Excitement due to game releases is a rare experience for me these days, I’m more of a classic gamer. Which is exactly why, the news of wow classic release has had me consumed! And I know this excites many others to the core. And why not? Good news is always welcomed and embraced.
World of Warcraft Classic is being released on the 27th of August 2019. And it’s available to everyone with an active wow subscription.
World of Warcraft Classic is a faithful recreation of the original World of Warcraft, it runs a bit smoother on today’s computers, but the game still looks and feels like you’re playing World of Warcraft from 2006. Combat mechanics, original character models and skill trees all contribute to a truly authentic experience, as do your interactions with other players. Your reliance on others to take on the world was at the heart of the original WoW and is at the heart of World of Warcraft Classic.
- Experience the game as it was before the release of any of its expansion sets, and journey back to its beginnings.
- Venture forth into epic encounters such as Molten Core, Onyxia and Maraudon at launch—as players progress, we’ll introduce more content like Alterac Valley, the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort and Naxxramas.
Why Classic WOW?
Now many might be wondering, why would you want to play something that old? And the truth is far more complex than a few simple words. The critics and naysayers will brush it off as mere nostalgia. But it’s more than that.
The truth for many of the original players of World of Warcraft is that they gradually fell out of love with the game, or lost interest or didn’t have the time to to keep up with the endless content. For me personally, the game just changed too much from what I remembered. It became easier and easier in terms of mechanics and the world seemed completely alien to what I had originally experienced. Even though I could appreciate the changes in performance, graphics, and features.
Much of what I loved about the game had completely gone by the end. And seeing all the hard work and dedication wash away with yet another new expansion. Made it seem like such a waste of time and energy. That’s why I loved GW1 so much.
Moreover, in the absence of many of the “conveniences” and “quality of life features” was this beautifully hand crafted world, rich in lore and a mythology that captured our imaginations & souls. A world where, leveling was difficult, powerful drops were rare and being a certain class, meant something.
Within this world, teamwork, friendship and community were a must. The difficulty forced people to come out of their shells and learn to work together at a very high level. Your characters reputation mattered. Which world you played on, mattered. There was something for everybody. And there was a sense of pride and community shared among the players.
But at the core of it all was the emotional experience that players had, something that has rarely been experienced since the golden age of MMORPGS. Where World of Warcraft and Guildwars 1 were king.
And it is that that has so many excited. Of course, each of us is different, some are into raiding, others into pvp and some just want to play casually and make friends. Some are just curious and never got a chance. And for others, its an opportunity for so much more than just a game.
Regardless, we have all a reason to be excited, to be hopeful..
The Technical Details:
Naturally you have some questions about the technical side of things, so I will do my best to present the most important information. World of Warcraft Classic is an actual rebuild or remake of the original on the new wow engine. Watch this video for the full details from Blizzcon.
Which means performance improvements on the new hardware will make the game much smoother and appealing years later after its original release. However, mechanically it is much the same and so will be the experience of the content. The game is running on the 1.12 patch and has an entire content plan scheduled for both PVE & PVP. Here are the links: the PvE content plan & the PvP content plan. In addition to the itemisation information.
Now that that is out of the way. You know everything there is to know about the release. What remains is the beta testing opportunity. And here is everything else needed to know. Though its only for subscribing wow players. Good Luck!
WOW Classic Beta Testing Schedule
So what now?
Choosing a Class
With all that energy and anticipation now running through your veins, you want to do the next logical thing. And that is to pick a class & race to play. There is obviously more than one way to go about this and it has much to do with what you want to do once you reach the level cap of 60.
But one thing that I feel isn’t being said enough.. Is that all the original classes are excellent and they all have their own unique roles and playstyles. There is no “best class”, they all have their pros and cons and what makes them the “best” is the player behind them and their preferred way of playing.
Each class has three unique specs of specialisation that further enhances their combat and uniqueness. So take that into consideration. With the original wow, your class roles were way more specific in PVE and often the specs and classes that didn’t do so well in raids (end game PVE), were excellent for PVP.
Perhaps the best way to decided what to roll. Is what role do you wish to play?
In vanila wow, Warriors, Rogues, Mages, Warlocks and Hunters had the best DPS in a dungeon/raid settings. Warriors, Druids and Paladins made the best tanks and the Warrior was the only viable option when it came to tanking raids.
