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(@teebling)
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This is a sticky for those who want a summary of the most important official information we have about World of Warcraft: Classic, including responses from Blizzard to frequently asked questions from around the web. Last updated 29th August 2019.

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Jump to

  • When did WoW Classic launch?

  • When did the Beta start?

  • How much does the game cost?

  • Can I transfer gold from Live to Classic?

  • What patch did the game launch with?

  • In what order is PvE content being released?

  • In what order is PvP content being released?

  • Will items change with each patch as they did originally?

  • Does it run on the modern game client?

  • Is dynamic respawning in the game?

  • Is there server sharding and what is layering?

  • What is the population cap for each layer then?

  • What mechanics and features changed?

  • Which original mechanics and features remain?

  • Do old or new addons work?

  • Is there Battle.net integration?

  • What patch will Alterac Valley run on?

  • Will the resources for the AQ event remain as they were?

  • Does loot trading exist in Classic?

  • Can I play both factions on the same realm?

  • How many characters can I have per realm?

  • Will free or paid realm transfers be available?

  • Are the old weather effects available?

  • Can I arrange my characters on the selection screen?

  • How big is the client in GB?

  • Are different hitboxes still a thing and what is 'leeway'?

  • Are the old unarmored mounts in the game?

  • Can I toggle between Classic and Retail-level graphics?

  • What are some of the most common misconceptions from the beta?

  • What is the hit cap?

  • Does the client support DX12 and multi-threading?

  • Is there a list of known bugs and issues with the game currently?

  • What will happen after Phase 6? Will we get Burning Crusade?

  • Where can I find more information about Classic?


  • releasedate
    When did WoW Classic launch?

    WoW Classic came out on August 27th 2019
    Mark your calendars: WoW Classic goes live worldwide August 27!

    Whether your battle cry is “For the Horde!” or “For the Alliance!”, there’s no shortage of adventure awaiting you in the vast continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms.

    See below for details on the exact time you can log in and experience the origins of World of Warcraft.

    Link to original post made on may 14th


    beta

    When did the WoW Classic Beta start?

    Closed beta began on May 15th 2019 and closed two weeks before launch day.


    cost

    How much does the game cost?

    It is included in your normal WoW monthly subscription cost.


    goldtx

    Can I transfer gold from Live to Classic?

    Obviously not.
    There is no direct means for characters in BfA to transfer gold to characters in WoW Classic. This would be highly disruptive for Classic as the economies of these two games are very different.

    Gold exchange between players in WoW is subject to our terms of service. Purchase of gold from 3rd parties could lead to suspension or banning of accounts.



    patch
    What patch did WoW: Classic launch with?

    After careful consideration, we decided on Patch 1.12: Drums of War as our foundation, because it represents the most complete version of the classic experience.

    Dev watercooler, 15th June 2018

    Check out this screencap summary of all of the vanilla patches and what they introduced.

    They are officially calling it Patch 1.13. All items are the 1.12 versions.



    content
    In what order is PvE content being released?

    WoW Classic will launch all of it's raid and PvP content in 'phases' spanning an indeterminate amount of time. This will allow for linear progression through gearing and instanced content as if the game were being released in 2005. The current plan has been outlined in a blue post on the official forums which you can read through in full here.
    Phase 1 (Classic Launch)

  • Molten Core

  • Onyxia

  • Maraudon

  • Phase 2

  • Dire Maul

  • Azuregos

  • Kazzak

  • Phase 3

  • Blackwing Lair

  • Darkmoon Faire

  • Darkmoon deck drops begin

  • Phase 4

  • Zul’Gurub

  • Green Dragons

  • Phase 5

  • Ahn’Qiraj War Effort begins

  • Ahn’Qiraj raids open when the war effort dictates

  • Dungeon loot reconfiguration: Tier 0.5 Dungeon gear, Relics, drop rates and location changes

  • Phase 6

  • Naxxramas

  • Scourge Invasion

  • Kaivax, 11th March 2019 (full post here)

    Check out my phase-by-phase highlight logos!

