Bear with me for my very last, long goodbye post.
I began playing WoW in October 2006, reluctantly, as I had tried Warcraft and disliked it intensely. But my sons enthused, I had to try, and I tried and was hooked.
For a long time I was happy with WoW, but slowly the levelling became less exciting even rolling new alts, not because I had done it too often, but because the game had cahnged, Azeroth had changed, and levelling did not bear the same exitement as it had done. The professions were less alluring and the Achievements turned more and more Dungeon or PvP related and they became account-wide. I missed some profession Achievements. I missed that Achievements were an achievement, and not just a free gift for hanging around or creating a new alt. I missed things being tough, time consuming, and the feeling of having done something extraordinary. As Syndrome said to Mr. Incredible: “With everyone super no one will be”.
Cata was the great downfall, “my” world was ruined, and my freedom of choice became limited.
Then in 2012 I found the IronMan Challenge - get to max level with no deaths, no groups, no gear with stats, no help, and other limitations. That challenge brougth colour back to Azeroth and fun to my playtime. I never made it to max level, but once again I had fun. This lasted until scaling zones and shared kills stopped this too.
When Classic was announced in November '17, I was overjoyed as I had played with less and less enthusiasm and finally stopped playing Retail somewhere during the first half of Battle for Azeroth, dissapointed and disgusted with scaling zones, laughable levelling, and pointless professions, so Classic has been my home since the summer of 2019. Actually before, as I bougth a virtual Blizzcon '18 ticket only in order to do the Classic Demo, happily levelling toon after toon from 15½ to 19.
Today, after over 16 years, I say goodbye to you all. Today I cancelled my subscription.
There’s many reasons for this.
The reason I play WoW is to have fun, to relax, and to get away from the toil and trouble of ordinary life.
I like to fool around, chat with guildies, level, learn professions, roleplay a bit, find strange things and places, try to get all in-game recipes, discover all the map on foot, level to max without dying, and then do it again in grey quality armour …
But my patience and love has been worn thin by the many small and not so small changes to the Classic part of this game. I’m still a stubborn #NoChanger.
#SomeChanges meet me every time I log in. Maybe not big for all of you, but big for me. Sloppy developers have caused changes, YouTubers screaming have caused changes, players clamouring have caused changes …
Bugs are present as well, most insignificant, many irritating or frustrating, and a few making it really hard to enjoy some aspects of the game.
Players have changed too, they want faster, more efficient, less time consuming, less immersive, less talk, … in short as I see it less fun - and wanting to change the game in that direction as well.
I have changed, gotten older, my reflexes slower, my eyes weaker; this together with #SomeChanges - most of all the hysterical respawn rates - leads to me dying more often at always lower levels, which is not fun when I’m trying to do the No death to max level-challenge.
Those were the lesser reasons, not quite enough for a bye bye - not even all put together.
But there’s some BIG reasons as well.
I play in EU, and I play on the English PvE realms, so this goes for of them only. My apologies to all Celebrasians, other German, French or Spanish people and the PvP crew.
It seems to me that every time Blizzard is having choices, they choose the one option guaranteed to spoil the fun for as many players as possible. For me these 6 reasons did it:
Reason № 1: Too few and too large realms.
When Classic launched, Blizzard was far too pessimistic as to the number of realms needed, and far too reluctant to open up new. This, and their not locking realms when they had a fair population - acerbated by the Pserver players’ idea of the ideal realm size - led to them holding several times the population of the OG Vanilla realms. This was a problem, as they were all too overpopulated for anything like realm communities to really form. And the too few (only 3) PvE realms led to players using the RP realm as an overflow.
Vanilla sized realms, and more of them from day one, would have solved this. Clustering down the line if necessary … which would not yet have been neccesary even with 5 PvE realms.
Reason № 2: The paid cloning.
I’m an altoholic, and I like to have my own circular economy with mats and crafted items flowing between my characters. I do not depend on the AH to get something, instead I send for an alt.
I did not pay for clones, as I did not have upwards of 300 € for a game, so I chose to keep most of my characters in Classic Era, where my heart was (and still is) only sending my main onwards to Burning Crusade Classic, and rolling him a new alt-entourage there.
The first weeks of Burning Crusade Classic was spent levelling my new main in Classic - as said I don’t like crowded, and Burning Crusade Classic at launch was for me unplayable even on Hydraxian Waterlords due to the many returning players. Playing the game is not for me a fight over every mob, every resource and every Quest item along the way.
Free cloning would have solved this
Reason № 3: Free Character transfers
I also had fun with my guild on Hydraxian Waterlords, they raided, I cheered them on, sent my fishies and other stuff along for potions; and I drunk with them at The Blue Recluse, those were happy days. But then, in February '22, Blizz opened up free transfer off HW. Why, I never understood. Many simply panicked when the free transfer opened, and left head over heels. My guild among them. I asked why we left, and got some wague answer like “It seemed the sensible thing to do now free transfer opened”. There was no real reason, no “We could not do this and that”, only a feeling of last-minute panic.
