The skeleton change coming in classic is a huge disappointment for many members of this community. We have waited years for this moment and right before it comes, we get the confirmation that we won’t be receiving a core component of old school WoW.
The atmosphere of a contested zone changes when you see these skeletons. The fear it strikes into a player walking into a field of corpses gives a haunting feeling that can’t be replicated with other effects. Knowing the bodies of real people died on that very ground is highly impactful. It will determine how the player reacts to their environment. Watching their backs while fighting a mob or handing in a quest. These types of feelings get players engaged. It makes people feel like they are in a living world with consequences. Will I become that skeleton on the ground? Will I be the one to slay the enemy who is not too far ahead? You can’t replicate that type of emotional response in a game because its natural, its the human psyche at play.
The skeleton isn’t just a pile of bones on the ground it is the remnants of a lost comrade or fallen enemy. By limiting the skeleton numbers the weight of a big battle is completely lost on those who pass by soon after.
The reasoning for this change is pretty sad in my opinion. Killing yourself in a capital city or anywhere in the world is usually pretty hard. In a capital city it is almost impossible without the convenience of flying up that modern wow offers. Back in the day I actually never saw any hate words on the ground, and I know this is anecdotal and my experience isn’t gospel. It seemed like these messages that blizzard wants to avoid were almost always just from websites like susan express and the likes. Those people were also using exploits to just place the body dead in the correct spot. This was an exploit by third parties not something commonly seen done by the player base. Most the time they didnt even rez to become skeletons they were just bodies on the ground.
Please, do not punish the players because you are afraid of some messages getting out. Moderating the community this heavily to the point you won’t bring back a change that many have spoken out about is detrimental and sad. Bringing back classic is a fan service product and should be treated as such.
Also if you change this, I will buy a store mount for the first time on retail thus boosting your profits. Please Blizzard, bring back the skeletons. Oh also make it so when you logout without retrieving your body the body with name tag stays for a long time instead of disappearing on logout. THANKKKKKKS 