    Worth noting too that the release dates for each phase will not be announced and will be released on an ad-hoc basis:
    Probably one-by-one, as Classic continues. We actually don't have them pinned down precisely yet. We're trying to figure it out as we go forward.

    We want to take a look at the Classic community as it progresses through the content, and determining what seems reasonable.



    pvpcontent
    In what order is PvP content being released?
    Here’s what the PvP content looks like mapped to the phases we recently posted about:

    Phase 1 (WoW Classic Launch)

  • You can PvP one another in the world, but there is no tracking, and no formal rewards for doing so.

  • Phase 2

  • Honor System (including Dishonorable Kills)

  • PvP Rank Rewards

  • Phase 3

  • Alterac Valley (version 1.12 30)

  • Warsong Gulch

  • Phase 4

  • Arathi Basin

  • Phase 6

  • World PvP objectives in Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands

  • Original post here.


    itemise
    Will items change with each patch as they did originally?

    No. Items are going to be set at their 1.12 versions regardless of what content phase is out. Blue post:
    WoW Classic will only include that last version of the item, as it existed in our reference version: 1.12.

    Original post here.

    In addition, here's more information on loot tables for raids in Phase 1 which may be of interest:
    For me, some of the fun of clearing a dungeon is discovering the loot as you go, but for those who want more information: the drop tables are mostly from 1.12.

    There is a significant exception to that, in Phase 5, when Relics are added to drop tables. When they were originally added, in patch 1.10, they affected drop tables significantly enough that simply removing relics from the drop table until Phase 5 wouldn't be sufficient. It would have had effects on the drop-rates of other items that we didn't feel were acceptable or authentic. So for that specific change to item drops, we did reproduce the boss drop-tables from the previous patch (1.9). Before Phase 5, the affected bosses have the 1.9 drop tables, and once Phase 5 hits, they'll use the 1.10 drop tables.

    That change doesn't affect MC or Onyxia very heavily, so you should expect those drops to launch in a state very similar to their final phase 6 state. Again I don't want to give it all away, so I'll leave a bit to exploration and discovery here. :)


    client
    Does WoW: Classic run on the modern game client?

    Yes. It is Classic WoW within a modern client, this is confirmed by the blue below. Confirmed in Beta as well.
    Starting from a modern architecture—with all its security and stability changes—means the team’s efforts can be focused on pursuing an authentic classic experience

    Dev watercooler, 15th June 2018



    respawns
    Is dynamic respawning in the game?

    Yes, and an line with the 1.12 mechanics too:
    After Stress Test 2, we were as concerned as many of you were about the inability to find enough spawns in the starting zones, so we double-checked our spawn logic, and it turns out there was a bug.

    In the original 1.12 data, different spawn regions have different thresholds at which automatic respawning is triggered, but the bug was causing it to ignore these population thresholds. This affects the starting zones more than other zones because they have very aggressive thresholds for triggering respawns, to make sure that you can always progress through your first introduction to the game.

    As you level up throughout the later zones, the respawn thresholds aren’t as aggressive, and you start having to compete more in higher level zones. We have verified that we’ve correctly reproduced the 1.12 spawn rates and thresholds throughout the game now, and while the respawn rates you see in Northshire aren’t the same as they are in Un’Goro, they will both be accurate to patch 1.12.

    The same spawn logic applies to mineral nodes, creatures, herbs, etc. Spawn regions can overlap one another, so that creatures and nodes of different types behave differently in the same physical space, and individual spawns, can all have custom overrides. We’re using all the original data to control this behavior.

    Original post here



    sharding
    Is there server sharding on WoW: Classic and what is layering?