I was not happy with my “new home”, it was too populated, and after a while I transferred my main back (paid, but luckily with a discount) to HW, leaving my guild from since Classic Launch behind. I reckoned that the Medium-pop realm would turn Full when Classic Wrath launced (it did, and still is). And my idea of playing is still not standing in line to fight a mob, pick a flower or all the other things to be done.
Of course I did not play much in TBCC or Wrath C after this. I was feeling alone, I was also still assured that I had all the time I needed.
Free character transfer only to realms with a lower population would have solved this
Reason № 4: We’re forced onwards.
Well, I reckoned I had all the time on Azeroth. TBCC would last at least two years, and after that I could just stay in TBCC Era, so I visited the Brewfest, fished in Stranglethorne, Quested in Feralas, explored all the nooks and crannies of many a strange land and levelled a couple of new Draenei alts.
At the same time I was puttting more time and energy into Classic Era, mainly because I really liked it there, but also because I picked up the IronMan Challenge again, and joined the hc community.
But we were given no Burning Crusade Classic Era realms, and I fear no Wrath Classic Era realms will be forthcoming either. All servers transitioned into Wrath C. And now we see Cata looming in the horizon.
I began playing Classic because we were promised a museum, a faithful re-creation of the game as it was, where we could stay, play, and get our nostalgia fix forever. As I heard of Wrath coming, I actually looked forward to it - not because of the faster levelling and the easier killing of mobs, no way. Not because of Race or Faction changes, I won’t use those, as I like my looks, thank you very much. Not because of RDF; I could not care less one way or the other. Not even because of the Dungeons and Raids there, even if the lure of a revisit is real. No! I was looking forward to the Achievements! I enjoyed this feature immensely the first time around, and I am sure I would have had a blast this time too.
But as said, all the changes, all the things Blizz team has done to accomodate the modern players - and as is my suspicion; prove that we really do not want Classic - all this makes it less and less fun to play. I wanted Classic, still do as I LOVE Classic, but I wanted a Classic Classic, not a Classic Remastered with changes, new names to NPC’s, faster levelling, and only last patch mechanics.
Truly progressive servers - through all patches with NO changes - and Era servers for all expansions would have solved this
Reason № 5. ‘Consolidation’ of servers.
On July 10 2022 Blizzard closed down all RP servers except for my home server, Hydraxian Waterlords.
I played there since launch (minus the 2 months following my Guild), for two reasons:
- I like the RP atmosphere, the naming policy, the way people play and react.
- I really, really do not like to play on Full, High, or even Medium servers.
I laughed and then turned sad as I read this:
But the mess Blizz made out of clone deletion, server ‘consolidation’, and free transfers … need I say more … left HW in a shambles.
I paid for the transfer back to HW with open eyes, knowing the population, knowing the server. I am, as most of the RP players, old enough to decide for myself how, when, and where, to play. Only Blizz did not seem to agree.
Leaving all RP realms up would have solved this
Reason № 6: Som and the transfer from SoM.
November '21 SoM began with the Soul of Iron buff as its largest attraction to me. The hc community naturally split up with most going to SoM, and a few staying in Era. I tried out SoM, but quit it after a few weeks, as the buffed XP gains, packed servers and generally competitive, hurrying atmosphere did not fit my playstyle. I stayed in Era happily killing off more characters in the small, dedicated hc community.
Those characters I created in SoM - all with the Soul of Iron intact - won’t ever be transferred back to Classic. I can only transfer to Pyrewood - and this is not an option for two reasons.
- There’s not room for any more. I have already 10 characters there, can’t have more - and won’t even if it should be allowed, as it was not like this in Vanilla,
- I went to SoM for the Soul of Iron buff. Going back to Era - or to Wrath C. for that matter - I would like to join the No Death community, and they play on Hydraxian Waterlords.
Two good reasons for going there, but I can’t. And I’m not going to pay any more transfers. My SoM characters will die with the servers.
Free transfer from SoM to any and all realms would have solved this.
Reason № 7: All Holiday events are filled with errors, either they are not like they were or just plain bugged.
Brewfest: Tokens instead of tickets, not enough tokens handed out, some quests did not work, some barrels were not responsive … Same 
second year around.
Pilgrim’s bounty: Chairs missing in Orgrimmar or in Thunder Bluff … And now this event has ended with nary a word from Blizzard.
Just a bit TLC for Classic or GMs actually playing would have solved this.
So, this is where I stop. After 16+ years, wonderful, bad, good and not so good years, I terminate my subscription. I have still some days left, but I think I leave the Forums - it is simply too depressing.
I’m not deleting my characters, hoping against wisdom for a return in better times. So no, you can’t have my G, I’m keeping it - all a bit more than 50 of it!
Goodbye to you all: Trolls and friends, antagonists and co-fighters, Hordies and Allies, IronMen and normies, PvPers, RPers and PvEers, dungeoneers and raiders.
And a special goodbye to Bernie, Kork & Grupp, to Malou and all the other nice people from Celebras, and to my old Guild The Conspiracy (and Hordeside Cabal).
This is the last you’ll hear from the one and only Vanillataur.
Goodbye.