Classic World of Warcraft

Deebs

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Blizzard has announced the progression of Classic WoW:

At BlizzCon 2018, we proposed a plan to give Classic four content phases. These were planned to be centered primarily on raid power progression.

Currently, based on both your feedback and our own deliberations, we’re now planning to increase it to six phases. Our focus is still primarily on player power-progression, but we’re also aiming to capture what it felt like to play in a realm community in original WoW. To do that, we’re planning to mirror the approach taken by original WoW, with patches paired together. We’ll launch Classic with content from original WoW through patch 1.2.x, then the second update will include content that was in original WoW 1.3 and 1.4, the third Classic update will have 1.5 and 1.6 content, and so on.

Our first phase primarily focuses on launching Classic with Onyxia and Molten Core, but we’ve decided to hold off on Dire Maul for a while. Maraudon is still in the first phase, because it was originally released on December 18, 2004, just two weeks after the first player hit level 60, but we recognize that Dire Maul is in a different category. Some of the loot that’s attainable from Dire Maul is so good that it would affect progression through those early raids. We’re also planning to hold off on releasing Kazzak and Azuregos at launch as well, for the same reasons.

The next change we’re targeting addresses two concerns. First, Zul’Gurub and Blackwing Lair unlocking at the same time would differ from how they originally came out, and it makes sense to not have gear and enchants from Zul’Gurub available during early progress into Blackwing Lair. Secondly, the Emerald Dragons should be available earlier than the opening of Ahn’Qiraj, as they give us a way to start preparing nature resist gear for some of the encounters in AQ.

Along the way, we’ve taken a close look at items that provide the biggest power gains, many of which were introduced in 1.10 as part of a sweeping dungeon itemization pass. That patch was when Tier 0.5 gear was introduced, and Relics were added to the drop tables of many bosses. It also adjusted drop rates and drop locations of a lot of gear (to make room for the Relics). We’ve gone back and reconstructed many of the most heavily affected drop tables as they existed prior to the 1.10 patch, and we’re planning to update the drop tables alongside the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort. Prior to the Ahn’Qiraj unlock, most of the drop rates and locations will look as they did in the patches prior to 1.10, with exceptions—there are lots of little changes made in earlier patches that don’t have a big effect on player power, and in those cases, we’re planning to use the 1.12 drop rates and locations.

One example of the many items we’re planning for is: Titanic Leggings, which is a world drop that first appeared in 1.10. We can confirm that it will be controlled by the same content unlock that restricts the other 1.10 loot changes.

Here’s what the release order currently looks like:

Phase 1 (Classic Launch)
  • Molten Core
  • Onyxia
  • Maraudon

Phase 2
  • Dire Maul
  • Azuregos
  • Kazzak

Phase 3
  • Blackwing Lair
  • Darkmoon Faire
  • Darkmoon deck drops begin

Phase 4
  • Zul’Gurub
  • Green Dragons

Phase 5
  • Ahn’Qiraj War Effort begins
  • Ahn’Qiraj raids open when the war effort dictates
  • Dungeon loot reconfiguration: Tier 0.5 Dungeon gear, Relics, drop rates and location changes

Phase 6
  • Naxxramas
  • Scourge Invasion

We haven’t yet determined exactly when phases 2-6 will occur, and PvP content is notably missing from the list above. That’s because we’re still evaluating our options regarding PvP rewards, as they also changed over time (both in power and in terms of which PvP reward items were available).
While we can’t elaborate on every detail of every step we’re going to take (yet), we’re here reading all of your questions and we’re going to keep the answers coming.

Thank you!
 

Ctuchik

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Hang on a minute.. That doesn't look all that vanilla to me......

Or is my memory that bad?
 

BloodOmen

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I can't remember exactly how it went tbh, looks accurate though.
 

Embattle

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Naxx was last and even though AQ was hard Naxx took it to the Maxx :p
 

Deebs

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It’s been a lot of fun over the last couple of months to dive into the development of WoW Classic with the team, while trying to answer some of the many questions that have been posed here and elsewhere. Looking at the plans for a phased content release, unlocking dungeons and raids, and unlocking other systems, it’s clear that the aim is to create a progression experience that resembles the original arc from when WoW first launched. In thinking about what belongs in each of those phases, the team’s focus has always been on rewards.

Developers have scoured through vendor lists and treasure tables for items that were added in patches, and then attached them to the staged content unlock plan. This means that if a new item was originally added to a dungeon boss’s loot table with Ahn’Qiraj, you shouldn’t expect it to appear in WoW Classic until Phase 5, which is the phase that contains Ahn’Qiraj content.

Along the way, we’ve seen many questions asking if we’re also retracing the steps of incremental changes to individual items and their stats that may have occurred throughout original WoW. Such a plan could be called “progressive itemization.”

Here’s an example of progressive itemization. The Tier 2 warrior Helm of Wrath originally had Spirit and Agility on it, as well as critical strike chance. In Patch 1.5.0, the helm’s stat budget was changed to Stamina, Strength, and Defense, along with elemental resistances. Then in Patch 1.7.0, the amount of Defense on the helm was reduced. In Patch 1.8.0, the 5-piece set bonus that included the helm was fixed to work with Whirlwind, and in 1.9.0, it got a better look with an art update.