    No, but there is 'layering' instead - a much better solution that puts you in a 'layer' when you log in, hits 3k maximum and then a new layer starts. Only way to move between them is be in a guild or group together. This will only last until the beginning of Phase 2, at which point layering will be removed completely.



    layeringcap
    What is the population cap for each layer then?

    Bear in mind that the negative opinions arising from the beta - where people were claiming that they were easily able to 'hop' layers etc. are unfounded because Blizzard intentionally lowered the thresholds to a point at which they could test the functionality of layering and it is not an accurate reflection of how the system works in-game.
    We're not releasing specific numbers, that will likely change dramatically. Based on the response we got from name reservations, we're anticipating large player populations for some realms initially. This may change as players switch to lower population realms. We'll use layers to help improve performance in the short-term if large groups of players cluster in an area. We hope to reduce the use of layering over time as people spread out in each realm.



    changes
    What mechanics and features changed in WoW: Classic?

    Brokenshield, who attended Blizzcon 2018, reports that the debuff limit will remain at 16, not 8:
    Ion said that in WoW: Classic, the debuff limit was capped at 8 debuffs when the original game launched. In 2005, the limit was increased to 16 debuffs. This was not necessarily a game design decision at the time, but a natural limitation of the tech being employed at the time (i.e. Server RAM limitations). In retail WoW, this limit is effectively uncapped (255), but increasing this cap in WoW: Classic could generate a whole host of unforeseen issues.



    original
    Which original mechanics and features remain in WoW: Classic?
    We want to create an experience that feels just like 2006 World of Warcraft. If someone was playing WoW in 2006, and they lay down and took a very, very, very long nap, and woke up in 2019 and we sat them in front of WoW: Classic, it shouldn't feel like an immediately different experience. You might wonder like why this monitor is so thin and all that, but other than that, it should feel like the game that you know.

    To summarise findings from Classic panel at Blizzcon and beta:

  • No Looking for Dungeon Group/Looking for Raid Group tool. In response to the demo findings:
    This is just a remnant of some leftover UI. WoW Classic will not have Dungeon Finder/Raid Finder.
  • No Cross-realm grouping apart from battlegrounds (realm identity, representation, etc. needs to be maintained).

  • No flying, ever.

  • No achievements (Classic had its own goals, such as pursuing exalted reputations).

  • No unified auction houses (if you want to trade with Alliance as Horde, you will need to use the goblin auction houses).

  • Mail will still take 1 hour to arrive.

  • UI will remain the same, albeit some small changes under the hood that won't affect the player.

  • Dungeon group limits will remain at 10 players, besides those with special limits:
  • This was indeed a bug that we have fixed and you should be able to enter most lower-level dungeons with up to 10 players, as was possible in Original WoW 1.12. There are some dungeons that had specific caps by the end of Original WoW however. To be specific, all lower level dungeons available through Maraudon should have a player cap of 10, with Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, and Dire Maul being capped at 5 players.

    As was the case in Original WoW 1.12, Blackrock Spire should also have a cap of 10 players.



    addons
    Do old or new addons work on WoW: Classic?.

    Most addon developers have rebuilt their tools to work in the 1.13 client, so yes, many of the older and newer addons work in Classic! :smile:

    Blizzard have, however, introduced some restrictions. For example, addons that purport to replicate the 'Looking for Group' raid/dungeon finder have been banned, and addons that they deem 'incompatible with Classic' may also suffer the same fate:
    In line with what we shared at BlizzCon last year, we intend to be very careful about allowing add-on functionality that might undermine aspects of the social dynamics that are core to the Classic experience, even in cases like this where it’s clear that the addon author had no ill intent and was simply trying to provide a service to the Classic community. Ultimately, if a streamlined group-finding system was something we considered compatible with Classic, we would have kept the modern Premade Group Finder tool rather than choosing to remove it from the Classic client.

    It’s difficult to articulate a clear-cut rule for exactly when an add-on crosses the line. However, when an add-on goes beyond presenting information or providing aesthetic customization, and attempts to create an interconnected social network that relies on other players also using that same add-on, we are likely to scrutinize it particularly closely.

