Will World of Warcraft soon be free to play? The question comes up again and again in forums and interviews. The WoW brand should have answered no in the long run though. So much more interesting: After Warlords of Draenor, instead of real extensions, are there only DLC patches for less money?

Update : Patch 6.2 is the end of Warlords of Draenor. You can read what else this means for World of Warcraft in Johann’s column . Sebastian asks himself in an article whether we are only going to raid the Hellfire Citadel for a year and Tanja wonders what all this means for WoW lore . You can find more information about the end of WoD in the news on the subject.

First of all: This article about paid DLCs in World of Warcraft is pure speculation. Blizzard has never said anything about DLCs or even hinted at doing anything to the conventional expansion system. What we’re putting together here is purely speculative and our hot, but admittedly daring tip for the next add-on or the one after that: What if Blizzard no longer sells complete expansions for WoW – only DLC patches?

The thing is simply this: If you charge 35 to 40 euros for an extension, plus monthly fees, you should also deliver something and bring updates regularly, simply out of decency. This is exactly where Blizzard recently became unpopular: Patch 6.1 came with a few daily quests in the garrison, the jukebox for freely adjustable WoW music and a Twitter connection – that was downright cheeky. Even in Cataclysm, which is almost universally agreed to be the worst add-on of all time, the first patch brought at least two new dungeons. Well, these were slightly refreshed variants of old raids, but it was something you could actively play.

WoW without extensions
A solution to this problem will only come if Blizzard steps out of the game – patch 6.1 would never have been released as a standalone patch if the developers hadn’t felt pressure to churn out new content. They would have waited for the Tanaan Jungle patch and put everything in there right away. But eight months between add-on launch and the first major content patch? Just way too long for most players.

But what if you don’t buy the whole package, not Warlords of Draenor – but the individual content patches? If I don’t spend 40 euros and then have to hope that it’s worth it, but instead, for example, 15 euros for Hellfire Citadel and Tanaan Jungle. Yes, that would pose problems. For example, if I buy access to the new T-19 raid but haven’t played the T-18 raid, what am I supposed to do with my crappy gear in the T-19 raid?

Are Raid DLCs the solution?
But the solution is simple: with each raid patch there are simply one to three dungeons where you can dust off catch-up items. Of course, the buyers of the T-18 raid would then complain that their equipment was suddenly worth nothing – but that equipment in WoW wears out quickly is really not new. Sure: Huge new continents will be more difficult to realize, you would probably rather shimmy from island to island. Also, when it comes to dependencies, you have to think a lot: “Can I play 7.3 without 7.2?” – “Yes, but not without 7.0.” Leveling is also probably flat for now – but why not quest areas instead, without experience, but with decent rewards at raid level and epic quest lines?

These would all be problems that can be solved and it would be the fairer option for many players. We don’t believe that Blizzard will abolish the subscription system and, like TESO, work with a “For subscribers there are content patches “free”.” system. With so many paying customers, why get rid of the subscription, especially when the WoW brand serves the target group of free gamers excellently? But why shouldn’t you also be able to pay for the patches with WoW tokens in this purely fictional DLC system? Then Blizzard – as with the monthly subscription – even earns something extra for players who don’t want to pay anything.

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.

1. Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
2. 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.
3. Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
4. 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!

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