classic.
