I personally have far more trust in Warmane to run a server then I ever would Blizzard. Blizzard ruined the first two what makes you think they'll get wrath correctly?
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I personally have far more trust in Warmane to run a server then I ever would Blizzard. Blizzard ruined the first two what makes you think they'll get wrath correctly?
I have full confidence that 2021 will be a good year for warmane. If you don't understand the sarcasm,look at the new year's message that was mailed.
Also,the only problem with TBC classic atm is the dripfeed of content,then again,not everyone is speedrunning the expansion so that's not too bad tbh. I myself am having tons of fun with casually running BT and Hyjal. And,the hc runs on vanilla classic are really fun as well,it spices up the old game quite a lot. It's certainly more fun than dealing with untested buffs slapped on bosses.
Blizzard can do much more than what's warmane capable of,time will tell if they're willing to. The hc mode is a really good start ngl.
I am interested in playing on Blizzard's WotLK servers because of one very important reason: PVE realms!
I am sick of the "wpvp" from neckbeards who's only enjoyment in life comes from camping levelers and poorly geared 80s.
When Wotlk goes retail (again) it will bring more people here as well. old vets will come back to play, feelin' nostalgic... again.
Seeing that this thread had gained a lot of popularity, I decided to log in and to express my opinion on the matter.
In my personal opinion, warmane is going to survive WoTLK Classic, but it's undoubtedly going to take a hit. Some people are just more fond of the official Blizzard servers and prefer to stick to them regardless of the quality of private servers. Right now, I'm on my break from WoW, but when I was actively playing, I spoke to my ex-guildies, and some of them couldn't wait for Blizzard's WoTLK Classic to come. I tried to explain to them that the quality between their servers and warmane/other private servers is almost the same, and that they wouldn't experience anything new content-wise, but some were just diehard fans and couldn't see the full picture. They constantly repeated the presence of bugs, the infamous p2W sToRe and the "toxic community".
Honestly, I never understood those arguments because they don't really have a solid ground.
Personally for me, the topic about the ingame content plays a much bigger role than any other marginal part of the game, and it should be no wonder why private servers (at least the more refined ones) are vastly superior to Blizzard's future official ones.Spoiler:Show
Having said all of that, here I'd like to play the devil's advocate and say that different arguments weigh differently depending on the person. While I wouldn't be bothered with the presence of the occasional bugs or the coin shop, I've met actual people who couldn't stand them at all and were constantly ****ting on the server and eagerly awaited the release of WoTLK Classic. My point is, that there will be a big wave of players, who would migrate to Blizzard's official WoTLK regardless how insignificant some of the minor differences are. I suspect people would have the following reasons:
- more realms: the ability to choose a pve server and the bigger chance to play alongside fellow countrymen;
- loyalty towards the company and apathy towards the recent scandals [the latter is not a criticism, rather it wouldn't be considered as a factor];
- not having to download the game illegally and be forced to pay a fine for the torrent [like in Germany or in Austria];
- most of the popular streamers play in the official servers, and they draw a lot of player influx with them;
- complete absence of bugs;
- no ingame shop [this is a bit speculative here, but I'll mention it as an argument nevertheless];
- wanting to conquer the world/realm-first charts in the O.G. servers and be competitive against more challengers;
- x1 rates [this is actually in correlation with the previous point; I suspect that some people would want to be competitive. In warmane and in other private servers, the leveling rates are optional, and we can always change them, but imho some people would want everyone to have an equal start.]
- no custom content [this is normally a good thing, and completely optional, but, again, I suspect that some people would just not welcome it];
- maybe something else?
So, yeah, there are definitely a lot of reasons why people would migrate to Blizzard's WoTLK Classic and why the population here would drop. Now, whether those would return to warmane eventually or whether warmane would have to deal with a consistent drop of players are just speculative topics.
Edited: February 23, 2022
First of all, I appreciate the well-thought-out answer you gave all of us. I'm not much of a WoW player like I once used to be, but I think Wotlk Classic will not be as popular as some people might want to believe. I do think that it will come down to one to two servers, where the majority of players might be playing on, similar to TBC Classic. Now in my personal opinion, if I were to come back to playing Wotlk, I do think that coming to Warmane might be the best option for me, even though I'm a US player. Larger player base e.g. Icecrown. I know some well known warmane streamers who I will not name, have said that Wotlk Classic will indeed be better than Warmane. But for what it's worth, I simply think that Warmane will still be number #1. I also want to emphasize, I currently do not play any WoW, but am thinking of coming back to warmane in the near future.
Hey, WeebNA.
I must say, I understand where you're coming from with that conclusion. Part of me also thought about the massive drop of Classic WoW realms and players while I was writing that wall of text, but I tried to look at it in the context of that time - namely, the Blizzard scandals, some streamers moving over to FFXIV, the outcry against the growing botting activity and maybe against the ingame shop, which had stimulated the botters even more. In my personal opinion, when WotLK Classic releases, we would definitely see a massive influx of curious newcomers and enthusiastic veterans wanting to play it - I mean, WoTLK alongside TBC had a legend surrounding it for being the best WoW expansion. I suspect that the previously mentioned negative aspects wouldn't affect the honeymoon period of WotLK Classic (i.e. the first X weeks/months of a certain patch).
Now, whether people would also leave the Classic WotLK servers just like the Vanilla and TBC is a bit speculative, and personally I can't really give a definitive answer. For me, private servers would always be better because they offer the same experience as the official would, and they have the benefit of being absolutely free and sometimes offering optional additional content. This is the cost-efficiency ratio, which goes in favour of private servers in general, and imho it should be the leading objective factor. But, as I've discussed in my previous post, people are different and have different preferences. That's why I try to refrain from making a bold prediction about the future of WotLK private servers and the upcoming Microsoft/Activision Blizzard's official ones.
Edited: February 27, 2022
I think the only people who will leave are these HC active guilds to get some realm first achievements.
I think only people from low rate servers will join Classic.
I play from 2004/05, I was on retail until TBC end (I just did S4 on 2 chars and a few weeks later WotLK was released and I was so upset :-D ) and I play on this only because I don't want to spend my free time levelling, doing profs, moneymaking instead of doing raids or 80's PvP.
Edited: February 27, 2022
Thats literally the reason im considering turning my back against classic and coming on to warmane. Soon to be a father and I dont have much time to play.
They say it wont have RDF in wotlk classic servers, so it will be monthly sub on a 1x realm without RDF. Blizz will sell level boosts I personally dont recommend play that if you arent willing to drop that boost+sub fee. Horrible experience. Frostmourne is so much better compared to that. ''Before everyone asks yes I've played classic wow its not a fun experience spamming lfg to form a group for an hour and running to scarlet monastery from stormwind on foot for 3 hours. I dont enjoy wow without rdf.'' Ofc I dont know how everyone else playing on this server feels but I will keep playing here with my friends.
I keep seeing this take, that blizz ruined classic and I don't understand why. I dont follow the developments much so I am unaware entirely, what did they do?
After seeing how the Blizzard devs seem intent to mess around with and screw up WOTLK Classic (read the Classic forums), I not only plan to stay on Warmane once WOTLK Classic hits, but I plan to donate as well.
Edited: April 22, 2022
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you all are missing a huge part of this taking place; Blizzard has stated before, they don't worry about private servers, as long as they aren't running the current retail versions available from their company. They would certainly try to get a Cease and Desist against Warmane, and Warmane would be forced to shut down its servers, or strand trial at the risk of being sued. Maybe times have changed, but I dont think the servers being in Russia exempts them from being sued by an American corp. Correct me if I'm wrong...