And in the realm of healing, Paladins were the best single target healers due to their healing critics. Priests had the best overall skills, utility and damage reduction skills. The Shaman excelled at AoE (Area of Effect) healing and support through Totems. While the Druid was the best HoT (Heal over Time) healer and had some useful skills to go with it. Each of which, had a completely different style of healing and appealed to a different kind of player.
Which brings me to PVP, where the other less played specs were allowed to shine. When you look at it from this point of view, you realise that the game and classes are actually quite and balanced. And where one seems so favoured in one area, another is favoured in its place. When it comes to a different part of the game.
General WOW Classic Tips
- With the mechanics and features like Group Finder rolled back, social skills and courtesy become a must.
- Group up. When you see another killing the same creeps as you, its a good time to extend a hand and make a new friend. Reducing competition and increasing the chance of survival.
- Embrace the slow pace and take your time. Smell the silverleaf & rosebush.
- Don’t be intimated by speed leveling and those who reach level cap quickly. They will get the economy rolling, which will also benefit you.
- No more cheap level 20 mounts. The first set of racial mounts can only be had at level 40 at a cost of 80 gold. So you might want to consider the Hunter, Druid or Shaman for their travel speed skills/forms or the Paladin and Warlock for their mounts.
- Money management is key, learn to make it, save it and when in the position to do so, share it. 1 or 2 gold is nothing to you at lvl 60. But the world to a low-level on their first character in the realm.
- Choose resource professions such as, mining, skinning and herbalism to make money. Sell off your excess cloth and make use of the Auction House to make nice profits here and there.
- Level your professions and provide services to your fellow players/guildmates for a fee. Creating win/win situations.
- In vanilla wow, there are some utility skills early on that you don’t initially need. It’s okay to save your money and purchase the ones that you do need.
- Respecing is expensive, starting at 1 gold. So do your research and plan ahead.
- Instead of advertising yourself as a DPS LF X, Y, Z. Take the initiative and bring the team together. Making yourself more valuable.
- When you come across decent players or those you have fun with. Make sure to stay friends, your connections matter in this game.
- Join a guild with like minded players. Guilds matter and the social relationships made in the game are a huge part of the experience.
- Do the class specific quests. These are a big part of the game, each being quite unique and offering players great rewards.
- Always work on improving your combat efficiency, learn your rotations and manage your mana/energy/rage. Why use a level 3 Frostbolt when a level 2 will do in killing off your enemy? These subtle habits, not only help you in leveling quicker and having a smoother ride. But make the difference between the good players and the average.
- Don’t be shy to ask for help. More often than not you will be given it. But don’t be needy either, no one owes you anything.
- And lastly, always feel rested. Take a damn break. And make sure before logging off that you’re in an inn or a major city. To receive that 5% exp boost on your next login.
That’s it for now. You will figure out the rest.
What expansion should World of Warcraft Classic end on?
This is a hot topic and something that I have also pondered. Even before the news of the WOW Classic. If wow classic is a success, players enjoy it and they come back to it and actually stay. Then The Burning Crusades would be the next logical step. And perhaps as far is needs to go in my personal opinion. BTC was the original expansion, that really opened up the game in many ways. It offered two new races, that could play what was at the time Alliance & Horde specific classes.
Furthermore, players had a whole new world to explore and a level cap of 70. Besides that though the game mechanics did not significantly change. Some classes were given certain skills to allow them to be better at certain roles, making them “more balanced”. But the games core and talent trees were not changed that much in comparison to WoTLK which not only changed a lot of things, but brought in the controversial Death Knights to the table.
Theory might be different to reality. Perhaps they will decided to re-construct all the expansions and see how the player bases responds? Only time will tell, and private server statistics might help them make these decisions.
WOW Classic Resources
Here are some wow classic resources that might help you:
wowisclassic – is an information site with profession and class leveling guides. Really well put together and a newly created resource.
Legacy wow – has a great Alliance and Horde step by step leveling resource.
Talent calculator – the oldest running talent calculator for all classes.
Classic wow builds – checkout a range of different builds from PvE, PvP and leveling specific builds for all classes.
Wow classic reddit – and of course, the reddit group where the majority of the community resides.
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