The gods at Blizzard have been kind to us recently. Firstly, they announced a free weekend to give ex-devotees another hit of the good stuff. Secondly, a job posting for the World of Warcraft Classic team was put up, and fans have been mining it for juicy details. If you’ve been too busy to keep up with the latest news, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what we know so far about WoW Classic.
Old WoW, New Tricks
There was quite a bit of debate about what WoW Classic would really be when Blizzard first announced it last year. Was it going to be a HD remastered version of the old experience? How much of old Vanilla WoW would actually be preserved? Would we keep everything about from the Vanilla days, even the things that have since been streamlined beyond return? It looks like the special team assigned to WoW Classic has an answer to quite a few of those questions in their latest Dev Watercooler post.
From what we can tell, it’s going to be a recreation of version 1.12. This is the version of the game that Blizzard’s team thinks represents the classic WoW experience. We also know that a lot of the bells and whistles of the current system will be in place, including bot deterrents and Battle.net integration. Classic WoW will also be optimised for this century’s machines, which may mean UI changes from the original. A lot of these confirmed changes don’t look like they’ll have a huge effect on gameplay. That being said, the Dev Team have made it very clear that they’re about recreating “an authentic classic experience on a platform that is much more optimized and stable“.
The Return of Classic Models
The fanbase is divided on the matter of character models. One one hand, it’s hard to argue with the sexy makeovers that Blizzard gave WoW when they rolled out Warlords of Draenor. On the other, there’s the concern that a huge part of the Vanilla WoW experience is the aesthetic. Yes, we were all a little uglier then. However, it was part of the charm. It’s hard to think about what WoW used to be like without conjuring an image in your mind of the models.
Some of us were worried that an HD remaster of Vanilla would remove some of the game’s character. We now have confirmation that it’s out with the new and in with the old. The source? A job posting on Blizzard’s Careers page. The ad seeks applicants with “fond memories of the original character animations, and spell effects.” If you’re the Software Engineer that they’ve been looking for, you’re in luck. The job description specifically lists out restoring old models as a key responsibility. If that’s not a sign from the Blizzard gods, I don’t know what is.
Separate Servers, Equal Treatment
WoW Classic will be sitting pretty on its own realm. WoW‘s Production Director, John Hight, revealed to Gamespot that the logistics of “how you’re gonna end up going to the old Azeroth…those details… haven’t completely aired out”. So, it’ll be set apart from the main game, but how will they introduce the experience? We’re positive that it’ll be more than just a separate server to click on when you login.
The way that revisiting the past worked Warlords of Draenor‘s timewarp conundrum is still fresh in our minds. That expansion focused on timewalking’s possibilities, which we were conceptually but not mechanically familiar with in Cataclysm. How we’ll get to WoW Classic is anyone’s guess. Maybe Chromie and her merry band lead us into ye olde Azeroth once the race war starts. Perhaps the shady deal that Kairoz struck with Garrosh will be re-orchestrated. Or, arcane instability will arise as a result of the Horde and Alliance trying to one-up each other. It’s anyone’s guess, but we’ll probably need a little elbow grease for the WoW Classic launch.
It’s been some time since Blizzard graced us with the Battle for Azeroth announcement and surprised us with WoW Classic. A true Vanilla WoW experience is something that us fans are clamoring for. We’ve spent hours on private servers trying to capture the way the game felt a decade ago. For many, WoW Classic is the ultimate form of the game that the community grew side-by-side with. It’s no secret that expectations are high, and while we don’t know a whole lot yet, our observations above have pretty much been confirmed. What are some things that you’re wanting WoW Classic to bring to the table? Let us know in the comment section below!
