Blizzard Entertainment announced that it was working on World of Warcraft: Classic back at BlizzCon 2017. But now that this highly anticipated expansion to the beloved PC game is here, what does this mean for recurring players and older players who want to go back to where it all began?
If you don't want to go back, check out our unboxing of the WoW 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition, but before that, you should probably know why Blizzard suspended one of its pro HearthStone players (Fortnite developer Epic Games weighed in on the issue as well).
Whether you plan to play on your gaming laptop or desktop PC, here's everything you need to know about WoW Classic.
What is World of Warcraft: Classic?
WoW: Classic takes the open-world fantasy MMORPG back to the days before the expansions, so everything from The Burning Crusade to the Battle for Azeroth never happened. It won't be the Day 1 version necessarily, as the company used Patch 1.12: Drums of War to build the game back up.
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How much does WoW Classic cost?
As for cost, this server option is free as long as you have a subscription for the current game, which costs $15 a month.
WoW Classic Release Date: When is it coming out?
WoW: Classic is out right now! My mom and I actually played it together and had quite the interesting journey.
Here's a list of the minimum requirements.
WoW Classic Minimum Requirements
PC Minimum Requirements
- OS: Windows® 7 64-bit (with latest Service Packs)
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom X3 8750
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB or AMD Radeon HD 4850 512MB or Intel HD Graphics 4000
- RAM: 2GB (4 GB for integrated graphics such as Intel HD Graphics series)
- Storage: 5GB available space
- Internet: Broadband internet connection
- Input: Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported.
- Resolution: 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
Mac Minimum Requirements
- OS: MacOS 10.12 (latest version)
- CPU: Intel® Core i5, 2.0 GHz or better
- GPU: Metal capable GPU with 1GB VRAM
- RAM: 2GB RAM (4GB for integrated graphics such as Intel HD Graphics series)
- Internet: Broadband internet connection
- Input: Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported.
- Resolution: 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
WoW Classic Banning
Blizzard has been rolling out bans for players that are abusing a certain exploit.
WoW Classic forums Community Manager Kalvax said that the team has “recently become aware of a bug that could be explored to allow instanced encounters to be completed repeatedly.” As Reddit user u/DingoCrazy has experienced, the ban consists of a one-month ban and a complete removal of all items obtain via the exploit.
Blizzard actually applied a fix to the bug, so you shouldn't worry about triggering it anymore. However, Kaivax reminded people that Blizzard defines cheats as “methods not expressly authorized by Blizzard, influencing and/or facilitating the gameplay, including exploits of any in-game bugs, and thereby granting you and/or any other user an advantage over other players not using such methods.”
WoW Classic Add-Ons Through Twitch
It's tough to survive the raw world of WoW Classic without any add-ons, so here's how to download some through Twitch.
First, you need to download the Twitch app and create an account. Once you're logged in, go to the Mods tab and click on World of Warcraft. To bring up addons exclusive to WoW Classic, you need to click the box in the right corner and make sure the file name reads /Applications/World of Warcraft/_classic_/ as opposed to /Applications/World of Warcraft/_retail_/
If Twitch doesn't detect that you have WoW Classic installed, hit the Scan button and that should fix your issue.
WoW Classic's “Not A Bug” List
During the beta, players reported bugs in the current state of the game, but a community manager, Kaivax, stated on the Blizzard forums that these are actually not bugs, but features. The list is as follows:
- 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.
- You are unable to Polymorph enemy targets that are tapped by players with whom you are not grouped.
- At all levels of player characters and enemies, aggro radius is set to the intended distance.
With all of these "features," it might be a little difficult to get back on the battlegrounds again.
What content is in WoW Classic?
Despite using Patch 1.12, Blizzard is incorporating other vanilla World of Warcraft experiences, which will be released in waves. This is the current roadmap:
- 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
Kaivax, a WoW forum community manager, revealed that WoW Classic's class design, battleground mechanics and stats on existing items will be set to their 1.12 state, despite the game releasing content that expands beyond that. This removes "progressive itemization," so if the stats on a specific piece of equipment was changed during the original updates, that won't take effect in this version.
Additionally, any items that were added to a boss' loot table in Ahn'Qiraj will only appear once Ahn’Qiraj launches in phase 5.
Kaivax recently published a blog post revealing that the team is bringing the clock onto the minimap by default, so it's possible that Blizzard may bring other features of the modern UI to WoW Classic as well.
What's the PvP content going to look like?
Blizzard will also be rolling out the PvP content within the previously mentioned phases. This is the current roadmap:
- Phase 1 (Classic Launch): You can PvP one another in the world, but there is no tracking, and no formal rewards for doing so.
- Phase 2: Honor System (including Dishonorable Kills), PvP Rank Rewards
- Phase 3: Alterac Valley (version 1.12), Warsong Gulch
- Phase 4: Arathi Basin
- Phase 6: World PvP objectives in Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands
WoW Classic PvE Servers
Americas
- Atiesh - Pacific
- Mankrik - Eastern
- Myzrael - Pacific
- Old Blanchy - Pacific
- Pagle - Eastern
- Westfall - Eastern
Europe
- Mirage Raceway - English
- Pyrewood Village - English
- Auberdine - French
- Everlook - German
- Chromie - Russian
Oceanic
- Remulos - Australian Eastern Time
WoW Classic PvP Servers
Americas
- Bigglesworth - Pacific
- Faerlina - Eastern
- Fairbanks - Pacific
- Herod - Eastern
- Incendius - Eastern
- Thalnos - Eastern
- Whitemane - Pacific
Europe
- Golemagg - English
- Shazzrah - English
- Gehennas - English
- Sulfuron - French
- Lucifron - German
- Flamegor - Russian
Oceanic
- Arugal - Australian Eastern Time
WoW Classic RP Servers
Americas
- Bloodsail Buccaneers (PvE) - Eastern
- Grobbulus (PvP) - Pacific
Europe
- Hydraxian Waterlords (PvE) - English
- Zandalar Tribe (PvP) - English
What's Different, and Why You Should Be Excited (According to My Mom)
One of the obvious differences between WoW: Classic and the WoW now is the level cap, which will drop from 120 to 60. But, as someone who has grown detached to the series itself, I decided to consult a veteran who can discern some of the more important differences: my mother, Lucia Tabari.
What'll be the biggest change for you if you play WoW: Classic?
"Vanilla was so time-consuming. There won't be a Dungeon Finder (the game's current matchmaking system), so you have to socialize and be involved more with guilds in a community in order to run dungeons. We had to walk [to dungeons] until level 40, which was when I got my first mount, but even then it was still slow."
If it's so much more slow-paced, why would people want to go back to it?
"Mainly for the feels. But it was also more challenging. You had to be more careful about what you chose to level up in the talent system and learn more about what you need for your spec. Now, you can just keep switching specs at any place, but back then you had to go to a trainer to reset everything. You actually had to work to make progress."
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For people who've played the original and even those who haven't, what would they be missing out on in the new game?
"The zones were more creative. We would roam freely in the old zones, [but] they were left in ruins [because] of the disasters of the [Cataclysm] expansion. Darkshore was the most memorable one for me. We used to take boats from Auberdine (a town in Darkshore) to travel to the Wetlands and Darnassus."
And what do you miss most about vanilla that you're excited to see in WoW: Classic?
"The lore. And Varian Wrynn was our king!"
Is there something specific you miss from the lore?
"Yeah, my king was alive."
Well, there you have it, folks. WoW: Classic is out right now, and you can read my mom and I's journey down nostalgia lane here. Good luck on the grind.
Credit: Blizzard
