So, I started my WoW journey because of an Ozzy Osbourne TV ad for Wrath of the Lich King. I played (on and off) until a bit after Legion began so I could focus on school. So obviously I had never played Vanilla but I had heard much about it, so I decided to research what the big deal was.
I saw how much different it was from retail, and how much less of a crutch was given to players. I loved the idea that we were competent enough as players to give ourselves a name in our realm and to make connections instead of relying on Blizzard to do the legwork. I enjoy the thought of actually earning my mount with time spent into the game.
So that's why I want to play Classic, even though I've never played Vanilla.
So if you've never played Vanilla, why do you want to play Classic when it comes out this summer?
If you have played Vanilla before, what is bringing you back to Classic?
If you have played Vanilla before, what is bringing you back to Classic?
I'm coming back for the following:
I have absolutely no idea what drew me to WoW when it released. I had never played an MMO, but I did play Warcraft 3. Perhaps that was what did it, I can't remember, but I had no idea what was in store. I was completely drawn in.
I am returning for the sense of community. Players having to communicate, collaborate...general chat...recognizing names. It isn't just nostalgia, that still exists. I hopped into a private server and already got all that and more. An official release just makes it that much better.
Warcraft 2 and 3 was what initially drew me in, although I was late and didn't start till BC.
Now, I can't wait for classic because of how much better I liked the earlier versions of WoW. The talent trees, the community, the absolute grind and relative difficulty, I love all of it. Classic is much more of an RPG than retail is imo.
If you have played Vanilla before, what is bringing you back to Classic?
I'm coming back for the following:
I think exploring Azeroth at a good pace is going to be rewarding, mostly because I'll learn lore from the area and understand factions and races better. I'll be reading through all the quest dialog and try to immerse myself to get the most of out this Classic experience. I know you can do the same in retail, but I enjoy the Azeroth from before cata.
Warcraft 2 and 3 was what initially drew me in, although I was late and didn't start till BC.
Now, I can't wait for classic because of how much better I liked the earlier versions of WoW. The talent trees, the community, the absolute grind and relative difficulty, I love all of it. Classic is much more of an RPG than retail is imo.
I am so excited for talent trees, rather than what's in retail now. It'll give us the freedom I want instead of just the simplistic click here, then here, then here. I hated when they changed it from the more complex one and I'm going to fall right back into love with it in Classic, I just know it.
Talent trees are love, talent trees are life. Give me back those sweet sweet trees and the associated theorycrafting.
I am so excited for talent trees, rather than what's in retail now. It'll give us the freedom I want instead of just the simplistic click here, then here, then here. I hated when they changed it from the more complex one and I'm going to fall right back into love with it in Classic, I just know it.
Right? It felt soo good being able to pick something (nearly) every level like that. It gave such a good sense of progression, even if it was a tiny one. You get a little stronger each level. Now you don't get to choose anything for (is it 15 levels?) and I really dislike it.
I am so excited for talent trees, rather than what's in retail now. It'll give us the freedom I want instead of just the simplistic click here, then here, then here. I hated when they changed it from the more complex one and I'm going to fall right back into love with it in Classic, I just know it.
Right? It felt soo good being able to pick something (nearly) every level like that. It gave such a good sense of progression, even if it was a tiny one. You get a little stronger each level. Now you don't get to choose anything for (is it 15 levels?) and I really dislike it.
Blizzard says that we can change our character based on our play style and how we want to play, but the simplicity of talents and the glyph system definitely make it seem as though we have no choice. There are some talents that can't be used because they're essentially useless, so you have two options to put that point that you get every 15 levels.
For being the saviour of Azeroth and a whole bunch of other huge titles, I feel about as customized as the average NPC.
If you have played Vanilla before, what is bringing you back to Classic?
For me it's two reasons. One is nostalgia - I adore the art, characters, voices, world and level design - and most of all music.
The second is that the game was built from the ground up based on interesting game design decisions that complement each other well. They put a lot of thought into how the game plays, and just simply killing mobs is balanced in a way that rewards smart play.
Leveling a new hunter is a perfect example of this. High ranged dps, low melee dps and the deadzone makes it very intuitive to start attacking at max distance and kiting right away. Just getting one more white hit in affects kill time a lot.
The same can be said for earthbind / hamstring kiting and running in to trade one blow with the mob when the swingtimer is ready. Just very neat stuff!
I'm returning home to a game that is very fun to play. Along with a more rewarding experience that comes with a harder and in other ways more demanding adventure, which seems mostly forgotten in games across most genres these days.
When I was young I really wanted to try this game but I was super shy and my PC couldn't even handle the demo, so I never got a taste and I only knew of Azeroth through epic tales of fights and wipes.
A year ago I got the chance to try retail and it just was not what I expected nor wanted. The world was too big, and the monuments of newer expansions were a constant reminder that I joined too late and would always be left behind. Solo exploration became not so unenjoyable, feeling like a stray timewalker.
Classic is the chance to be part of those tales, and explore a world that feels alive, not reminisced, with people i am growing stronger with.
I may have gotten a bit emotional here.
Talent trees are love, talent trees are life. Give me back those sweet sweet trees and the associated theorycrafting.
Uhuu, yup.
Also, talent trees.
And a gazilion items with wonky effects, blues as bis, hidden quests, a real! grind, community interaction, nostalgia raids, an economy starting from zero! (where 1g = 1g and not! 1g = 1000k g), no Pandas!, no DKs!, no "all classes for all races bc diversity lmao /s", great soundtrack, 40man raids, no blood elf retardins, no flying mounts in Classic, and just generally a return to the roots.
For someone like me, who does not really have a specific roadmap or exact plan, the biggest aspect that draws me in is that I don't really know what is going to happen. What people will I meet and befriend? Will something drop in RFC for me? Up until level 60: will I be lucky and be one of the few that find an epic and get rich from selling it?
Those are only a small number of things that excite me. I look forward to that classic feeling of being just a small nobody and growing in power with time. Your spec being important and defining who you are and how you play. I could go on and on but many good things have been mentioned here already.
Most of my reasons have already been said here - but one other is just hopefully to see if Blizzard can do it. They have been getting quite a lot of negative press as of recent - so it would be nice to see if they deliver like they "used" to. I often think it's kind of funny that the two biggest games I'm hyped for this year is remakes of games from years ago haha (WoW Classic & WCIII: Reforged).
Former Vanilla player here. I'm coming back to Classic after playing every expansion for the same reason I listen to Led Zeppelin instead of Greta van fleet. You can't reproduce the real thing with a fake one.