A lot of people seem to be over the moon about playing World of Warcraft Classic. My old guild from retail Alliance side has rolled Horde en masse on a PvP server, and are experience the subsequent ridiculous queues, and seem to be having a blast. I see people like Belghast really find their love for WoW again with this experience. Hell one of the friends that I met through Final Fantasy XIV has taken the leap straight back into WoW Classic and is sitting somewhere around level 30 as we speak. All around it seems like most people are enjoying themselves and I find that to be a very positive thing. However…
As I got home out of work today, and I did my daily walk, I was actually quite on the fence about logging onto Classic. I mentioned a few of the negatives I’ve experienced so far in my previous post and it seems like today somehow made these things even more prevalent for me. When I come home and sit down to play a game I want something that I enjoy and that is rather “effortless” to do. In retail WoW I have all my fancy stuff, I’m at endgame level and I can casually level alts when I want to. The same goes for FFXIV. In Classic however I’m starting over at nothing and will have to build everything from the ground up. I don’t have any means of transportation than endlessly running everywhere or taking a flight path every now and then. My character feels very squishy even now that I have a Voidwalker that can tank for me. Since a lot of people have taken the leap to play Classic you really either have to group up with people to get quests done or just try to find a spawn place for mobs and camp that particular place relentlessly in the hopes of getting your quest done. Don’t even get me started on the fact that if you do group up loot isn’t shared and so you often find yourself having to kill way more mobs just so everyone can get their stuff. But the biggest thing for me is that I don’t really have a nice community surrounding me. I joined the guild of my FFXIV friend but they hardly talk in guild chat. I don’t really know anyone else I’d like to join playing Classic since it’s either only knowing 1-2 people or just having to start in a guild from scratch. I just don’t have the energy for that. Classic is not the warm bath for me that it seems to be for a lot of other folks and as such I think that I will just designate myself to logging sporadically to progress as the mood takes me. I may make up some sort of MMO rotation where Classic just gets one day a week and the rest of my time will go to retail or FFXIV… If even that.
I’m happy that I didn’t really hype myself up for this release but rather took the “I’m going to make a character and see how it goes” approach. So far it feels more like a chore to play the game than actual fun although I do appreciate seeing all the zones in their old state again. I just miss too many things from retail to stick around. I want my achievement system, my transmog tab and my mounts and pets. I want summoning stones to be actual summoning stones. I don’t really mind the lack of a grouping tool but shared loot and mob tagging has become so natural that it feels like an insult to have that taken away again. Maybe it’s because I never truly “played” Vanilla WoW. I started playing right before The Burning Crusade came out and didn’t really seriously get into the game untill towards the end of that expansion and the start of Wrath of the Lich King. My WoW “glory” days were mostly in the period from 2008 untill 2013 so my nostalgia goggles are just not that strong for the Vanilla era. Perhaps when they release a Wrath of the Lich King server I will happily jump on board. For now though I’m dialing the Classic back to minimum and will probably go back to playing more retail and FFXIV instead.
Great read! Different opinion from the hype hysteria and I enjoyed your perspective. You mentioned missing the conveniences you have in retail missing form Classic, and I just had a conversation with a friend of mine, about that same thing. Whats interesting is that there are some people that are playing Classic that come from BFA, which is their original entry into WoW and a have no idea how to play the game. One particular instance of that is grouping for quests, it is a completely alien concept to them. Which I found to be funny, because growing up in WoW it feels natural to have to group again, but not for these guys, not to mention mob tagging 🙂 drives some people nuts. Thought I would share that with you 🙂
Honestly, I don’t think Classic is bad per sé. I think it’s just not a game where I can find relaxation in after a long day of working. Now that it’s the weekend and I’m well rested and without any commitments I notice that I can actually enjoy Classic more. I’m still however quite burnt out after 1-1.5 hours of play and that is okay. It’s quite obvious that this is an “I enjoy it, but not for long sessions” type of game for me and that’s fine. It’s just not the hype for me that it is for a lot of others.
I have similar feelings for Classic. I haven’t played WoW all that much do the nostalgia factor isn’t there, none of my friends are playing it so I don’t have the built in social side of things either, and it is very slow.
The thing that drew me in was a curiosity of what such a massive game was like at the start. I have only a few hours in at level 7 but those quality of life things you mentioned are sorely missed. It’s been interesting to see how much things have changed in the 15 years WoW has been around.
I know how you feel. The last time I was in this “struggle” it was 12 years ago and I was just finishing off high school and getting into university and I had tons of time to waste. Then the grind didn’t feel bad, plus everything was new. Now however when I get home from work I just don’t have the capacity to play it like I used to anymore. During the weekends I’m noticing that, since I’m more rested, I can actually enjoy it a bit more. But even then I can only play for 1-1.5 hours max before I feel the need to log out and do something else for a while.
Different people find different things relaxing. I find havibng to think and puzzle things out and problem solve very relaxing when they occur in an environment with no physically threatening outcomes. Sitting in a comfy chair with my mind whirring over how to get some imaginary money to create imaginary storage space, or how to get from imaginary place to imaginary place b without imginarily dying is indeed like a warm bath for my brain.
I also love the slower pace. I love running throgh the beautiful landscapes, seeing other people doing their stuff as I pass by. I’m not focusing on what I’m running to – much more on what I’m seeing as I run. I don’t have any goals or plans and I don’t expect to be there forever. It’s just fun while it’s fun and when it’s not fun any more I’ll stop.
I totally get that other people don;t see it like that. Which is absolutely fine. That’s why there are so many different MMORPGs out there. Classic is definitely not for everyone. People should play what they enjoy and not worry about what they might be missing. Probably all they’re missing is frustration, boredom and regret, all of which we can do without.
As you said it’s to each their own. I personally just can’t really get into the “grind mode” needed for Classic when I get home from work. I’m already tired and some days pretty cranky and then playing a game where I just miss so many perks from the retail version is just not my idea of relaxing.
Now that it’s the weekend and I’m more rested I can honestly say that my enjoyment has gone up. Even though I’m only getting 1-1.5 hour sessions in still before I just want to log out and do something else. I guess that will count me among the super casuals but that’s fine.