I don’t think this was used by many. I don’t think it even worked very well. And, FWIW, not everybody loved all the features introduced by TBC. For some, it was the beginning of the end of what they loved about the game.
For others, Wrath was the start of what they call #Retail, and still others use the Cataclysm as their starting point.
However, all the quality of life features, imo negatively impact the game. And, I think they started with original Vanilla: Server transfers were the first #Retail feature, in my opinion.
I’m a loner in life rarely making friends. Retail pulls players even in guilds in 600 directions. Gotta get this covenant, gotta grind these dungeons but not those, gotta work on my transmog or mount farm.
Playing TBCC, I’m making friends left and right and questing with them for hours not just a WQ help me blast this mob.
Retail has the smooth combat, the rotation is great, I’m addicted to achievements, the graphics, and I can do content with only 10 minutes but it fosters a culture of people who don’t stay and play nor talk for that matter.
My friend and I in TBCC did Darrow Hill drunk on 10 bottles dying and walking back from the GY several times.
In retail, no one parties for a quest like that. We don’t buff each other. No one needs my mage water. And if one of us dies, we leave group and because of CRZ, we’ll almost never see each other again
Retail is all fast food pizza hamburgers and ice cream. Classic is a balanced meal at grandma’s house with a side of veggies, and a desert if you are good.
Personally from my opinion (so its just that…an opinion.) Games like this need certain changes to survive. Certain things like Pet battles, barber shops, transmog, nonautomatic grouping LFG, dual spec didn’t ruin the game. Ultimately because they had no actual impact on gameplay itself.
Things went south when they tried to go from a gameplay recipe that clearly worked and redesign it. When they started removing abilities, reinvisioned classes (bring the player, not the class mentality), auto grouping and teleporting features, taking any type of challenge/danger out of the world and making it so simplified, taking out the need to explore, added class bars to “spice” up spell rotations, changed how stats work (I love seeing my mana go up based off of intellect). That is just a start.
I fell in love with my first druid because I loved the thought of them being nature focused. Their skills and abilities reflected it. But they play completely different in retail because Blizzard reinvented the class. Balance was no longer about nature. It was all about the balance between the sun and moon. They did this to almost every class in the game. They added stupid bars you had to watch that told you when to and what to cast.
Cosmetic things didn’t ruin the game for me.
I’m all up for changes to the game. MMO’s thrive from change. However, knowing what changes to make is the key. Blizzard crossed that line years ago when they tried to reinvent the “wheel”.
Again, this is just my opinion. So it’s no more valid than yours.
Classic games are just simpler and goal-oriented. You want something, you can often focus it down and get it.
One example is my spellcloth set. That’s a hell of a time sink by itself, but I want it and I know that if I work on it, I’ll get it.
Retail doesn’t have much of that feeling anymore. Everything is just gambling my time, and I’m not a gambler. The things that I can focus down don’t really benefit me much, at least not in ways that interest me.
I just spent the entirety of today farming cloth for tailoring, because this toon is a boost. I’ve been leveling fishing, I’ve been leveling cooking… It’s not the most compelling gameplay, but it provides a sense of accomplishment when I hit steps along the way.
Made it to silk? Feels good, but I still have a road ahead. But when I made it to mageweave, I felt like I finished something. I had a goal and I made it.
Classic games are just a series of personal goals with some fun group stuff to do too. The modern game is just group stuff with no real goals other than climbing difficulty ladders.
I think that Barbershops and Transmog did and does have an impact on the gameplay itself. This is especially true if we consider the RPG part of MMORPG.
And sure you can say, “That’s a you problem,” to this, and you’re correct. It is a me problem, but that’s a problem, to me — I struggle on retail to play a character that isn’t a female belf, because I have some great Transmog Sets for Female Belves — particularly plate wearing female belves.
Which is fine, but it prevents me from playing druids, for example. And I mained druid for several expansions. Sure, I could just spend the time to put together sets for other armor and body types, but that can take a long time. And it is gameplay, imo.
Having the appearance change feature that the barber-shop added removes that sense of going through periods where you dislike your characters look, whether it be skin tone, facial features, eye-color, hairstyle, whatever, and then later come to terms with it, and enjoy those things again. This is a part of character identity (in my opinion) that really elevates the gameplay, to the extent that you are playing an (MMO)RPG.
