It'd be cool if at the top you say this is fan-made. Using a "blue quote" on something not said by Blizzard without any forewarning doesn't sit well with me.

Fair enough.

My heart can not take those false ads ;)

I mean we all know that to some point TBC will come and i hope that the copy the realms so we can still play with our lvl 60 chars.

I'm curious to see what will happen after all the content phases have passed. But to me it seems unlikely they'll do something like this.
It's a good read though, I wonder what they'll have to do to make Karazhan a 40-man raid instance.

I mean we all know that to some point TBC will come and i hope that the copy the realms so we can still play with our lvl 60 chars.

Simply put that's the idea really, with a little bit of in-game lore sprinkled. It doesn't force anyone to take part in TBC, so you can move to those realms when/if you choose. Unless something unexpected happens, I really think Blizzard will eventually add TBC/Wotlk servers ultimately.
I'm curious to see what will happen after all the content phases have passed. But to me it seems unlikely they'll do something like this.
It's a good read though, I wonder what they'll have to do to make Karazhan a 40-man raid instance.

Yeah the "Classic+" approach is a bit... too adventurous for the current Blizz if I'm honest. But I mean Runescape is doing it (if what I've read so far is accurate), and they seem to be doing great over there. More people are playing OSRS, and it is still getting content updates. At the end of the day many people wouldn't support an official Vanilla server back in the days (There was even a copy-paste "Why Vanilla WoW will never happen" response by the green posters on official forums - Edit: It's called "THE WALL OF NO") and look at where we are now! So I wouldn't shut the door to a possible "Classic WoW but with content patches" way ;)

Now whether Blizz would split the Classic servers from Classic+, that's another thing. That's gonna be depending on how everyone feels and how many people will be still playing Classic in 2-3-4 years.

No Veteran will transfer his character when he get lost on the classic server. Tbh. why would I transfer my T3 priest to Burning Crusade to crush all my progress?
I probably would start fresh and let my old character stay there.

Im using classic just as classic TBC waiting room.

So I hope for TBC down the road. :)

Awesome work here - I really liked the bit with chromie and the reputations - it all seemed incredibly blizz like! You definitely have a knack for emulating the way they announce things haha!

That said, I am very much opposed to Classic+ and also to BC stuff. We haven’t even got Classic yet!

Problem I see going into the future with the BC stuff? Massively spread out population and huge gaps in servers where people have moved on to their new home.

Problem with Classic+ ? It’s new stuff, which means it isn’t Classic and shouldn’t be anywhere NEAR this game. It also takes away the ceiling and ruins all the hard work people will have made defeating Naxx and well.. completing the game. Who wants to achieve something great like that then have all their gear and effort invalidated by some karazhan remake patch? Not me.

No Veteran will transfer his character when he get lost on the classic server. Tbh. why would I transfer my T3 priest to Burning Crusade to crush all my progress?

That's a good point I hadn't considered.
Would "copying" a character to a TBC server work then, do you think (as a one-time only thing so people can't abuse it)? Perhaps as a limited-time offer?
Awesome work here - I really liked the bit with chromie and the reputations - it all seemed incredibly blizz like! You definitely have a knack for emulating the way they announce things haha!

Why thank you :P
Problem I see going into the future with the BC stuff? Massively spread out population and huge gaps in servers where people have moved on to their new home.

Yes the whole "splitting the community" could be a disaster, it could not even be feasible if the player count is not that high by the "end of Classic" - whatever that "end" might be. So if in X years we get a TBC server, it would probably run along Classic servers and not as a "character transfer" option. Having top guilds/players transfer to TBC could leave Classic servers deserted (of course this depends whether or not people would actually do this). I guess it's a double-edged sword.

Problem with Classic+ ? It’s new stuff, which means it isn’t Classic and shouldn’t be anywhere NEAR this game.
Again the Classic+ stuff would be parallel to the Classic servers. You could go to Classic+ and check it out of you want, but you can also choose to stay in Classic where all your hardwork is not invalidated with new content. In the imaginary setting that I've created myself, I would probably stay in Classic because I want to gradually get updates at my own pace and not worry about new content.

That being said, perhaps new content should not automatically mean better gear. Maybe different gear but on the same power level as Naxx. Or cosmetic only rewards, etc.

PS: Oh no the Blizz quote was removed from my OP :biggrin: It was fun while it lasted tho, I understand teebs decision :p

That's a good point I hadn't considered.
Would "copying" a character to a TBC server work then, do you think (as a one-time only thing so people can't abuse it)? Perhaps as a limited-time offer?

Well, I'd like it if you could just take your character and copy it to a TBC server once. But it stays on the old one. But you can only do this ONCE per character.