    Original post

    Blizzard have said the following about addon API:
    It will be a different one, but I don't know if I would categorize it as completely different. We are starting with our modern codebase, and that includes the modern API, but there are addon APIs that don't make sense for Classic, and in those cases, we're trying to roll things back to reflect how the game behaved back then.



    bnet
    Is there Battle.net integration in WoW: Classic?

    Additional improvements will include modern anti-cheat/botting detection, customer service and Battle.net integration, and similar conveniences that do not affect the core gameplay experience.

    Dev watercooler, 15th June 2018



    alteracvalley
    What patch will Alterac Valley run on?
    First and foremost, we’re planning to use the 1.12 version of Alterac Valley. For many parts of the game like this, we’re picking an original WoW patch that gives us the most clarity for WoW: Classic, and 1.12 is that patch.

    In Alterac Valley, that puts us before the introduction of reinforcements. It puts us before the removal of all of the Commanders and Lieutenants. The only win conditions are the killing of Drek’thar in Frostwolf Keep or Vanndar Stormpike in Dun Baldar.



    aqresources
    Will the resources for the AQ event remain as they were?

    Yes.
    #nochanges

    In all seriousness, one of our core pillars is to recreate the original experiences as authentically as possible. This will extend to the required resources of the AQ War Event. We realize there is nothing we can do to unwind the knowledge gained over the years. What we do have control over is ensuring that World of Warcraft Classic matches as closely as possible to the original 1.12. data.



    loottraind
    Does loot trading exist in Classic?
    We’ve decided that the two-hour loot trading system in WoW Classic will only apply to soulbound gear that drops in raids. Soulbound loot that drops in five-person content will not be tradeable at any time.

    Original post here: https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/loot-trading-in-classic/131586

    Note that this only applies to instances which have a raid lockout timer. So for example, even though URBS and LRBS are considered 'raid dungeons', they don't have lockout timers and therefore loot trading won't exist in them.



    factions
    Can I play both factions on the same realm?

    For PvE servers, yes. For PvP servers, no.
    Only one faction per realm on PvP realms

    Full post here



    charlimits
    How many characters can I have per realm?
    In WoW Classic, you’ll have the following character limits per WoW account:

  • A maximum of 10 characters per WoW Classic realm

  • A maximum of 50 characters across all of the WoW Classic realms in your region

  • No overlap or regard with the character limits in Battle for Azeroth

  • You’ll be able to have up to 50 Battle for Azeroth characters and up to 50 WoW Classic characters at the same time.

  • Full post here



    realmtrans
    Will free or paid realm transfers be available?

    In response to free transfers:
    This is definitely one of the options we are considering. But for now, we are encouraging players to use the name reservation period to transfer their characters to lower population realms.

    In response to paid transfers:
    We're considering integrating a character transfer service once players have reached higher levels. This was available in the original WoW. We'll look at the rules we imposed at that time and also discuss the implications of players moving to a new realm. We believe realm identity is an important aspect of Classic so any guidelines around transfers should support this belief.

    What about other types of paid services like faction changes, appearance changes etc.?
    We aren't considering other services beyond character transfer at this time.



    weather
    Are the old weather effects available?

    Yep :smile: From beta:




    arrange
    Can I arrange my characters on the selection screen?

    Yes, you can. From beta:




    clientsize
    How big is the client in GB?

    Just over 8 GB for the beta at the moment.



    hitboxes
    Are different hitboxes still a thing and what is 'leeway'?

    Hitboxes and their effects on range are indeed still a thing, yes. If you're Tauren for example, you can reach farther but also get hit from a greater range.

    Here's Blizzard's confirmation that it is working as per 1.12:
    “Melee leeway” is working as intended.

    After careful study and testing, we’ve found that for players with low latency, the state of melee leeway is how they would have experienced the game in 2006.

