Was messing around in Cata Classic for a few hours yesterday, and it struck me how similar to retail the gameplay now feels. Anyone else notice this?
It seems like “overnight” the game went from a Classic-y feel to a sort of “retail lite” or “retail 1.0” feel - I can’t quite put my finger on it… but it just doesn’t feel the same at all
Everything from the talents to the way abilities work seems much different compared to Wrath. And my action bars are all screwed up/buttons out of place/etc (whereas in Wrath everything was neatly organized, keybound, and “where it’s supposed to be”) - which certainly doesn’t help matters either
Gotta say I am a bit perplexed by the posters claiming “it’s still Classic” when the game feels so much different… are they making such posts purely to white-knight? I don’t get it
Like, if you played Vanilla thru Wrath (mostly similar gameplay styles and talent trees) and then suddenly get plopped down into Cataclysm the strange/distinct feeling of “everything just feels… different”
None of my classes I play (boomy, ele, rogue, hpally, dk, warlock) feel so vastly different from wrath to cata that I don’t know how to do the new rotation or play the class. Paladin feeling the most different of all of those to me and the one I dislike changes on most.
That said, I still have to cast spells on every single class, none of them are all insta cast spamming.
All of my new abilities have been placed on my action bars in a neat and organized way, not sure why your bars can’t be organized now compared to wrath tbh.
I also saw you complained about not being able to do hybrid builds anymore, however I"m pretty positive… boomkin and shaman wise anyways… the hybrid healing is major buffed in cata and mana pools allow for spamming offheals much more often which I personally consider hybrid gameplay. Even if the talent trees don’t allow you to dive deep into different spec’s for talents.
That said I still play Era servers in Vanilla, which is to this day my favorite version of WoW.
Cata was where everything changed, honestly. They did a lot of stuff to streamline things and make it ‘easier’, and it’s really where they listened a whole lot less to the players. I still love the game, but this is really the last expansion that I actually loved playing the game.
It feels similar to the classic experience, yes 100%. However in my head I know that it’s the beginning of the end of an enjoyable game for me. I realize others will have differing opinions and that’s 100% ok. Just my take.
Darnassus still has a tree. Its bonfire time comes later.
Combat rogue is still here. No roll the bones crap.
OKay…there is a retail link. Ms. “I will never serve” Sylvanas is now serving the jailor. those who never made it that far in the franchise…I legit envy you. you cannot unsee what has been seen.
Classic is the Golden Era of WoW which is (Vanilla thru Wrath)
At least that is what Classic was supposed to be. Now if they want to relaunch Retail expansions like Cata, MoP onward they can have at it. However it’s not technically Classic and are just rereleases of Retail WoW.
Just so we are clear.
Cata is drastically different than Wrath. It was the introduction of Retail systems that are still in place today. The Mastery system was introduced which changed builds and Class design forever which forced you into specializations.
Many stats were removed or redesigned to fit the new systems and design. Talent tree’s due to the new systems were very basic that removed player agency.
If you love Cata coolzies…Just don’t say it’s similar to Wrath when it’s really the start of Retail and a completely different game in design and feel.
This is true as I highlighted that above. Cata was the start of Retail and love it or hate it that’s fine. Just don’t say it’s anything like the previous expansions. It’s not. Cata and MoP is where the Devs really lost sight of what the game was then with homogenization of Classes Retail was born.
Classic is the recreation of expansions. It is not your idea of a Golden era. They could launch Shadowlands tomorrow and it would be “Shadowlands Classic”. That’s what classic is.
Cata feels nothing like retail. You haven’t played retail and it shows. You have no idea about world of warcraft besides your weird fixation on the first 3 versions and you are not qualified to speak on retail or anything like it.
Cata took Wrath class/game design and improved upon it tremendously. MoP even more. If anything the massive change happened with the advent of borrowed power in legion. Cata is a far cry from that.
Also don’t make me laugh about golden eras. Vanilla is not even a top 5 version of wow, it’s slow outdated crap. TBC is barely better. Wrath was a lot of fun and Cata just improves on that.
