In 2019, Blizzard Entertainment brought back the original, vanilla-flavored 2004 World of Warcraft Classic. As the old guards flooded Blizzard’s servers, new players were hastily looking for WoW boosting services to help level out. As time went by, opinions started flying around that Blizzard did not bring back the 2004 original WoW Classic but recreated a new version based on the modern game.
In this article, we are going to look at World of War Classic game play, features, and anything else related to the game. At the end of it all, we will be able to see whether players will stick to the 2004 WoW Classic incarnation or will the nostalgia wear off? Keep reading to find out more about that.
Design
Although some design elements in WoW Classic hold up incredibly well, some modern interface and functional enhancements have been introduced, as well as the re-patching of exploits and bugs
Still, WoW Classic players can choose from the original eight races including humans, dwarves, gnomes, night elves, orcs, trolls, tauren, and the Forsaken for the Horde. Still, the original nine classes are also present, although only the Alliance players can become paladins.
And to truly emulate the original Classic’s patch release cycle, the content was released in phases, although they didn’t modify the core mechanics of the game such as the abilities of the characters.
Players
In terms of players, World of Warcraft Classic limits the player choice to the nine original classes, with some of them being exclusive to specific races. Each class to hold their own against single targets in solo runs, although pairing up with a friend can speed up the fights, minimize incoming damage, and lower the downtime needed to replenish and consume mana.
Some classes like the Warlock and Hunter give access to pets, helping fulfill the role of a personal tank and vastly increase the ability to complete quests without the unnecessary breaks in between kills. Still, it’s possible to block, parry, and straight-up miss Melee attacks, which may cause a noticeable divide in solo runs.
GamePlay
Unlike in the modern World of Warcraft, Classic’s gameplay systems are relatively simpler and more streamlined. For starters, there is less to worry about interrupts, purges, dispels, and movement, although it’s a little bit more complex to choose talents.
Still, Monsters hits are relatively harder in the initial stages, plus they don’t scale, meaning they frequently out level you. With that said, however, WoW Classic reintroduced Hit rating, which makes it easier to target and kill your characters.
Another area that WoW Classic managed to get a bit of its acclaim is in its grouping up gameplay. Although navigating grouped content in WoW Classic can be time-consuming, the rewards are tangible. For example, a new, high-quality piece of Classic gear is more useful compared to 10+ levels down the line in a game that has a maximum of 60.
Along with that, it’s much easier in Classic to observe as your character ascends in power, as well as the additional abilities received through the leveling up process.
Add-Ons
In the development stages, there were both proponents and critics of incorporating AddOns in WoW Classic. Those that argued against including AddOns asserted that they would take away the raw authenticity of the Vanilla UI or even push the community to be more performance-oriented or be denied the right to join. Arguments in favor of incorporating AddOns, on the other hand, were arguing that all these elements were pretty much part of Vanilla. True to this, most of the addons introduced were later absorbed into the native Vanilla UI.
This divide also extended to how the modern API was modified to gel with Classic. Conversely, Blizzard eliminated some functions that weren’t in the Classic version, which limited its functionality. This reduction was a result of API patch 2.0.1, which improved security but also prevented automation. With that said, however, these changes also came with new functions that could reproduce Vanilla capabilities within predetermined boundaries.
Still, Classic did away with all these new functions and capabilities, including eliminating the focus frame and the corresponding focus command despite the AddOns having introduced this feature in Vanilla. Furthermore, Blizzard modified the API, which eliminated some convenience functionalities, although the 1.13.4 patch suggests Blizzard is finally acknowledging the negative effects of the overly API trimming.
Final Thoughts
There you have it! Our in-depth and unbiased review of WoW Classic. As you can see, the game supersedes a historical novelty, and its incredible design still and will continue shining into the future. And although it may seem at odds to play a massively multiplayer online game, a genre that is more hinged on the promise of an ever-evolving future and finite lifespan, WoW Classic is living proof that the journey is worth experiencing. Still, WoW Classic is available to any player with a WoW subscription, and it’s truly a worthwhile adventure– whether you are playing it for the first time or playing it again.