    There are more people with low latency now than there were in 2006, so we expect for some it might feel different, but it is working as expected.

    Original post



    mountage
    Are the old unarmored mounts still in the game?

    Nope.
    It is the current vendor mounts for 1.12. We aren't putting back the unarmored mounts. We just talked about this recently internally. We know some people are interested in them, but we don't want to put them in for a limited period of time, because we didn't want to influence people through their first leveling experience. Especially people coming back for the first time. We don't want people to feel like they have to rush. If you want to level slowly and enjoy the journey, you should. That's how I like to play--taking it slow, running every dungeon.



    gtoggle
    Can I toggle between Classic and Retail-level graphics?
    We wanted to make sure that you could get the Classic look exactly right if you wanted that, so we have a Classic graphics button option, to make sure you don't see things that weren't in Classic. If you hit that button, it will turn that ground clutter all the way down, with all the objects exactly where they were too.



    misconceptions
    What are some of the most common misconceptions from the beta?
    As we’ve discussed before, the nature of WoW Classic sometimes invokes different memories for different players, and this leads to certain misconceptions for some about what is or isn’t working as intended.
    The following is a list of commonly-reported gameplay in WoW Classic that is not actually a bug, and is working as we expect it to:

    Tauren’s hitboxes and their melee reach is slightly larger than other races.
    Being critically struck while using /sit to sit does not cause abilities like Enrage, Blood Craze, and Reckoning to activate.
    Using the “Automatic Quest Tracking” option does not auto-track newly accepted quests. (It instead will start to track an existing quest once progress towards an objective is started.)
    Warrior health Regeneration is working at the expected rate.
    Quests objectives and points of interests are not tracked on the map or minimap.
    Completed quests are marked on the minimap with a dot. (and not a “?”)
    Feared players and NPCs run fast.
    Standing on top of other players while facing away allows spells and attacks to be used.
    Creature respawn rates are much slower than in Battle for Azeroth.
    NPCs which offer multiple quests may inconsistently display them as a dot or a “!” on the available quests list. They were inconsistent in 1.12, and we’ve reproduced the exact inconsistency they had back then.
    Quests that are too low level for do not show up as a “!” in the game world.
    Available quests do not display a “!” on the minimap.
    On level up, the message: “Your skill in Protection increased to 15” was added in 1.12.1, and we’re intending to keep that.



    hitcap
    What is the hit cap?

    Confirmed in a recent blue:
    There is some code in 1.12 that explicitly adds a modifier that causes the first 1% of +hit gained from talents or gear to be ignored against monsters with more than 10 Defense Skill above the attacking player’s Weapon Skill.

    This means that the so-called “hit cap” is in effect 9% rather than 8% for a player with 300 Weapon Skill fighting a level 63 monster with a Defense Skill of 315. With a Weapon Skill of 305, such as from Sword Specialization (Humans) or Axe Specialization (Orcs), this hit modifier is no longer in place against +3 level monsters, provided that you are using the appropriate weapon type to gain the passive bonus. Needless to say, this makes +Weapon Skill very good against raid-level monsters.

    This code is already fully present in the WoW Classic client, and this will continue to function exactly as it did in the original game.

    Original post



    cores
    Does the client support DX12 and multithreading?

    At the moment, thanks to some preliminary tests by /u/SoupaSouka, it doesn't look like the beta supports multithreading.

    This has also been confirmed by Blizzard:
    We are not planning to bring DX12 and the multithreaded enhancements to the Classic client. The multithreaded support greatly improves performance in large scale environments like Suramar or Boralus. Classic's world and models are much simpler. It would also increase the system requirements.



    bugs
    Is there a list of known bugs and issues with the game currently?

    Yes:
    Below is a list of known issues for the WoW Classic 1.13.2 launch. Please note that this list is not comprehensive and is not a complete depiction of what we’re aware of, but a sampling of issues we believe players may encounter with some regularity. We hope to have fixes to these issues in place soon, but we cannot promise when or if any individual bug will be fixed.

