Proposal: A Permanent Classic Cycle with ERA Servers for Each Expansion

[Wolfaer-auberdine]

Hi Blizzard team and fellow players,

I’d like to share an idea that I believe could satisfy a large part of the nostalgic player base, while also providing Blizzard with a long-term, sustainable model for the Classic trilogy (Vanilla, TBC, WotLK).

The Concept

Set up a permanent Classic progression cycle:

Vanilla → TBC → WotLK

At the end of each expansion, players would have the option to:

• Continue progressing to the next expansion,
• Or transfer their characters to an ERA server for the current expansion (Vanilla ERA, TBC ERA, WotLK ERA).
• Or both, with a paid option.

(only 1 or 2 Era servers per extension would probably be enough, and could be adjusted later as needed)

After WotLK ends, characters that players want to keep would move to the appropriate ERA server, while others could be deleted. Then the cycle would restart with a fresh Vanilla launch, possibly with a few months of downtime between cycles, or not, depending on what works best. (With why not a bit of fantasy, rules, difficulties and different modifications depending on the cycles)

Why This Works

This setup gives everyone something they want:

• Players who enjoy reliving the progression in order can always look forward to a fresh start.
• Fans of TBC or Wrath can stay on their favorite expansion without feeling forced to move on… or worse, quit or turn to private servers.
• It makes full use of existing content, with minimal development cost.
• And it builds long-term player retention, and subscriptions, by giving more freedom and clarity for the future.

Ps: I’ve seen suggestions about opening specific ERA servers, but I don’t think I’ve seen a complete proposal (it’s very likely I didn’t search properly, in which case I apologize).

It’s also entirely possible that this Anniversary will already be the implementation of this entire process… in which case it would be truly fantastic and magnificent.

Thank you for your attention and see you soon on WoW TBC !

[Ironhorns-nekrosh]

@Wolfaer-auberdine

I’ve seen suggestions about opening specific ERA servers, but I don’t think I’ve seen a complete proposal (it’s very likely I didn’t search properly, in which case I apologize).

You did not search hard enough. This proposal surfaces time and again - it is still THE BEST - you only miss the addition of RP and HC servers to your cyclus and Era

[Etly-spineshatter]

The idea is solid, but I’d like to add that there’s no need to transfer or delete characters. Server should split in two, one should become era server and another should become next expansion server, both keeping the same name. Era server should just join the connected Era cluster, but characters should keep their server tag, so there’s no need for rename chaos.

So, for example, in 2026 there would be Spineshatter Era which is connected to Firemaw Era, and also there would be Spineshatter TBC which is not connected to anything.

[Rexven-ravencrest]

Please no. We already have waaaay to much wow versions that split the community.

[Ironhorns-nekrosh]

Yes, it is of course way better that the players wanting TBC contents go to Pservers or stop playing when Anniversary TBC stops … or even never starts because they suspect Era TBC is not forthcoming.

This “Do not split the server base” argument is a logical fallacy, assuming that players not getting what they would like, spend the same amount of time playing what they can get = what you would like them to play.

More choices makes for more players each spending more hours in-game.