Like I said, I don’t think dual spec would be the end of classic. I just understand why people also don’t want it and how it can negatively affect the game. The problem is for the type of player who mains one spec and role of their class and doesn’t want to swap roles or specs all the time, especially for both their specs to be pve raid specs. With dual spec, they could switch from balance druid to resto druid as an example and are expected to switch and have the gear for that other offspec that the guild wants when dual spec is available. Without that restriction, you are usually expecting to stay one spec for the entire raid. I think the solution of making it so you have to go to your trainer to switch dual spec could work too or at least an inn or a 30 min-1 hr CD
In every game, there is value in placing restrictions and limitations on the players, especially RPGs, ARPGS, etc. One benefit is now loot matters more when it fits your class, spec and playstyle. When you can switch far more easily, every piece of loot is a shiny toy for you to try which makes all loot less shiny. You loot for your class instead of looting for your build, so it just changes that interaction. Good or bad? You can decide.
Another aspect is how your spec matters. Your talent build, playstyle, (and of course gear) is how you differentiate your class from every other player of the same class. If you can freely adjust your spec to whatever activity you’re doing with no friction, then you’re more focused on optimizing a hyper specialized talent build for each activity you do. Your choices within the spec are less meaningful when easily swappable. You can’t choose a well-rounded build, instead of making choices within the build, your activity makes the choice for you. Simply, it adds weight and meaning to your choices. Every RPG draws the line somewhere.
Being a part of classic does not mean it was a good thing is correct. There’s a lot of unfinished content and stuff that isn’t fun especially for everyone, it’s an oldschool mmo. This game isn’t for everyone though. Some people will like it and some people won’t. Being a part of classic though is the entire focus of their decisions in SoD. Does it feel like this belongs in the world of classic? Its been said multiple times by multiple devs. They’re not trying to make retail-, they really want to continue what the classic world had going on. There are 4 interviews from the devs right before SoD launched, one by esfand, countdown to classic, scottejaye, and guzu. Now an additional community council video. Please watch them, hear their questions and you will understand their philosophy behind designing SoD.
Walking or flying to trainers has not been discovered to be bad at all. You just don’t like it, many classic players enjoy that aspect of the game and they want it in SoD. Have you tried hardcore classic WoW btw? The game is far from perfect but the more gradual changes we make the less it becomes classic and just becomes a second version of retail, it’s hard to determine where that line is and not repeating the same mistakes. Why develop two retail versions, especially when the other one has way more resources, effort and content put toward to it becoming a better game. Retail has tons of problems and its not for me, but I could see it being improved if reset to WoW 2 or going back on many decisions. You can see classic impacting some of their big design choices in retail now, not as much the other way around.
I’ll throw you a bone though, some of these flight paths should be sped up, they are way too long for the far ones. If you don’t like traveling in the world, sorry to inform you, but in classic the world is the main character. You’re just a character logging in and existing in it, probably the best mmorpg to be easily transferred to an immersive VRMMO as a virtual world. It doesn’t bend to your will, it has its own logic usually trying to mirror real life, like no fast travel everywhere, weather, night/day, etc. You will run, fly, take a boat or zepplin to wherever you need to go unless the mechanics and systems are presented in a way that makes sense for the world, like warlocks summoning, mage portals, hearthstones. I don’t mind shorter hearthstones. It’ll still feel very classic. If you’re extremely adjusted to retail’s QoL then you have no idea how to understand the tradeoffs that were lost by being given those QoL. Something like flying mounts were awesome at the time, but people realized how it negatively impacted the game later. It was a reflexive design choice that forced them to always give players flying in every new zone. RDF being another one.
Video about some of these choices:
https://youtu.be/WfExwzgT7pc?si=5qYmHnkNHv7wUlMD
Previous discussions of dual spec if you want to see why people agree/disagree:
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/please-do-not-add-dual-spec-to-sod/1719718
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/on-the-fly-dual-spec-retail-and-would-destroy-sod/1721145