    Blizzard are keeping this post up-to date.



    info
    What will happen after Phase 6? Will we get Burning Crusade?

    Maybe :wink:
    We've done most of the hard work by bringing back 1.12 so progressing to Burning Crusade would be a lot easier for us. Our plan is to identify everything we need to do should we ever decide to go this route. We want to be sensitive to the desires of our players. Some may want BC and some may not. We'll be following the Classic community closely to help determine what our next steps should be.



    info
    Where can I find more information?

    Check out the BIG list of Classic resources and our Guides section. If you have any questions just post in the forum :smile:

     
    Posted : 21/10/2018 5:21 pm
    (@brokenshield)
    Posts: 23
    Eminent Member
     

    I am disinclined to believe that they will actually release WoW: Classic for the 15th year anniversary. It seemed like a great concept back in April or so, but since they haven't announced anything and are giving a demo for BlizzCon ticket holders, I feel like it is still a little ways away.

    Although who knows, they could surprise us and drop a December release date or something. As long as they drop it around a time when I can play the shit out of it I will be happy :D.

     
    Posted : 23/10/2018 11:06 am
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    Classic WoW for Christmas... that would be too good to be true!

     
    Posted : 24/10/2018 1:17 am
    (@faendor)
    Posts: 455
    Reputable Member
     

    I personally think that it could be released in the 2nd Quarter of 2019

     
    Posted : 24/10/2018 4:48 am
    (@brokenshield)
    Posts: 23
    Eminent Member
     

    I personally think that it could be released in the 2nd Quarter of 2019

    Yeah, honestly it just depends upon how many resources they are actually devoting to WoW: Classic. I've done both computer programming and networking, and they're making it sound like it is a much bigger project than it actually is. Sure, modern architecture is much different now than it was 14 years ago, the tables for skills have changed a lot, B.net authentication and server mechanics, and all sorts of other things have changed under the hood, but it is not something that should take more than a year given Blizzard's resources. Not by a long shot.

    That is, of course, assuming the higher ups didn't go "look, we will devote only X amount of resources for this project. That should allow you to hire roughly 10 people. We will not devote anymore resources that we could've been pouring into hearthstone, overwatch, etc." Which, honestly, is what I think happened.

     
    Posted : 24/10/2018 11:14 am
    (@faendor)
    Posts: 455
    Reputable Member
     

    According to what they say, they are very commited to it. In the last update they said that there is still a lot to work on but who were they pointing that to? It might mean that they wanted to make sure people dont think it is coming like this year as they named it ''DEMO''. I believe it is closer then we originally expected and might come up in the second Q ass I said. I quess they will want to adjust the release accordingly to BFA progression as well.

     
    Posted : 24/10/2018 2:08 pm
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    Might want to add some bits about the graphics revealed in that leak and the UI screenshots that confirm resistances are coming back etc. or just wait until the demo lands...

     
    Posted : 29/10/2018 10:10 pm
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    Updated with new info from Blizzcon 2018.

     
    Posted : 02/11/2018 4:58 pm
    (@syturio)
    Posts: 179
    Estimable Member
     

    Just a side note, from what i have heard, Classic is running on a CUSTOM beta build from Legion... addons devs are saying it's a complete mess.
    Old addons will not work, Legion/BFA addons will not work, everything will have to be learned/made from scratch, wich honestly can be a positive thing, when the original Vanilla launched no one had addons too.

    About sharding... i hope they don't do it, it's a huge change and will kill the immersion.

    Also, since both BFA and Classic share the same subscription, will this means you can buy an WoW Token with gold on BFA and play Classic for free?

     
    Posted : 03/11/2018 4:52 am
    (@brokenshield)
    Posts: 23
    Eminent Member
     

    So I attended BlizzCon. Here's a few highlights from their panel on Classic Wow that might be of use to add:

    Design Philosophy:

    • Changes will be made to the game, but only if they still deliver an authentic experience.

