Just watched Madseason’s history of WoW video and heard about the concept of “Pristine Servers” for the first time ever.
Did anything happen with this idea? I only go for Vanilla right now, but if pristine servers were implemented I have a feeling that not only would I give retail a fair try — I might actually really enjoy it. I think I may not be alone in that.
At any rate, here’s throwing my hat in the ring in favor of providing a way to play modern WoW without micro transactions and modern QoL. I like the slow burn grind and tedium of MMORPGs, which is why retail hasn’t held much value for me.
Here’s the blue post on WH: https://www.wowhead.com/blue-tracker/topic/sticky-to-the-wow-community-20743584206
So what can we do to capture that nostalgia of when WoW first launched? Over the years we have talked about a “pristine realm”. In essence that would turn off all leveling acceleration including character transfers, heirloom gear, character boosts, Recruit-A-Friend bonuses, WoW Token, and access to cross realm zones, as well as group finder. We aren’t sure whether this version of a clean slate is something that would appeal to the community and it’s still an open topic of discussion.
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What to elaborate on it to those who don’t want to watch some video?
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Yeah, sorry!
My understanding is that they pitched Pristine Servers as an alternative to actually delivering Classic servers back in 2018 or so.
They’d be retail servers, on the latest expansion, but without stuff like account services, boosts, token, cash shop, RDF, etc.
There was a blue post that pitched it, which I’m still trying to track down. I’ll edit this when I have it.
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Here it is on WH: https://www.wowhead.com/blue-tracker/topic/sticky-to-the-wow-community-20743584206
So what can we do to capture that nostalgia of when WoW first launched? Over the years we have talked about a “pristine realm”. In essence that would turn off all leveling acceleration including character transfers, heirloom gear, character boosts, Recruit-A-Friend bonuses, WoW Token, and access to cross realm zones, as well as group finder. We aren’t sure whether this version of a clean slate is something that would appeal to the community and it’s still an open topic of discussion.
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Hm, I don’t think that would work. People could still trade gold for carries or discuss carries off-game for currency ect.
People will always find lazy ways out. Remix proved that.
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That’s one facet that may not be fixed outright, sure. We have GDKP in Era as an example of that. We also have GDKP banning on SoD as an example of their willingness and ability to ban behavior that undermines the game experience they want to offer.
Banning boosts aside, I think slowing the game down to Vanilla pace (standard XP curve, having to travel to dungeons, having to earn gold) would make other facets of the game more relevant. Leveling would presumably take a good bit of time and be a more relevant part of the experience. Gold and profession farming too. Retail’s relevant stuff today is 99% at max level, which is in stark contrast to Vanilla and the MMORPGs of before.
Even if people could find and exploit seams in the design which undermine the point of pristine servers, I think the experience by and large would be for the better for players like me.
Hardcore has some pretty interesting things, but to make it scale to work with Retail is hard.
Retail is all about the endgame while Classic is about the journey.
I doubt anything will ever be vanilla enough for madseason. He wants 2005 WoW and doesn’t understand that it can never return only its shadow.
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Mad season is kind of cringe NGL.
He’s been trying to pivot his content now that “NoChanges” has come and gone and it’s just really cringe, like he keeps talking about some “wall of no” as if I’m supposed to know or care what that is. He’s currently on the “F R E S H” train as well because he wants one less little bit of Vanilla content so he can avoid having to go back to working at Target (not that I blame him per-say who wants to work at Target).
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Please don’t derail. I’d like to make it ten posts before the ad hominem and strawman, thanks.
I agree, which is why I don’t enjoy retail.
Do you think that’s an outcome of all the systems in game that trivialize the journey, or because the journey lacks substance? Every expansion seems to have detailed leveling zones and stories to experience, but I can’t say from experience if they’re worth spending time in.
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in what world is that a ad hominem?
derailing? literally responding to your topic about the topic which is madseason…
I see GD is the same charming environment as always.
whatever muting your “thread” have fun with your “discussions” boo boo
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I have you muted so I can’t read the OP but I read the title so that’s my contribution. And this is probably where I leave. Just felt like I needed one of you Andies to hear me say that. 
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The problem with classic, vanilla in particular, is that it is nostalgia. No one or very few today would enjoy playing the true version. I myself tried classic when it first came out and after an hour or so sad “Ive already done this” and never used it again. And I would feel any newer player wouldnt like the restrictiveness (compared to current retail) of it.
Content that took months to build up for and work through took hours with classic. I would love classic in retail as an option. Going to original UBRS and other dungeons if just to farm original and removed transmogs and weapon appearances. But that’s it.
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The topic isn’t madseason and your opinions of him. It’s merely where I found out about the concept of pristine servers, which is the topic.
Highest increase in subs in a decade and the highest sustained sub count in a decade would disagree with you.
You’re also not engaging with the topic of the post.
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Well, I have 65 toons for a reason. I find the journey takes too long on classic, but it goes a bit toooo fast on retail. So i often delete and try a different approach or different zone to do it all over again. LOL.
Current retail, a hardcore server would be trivial. You will likely never die until endgame.
But balancing it to be a challenge would be a lot of work. I do hope that it’ll be one of those things they will eventually add during a content lull. Just like Remix. I am enjoying Remix. It has no AH, professions or use of gold.
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I get that. FWIW, I don’t expect they intended this to replace normal servers, but to offer an alternative avenue of play to bring in players who enjoy the old pace of the grind.
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I would love instant max level servers for the old expansions. Sometimes I just want to do the endgame and not level all up again like TBC. I didn’t find TBC leveling very fun but loved the raids.
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I used to like his videos, but they all seem the same now. He obviously loves classic wow, but I can only hear the same dozen points reiterated so many times before I have to tune you out.
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If they made instant max servers for Vanilla, I’d never go within 1k feet of them, but I’d have no issue with them existing. I imagine the same would be true for retail players WRT the opposite sort of servers.
We already have too many wow versions as it is. That’s going to bite them soon. Leave the past in the past. They cannot recreate the time or how it actually was back then
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The servers would be DOA.
Not enough people would participate. Can’t interact with other servers. Wouldnt be able to get anything done.
If one wanted a slower leveling process, they can do it themselves. This is about wanting everyone else to have to deal with the same thing.
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