Maybe to you it is not, and you prefer the expansions.
To a lot of us it is the best. It was WoW at its peak, and 15 years later it is still the game we want to play.
Why though? If it isn't just Nostalgia, then what makes Classic better than what came after it?
I'm gonna go with depth. Plain and simple.
Leveling process takes time, but that makes it enjoyable to me, it's a journey, not a race (I'm not a speed leveler)
Reputation grinds are harsh but rewarding (e.g. Thorium Brotherhood or Defilers)
Professions are complex and rewarding (not all of them, sadly, looking at you, blacksmithing)
Dungeon design is amazing (Favorites include BRD, LBRS, UBRS, ST)
Attunement questlines (I know this is controversial, but these are awesome pieces of lore)
Rewarding solo activities at level cap (Partly related to all of the above,.. these days you stand around and spam m+)
<3 Classic <3
I don't have a lot of that nostaliga-fill cause i started to play with WOTLK in private servers, but i think that the best thing in classic is the satisfaction generated from your character growing up.
Leveling up, have better gear, get new spells and everything else that makes your character better takes time. A LOT of time.
But when success is so damn satisfying
(more satisfying than buy a level-boost from the shop ofc)
It was the community for me. I met my best friend in the ruins of Alterac, and he's going to be in my wedding next year. People did goofy shit and helped each other out. I enjoyed running into people in the middle of bumfuck Hinterlands, and having a brief chat about any enemy players nearby and other things. The world felt so big, and I loved having to prepare when I left a city, because I didn't know when I was coming back.
It was the best because it was a second life.
I didn't just log in to get the (mythic) epic loot to have a high ilvl and log off, I logged on in Vanilla to live and breath in Azeroth.
Chat with friends
Quest with a buddy
Help friends
Go fishing
Hang out with your faction in the city
Actually use/gather mats to create things with your profession
Enjoy the world and how big it was and how immerseful it was
Each expansion and each experience I have had have been very valuable and unique. Retail Vanilla felt different than retail BC, which felt different than private Vanilla which will all be different than Classic. They have each had their pros and cons and felt very unique to one another. Though I am very excited to experience Classic. My expectations for Classic are reasonable and I look forward to experiencing this new example of vanilla with everyone else. I will continue to play each version of the game (have played every xpac thus far) with an open mind and will continue to support retail (as we all will with the shared sub). I just like WoW to be honest.
Why do I enjoy Classic? Interaction. I like the forced interaction which lends itself to adversity and community. Though BC offered a certain polish that was not available in Vanilla. On the other hand flying mounts, sanctuary zones and the casual nature of arena welfare gear didn't suit me. Though the difficulty of content in BC had increased which I preferred. Each expansion presented their own pros and cons which is why each expansion is valuable in its own right and each expansion will have its own audience seeking to re-experience their preferred version of the game.
I will play Classic vanilla and BC if they are available. I would casually play WotLK (my least favorite xpac). I would definitely play PvP in Cata as this is often regarded as the peak of high tier PvP arena content. I will continue to purchase any new content produced by Blizz, im in too deep to stop now.
edit: annnnd tomorrow marks a FRESH launch, with a new set of rules on Silver Hand (Lights Hope). A blizzlike experience tailored for the quick release of Classic in August. No gated content... A RACE TO CLEAR NAXX! A new rendition of the game I love, and a new experience that is completely unique to the rest!
Vanilla world is organic. Not a force, scripted theme park. Living, breathing organism with people and interaction. It's crazy how it was mentioned in every article regarding WoW addiction how it mimic the real world. If we look how retail WoW declined in that matter it all clicks. Retail WoW is no longer addicting and therefore not highly attractive as "alternative world" for many people. Addiction is bad, but it seems to describe how good state of the game was and which is lacking now.
Many people have already said some great points, so I'll try not to repeat them.
A lot of what makes Vanilla unique and the best are also many of the things that changed in BC (which would have otherwise been an even better expansion than it was, and many people love it despite that as we see here).
Many people have already said some great points, so I'll try not to repeat them.
A lot of what makes Vanilla unique and the best are also many of the things that changed in BC (which would have otherwise been an even better expansion than it was, and many people love it despite that as we see here).
Great points!
Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms had all of the best, memorable zones in the game, and the levelling process is such a long epic journey that you would be in the same zone for hours on end before moving on to the next. A lot of quests are linked together within the same region, westfall-redridge-elwynn and Black rock mountain, in a way that is convenient and fun to play... I feel that none of the expansions really followed on with that because each zone was just move on to the next.
The original music was all brilliant, duskwood and silverpine for example.
Zones had atmosphere.
The gear was always a struggle to earn and thus was an achievement itself, T2 armor or Commander PVP gear was actually worth something and players would inspect to see what cool shit you're wearing.
Being in a guild and grouping with other players was necessary and a fun experience.
Levelling with a friend is an epic adventure that took time and strengthens your friendship with said friend.
The dungeon/ raid content is great.
Alterac valley is a lot of fun and more difficult.
Professions mattered.
To me, the sense of achievement is what made WoW great. There were clear distinctions about what reward you could expect based on the time, effort, and skill you put into the game.
If someone was standing in the middle of orgrimmar with the best weapons in the game, you respected that. And Im sure that person had a great sense of achievment for their accomplishment.
But at the same time, me, as a low level scrub got just as much achievement (okay maybe not as much) from playing the game. The time that I put in, no matter how long, made it feel like I was progressing. This was because the game was hard. I had to pay attention and put in effort to work with other people to do things even at level 10.
The game did an amazing job of making you feel the appropriate level of reward, no matter how much effort you put into the game.
On a similar note, if you havent yet, I would suggest looking up Kevin Jordan and watching some of his past Twitch broadcasts. (Im at work so Ill link later) He has some really great takes on why he thinks WoW was great.
--Edit--
Okay, I found the video I was thinking of https://www.twitch.tv/videos/425632504?t=02h49m28s . The link should take you directly to where the relevant part starts.
Kevin Jordan is an ex-WoW Designer who worked on Vanilla. In the clip he is reacting to a video Kungen put out about MMORPGs. Kevin gives some interesting insight into his thoughts on what makes a good MMO, and both he and Kungen use Vanilla as an example of a lot of the good aspects of an MMO. I think a lot of these things can be expressed as reasons why Vanilla (and therefore Classic) are so great.
I played the first 6 years of this game and will be returning just to play Classic. Why? Because I never really enjoyed it as much after expansions even though I continued with a 6 year stint. Now I am playing the freebie version just to re-acclimate myself and it reminds me why I left. The expansions turned the game into an arcade style game and dumbed it down to the point it was not fun for me anymore. I want to run around and open the map and explore. I can't wait to run the barrens. I wonder if Chuck jokes will return to the Barrens. Well I think I'll roll a Warlock and do tailoring because I do remember that bag drops were few and far between in the beginning, In fact it created quite a hindrance and seemed like forever before you had plenty of bag space. Gold doesn't flow like it does now. It's a grind and that's what makes it fun. It's not just running from one quest to the next and then buying everything you want from the AH, man you gotta go work for the good stuff. Looking forward to it with great anticipation.
2 factors for me.
1. So much more of what you do matters so much more than it has in years.
2. Close-knit servers where your actions (both positive and negative) have sometimes immediate but often long-term consequences with other people.
The social aspect of it, in retail running dungeons while lvling is a breeze and no one pays attention to one another… In classic people are talking and making friends throughout the lvling journey..
I have enjoyed almost all expansions but for different things, classic is about the social aspect and the lvling journey for me.