    "We want to create an experience that feels just like 2006 World of Warcraft. If someone was playing WoW in 2006, and they lay down and took a very, very, very long nap, and woke up in 2019 and we sat them in front of WoW: Classic, it shouldn't feel like an immediately different experience. You might wonder like why this monitor is so thin and all that, but other than that, it should feel like the game that you know." -Ion Hazzikostas, BlizzCon 2018

    • Changes will not be made that affect the integrity of social dynamics (things like LFR, LFD, etc.)
    • 1.12 data will not be changed (hit points of mobs, etc.)
    • The architecture appears to use the old art and model assets from patch 1.12, but runs over the code from Legion (patch 7.3.5). This was to hopefully cut down on the prodigious amount of changes that they would need to make to 1.12 code in order to bring it up to speed (Bnet authentication, patches for bugs or exploits, and so forth). It worked, however they needed to still make a lot of changes (fixing terrain mismatches between pre and post cataclysm zones, etc.).

    Things that will not be changed:

    Easy decisions

    • No Dungeon Finder, Group Finder, Raid Finder, etc. (because doing so affects social dynamics).
    • No Cross-realm grouping (realm identity, representation, etc. needs to be maintained).
    • No flying, ever.
    • No achievements (Classic had its own goals, such as pursuing exalted reputations).
    • No unified auction houses (if you want to trade with Alliance as Horde, you will need to use the goblin auction houses).

    Difficult decisions

    • Debuff limit will be maintained at 16 (as it was in 2005).

    Ion said that in WoW: Classic, the debuff limit was capped at 8 debuffs when the original game launched. In 2005, the limit was increased to 16 debuffs. This was not necessarily a game design decision at the time, but a natural limitation of the tech being employed at the time (i.e. Server RAM limitations). In retail WoW, this limit is effectively uncapped (255), but increasing this cap in WoW: Classic could generate a whole host of unforeseen issues.

    "We are restoring the 16 debuff limit. 'Now why are we doing that?' you might ask, if it's frankly, objectively, worse design. That actually implicates the third point in my original philosophy slide, which is, we don't want to mess with the 1.12 data, we don't want to mess with balance. If we change the code in this regard, who's to say what effects that would have on balance in raids, in PvP, and elsewhere. Maybe, suddenly, dot classes like Warlocks and others, are far more effective then they had been, and we have actually a different outcome, a different metagame, than the original classic experience produced, and that would actually be deviating from authenticity." -Ion Hazzikostas, BlizzCon 2018

    • Mail will still take 1 hour to arrive.

    In classic, it was often faster to give materials to another player in person, and that helped facilitate a particular social dynamic that otherwise would be different if mail was instant as it is today. To avoid changing any of these dynamics, mail will once again take 1 hour to arrive in WoW: Classic.

    • Energy regeneration will be reverted back to as it was in vanilla.

    In modern WoW, today, the client will restore 1 point of energy for every tenth of a second (modified by haste). Back in the day, due to architecture limitations, regeneration came back in "chunks". While this is a subtle difference, and probably something that would be changed had the tech allowed for it in vanilla, the original energy regeneration limitation will be maintained in Classic. This is because it affects the ebb and flow of a rotation, which may affect gameplay (especially for rogues).

    Things that will be changed from Classic:

    • Some slight UI changes will be more modern.

    According to Ion, some things (such as how fast mail items are removed from your mailbox and added to your bag) will be consistent with modern WoW. The look at the feel of the UI will be the same as it was in 2005, however, some minor changes under the hood will be made. Since these do not affect social dynamics, how the game plays, etc., they feel these are okay changes.

    • Loot trading.

