We said this is what we wanted and Blizzard listened. World of Warcraft Classic finally here! With bated breath and nostalgia running through my veins (not to mention an Olympic sized swimming pool of black coffee) I stocked up on snacks and waited.
My server chosen, my character — Rivetz the Orc Warrior — reserved, I wanted to charge headlong into the Vanguard of the Horde forces. Every mottled boar would taste the bite of my axe, every armoured scorpid would feel the thunder of my charge.
Every vendor would become laden down with my spoils and my cup would runneth over with coin.
What I found instead was exactly like the vanilla experience in 2004. Massive server queues, disconnections and lag. Oh my!
But to say I wasn’t expecting it would be a lie and lo, I waited and waited.
World of Warcraft Classic
Three hours in, there was a hubbub on the internet. Blizzard was going to handle the massive queues by releasing another oceanic PVP server. We rushed over to it to make replacement toons and log in and BANG!
We were in!
We got our war party together and set off to adventure. The zone chat was going off and old and new players were engaging with each other. It was thrilling.
But with the massive influx of players, quests were clogged up and levelling zones were saturated. It was a little frustrating, but not surprising. The retail version of the current World of Warcraft game has deviated so much from the base game that veterans grew up with and loved.
It’s become too easy, too solo orientated and lacking the community and challenges of ages past. Friendships were forged and memories made that still linger to this day. With the release of World of Warcraft Classic, they have flooded back in a big way.
Back in Time
Overall, my first impressions of this release have been resoundingly great. The progression is slow but rewarding and even simple uncommon items are exciting when they show up as a loot drop.
World of Warcraft Classic feels like what an MMORPG should. It’s grindy and confusing at times but will reward perseverance and the formation of groups and communities to progress and help each other. Once the bugs have been ironed out I believe the game will thrive as it did 15 years ago.
Not to mention that with the content progression on the horizon World of Warcraft Classic will have something for everyone. I, for one, am looking forward to the PVP battlegrounds, where teams of players face off against each other in a set area. In the future, this will have rewards available for those participating and even greater rewards for those that master these elements of the game.
This was an area I never looked into at original release so I find the prospect of it very exciting!
Queuing Up!
Blizzard has a lot of work to do in the coming stages of the game, but the fact it essentially had to recreate bugs to give players the authentic experience, was a feat in itself.
I can see a bit of the player base dropping off once the hype has worn, but for those that remain there will be a fulfilling and rewarding experience awaiting them!
FOR THE HORDE!
World of Warcraft Classic is being played using a timecode provided by Blizzard.
