World of Warcraft Classic - Discovering Azeroth - MMORPG.com

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World of Warcraft Classic - Discovering Azeroth - MMORPG.com

I'll admit it: I never played World of Warcraft at its inception. In fact, I only started playing WoW when Legion hit, and even then it was only briefly. So the chance to see Azeroth Unmarred was one I had to take.

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Amathe

Exploring is one of the most fun things you can do in WoW. There is so much to see, and it's really cool. Plus it's a good way to go off script and make your own story.

Jimmydean

The small things you mention here are some of the things that make this an mmorpg. If you spend 15 years making a game easier, you end up with BFA, and no one wants that.

Viper482

WoW classic is a completely different experience than LOTRO legendary servers were. They were basically fresh start servers that had a cap before Moria came out. WoW classic is literally a trip back in time to 2006 (happy?) WoW, with none of the UI improvements or anything else there. It has been a refreshing MMORPG experience, honestly. Will it last? No clue. But for now it is pretty awesome to go back in time, even the frustrating parts like quest mob tapping and no "X marks the spot" questing. I actually appreciate it.

Thupli

Nice write up!

I love getting back into it. Super fun, slow enough combat you can type to people at times.

I really like the nuances of old questing, and I am really happy to not be 1-2 shotting mobs without a thought of danger. Win-win, blizzard!

jgDuffay

Yea, I mentioned to a friend the other night that I have to walk so far to get to my corps, even if that is a boring experience, it makes me (the player) value my "life" more and thus play differently and more carefully. Fundamental flaw in current day wow is just this. "Make all content available for all players, reward any achievement, dont make any "bad" experiences". I have allways said if you cant feel sad you cant feel glad, this is also very important in game design

ScottJeslis

"Will it be worth it to me to stick it out through the Lich King or the Cataclysm? How vibrant will the player base feel when we can explore Pandaria again?"

Are these planned to be "opened" eventually? If so it's extra incentive for me to stick around since I never "fully" embraced/played them when they were first released.

Aenghas

Viper482 said:

WoW classic is a completely different experience than LOTRO legendary servers were. They were basically fresh start servers that had a cap before Moria came out. WoW classic is literally a trip back in time to 2004 WoW release, with none of the UI improvements or anything else there. It has been a refreshing MMORPG experience, honestly. Will it last? No clue. But for now it is pretty awesome to go back in time, even the frustrating parts like quest mob tapping and no "X marks the spot" questing. I actually appreciate it.

I know it is pedantic of me but it isn't a trip back to 2004 at launch, it is back to 2006 by the time Classic's adjustments were implemented. There is significantly less jank than at launch.

Kajidourden

As someone who never got into retail at launch I am enjoying myself quite a bit. At the time, I was embroiled in FFXI, and I can see why it didn't stick the first time. The combat is very much what we expect from tab-target games of today and so is a bit easier to digest now since I'm not playing FFXI anymore. Weaponskills, chainskills, ancient magic, etc were all much more interesting to me than any WoW endgame combat.

Again though, now that I have this opportunity to go back and experience it I am having a very good time with it (in the early morning because that's the only time I can get in lol)

Juzaa

Aenghas said:

Viper482 said:

WoW classic is a completely different experience than LOTRO legendary servers were. They were basically fresh start servers that had a cap before Moria came out. WoW classic is literally a trip back in time to 2004 WoW release, with none of the UI improvements or anything else there. It has been a refreshing MMORPG experience, honestly. Will it last? No clue. But for now it is pretty awesome to go back in time, even the frustrating parts like quest mob tapping and no "X marks the spot" questing. I actually appreciate it.

I know it is pedantic of me but it isn't a trip back to 2004 at launch, it is back to 2006 by the time Classic's adjustments were implemented. There is significantly less jank than at launch.

This is an excellent point that shouldn't be ignored. there is a huge difference between 1.0 and classic. The game evolved so much During the first two years, though mostly for the better.

klash2def

ScottJeslis said:

"Will it be worth it to me to stick it out through the Lich King or the Cataclysm? How vibrant will the player base feel when we can explore Pandaria again?"



Are these planned to be "opened" eventually? If so it's extra incentive for me to stick around since I never "fully" embraced/played them when they were first released.