No Classic is a time period in WoW. If you want to use it as a recreation of expansions that’s fine for you to do just realize that most don’t. Classic was introduced to bring back the Classic “ERA” of WoW.
Even when the SOD Devs talk they use the word Classic Era and feel in their decisions. They want the game to FEEL LIKE CLASSIC - which means the Golden Era.
So when a Dev or player says Classic they are referring too a specific time and design in World of Warcraft. Which is Vanilla thrue Wrath.
These are the facts.
No it would be the rerelease of a Retail expansion. Retail is a different design and started in Cata onward.
I have played Retail and every Retail expansion. Cata was the start of Retail and when they introduced a lot of current Retail design philosophies as I explained.
Many will say Vanilla is the best MMO ever created. It was rough around the edges and not for me but it was a superior MMO. I preferred TBC/Wrath personally though. These are the golden age and peak of WoW.
Disagree. Vanilla is a time period of wow, TBC is a time period of wow. Even Vanilla Classic is a different time period of wow compared to Vanilla. Classic is just time locked progression servers.
Again no. These are not facts. These are your delusions.
Retail is Dragonflight. There are changes in game design done throughout expansions.
You have never played newer expansions and it shows clearly.
Classic is a concept that exists outside wow. There is Hearthstone Classic which is the game as it was in a previous period.
Classic is not Vanilla to Wrath. It never was, and it never will be. You can see most of the people in this thread and in these forums do not share this opinion, because it’s wrong lol.
SOD Devs talk about “vanilla” friction.
Classic was introduced as a concept since the 2014 warlords of draenor panel when a person in attendance asked if they ever thought about “bringing back expansions as they were then”. That’s it. That’s Classic.
The Devs and many players will disagree with you then. Since the Devs say they want to maintain Classic feel and design when introducing something. What does this mean? It means exactly as stated and I explained to you. Ignore it if you want.
No Retail is a type of design. There is Classic design and Retail design. There are Retail expansions which most agree started in Cata. This is how the term is used by the Devs and players.
Well then discussions will be difficult for you since most of the players and Devs disagree. This is how we use the term Classic vs Retail. So please understand that.
The person in that panel asked if they would bring back the Old Golden Era expansions because you had to play on private servers to play the Classic aka Golden Era of WoW.
They never wanted Cata, MoP or any Retail expansions. They were looking for the Old Game which is Vanilla thru Wrath. So don’t get it twisted.
This has nothing to do with fanbois or which version of the game you prefer. I’m logged into Cata right now and playing a Retail expansion. You can do the same just realize what game you are playing.
The devs agree with me since they released “Cataclysm Classic” and we are playing it right now, so the rest of your tirade immediately falls apart.
The person just asked “have you ever thought about bringing back expansions as they were then”. Go watch the video, it’s on youtube right now. You are adding intentions/words when they aren’t there. Show me in the video where he mentions “golden era” or private servers. Again you are adding weird fixations to simply undisputable facts.
Cata and MoP are not retail since they aren’t Dragonflight. MoP Remix is the closest thing to the erroneous concept of “Retail expansion” since it is using the Dragonflight game design and classes.
You are adding weird classic andy fixations to simple facts.
Abombshield is a notorious forum troll that believes taking in new information or updating an opinion is a critical character flaw. Best not to engage with their headcanon.
Doesn’t really matter what the players think classic is. It matters what Blizzard thinks as they control everything. Apparently, they thought cata worthy of a classic run and we will see how that goes.
Please explain the difference between Classic design and Retail design?
I’m not adding words or intentions since the question was clear and the answer was too.
The question and answer both reflect the Golden Era since that is what they were asking.
That’s why the response was TBC and talking about OLD design and “you think you do but you don’t” because you don’t want to be in town spamming…need a tank, need a tank.
Players wanted Vanilla/TBC/Wrath servers…Aka Old expansions. The question and response is clearly talking about that.
Allen was being smug cause he thought Retail design was better and didn’t realize how much players wanted the old game. There is Classic and Retail design and they are very different. Good day! I can only educate you so much. The rest is up to you.