WoW Classic will only include that last version of the item, as it existed in our reference version: 1.12.

Of course, this raises the question “why?”. Why differentiate between adding new items along the way and making modifications to existing items?

When new items are added to loot tables, you’re generally seeing a deliberate effort to provide catch-up gear and/or to provide new goals for players who had exhausted an existing reward structure. For example, in original WoW, items were added to give players a way to quickly prepare for Ahn’Qiraj without having to spend months in Molten Core and Blackwing Lair.

The changing of existing items in patches often illustrated the original design team responding to how players played the game. Their primary goal at the time was to make rewards more relevant and exciting. Developers realizing that Spirit probably wasn’t an ideal stat for a warrior raid set helm* was an example of this sort of change.

Many class abilities and talents evolved similarly. For example, going into Patch 1.8.0, the game designers determined that Moonkin Form would be a more compelling 31-point Balance druid talent than the original selection of Hurricane.

It’s important to remember that there’s more to WoW Classic than a long series of changes. Even if each item change could be made, and even if every class change could be progressively recreated, that would still only constitute a piece of the overall landscape of original WoW. We remember how early raid progression was punctuated by unexpected roadblocks and workarounds:

  • As far as we know, every one of the first Ragnaros kills was only possible due to a bug that made Lava Burst temporarily stop firing after a wipe.
  • Chromaggus was practically unbeatable due to Ignite Flesh unavoidably and lethally stacking on tanks, until it was discovered that Flamegor’s ramp in the laboratory allowed the entire raid to damage Chromaggus without being exposed to his breath attacks.
  • C’Thun was infamously seen as unkillable until a hotfix in April 2006 prevented additional tentacles from spawning while he was vulnerable.
Recreating, and then re-fixing every major progression-affecting bug wouldn’t account for what we think matters much more: the people playing the game. There were many unknowns in original WoW. The first guilds to reach Nefarian spent their initial pulls testing different ideas they had and trying to figure out what condition would get them past the first part of the fight (defeating 40 drakonids). That experience can’t be recreated, because the knowledge can’t be unlearned. For a long time after Patch 1.4.0 came out, many players simply had no idea how good Obsidian Edged Blade or Aged Core Leather Gloves were. The power of weapon skill will be no surprise in WoW Classic.

So rather than try to recreate a specific experience from 2005 that can never fully be recaptured, our aim has been to accurately and fully restore the original game’s mechanics and stats to their final and most polished state from before The Burning Crusade. That mission has been a pillar of WoW Classic’s design from its inception.

This means that while content will be unlocked progressively to allow for each raid tier to shine, systems such as class design, battleground mechanics, and stats on existing items will all be set to their final 1.12 conditions. That should take the pressure off players to be constantly figuring out what we might do next to remain exactly in line with how the game once played out, and we can all focus a little more on community building and enjoying the experience together.
 

Deebs

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August 27th 2019 for release!!

Closed beta starting tomorrow.

Signup period for reserving your names.

Stress tests between now and release.
 

Deebs

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omg Classic 15th year edition as well with a Raggy statue. Take my money.
 

Deebs

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upload_2019-5-14_16-21-42.png

Order placed :)
 

Deebs

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October 8th... smells like a release date leak to me.

Edit: NM just seenit comes out on August 27th - beta starts on May 15th
What? The release date is 27th August.

The 15th year CE is sold out in Europe already.
 

BloodOmen

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giphy.gif
 

BloodOmen

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Launch times

Mark your calendars: WoW Classic goes live worldwide August 27! Whether your battle cry is “For the Horde!” or “For the Alliance!”, there’s no shortage of adventure awaiting you in the vast continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms.

See below for details on the exact time you can log in and experience the origins of World of Warcraft.





Classic WoW Testing Schedule
Beginning May 15, select WoW players will be invited to participate in a small-scale, focused closed beta test. Players will also get a chance to help put our servers and technology through their paces in a series of stress tests running from May through July—you can opt in now through Account Management and select the WoW Classic beta. Subsequent stress tests will extend the opportunity to even more players. Level caps will also be in place to ensure we’re emphasizing the “stress” in “stress test”

—we want to push our tech to the limit, and that means a critical mass of players in close proximity.

Stress Test Schedule*
Stress Test 1: Wed May 22–Thurs May 23
Stress Test 2: Wed Jun 19– Thurs Jun 20
Stress Test 3: Thurs Jul 18– Fri July 19
*Dates of each stress test are subject to change.

To fill our pool of beta and stress test participants, we’ll be choosing dedicated players who meet select criteria from both the WoW Classic beta opt-in and the standard Warcraft beta opt-in. Participants will also need to have an active subscription or active game time on their Battle.net Account. While opting-in to the beta is the primary way to make sure you’re in the running to join the test it doesn’t guarantee an invitation to the closed beta test. We may also consider additional factors such as how long a player has been subscribed to the game so that we have the right mix of players to ensure great feedback toward making WoW Classic the very best experience for the community.

