I’m just calling it as I see.
If all your reference points is ‘classic’ then maybe classic is the game you should stick with since your topic for this thread and then your replies all really tell two stories it seems lol
The problem is that Classic was largely a placebo for players chasing old memories. When they got there, those same players were surprised to see the same problems that were plaguing retail; the abundance of resources, min/maxers, and bots.
Retail will always be the driving source for WoW. The developers might try catching the same lightning in a bottle for Shadowlands as they did for Burning Crusade, but they have to remember that Shadowlands will never be Burning Crusade.
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I agree.
And it’s been stated time and time again that they will look at Classic for inspiration or stuff of that nature but will not go back to restructure retail to be a literal copy of classic so to speak.
Which I understand and get why.
Guillotine anyone that calls themselves Gamer unironically.
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I suppose I see a lot of the content and dev time always being focused and poured into raids and and end game player power. The conversation has become somehow - go play your classic game. I’m happy with classic, but I still love the game feel, the art the world, content, and customization in retail.
We get outrage posts about much less - like fury warriors not being able to mog to 1h swords. My envy is that I play classic, and love it, but just also love the look and feel of retail, but it’s missing this intertwined connection.
I just think a lot of people, from casuals to hardcores should have ways of contributing to end game in some meaningful way.
This “Just go play classic” thing I feel is going to happen a lot.
Here’s hoping Shadowlands is great.
Then try to post reasonable retorts that doesn’t just compare everything to Classic (lol). And casuals, hardcores do have ways to contribute. The lines are drawn and ball is in your court, you just have to want to play the game. If X, Y, Z is not up to your liking then that’s on the person, not the game.
Warcraft tries to let EVERYONE get into the content they do. The variety as well. But there comes a point when it becomes a hand out instead of something you earn in-game after some progression or challenge.
How can you have an argument that says “Just go play classic, you social butterfly” AND “Retail is has everything you want, you just haven’t tried hard enough.”
If retail tries to let everyone do the content they want, then they are doing a poor job right now, and I hope Shadowlands is an antidote to that.
It’s basically just a loot piñata nowa days. I would say it’s mostly for everyone. I would highly suggest any new players to turn tail and run away from this game as fast as they can though.
You keep saying that but what content aren’t you allowed to do on retail right now? You want acessible content that also REQUIRES social interaction right?
That’s called Heroic raiding and Mythic+ 1-10.
I’ll push for that in retail I think! Thanks I’ll give it a try.
Edit
I’ve been mostly so confused, and traditionally in retail I have been so lost, and mostly wanting to get geared to pvp. Not all gaming experiences end up being so natural, so this focus might help.
I don’t get it. 
wow needs to make money, rest is irrelevant
I’m somewhat a “hardcore gamer” and I don’t feel alienated, its like playing some cards or throwing some dice, you’re either into it or you’re not.
Sometimes people just get burned out and don’t realize its probably time for them to take a break or move on.
Also, I don’t think Blizzard should cater to anyone. When companies start trying to cater to all the different voices, they tend to lose their own vision and creativity. That’s why WoW feels more like a tour rather than an adventure anymore.
I get what you’re trying to say though, sometimes there’s people that will just never be happy.
It’s a myth that targeting the widest possible audience will lead to more success. Hyper casual MMORPGs fail just as frequently as any other.
The game needs substance or it has no longrvity. If an mmorpg doesn’t have longevity, what’s the point?
Game needs a high ceiling so people keep coming back.
I think WoW should be for the people who are into the premise of MMORPGs and what WoW tries to do with it, rather than for the people who want the game to change to suit their desires.
So more precisely, it would be for normies more than gamers.
Most people don’t care about having a high ceiling, they care more about the fundamentals feeling good. It’s why Smash is popular and not Guilty Gear.
There is actually an awesome chinese web novel about this. Virtual World: Close Combat Mage - yeah translating titles is interesting 
Anyway it’s about a kungfu guy who gets given a mage account which due to game rules he can’t make a new character so he makes an agility aka melee mage and smashes people since he can still use kungfu in vr.
I think WoW should stick to being WoW, and if players like it they will play it. If they don’t then it wasnt that great of an idea for a game…we already know with how successful it has been that its a good idea for a game…its just up to blizzard to keep WoW as WoW. You cant please everyone, so its pointless striving to be a game for everyone.
They should be out of the current devs hands.
I can only see mayhem and destruction before us.
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The problem I’d say is if they lean too heavily into one aspect of the game or another. Time was it was raiding, just raiding, and nothing else of consequence existed. Then it was raiding but ‘everyone’ could do it. Then it was ‘dungeons but they are kinda like Diablo’ and now it’s just speedrunning zoomers and esport nonsense. It will be something else in time. PVP has always existed even if it rarely gets any love or attention. People have always collected mounts and mogs and stuff. People have always RP’d. There’s more to the game than just the big deal of the time. Raids didn’t last forever. RIO and speedrunning won’t either.
Times change.