Blizzard changes the game though right? With each xpac? Why would they re release the expansions? I thought the point of Classic was to experience that exact time? Adding even TBC takes it right down the the path of current retail version right? Not against or for it just wondering why they would consider it. Players can experience all that content currently.

Panther2103

I love the exploration of the world. Having to go around on foot or fly everywhere through a flight path you unlocked is so nice even if it takes a long time. It makes people actually go around in the world instead of just sitting in the hub wherever that is and using portals to get to every single place and using one of the 3 or 4 hearth stones to get back to the hub. 

My friend who had never tried WoW back in the day and has been playing it in a group with me on classic told me it felt like an adventure when we were just walking to another area after riding a zepplin to the other continent, which isn't something I've heard in a long time.

I did a dungeon yesterday and it was such a different experience than modern MMORPG's. I made the group, about half way through one of our people had to leave, but they left the dungeon and got us a backup to invite and we continued on. That was crazy nice, and it makes people interact so much more than just re queueing up in some dungeon finder to instantly have another DPS from another server. 

Tehani

I am not exaggerating when I say I am literally having the time of my life. I have not felt like this in an MMO for many years. People are real nice to each other which it is very rare in MMOs today and virtually nonexistent in retail WoW.

The game is ALIVE, this is the best world I can find for it right now. Every quest, every task , exploration, feel like a true achievement.

Here I am just playing Classic casually and losing track of time like I did back in 2005...magic!

vtravi

I couldn't disagree with the OP more. Classic shows how far MMO's have fallen not improved. Mmo's used to be an adventure, now it is just sit in City and wait for queue to pop and when you quest, all the quests are all together right next to the quest giver. There ous no sense of danger now either, the quests mobs will only kill you if you go AFK in combat. MMO'S are in a sad state now, that's whay makes Classic do great, you can see what Mmo's were before they got ruined

jj7009

Also they've stated that it's up to the players weather they go with progression expansions or do new unique content in line with the vanilla design. Honestly I'm all for the latter as old school runescape shows that not only can it work it can surpass the original.

vtravi

jj7009 said:

Also they've stated that it's up to the players weather they go with progression expansions or do new unique content in line with the vanilla design. Honestly I'm all for the latter as old school runescape shows that not only can it work it can surpass the original.

I agree, I would love to see new Classic content. I don't really care to see TBC, flying mounts were the start of this abomination we have now

Oeconomia

"As someone who critiques games for a living, it's always good to jump into older games and see how we've improved and how things have changed over time."

I don't think it has improved at all. Most of those, so called, improvements... have done nothing but make the games easier, and ruined the challenge and community aspects of gaming in an mmo.

vtravi

Oeconomia said:

"As someone who critiques games for a living, it's always good to jump into older games and see how we've improved and how things have changed over time."



I don't think it has improved at all. Most of those, so called, improvements... have done nothing but make the games easier, and ruined the challenge and community aspects of gaming in an mmo.

This man speaks true.

Groqstrong

Oeconomia said:

"As someone who critiques games for a living, it's always good to jump into older games and see how we've improved and how things have changed over time."



I don't think it has improved at all. Most of those, so called, improvements... have done nothing but make the games easier, and ruined the challenge and community aspects of gaming in an mmo.

why are you hiding online lol.

Kajidourden

Torval said:

Oeconomia said:

"As someone who critiques games for a living, it's always good to jump into older games and see how we've improved and how things have changed over time."

I don't think it has improved at all. Most of those, so called, improvements... have done nothing but make the games easier, and ruined the challenge and community aspects of gaming in an mmo.

It's sad that you think Vanilla WoW offered those. It's the very thing that ruined MMORPGs and changed the genre from what it was. WoW was made for non-genre hipsters and now I'm watching as they try and rewrite the history of MMORPGs. I find it ironic that people who ruined the genre are now crying tears that a new generation is perverting it.

While my experience with classic WoW thus doesn't produce the same sentiment that you're expressing here thus far, I do find it interesting in a similar fashion how people talk about how "hard" vanila is/was considering it has always been the most casual-friendly game in existence from day one.

TEKK3N

Why WOW Classic is different from LOTRO progression Servers or any other MMO progression Server? And why I think it will be more successful than the rest of them?

1) WoW Classic is basically as the game was in 2006, nothing was added, nothing was taken away.

