Pretty much this exactly. I even bit the bullet and tried a boost. I WANT to like this game. I really do. But it’s a miserable experience. The boost is horrid for new players. You have crap gear, no professions, no gold, a slow mount. And you’re still way behind everyone else. The economy is broken. And…I miss questing in Azeroth. Of course you can just do that anyway, but the world is empty…thanks to the boost. I miss grouping with people and doing quests, making friends, running dungeons along the way.
People say it as a joke somewhat, but it’s true: they’ve turned TBCC into Retail. No one cares about the journey or the experience. The community means nothing. It’s just min/maxing of everything and complaining about every little perceived imbalance.
Fresh is really the only way to salvage Classic as an authentic experience. Obviously no boost, transfers, mount, pet. And I feel like the community will just naturally be better since a certain type of player would be attracted to a fresh ‘pristine’ server at this point. It’s at the very least worth a shot. TBCC seems to be bleeding players and it’s only going to get worse. I know I’m done and I only made it to 59. But it’s not fun. It just feels like I’m playing Retail. I know a LOT of people who want to start fresh and experience the journey again. The journey IS the game to a lot of us. Blizz just needs to make it happen.