It’s just not the same. Maybe it’s nostalgia. But I doubt it. I genuinely enjoy the experience a lot more than retail. I can’t play retail. Retail is like the cheap watered down cola drink while Vanilla is the real deal with the substance I’m not allow to name inside lol
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To be honest … don’t know why.
Is a matter of feelings.
When I log into Retail I have the feeling that I’m completetly lost, even playing it until Shadowcrap and not missing any patch. And that feeling is always there on every major patch. Is kind of: “ok, it has been three weeks since I play this, and … wtf is that? where am I? what I have to do know?”
But Classic goes into the other direction. If I have to be 1 week, 3 weeks, 3 months aside from playing Classic (Vanilla, TBC or WotLK), the feeling of being lost pass away in a few minutes: where am i? Here. wtf is that? A Thunderfury. OK. what I have to do know? This bunch of quests.
Maybe 'cause its content doesn’t changes such fast, maybe 'cause from Vanilla up to last day of WoLTK those were my most wonderful days in my live so far. Always on top guilds, playing day and night, making friendships. Holy crap! I even get into a friendship with a girl who later became my girlfriend IRL. A girl of my neighbourhood who I wouldn’t had ever met if it wasn’t due to WoW. We broke a few months later, but that other story to tell someday …
Today IRL matters take me aside from playing from time to time.
But Azeroth (as it was) is always there, waiting me for finishing that quest, going into that dungeon or trying to find time to raid some bosses.
And what matters most, friends are there too.
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I just enjoy the atmosphere, I had a break from retail for about 2 years and cant make head nor tail of it anymore. Used to love achievement collecting ect but just cant get into it.
Classic I can beaver away for a few hours, put it down and not feel i have to log in to do a daily quest/rep ect ect. I mostly pvp but the odd casual raid is a nice change, not a requirement, nothing against hardcore raiding just not for me anymore.
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Because classic was made by people that love games and continue the WC3 storyline that I fell in love with.
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Currently playing Retail, but I prefer Classic.
Classic is where everything started for me, it has the vibe, it has the emotion and special place in my heart. The only reason why I am not playing it now is my lack of time and no fresh. I know ZT EU is relativelly fresh project withiut transfers, etc. But I doubt it will bring me what I really want.
I would love a real fresh server, but I think with how many choices we have now, it would be too much…
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Mainly it’s because socialising is key in the game’s version. I’d really like to know who I play with and maybe like my (adult!) community.
Second: exactly nothing is about to become “outdated”. If I’d have invested time into gear, consums, professions, etc. they remain as long as I want them to be.
Through the year’s I’d manage to level and gear up about 5 well (iLvl >80) equiped toon’s. And whenever I am in the mood I’d log in and play. Gtfo fomo.
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Classic is original world as it is. Unlike most people I like leveling process more than endgame content. The long travel from 1 to 60 with whole world to explore. Even when you try to level again you can use alternative routes, visit locations and quests you skipped.
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Hello Deveón I wanted to give my 2 cents about this.
I have read some of the answers below and one person says that Vanilla WoW/Classic Era is the best game ever made or the best in the MMORPG ecosystem and that it´s Art and i completely agree, i often think that we gamers, especially in modern age gaming, forgot about this, the Art of it.
Classic Era has been for me the opportunity to experience Vanilla for the first time, back then my first contact with WoW only happened with Pandaria so i never experienced all that was behind from Vanilla, TBC and Wrath (i see people talking good things about those 2 first expansions so maybe one day i will give those a go if Blizzard launches a few servers for those).
I look at Vanilla or Era for me i feel much more immersed into the game’s world, much more when compared to retail WoW (my last experience there was in Shadowlands), i see people more united or friendly to each other, asking in chat for help for some quests, trying to rally a group for a dungeon or even a raid etc, i have a greater sense of community in Era than in Retail, i guess that it’s also a consequence of Era not having a 1 button system where the game automatically queues and groups people up. One of the things that i love in Vanilla, and this might be a quirk of mine, is talking with people in chat, trying to put a group together for a Shadowfang Keep run and we go on foot to the dungeon, yes we can take the fly path there or get a summon but when none of us in the group has those it’s a thrill to just run there, one will eventually go through enemy territory and i love that, people interact with each other along the way, it’s a different vibe, a different world when compared to retail, at least in my eyes, Vanilla feel much more social than retail but again knowing that i haven’t touched retail since Shadowlands and i really don’t intend to, if it wasn’t for classic i wouldn’t be playing WoW to be honest.
