WoW Classic is taking the MMORPG world by storm – again. Even almost three weeks after publication, the hype hardly seems to subside. But WoW Classic does not see itself as a renaissance for all players. Our author Paul Herzog only found his way into the fantastic Warcraft universe in the course of the first expansion “The Burning Crusade”. In view of this fact, he now cordially invites you to accompany him on his maiden voyage through the puristic Azeroth.
Dear Diary,
three weeks have passed since my first WoW classic character (buy now) saw the light of day. Twelve years after my first steps and knowing full well that Classic would contradict every fiber of my MMORPG spirit. “Curarin, Tier 1, Hunter”. Of course I chose the people of the tauren. After all, the gentle pastures of Mulgore and the barren lands of the Barrens that followed have always held an extraordinary attraction for me.
Why, as a self-confessed connoisseur of the Eulan arts (some would simply say “one-trick pony” ), did I choose the hunter? Well, after all, I knew myself only too well: The greatest torment that WoW had to offer for me was always the leveling process – the path was never my goal and the hunter promised at least a pleasant journey.
To my surprise (and probably also to everyone who accompanied me on my way) I still play WoW Classic today. Why? Because I realized that you can actually play MMORPGs in this different, new way for me. Yes, dear diary, apparently the path can actually be the goal.
And now, about three weeks and 50 hours later, I’m standing at the gates of the Thousand Needles . At this point I would like to start with my stories today.
A thousand needles and a thousand knife wounds
It’s day 18 of my Classic trip. I march briskly south and leave the wasteland with tears in my eyes. The sun is already kissing the peaks of those mountains that no human soul has yet been able to climb.
From far away I see the silhouette of a dwarf riding towards me. ” Level ? ” – that probably says it all. Hoping for a peaceful encounter, I greet him with the words ” jc 108 d “, which means something like ” no kill “. Apparently impressed by my impressive knowledge of foreign languages, he lets me do it and gives me a nice greeting to take with me. By the way, to my great surprise, almost all encounters with the enemy faction go this way.
As I continued my way undeterred, only a short time later I saw the awe-inspiring abysses of the Thousand Needles. I instantly see myself transported back to my youth. Back when I used the Easter break to explore the Shimmering Plains. So much can be said, dear diary: the Alien Eggs were the only ones I went looking for this Easter Sunday.
My 25-year-old tauren hunter was faced with a whole new challenge for the first time as he scaled the numerous mountain peaks. The tauren of the Grimtotem tribe were known for their extremely aggressive nature – and it seemed that the message of my bestial deeds in Stonetalon reached them before I could convince them otherwise. Weapons drawn and fireballs channeled , they taught me a near – death experience or two — vengeance blazing in their fierce eyes .
Social aspects – in WoW?
Now creative solution strategies were required – after a short inquiry in the general channel whether someone was available for an alliance, groups were formed and wisdom exchanged. That night was the highlight of my WoW Classic journey so far .
In my experience, social contacts in WoW mostly take place in predefined environments. You join a guild and are henceforth involved in this social construct. But one thing has definitely been missing for me in recent years: the casual contact with other players in the open world. I can’t even remember the last time I was able to meet someone on a social level. You know, dear diary, being able to perceive the other virtual character as a separate human individual , sharing our fates and being able to exchange information in a casual way and white – that is the true social aspect of an MMORPG.
But that night the time had come – after our group had inflicted a similar fate on the Grimtotem tribe as I had on the enemies in Stonetalon Mountains before, I went “around the houses” with a Forsaken mage. We helped each other with our tasks, we exchanged ideas, we talked about our lives. In short: we enjoyed each other’s company . And: We also played together the following tags. After all, nice acquaintances should be nurtured and nurtured so that they reach the size of the redwoods of Un’Goro Crater .
The animal as supreme commander
The first few weeks were full of new insights. Findings about a decelerated and stress-free way of playing as well as about new acquaintances. But I’m also looking forward to the challenges ahead, almost as if the past twelve years simply hadn’t happened.
In any case, I’ve made a resolution: Learn the profession of angler – I’ve always been able to avoid this up to now. Mainly, however, because my faithful companion “MadMatzMonch” asks for it – and as a long-time owner of cats you learn one thing above all: the animal is the master in your own house.
What is WoW Classic?
World of Warcraft Classic is a true recreation of the original WoW as you know it from 2006. All parts of the game – from combat mechanics and talent trees to character models and zones – have been recreated, contributing to the authentic experience.
Getting Started
All players with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on their accounts have access toWoW Classic at no additional cost.
- Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
- Select World of Warcraft Classic from the Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second Account drop-down list. In this column, select the active account you want to play with.
- Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
- Click the Play button when the installation is complete.
You will need to select the realm you want to play on from several different realm types. Make sure you choose the same realm as your friends – in World of Warcraft Classic, you can only group with characters that are on the same realm as you!
Heroes&WIKI, WoW Classic, World of Warcraft Classic, WoW ClassicSpecial, WoW ClassicSpecials