The colors are grittier, the lands are emptier, but the story is the same. Fiends are threatening your tribe or village and you are the designated hero. It’s classic WoW.
I came to WoW quite late in life at the grand old age of 27, so I had none of the nostalgic feelings to draw me into Classic mode. I’d only played the modern version, mainly as a Worgen Rogue. When Classic came out I was wrestling with myself as to whether it was worth paying for my subscription any more, but I knew I still loved the game.
Despite playing WoW when Classic came out, I was late to the party, only trying it out a few weeks ago. I picked a Tauren again, having fallen in love with Thunder Bluff in the main mode. I’ve completed the starter storyline as a regular old Tauren, but with her second cousin twice removed in the Classic realm, everything feels different.
Battle for Azeroth came out. I was thrown into a new map area that was laggy and too full of other players to enjoy, and I lost the relationship with my character somewhere in the middle of the chaos. Missing my WoW fix, I gave Classic a try. It was the best thing I’ve done all year.
Classic mode has hooked me and it keeps reeling me back in, in a way the newer game doesn’t do. I have to say, I was surprised that the story was the same, but I shouldn’t have been. I’m glad it is – getting to experience the Tauren starter story all over again is actually great. I feel like I’m getting a share in the old WoW days, that passed me by, despite the familiar storyline. It also reminds me how much WoW meant to me when I first started raising hell in Gilneas and Thunder Bluff.
And all was well
As I trundle across Red Mesa as a ghost for the third time, I decide that this is what it’s all about. The pleasure in WoW is all about the wandering around; strolling across lands like you’ve nowhere important to be. It feeds your imagination like a high octane shooter never will. Your character’s quirky comments are fantastic and more immersive than any storyline WoW could come up with. Azeroth as a setting, really speaks. It’s almost a character itself. Maybe the best way to enjoy Azeroth really is on Classic mode.
Whether you’re a hardcore WoW player or you’ve never even tried it, WoW Classic is definitely worth a go.
Want more WoW Classic content? Check this out: World of Warcraft Classic: Removing the Rose Tint