I was a pretty dedicated player, off and on, from open beta in late-summer 2004 through the Cataclysm expansion in 2012, with a little dabbling later for Mists of Pandaria in 2014.
The game changed a LOT. I was never much of an endgame raid player; I really, really enjoyed the progression through the world with friends, so I did that several times.
As WOW shifted to be more endgame raid focused, world progression got a lot faster, a lot lonelier, and a lot less interesting. OTOH, those first years of playing WoW remain, to me, probably the best video gaming experiences I've ever had (and I'm pushing 50, so I've seen the whole ride).
I'll probably re-up to play some Classic. I doubt I'll stick with it -- I have other things I enjoy doing now that would preclude me from playing more than an hour or two a week -- but it'll be fun to visit that world again.
(Oh, and I should note for non-WoW people that the actual in-game world literally changed -- geography shifted, towns were destroyed, etc -- with the release of Cataclysm in 2010. Among the shattered places left behind were the early-level zones for my first characters. I'd love to see those as they were again.)
Ok, got it, thanks for the explanation :) I also really enjoyed the exploration and social aspect of the early part of the game back then, I quit when that was over and seemed as if the rest of it would just be re-doing the same raids over and over trying to get slightly better gear.
I was a pretty dedicated player, off and on, from open beta in late-summer 2004 through the Cataclysm expansion in 2012, with a little dabbling later for Mists of Pandaria in 2014.
The game changed a LOT. I was never much of an endgame raid player; I really, really enjoyed the progression through the world with friends, so I did that several times.
As WOW shifted to be more endgame raid focused, world progression got a lot faster, a lot lonelier, and a lot less interesting. OTOH, those first years of playing WoW remain, to me, probably the best video gaming experiences I've ever had (and I'm pushing 50, so I've seen the whole ride).
I'll probably re-up to play some Classic. I doubt I'll stick with it -- I have other things I enjoy doing now that would preclude me from playing more than an hour or two a week -- but it'll be fun to visit that world again.
(Oh, and I should note for non-WoW people that the actual in-game world literally changed -- geography shifted, towns were destroyed, etc -- with the release of Cataclysm in 2010. Among the shattered places left behind were the early-level zones for my first characters. I'd love to see those as they were again.)