    In modern WoW, you can trade an item you accidentally looted with other people in your party for up to two hours. In vanilla, if you accidentally looted an item, you would have to open a support ticket in order to get it transferred. Since the end result is the same, it frees up Blizz customer support for other issues, and gets accidentally looted items to players faster, the modern loot trading system will be used.

    Things they don't know if they are going to change:

    • AddOns

    Some addons may be restricted if they affect the authentic experience of WoW: Classic, particularly the social dynamics of the game and how people interact with each other. However, that being said, there are some addons that may be of use by the community. With this regard, they are not sure how to properly address addons and are requesting input from the community.

    Release Timetable:

    • Game will initially be launched next summer, 2019.
    • Game will start in 1.12, however, end-game content will be released in stages (since WoW: Classic was about a journey).

    Stage 1: Molten core, Onyxia, Dire Maul, Kazzak, Azuregos (WoW, circa March 2005).
    Stage 2: Blackwing Lair, Battlegrounds and PvP rewards, Zul'Gurub (WoW, circa July 2005).
    Stage 3: Ahn'Qiraj, Tier 0.5, Silithus content, Green Dragons (WoW, circa January 2006).
    Stage 4: Naxxramas Raid, Scourge Invasion (WoW, circa June 2006).

    Note that the exact timing of this has not been determined. They are also looking for feedback from the community on the release timetable.

    Other notes:

    The demo that was present at BlizzCon and available to virtual ticket holders was not representative of the final product. This is because there are still a few mismatches between the 7.3.5 server and the 1.12 prototype client (for example, /lfr produces the looking for raid window still, which will be removed).

     
    Posted : 04/11/2018 10:00 am
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    Thank you very much for your contribution Brokenshield - awesome that you actually attended and have some very interesting stuff to report.

    I have added your comments into the FAQ sticky post.

     
    Posted : 04/11/2018 5:00 pm
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    Some addons may be restricted if they affect the authentic experience of WoW: Classic, particularly the social dynamics of the game and how people interact with each other. However, that being said, there are some addons that may be of use by the community. With this regard, they are not sure how to properly address addons and are requesting input from the community.

    Veeerry curious - we’ve seen this pop up before on the forums and the result was no consensus whatsoever.

    Using modern LUA and with a decade’s worth of experience and ideas, I’m certain there will be a few addons made in the early days that far surpass the ‘intentional’ rollback of QoL mechanics intended by blizz developers.

    Even if they decide to curate addons and ban ones they don’t like, under what criteria will they make such decisions? Who chooses what isn’t ‘Classic’ enough?

     
    Posted : 15/11/2018 11:36 pm
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    Some addons may be restricted if they affect the authentic experience of WoW: Classic, particularly the social dynamics of the game and how people interact with each other. However, that being said, there are some addons that may be of use by the community. With this regard, they are not sure how to properly address addons and are requesting input from the community.

    Veeerry curious - we’ve seen this pop up before on the forums and the result was no consensus whatsoever.

    Using modern LUA and with a decade’s worth of experience and ideas, I’m certain there will be a few addons made in the early days that far surpass the ‘intentional’ rollback of QoL mechanics intended by blizz developers.

    Even if they decide to curate addons and ban ones they don’t like, under what criteria will they make such decisions? Who chooses what isn’t ‘Classic’ enough?

    Its a good question that im sure a lot of devs are scratching their heads over. They could do some research on what people were using for addons before BC came out and use that as a ceiling, banning new features that were around after that time and allowing anything that came before it. Just a thought.

     
    Posted : 29/11/2018 7:24 pm
    (@teebling)
    Posts: 1611
    Noble Member
    Topic starter
     

    I actually quite like that idea forthehorde. It would be in line with the #nochanges philosophy but holy hell it would be a lot of extra work for blizzard.

     
    Posted : 30/11/2018 1:39 pm
    (@dolamite)
    Posts: 177
    Estimable Member
     

    Awesome updates, I hope it all stays true!

     
    Posted : 09/03/2019 11:59 pm
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