The Progression Servers I played, were just the modern version of the game with less content and an increased difficult level (mainly they bumped mobs HP to make it look harder).
I played EQ, and EQ2 progression servers, none of them reflected the games as they were at launch, hence I lost interest pretty fast. I guess it's the same for LOTRO and the rest of them.

2) WoW Classic is/was probably the perfect MMORPG. It hits a sweet spot between the tedium of the original EQ and the excessive casual gameplay of modern MMOs.
It's 'intensive' enough to hold the hardcore playerbase attention, and casual enough to attract the casual crowd.
I don't think it can be improved in any way, in fact as history teach us, it can only get worse.

Classic is a 15 years old game, so it won't be a huge blockbuster. But in its own way, it will be a success.
I also think that WOW retail will look back at Classic success and revert some of the bad choices Blizzard implemented throughout those years.
It's clear now that Classic did many things right, I think that Blizzard finally acknowledged that.

BruceYee

jgDuffay said:

Yea, I mentioned to a friend the other night that I have to walk so far to get to my corps, even if that is a boring experience, it makes me (the player) value my "life" more and thus play differently and more carefully. Fundamental flaw in current day wow is just this. "Make all content available for all players, reward any achievement, dont make any "bad" experiences". I have allways said if you cant feel sad you cant feel glad, this is also very important in game design

The thing about all those rewards and achieve in modern WoW is they fade fast, you get em and they are forgotten. You are more of a number like in a chain gang in modern WoW than a "hero" who is judged by skill. I did a few runs in rfc last nite and the healer in junk gear was better at healing than the guy in blues/greens/enchants cause he was better at conserving mana, not overhealing, popping pots at the right time etc but in modern WoW that wouldn't be the case cause there it's all determined by gear and other "modern" things. Guy with add on in classic will still suck if he sucks they won't help him become a better/smarter player when situations require it.

IMO also modern WoW does not do rewards well for time played cause most are discarded in time or some not worth the time spent to get it/feels like work. In classic everything you do feels meaningful which is strange cause it's basically the same stuff done in other MMO but I guess WoW has that special ingredient which is what made it so popular the first time around.

ScottJeslis

Tehani said:

People are real nice to each other which it is very rare in MMOs today and virtually nonexistent in retail WoW.

Ya I noticed too. Even the art of being buffed by passing by Priests and Druids makes me happy.

Iselin

Tehani said:

I am not exaggerating when I say I am literally having the time of my life. I have not felt like this in an MMO for many years. People are real nice to each other which it is very rare in MMOs today and virtually nonexistent in retail WoW.

The game is ALIVE, this is the best world I can find for it right now. Every quest, every task , exploration, feel like a true achievement.

Here I am just playing Classic casually and losing track of time like I did back in 2005...magic!

The in-game community right now is definitely the best part of the experience. I do wonder though how much of that is the first week launch buzz. 

Iselin

Torval said:

Oeconomia said:

"As someone who critiques games for a living, it's always good to jump into older games and see how we've improved and how things have changed over time."

I don't think it has improved at all. Most of those, so called, improvements... have done nothing but make the games easier, and ruined the challenge and community aspects of gaming in an mmo.

It's sad that you think Vanilla WoW offered those. It's the very thing that ruined MMORPGs and changed the genre from what it was. WoW was made for non-genre hipsters and now I'm watching as they try and rewrite the history of MMORPGs. I find it ironic that people who ruined the genre are now crying tears that a new generation is perverting it.

I'm old enough that I have seen that "back in those days ___ was way better" play out several times for all kinds of things. There's no age requirement either for that overblown nostalgia shit. 30 year olds do it too. It's amusing. 

Iselin

Oeconomia said:

"As someone who critiques games for a living, it's always good to jump into older games and see how we've improved and how things have changed over time."

I don't think it has improved at all. Most of those, so called, improvements... have done nothing but make the games easier, and ruined the challenge and community aspects of gaming in an mmo.

Some things have definitely been changed too much in modern MMOs but Classic is reminding me that some things were senseless. Competitive mob tagging needed to die and stay dead. And there is nothing excellent about all those trips back to the trainer every couple of levels.

Combat pacing? Mob difficulty relative to yours? Level progression time? Those parts of Classic I'm really enjoying but there is also senseless drudgery there that has been improved over time.

So Joseph is not wrong about improvements having been made in the genre... side by side with many mistakes.