I think that (i go ahead and i will say that i am a casual player) modern WoW or retail by trying to get more people into the game, be more attractive to casuals, providing more and more quality of life features throughout the years has in part lost it’s social magic. I remember when playing retail and sometimes i come across a few people in Era (they can be new to that environment) that are astonished and sometimes annoyed that people would use chat to communicate while in a dungeon, for example, this in a MMORPG game… and there are more and more people like this and what do video companies do to please this audience? More and more of them are trying to make MMORPG’s fore attractive to single player audiences, solo self found, going into dungeons with npc’s that the game’s AI will control, maybe I’m forgetting more aspects of this but it’s out there. I respect single player gamers, I’m one of them, i played games from Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Fallout, Witcher etc but is this a good thing for a MMORPG where a backbone of this particular scene is to play with others?
Sorry I’m getting off topic.
Retail WoW when i look at it even from a graphical perspective, looking of the zones, races, gear etc it feels more and more like cheap fast food while Vanilla (i get that from watching videos of TBC and Wrath) gives the feel of a proper, well designed fantasy world, at times and this happens often I’m running around in vanilla going from Stormwind to the Barrens and then trying to get to Tanaris the game gives me the vibe that i am playing inside a painting, it feels like it was hand crafted with care and passion, it’s Art and retail it’s nothing like this, at least for me.
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I mean, classic content is a written book, partially excluding SoD. While retail is constantly changing through new patches, fixes, content and class nerfs/buffs. For a new player it may be overwhelming. And ofcourse, outdated, dead content like old dungeons and raids. Pofessions, the economy. Even in a game like WoW, such things as inflation or devaluation of currency exist. That’s why fresh servers are so relevant at least for me, and the reason why I stick for classic.
i prefer Vanilla and TBC for the rythm, the game is too speed after that
some fresh TBC servers could be good business move for Blizz
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I agree 100%
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Replying to OP.
At start it was nostalgia, remembering all the time walking say to booty bay for the first time with no mount since your not 40 yet. You start to think boring but that slow pace is what made a good game, you don’t need to be flashy arcady and fast.
And now after seeing retail and turning to classic damn it’s not nostalgia I genuinely enjoy the game like really enjoy it. With the option to have a HC run and then a good decision if you die you don’t loose but transfer is amazing.
I think there were a lot of good changes to retail but made poorly example.
A lot of who started playing wow on release used add-ons especially UI ones. Most popular were Xpearl and can’t recall the other one elve Ui or something. It made the game look cool fresh, never the less some people didn’t use it some did. Some used it and stopped or wise versa, the thing is they had the choice and I think all that used it can agreed that whenever there was a new patch or if you jumped on an alt you had to reconfigure all those add-ons and it was such a dread that you might even stopped using them or it putted of playing at all. Now retail gives you a forced option to manage the Ui without leaving he old one and all I feel is just that forced prepatch reconfigure dread and i don’t want to play it.
Classic isn’t that flashy literally. My eyes hurt in retail.
Another examples of choices time-walking/chromie/realms. Why make so many different servers era/classic era/ retail. It used to be don’t have the expansion don’t have access but still play on same realm. Some people even locked there progression for twinks.
The changed world for instance cata. Why not keep the old Azeroth and once you hit level idk 30 you get asked to see cata cinematic and the world would change, then talk to chromie and go back to the previous one on the same realm. Keep everything at one spot.
I know classic raiding is easier compared to retail tactic wise like retail has more mechanics than classic, but the game isn’t all about raiding time wise more time is spent outside raiding.
The list could go on and on.
Like Story is terrible imo in retail, clasic came from stategy and you met the characters you grew up with.
Too many dungeons/raid options. Would delete LFG/LFR leave the custom tool to make groups. Delete mythic, just have normal and hc or hc and mythic 2 options for hardcore players and casuals but no LFR. No auto tools. Just tools that players need to use.
Level is meaningless in retail. In the future I can see leveless wow like no levels at all and Diablo 666 witch is an MMO. And these 2 ideas suck.
Honestly I was hoping when they announced SoD that it would not be what it is now. Not gonna try it the trailer told me everything I was hoping for WoW 2 and like hear me out.
In my eyes WoW 2 could be WoW classic with the premises of continuation of the story but a new one like What If? we never went through the Dark Portal? What if the legion never came? What if? the old gods showed up instead instantly? Thats for the story for the world? New zones on Azeroth go beneath it if you need to. Talents/ spells/ pace keep it vanilla like literally imagine retail but mechanics and spells are like vanilla slower/less flashy/ simple items are more rewarding. etc. endles topping I’m just babbling now, hope you get some of my points.
