As much as i love TBC, i think launching server for it would probably ruin Vanilla servers.
i didn't believe this when retailers said classic wow would ruin retail, and i don't believe it when vanilla fans say bc launching will ruin vanilla servers.
What if after vanilla content have been experienced game will progress in a way new path? This sounds interesting isn't is? Cuz if they keep re-releasing existing expansions like TBC then TLK sooner or later they gonna come to a point when wow feels like retail. What if they will create new path for classic keeping the traditional gameplay like NSSoft made with their brand game Lineage II Classic. They keep developing it as a new game with its own new path considering all the mistakes they made creating retail game. Thoughts?
The thing is each expansion had something the expansion was known for.
(Personal opinion)
Vanilla - World Depth
TBC - PvP & PvE Split, arenas etc
Wrath - Class Balance
Cata - Class Imbalance
MoP - Class Design
WoD - Near-death
Legion - PvE
BfA - Death
For players [Insert Expansion Here] was their favourite and that's what they would love to play again. I personally would love to play MoP again for its pvp and Monk class design. The path that Blizzard took making expansion after expansion and not releasing a new game while continuing to host the previous is what gave birth to Private Servers and why so many have fled retail for them, everyone has different tastes of which is no longer provided by Blizz, but by others at a price.
I'd much rather Blizzard take a huge step back and look at World of Warcraft's entire lifetime, every inch every detail and see what people liked, what they yearn for and what made them excited to play that is World of Warcraft. AND then make a new game. Not an expansion, not a revisit with a different story line just a flat out new game.
Use all the information they've got from creating and hosting a game to millions of players over 15 years to give us the best game we can hope for without the restrictions of using a pre-existing game as its base.
Take the depth from Vanilla, take the attunement system and a modified arena system from TBC, take the class balance from WOTLK, take the class design from Mists, take the PvE and mechanics from Legion and focus on creating a game everyone wants.
Blizzard has become complacent on their throne and honestly the genre is in much need of attention.
I loved TBC, but I agree with those saying that it would ruin the Classic experience, in the way that once Classic is gone (again), people will be forced to go back to pservers if they want to continue playing it.
that is why you do SEPARATE bc servers. just like classic is separate from retail. bc is separate from both.
I would not mind it if it was something like option number 3, so TBC dedicated server next to Classic ones.
oh my bad, guess i should read your full post first.
What if after vanilla content have been experienced game will progress in a way new path?
the problem with this is it would have to be completely separate servers.
that and blizzard has admitted they have zero desire to develop new content for two separate mmos.
i think in the long run they will come. But i think end of Classic will be runnung like 3-5 years before we see something about TBC servers.