Our author Benedikt Plass-Fleßenkämper had an excessive phase in World of Warcraft years ago, until he finally defeated his addiction. With WoW Classic he is now trying to get back into it as a casual player with his night elf druid. His experience report!
August 27, 12 AM. WoW Classic has launched! Like hundreds of thousands of other players, I created my character two weeks ago and secured my name. My night elf druid is once again named “Philosoph” – just like in February 2005, when I first fell for the fascination of an online role-playing game thanks to World of Warcraft .
Now I log into the German PvE server Everlook. To my surprise, there is no queue. Only the classic loading screen is visible – albeit for quite a long time.
“Oh my God!” I exclaim spontaneously as I am overwhelmed by nostalgic feelings. Our cat meows; she really doesn’t like it when I curse. My heart is racing. Yes, I am pretty excited.
Philosoph is back
Why? For most players, WoW is a fairly normal hobby they indulge in more or less intensely. I, however, was this druid tank named Philosoph for quite a long time, because I was simply addicted to WoW.
You may have already read my personal WoW story and how I am now re-entering with WoW Classic as a casual here on MeinMMO:
Otherwise, I can only highly recommend it to you. Then you’d understand why the launch of Classic is quite exciting for me.
Today, the multiple father, volunteer soccer coach, and passionate hobby runner finds many things more important than server-first kills and epic loot. With WoW Classic, he wants to get back in as a casual player – and writes for MeinMMO about his experiences as a “casual”.
Two hours of relaxation
For today, two hours of playtime are planned. I have firmly resolved not to let anything stress me out in the world. Let others rush to level 60 as quickly as possible. Whether I will actually reach the maximum level with Philosoph in WoW Classic someday? That is absolutely secondary to me.
I just want to experience WoW slowly again, treat myself to a little relaxation from the hectic work and family life, and only do what I feel like – and especially at my own pace. Whether I will join a guild is still unknown to me. For now, I want to set out on my own.
“For ten thousand years, the immortal night elves cultivated a druidic culture in the shady niches of the forest of Ashenvale…”
As the intro sequence of the night elf starting area begins and I listen to the melodious words of the speaker, I get a little goosebumps. So here I am again, back in the old Azeroth. However, I am far from alone there: Hundreds of night elves are hopping in front of the first quest giver in Shadowglen, some players are even dancing with their characters.
The atmosphere of departure is infectious! I grab the first quest and plunge into the new, old adventure…
A lot going on with the night elves
The first minutes of gameplay in WoW Classic feel a bit like coming home after a long time: At first, it feels a bit strange, but then I quickly find my bearings. And that without addons, because at least today I will do without aids and comfort functions. I read every quest text diligently and let myself fall into the game’s atmosphere.
However, given the masses of players who are also heading to Azeroth, this is not so easy: I have to hurry to attack quest-relevant opponents before someone else does.
Because unlike in today’s WoW, here everyone has to organize their “own” mob and loot. Thus, the first quests take a bit longer. But I don’t care; after all, the journey is the destination for my Classic comeback.
In the meantime, I briefly chat with a rogue, from whom I – of course accidentally! – snatched a night saber right in front of her nose. We both find that we really like the nostalgia trip so far: “Finally, everything is nice and slow in WoW again,” she writes.
Speaking of slow: In between, I also take the time to adjust the key bindings and various HUD elements, activate “quest texts to show immediately” and quick-loot, and experiment a bit with the new graphics settings. After all, I treat myself to the highest possible detail level – why not.
Level 5 should be enough
At some point, there are some server lags, and I can’t accept new quests. Fortunately, this only lasts a few minutes, then the game runs normally again. The first level-ups are quickly achieved, and I buy another useful spell “Moonfire” from the class trainer and the powerful druid buff “Mark of the Wild”.
The low-level rotation for the druid works just like before: First, cast “Moonfire” on the enemy, then spam “Wrath” until the mana runs out – and finish off the rest with melee attacks.
I keep playing. I love the dreamy ambiance of the night elf starting area; especially the music is still fantastic.
Looking at the clock: It’s already shortly after 1 AM. Amazing how fast time flies! I’m back in the classic WoW feeling, have gotten used to the long travel times and the constantly full bags. In a cave, three other players spontaneously invite me to a group. Together we are now fighting forest web spiders.
First group, first moment of happiness
In the group chat, the night elf priest says that he has only ever quested in WoW and has never played the endgame. He also has never used any add-on. I can’t help but smile because I know that my experience was definitely different. Just thinking about how my raid interface looked during WOTLK times…
I’m happy about the new in-game contact and add him to my friends list. We continue to fight through the cave populated by numerous other players. Incredible, how many people are playing WoW Classic right at the start!
Then the first big moment of happiness: One of the creepy crawlies drops a leather bag with six inventory slots. Yay, cool, I’ll take it! And also my first reasonably decent weapon, which I snag as a quest reward, results in a significant serotonin release for me. As I turn in the quest, I reach level 5 and should embark on the path to the neighboring Dolanaar.
I’ll do that, but not today anymore, because I’m slowly dead tired. And look: It’s only 1:55 AM – I’m even staying below my self-imposed two hours. But that’s enough for today. I say goodbye to the priest and log out.
WoW Classic as a casual? Might work! Good night, Azeroth. Until someday.