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I like your wow 2 idea. For me going the OSRS way is the only way for classic
Because it is a better game. More enjoyable from level 1-60. Less corrupted with corporate greed. Less cluttered with fancy pancy flashing spells and effects.
'cause retail is a clutter fest with too much to do. I just wanna get some nice purples and kill boars. I’m a simple man.
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Im an old guy who prefer it calm and the more real warcraft. Still plays Warcraft 2 & 3 from time to time still.
Classic feels more revarding, because it doesnt reset och it is what it is. The time just invest will lead to something that lasts.
And there are no level boosts ( Era ) in shop.
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i mostly play vanilla.
Game is a commitment, it’s not difficult but it always force me to immerse myself into it. The world is big, leveling is a journey (i don’t do boosting). Progression feel constant and smooth until you get into late game farming 40 man raid.
Also i like classic pvp, it’s chaotic and totaly imbalance but it’s fun.
Here is the Berny opinion:
Berny was a retail playa for years. Played wrath, and then mop-wod-legion-bfa and stopped before classical in 2019. Berny is ashamed it took this long to realize how bad retail is.
Berny originally hated vanilla – a grindy game. Whoever plays the most is rewarded, not whoever is most skilled. Berny was wrong and did not understand back then vanilla is not only about raids but about adventure and slowly developing a character; where every piece of gold matters; where every small upgrade matters; where the world is large and slow and meaningful.
Retail is an abomination. When Berny logged for the Christmas boxes 2023 there were giant parasite, blimp, and fly mounts everywhere. Everything below max level is irrelevant. All can fly and teleport everywhere. The game looks nothing like warcraft. All old stuff is completely nerfed and irrelevant. Many fun and weird items/spells cannot be used in rated pvp or raids. Basically, endgame is sanitized against “balance issues” but that is boring. Yes, every expansion has 1-2 great raids, but everything else is irrelevant. Is like only high-end pve and rated pvp matter. Sit in a city and queue for everything. Box of Warcraft.
The expansions replaced the adventure with a horrible grind. Reach max level > spam world quests every day > spam m+ > spam new system like torgast or island expeditions > over and over and over and over again. Miss a few days? Now Berny is behind and is not invited to raid.
New raid tier drops. All old items become obsolete. Restart the grind again and again and again.
New expansion drops. What is new? The same old – few new dungeons, new raid, 10 more levels, new zones. Same stuff but with different looks. Over and over and over. Every dungeon is a copy-paste with 2-5 bosses just different name. Most expansion zones look nothing like the old warcraft.
Yet as a new player, the game is so bloated, it is impossible to do anything without watching 20+ guides. There are 10 new currencies, all these weird systems, and weird activities that are mandatory for pve progress.
That be Berny opinion. Tanks for listenin.
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For me personally, there’s just to much going on in retail. Like everything screams for your attention, visually and soundwise. The game has changed so much that it’s getting hard to find your way around, even in your “trusted homecity”, not to mention that players don’t even come in the old home cities anymore.
Where do you start questing these days? In classic it’s much simpler, you always know where to go next. And I dislike the hand-holding, why does everything have to sparkle or light up?
They made a lot of visual updates and imo characters started to look weird after the “orc upright update”, especially the faces of characters.
I haven’t played retail since Legion and I wanted to come back to it, but to much has changed. I also dislike the UI (action bar) changes, why isn’t there a option to pick the layout you like? Imo retail feels clunky, while it should be the opposite.
The social aspect has also changed, in classic you sometimes are still forces to talk, I never see anyone talk in retail.
Retail is just more relaxing and familiar, ofc it also has to do with nostalgia.
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Retail have amazing OST, graphics and the possibility of personalise your char in a very distinct way, i love my chars there was super fun to walk around the world doing solo raids and old dungeons to gather the pieces i wanna dress them, they look awesome! same thing with the mounts, funny eng trinkets and other collections.
Also the fast paced action that comes with the higher keys really makes you sweat and gives you a big adrenaline rush, it’s like you playing piano pressing your keyboard and that is a super fun experience.
Apart of that what made me quit was the fact that after so many hard work to get all the bis gear for my chars soon next patch or expansion release it is all thrown into the garbage and replace with green gear.
Classic gear is eternal and the lack of fly mounts, LFG tool, meanless professions makes a more community driven game where you need others to craft and war together
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