Because I don’t understand the appeal at all. No one has been able to give me an actual answer on why Classic is better than retail or even good at all.
The Community! It’s literally the same people from retail, not some secret group of ancient Vanilla refugees who suddenly reappeared for the second coming. I’ve seen three people get ejected from this guild for using slurs. It’s the same people.
“But people group up and play together!” They do that on retail. There’s even a group finder. It happens literally all the time. It’s More Difficult! Difficult and Challenging are not the same thing. It’s not like there are mechanics to leveling (and not really in the low level dungeons either). If you pull more than one mob you’ll probably die or come close; that’s virtually it. And you miss/get parried/get resisted a lot. But there’s not really anything you can do about that, so it’s “difficult” in the same sort of way that the black plague was difficult in the 1300s. Customization in Builds/Talents!
Sure, the talent trees were fun at a glance (if not a little overwhelming when you first got to see them), but the bonuses they provided were almost nonexistant, and sometimes downright useless. And despite the fact that you had the option of choosing the talents you wanted it didn’t mean that you should, because there was (and almost always will be) a best path. Not taking the best path usually means you don’t come to the raid because you’re cheating yourself (and everyone else) out of more reliable damage. Classes Felt More Diverse!
This is probably the BIGGEST crock of nonsense I’ve seen argued. The classes on retail now are probably the most distinct and diverse they’ve ever been. Shadow Priest doesn’t feel like just a DoT class anymore. Demo Locks actually utilize the concept of summoning/manipulating demons. Disc Priests are [the only reliable] damage/healing hybrids.
Yes, most classes have sustain, CC, and an escape of some sort, but most of that was added for PvP. Yes, a lot of class bonuses and auras have been nerfed, removed, or shared with other classes, but that was to prevent people from getting skipped over in raids because “We already have a _____; we need _____ for the buff”
So far the biggest defenses for classic have been that people just hate succeeding too much? They like the idea of weapon skills because everyone wants to pick up a new weapon and go swat rats in an alley for an hour so that they miss less with their new utensil. They like the idea of only being able to solo one, maybe two, mobs at a time. They like the idea of having to spend all of their gold on new spells. They like having to spend twenty minutes traveling to a dungeon.
So I just don’t get it, and I’m mad about that. I don’t see where the fun comes in. I don’t see the game being harder to enjoy makes it more enjoyable. And what sucks the most is that I’m trying to enjoy it. I want to enjoy it the way everyone else does. But outside of nostalgia I just do not see the appeal.
It’s not the same people from retail are you kidding me? Did you even play classic? The community is funny and super helpful, maybe try re rolling over to sulfuras. Sounds like we’re playing 2 different games. Also they’ll roast you bad if you ask a noob question in /world. Idk other then get good. Learn your class. Learn your rotation. Learn the build you want. Learn how many mobs you can manage.
Game is super super fun, I’m having the most in YEARS!! I never released how dumb down and gutted retail is until I played classic.
Classic isn’t for everyone. I can give you a huge list of reasons why I’m personally enjoying Classic but you might not agree with those reasons or those reasons won’t matter as much to you as they do to me.
If you’re not having fun then don’t play it–don’t stress yourself out about it, Classic isn’t for everyone just like retail WoW isn’t for everyone.
A big difference is that Classic encourages players to group up for content. I’m glad Retail is single player friendly, but Classic has a ton of content that requires you team up to beat it. Some quest seem easy enough, but then you reach the guy and he’s surrounded by helpers. Trapping, using cc and managing my pet is an option, but it’s not guaranteed i’ll be successful. It’s easier(and more fun) to ask over general for help and put together a group.
This is what a lot of players were missing. It doesn’t make it better than Retail, but it gives players a different way to play the game.
At this point I’d recommend trying to leave your criteria at the door for what you think makes a fun game, and just play it for awhile without analyzing it. After a couple weeks take note of how much fun you’re having, THEN maybe think about why that may be. I don’t know if it’s possible to turn off your brain like that, but I feel like you’re coming into it with a lot of generic criteria that seem almost designed to make the game seem lackluster, and you’ll probably never enjoy it with that approach.
most of those things you mention are fun to me makes me feel like i’m playing more of an RPG you know that part of the MMO. i know people find that stuff tedious but i don’t, actually dying to mobs if you aren’t careful is fun to me i have to be more aware of my surroundings. retail feels more hack and slash, which is okay but i like classics type of game more. as for raiding eh i don’t really care that much lol. gold actually means something in classic in retail i have more gold then i know what to do with, its practically worthless.
In Classic there is a lot more work and effort put into your character and every decision matters. Most people aren’t ripping through content. Professions matter. It’s not like retail where you are on auto pilot most of the game. Mythic raiding mechanics are harder? Who cares about that. That’s a small part of the game to many.
A lot of Classic’s shortcomings are largely being sugarcoated right now, but it there is some truth is what of people are saying about it.
The community aspect of the game is certainly stronger in the Classic environment because you’ll find yourself in situations that MIGHT require a group from time to time. This is much lessened in Retail.
Another thing that Classic has going for it are the Talent Trees… or rather the concept of them. To be frank, Retail has little soul when it comes to class diversity. Yes, as you said, the classes and specs are pretty well represented in Retail, but what many players, such as myself, desire is the so-called “Illusion of Choice” that came with talent trees. Of course, we’d prefer not to have that illusions part, but it is what it is. Ideally, Blizz should combine the current talent system with the old one for more customization options.
Beyond these two things, I strongly agree with you OP. I played when Classic’s content was relevant in Retail. As you’ve seen, we lacked a large amount of QoL features that made the game better as a whole.
As much as I like Classic, I cannot recommend to anyone as it is simply not the better version of the game when compared to WoW Retail. I would only recommend it to people who played as early as BC, to experience that unique version of WoW.
From my personal experience, it’s awesome to revisit what WoW was many years ago, but I’m going to be primarily sticking with Retail, even though BFA is mostly a time-gating dumpster fire of an expansion.
Just out of curiosity, If you gave those guys a year to practice on a private server for BfA and then put them on a fresh server for that expansion Do you think it would take them more or less time to finish the first raid than it did to kill Rag?
As for the OP, I feel like 99% of the current game is completely unfulfilling, and it feels like it’s not a real place any more with everything being done from menus. I did BFD today and I had to go to a zone, walk to the shore and travel down into some ruins. That’s a real dungeon in a real place. It’s not a name on a menu.