A lot of these things happen in TBC. Almost all of these actually, at least somewhat.
Hmm yeah… I was thinking about another game that I like a lot recently, APEX Legends, and they are continuously changing it. I actually (think) I really dislike the changes they make.
Oh, a character is really popular and a lot of people are using that character? Well, let’s nerf some of their abilities so that it isn’t that much more popular than other characters.
Oh, everybody is playing in that area on the map? Let’s just destroy that area, so people play on other areas of the map.
And so on…
Thinking about that, and some of the similarities with WoW, in that it’s a game that continuously has character classes change over time, with a map that is also changing (each expansion), and then realizing that those are the two games I play the most, it sort of makes me wonder if some of the things I say I dislike, are things that I actually dislike.
as soon as they mentioned this no lie guildies did quit some good peeps i haven’t seen talk in discord or anything. said retail is coming to classic we been thru this already. i am sure others did as well. is some way its the same kinda classic feeling. but you can feel the turnning
better content, difficult quests, actual character progression instead of time gates and 9 variations of the same exact item, real talent trees, reputation and professions that actually lead to character progression, ect
It makes farming for crafting more fun for sure. I get stronger to go back and kill mobs easier. Since I really just want the rock. Not a fight.
I got the fights. I need to make sure my pets takes on real targets. For now…I jsut want that rock. You 2 mobs on it could go for a smoke break even. I won’t tell your boss if you won’t tell mine I let you live. lol.
To me, the issue is that for several expansions now (cough current devs), the game has just been all about instances dungeons and raids - really making it obvious that those things are all the devs care about.
Due to this, class mechanics are smooth, encounters are interesting, but the game itself feels dead.
They’ve gutted the world to implement what they think matters and it’s just not fun anymore. The story is garbage level bad, and there’s just too much crap now.
That and in retail you’re the HERO! CHAMPION! MAW WALKER!! ugh…
Leveling in classic feels real, like I’m just some dude fighting my way through the world with my trusted boar Barry. I’m asked to help out, and as an adventurous lad I go out and do what I can, working with other adventurers as we go.
That’s fun.
Being the hero is a single player game concept. No one else matters - just the mc that is in the cinematics and all.
IN Vanilla and TBC Everything you do just feels more substantial. Your special attacks DO stuff even if it’s not the enemies entire health bar it’s still a measurable gain.
Contrast this to:
Retail is kinda the opposite, not as terrible in SL but still suffers from gotta have X, Y & Z prerequisit procs, cooldowns, RNG’s all just so before you actually have real output, and even when that happens like literally all the time; it just feels cheap and boring.
No thats not it, i only played Shadowlands for a month then quit, i only played BFA for like 4 months then again during the .2 patch for another 6 months.
probably because a single auto attack has more impact on classic than any ability on retail where you just push buttons for the sake of having a build and spend rotation without the buttons having any meaningful impact.
-Getting pieces of gear that will last longer than a patch cycle.
-Needing to play the game vs raid logging (yes I’m aware you CAN raidlog but it’s less advisable than in classic)
-Professions actually being worth a damn.
-Being able to modify my toons performance without changing a single piece of gear via enchants and gems.
Retail removed all the rpg mechanics. No mana, no threat, only CC you’ll use is aoe stun and iterrupts. Classes simplified and homogenized, all casters feel same, all melees feel same, classes have nothing unique, no weak sides, no especially strong sides
Stuff that drops in open world in retail is worthless trash and you don’t even need gold. While in classic you actually have to farm gold and all the trash and boes are valuable as hell, so even just killing mobs is rewarding
You can’t even die in retail in open world activities or leveling, it’s like playing game on gamer journalist difficulty and you’re not getting any actual wipes until higher mythic keys
Everything in retail is also time gated. TBC have a lot of grinds with reputations and attunes, but you’re not limited, can do everything day one.
Gameplay-wise I like retail way more in every way.
However, the one thing I love about classic is the atmosphere. Retail has a really… artificial feeling to it while classic feels so much more organic. It’s hard to describe.
— I struggle on retail to play a character that isn’t a female belf, because I have some great Transmog Sets for Female Belves — particularly plate wearing female belves.