That's how this kind of changes in game should be handled: not with some external transaction, but via in game events/quests. Like at the time, when they planned Death Knight, you had to sacrifice on of your characters at level 70 and, after a long chain, having it transformed in DK.
Great ides, I would love a Classic+ :-)

I really hope Blizzard ends up going the OSRS route with community voting for new content and features. In OSRS, 75% of the subscribed community has to agree to said new stuff in order for it to be implemented.

One of my worries with making TBC/Classic+ stuff and not forcing everyone to it is that Classic/TBC/Classic+ will eventually thin out. However, forcing people to go to a new expansion even if they don't want to also sucks, but you can't always please everyone, and that's going to become true as ever some time down during the Classic timeline.

Great effort!

Nice idea but I'm afraid Classic+ servers would be ghost towns if I understood your post well.

I would not be opposed to some sort of classic+ situation. Problem is it can't be done without splitting the playerbase. I do think people will get tired of classic eventually. Truth is, vanilla was only a couple of years, and we're down to months when it's only the patch 1.12. Where were you two years ago, in may 2017? It sure went fast didn't it. Now people are longing for something that felt endless back in the day, but was only so brief. I do think classic will be fun far beyond only 2 years, but you can only do something for so long until it becomes a bore.

Another problem is that blizz feels too incompetent to be able to pull off a classic+ path. IMO it would have to be in the style of vanilla/classic, both visuals and audio, or at least very inspired by it, and the Wc3 style that vanilla was based on.

Pretty interesting idea! Definitely sounds blizz like.

Like at the time, when they planned Death Knight, you had to sacrifice on of your characters at level 70 and, after a long chain, having it transformed in DK.

That would have been awesome! Shame they didn't go that route.
I really hope Blizzard ends up going the OSRS route with community voting for new content and features. In OSRS, 75% of the subscribed community has to agree to said new stuff in order for it to be implemented.

I do think people will get tired of classic eventually. Truth is, vanilla was only a couple of years, and we're down to months when it's only the patch 1.12. Where were you two years ago, in may 2017? It sure went fast didn't it. Now people are longing for something that felt endless back in the day, but was only so brief. I do think classic will be fun far beyond only 2 years, but you can only do something for so long until it becomes a bore.

Yeah the OSRS route indeed sounds very promising for WoW. I'd say 75% is a good mark (just don't make it 51%).
One thing about OSRS vs. Classic would be, how long does it take to "max out" in both games. I hardly played OSRS, but from what I can tell for pro players it is 1.6k hours and about 2k hours for an average player. That is a lot longer than Classic. To be fair to WoW, you can always roll new characters, grind for Rank 14 etc.

But I digress. My point is, how long is needed until Classic is considered "stale" by the large playerbase? 2 years? 3 years? Personally I get only about 6-10 hrs play time every week, so for me it can last for a few years easily. I know I know it's a very "cross that bridge once we get there" situation, but it never hurts to have a discussion about it.

It's also not solely a "Classic gets stale" argument either. I think the game has great potential, and I think possible future updates to Classic (either Classic+ or whatever) could have great positive effects on the game. Think about updates that are true to the Classic spirit. So obviously no bullshit like LFR/Flying etc. No new "systems". Just new "things"; zones, dungeons, raids, battlegrounds etc. And yes, with Classic graphics.

Even if Blizzard would do it, could they actually accomplish it? Would the Classic fanbase have faith in a Classic+? Those are the big questions, as well as what happens to others who just want a constant Classic (as splitting the playerbase point is something that comes up quite a lot and with good reason).

All in all, I'm pretty excited about what the future (potentially) holds. Personally, if one thing is (almost) certain, is that we will almost definitely get TBC and extremely likely Wotlk servers at some point. But hey that's just my gut feeling.

No Veteran will transfer his character when he get lost on the classic server. Tbh. why would I transfer my T3 priest to Burning Crusade to crush all my progress?
I probably would start fresh and let my old character stay there.

I've always felt this way. Especially when they would never let you bring gold/what's in your bags anyhow or players would spend months and months prepping to take a chunk out of the economy. Best case scenario, they allow you to duplicate your character with its gear into the new game. Worst case they would completely transfer that character and it would totally invalidate your progress on the Classic realm and wouldnt be worth it. You'd be better off leveling your own duplicate 60 while you were waiting for BC release and transfer over a fresh 60 and leave your progressed 60 in Classic. I can see the argument for roleplayers who identify with their specific character, but for everyone else it seems like a net loss.

Great ideas! I enjoyed the way you worked the character transfers into the game!