Create Your Character
If you’re eager to claim your character name in WoW Classic, take note: we’ll be opening character creation on Tuesday, August 13.** Players with an active subscription or game time on their account will be able to create up to three characters per World of Warcraft account. We’ll have more information on realm names closer to launch, but rest assured—you’ll have plenty of time to figure out your plans for realm domination!

*To align with other regions, the Americas will launch slightly ahead of August 27 in local time.
** To align with other regions, the Americas character creation will occur slightly ahead of August 13.
 

Deebs

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Fucking LOL at watching the "modern" streamers playing Classic and moaning when they pull 2+ mobs and die. Fucking twats.
 

BloodOmen

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Fucking LOL at watching the "modern" streamers playing Classic and moaning when they pull 2+ mobs and die. Fucking twats.

Aye... love it how all the streamers magically get auto invited too, beta shouldnt be about advertising, it should be about fixing the game, I've seen none of them (that i've seen) even report a bug so far even though they've encountered them.
 

BloodOmen

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Looking good tho! feeling really nostalgic over it.. can't wait for the full release :)
 

BloodOmen

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Did you see what they said btw @Deebs ? they said if classic proved successful and the community wanted it, they may release "other expansions" on the classic ruleset

potentially means

TBC
WOTLK
CATA
Pandaria

All with the classic ruleset, that would be fucking sweet. Given Activision as at the helm, however, I would imagine "Successful" means mounts and pets being bought from the shop which I'm sure they will implement in due course... I wouldn't be surprised if they make the pet battle system work on classic, it only benefits them really (sure it's not classic technically but I wouldn't mind the pet battle system personally, it doesn't effect gameplay at all)
 

Deebs

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Did you see what they said btw @Deebs ? they said if classic proved successful and the community wanted it, they may release "other expansions" on the classic ruleset

potentially means

TBC
WOTLK
CATA
Pandaria

All with the classic ruleset, that would be fucking sweet. Given Activision as at the helm, however, I would imagine "Successful" means mounts and pets being bought from the shop which I'm sure they will implement in due course... I wouldn't be surprised if they make the pet battle system work on classic, it only benefits them really (sure it's not classic technically but I wouldn't mind the pet battle system personally, it doesn't effect gameplay at all)
Didn't see this but I would be worried. These all introduced the QoL things that imo turned WoW into a single player welfare epic shitfest.

Personally I would love new content built in the classic design, though I did like TBC and WoTLK. Crapaclysm was just that, crap.

Did you see Asmongold had over 100k twitch viewers for his DM dungeon run. Like fucking lol. The interest is just insane. Have booked my holiday off in August :)
 

Embattle

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I stick by what I said and for most it'll be a 3 month love affair :p
 

BloodOmen

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One you'll prob find funny @Deebs

"As we’ve discussed before, the nature of WoW Classic sometimes invokes different memories for different players, and this leads to certain misconceptions for some about what is or isn’t working as intended.

The following is a list of commonly-reported gameplay in WoW Classic that is not actually a bug, and is working as we expect it to:

  • Tauren’s hitboxes and their melee reach is slightly larger than other races.
  • Being critically struck while using /sit to sit does not cause abilities like Enrage, Blood Craze, and Reckoning to activate.
  • Using the “Automatic Quest Tracking” option does not auto-track newly accepted quests. (It instead will start to track an existing quest once progress towards an objective is started.)
  • Warrior health Regeneration is working at the expected rate.
  • Quests objectives and points of interests are not tracked on the map or minimap.
  • Completed quests are marked on the minimap with a dot. (and not a “?”)
  • Feared players and NPCs run fast.
  • Standing on top of other players while facing away allows spells and attacks to be used.
  • Creature respawn rates are much slower than in Battle for Azeroth.
  • NPCs which offer multiple quests may inconsistently display them as a dot or a “!” on the available quests list. They were inconsistent in 1.12, and we’ve reproduced the exact inconsistency they had back then.
  • Quests that are too low level for do not show up as a “!” in the game world.
  • Available quests do not display a “!” on the minimap.
  • On level up, the message: “Your skill in Protection increased to 15” was added in 1.12.1, and we’re intending to keep that.

We appreciate all of your feedback!"

Love it how they needed to blue post for that lol
 

Deebs

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@BloodOmen Yeh saw that, fucking lol. Quinn the streamer, who has never played vanilla WoW, reported that an item didn't have any stats as a bug. FFS.

And we have Method's Venruki explaining why he was wrong about Classic (him being a naysayer) in this video which is worth watching:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k5K4a-teWo
 
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BloodOmen

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@BloodOmen Yeh saw that, fucking lol. Quinn the streamer, who has never played vanilla WoW, reported that an item didn't have any stats as a bug. FFS.

And we have Method's Venruki explaining why he was wrong about Classic (him being a naysayer) in this video which is worth watching:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k5K4a-teWo


Lol, can't wait to see the forum filled with "Wheres my free purple spoonfed gear Q_Q" threads
 

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