I think TBC/Wrath are all but guaranteed. The demand seems to be there, and they already did the legwork of getting Classic up on its feet. Adding TBC/Wrath servers should be relatively easy in comparison.
I think they have to figure out the server population issue, though. It feels like they opened too many extra servers in response to the queues and now some have dreadfully low populations. I think they'll either need to open a smaller number of TBC servers for people to migrate to if they wish, and connect the vanilla realms to address populations, OR do the opposite - make all realms TBC, connect them, and open a couple fresh vanilla realms for the 60-only crowd. I almost prefer the latter; maybe open 1-2 new vanilla realms every 12 months with an adjusted content schedule to fit. I think someone upthread may have likened it to seasons, which I think would pretty neat.
Switch: SW-1909-0466-9585
+1
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Read an article earlier with a tweet reporting that Naxx would be released in December, with BC beta beginning in March / April. Sooner than expected, but might not be accurate. Still, that isn't too far off from the projections we'd made, so maybe.
So how long before Classic Classic?
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
I think they have to figure out the server population issue, though. It feels like they opened too many extra servers in response to the queues and now some have dreadfully low populations. I think they'll either need to open a smaller number of TBC servers for people to migrate to if they wish, and connect the vanilla realms to address populations, OR do the opposite - make all realms TBC, connect them, and open a couple fresh vanilla realms for the 60-only crowd. I almost prefer the latter; maybe open 1-2 new vanilla realms every 12 months with an adjusted content schedule to fit. I think someone upthread may have likened it to seasons, which I think would pretty neat.
I think the opposite. The problem is servers are TOO packed, and they made bad choices with where when and how they allowed people to do transfers.
This purposefully created mega-servers to the detriment of normal servers...
What few normal pop servers exist are actually very pleasant. It's quite stunning how different the game is when the playerbase isn't consuming thousands of arcanite per week or tens of thousands of dreamfoil...
My proposal
1) Please, for the love of god, do not carry forward progress to BC, totally new servers plz
2) Cap populations earlier and more aggressively to spread people around
3) Faction-restrict new characters as needed. This was never done in Classic and that is stunning to me
4) Do not allow mass-exodus from PVP servers, instead, give packed servers the ability to flow into smaller servers that need balancing as needed
filtering people to a different server is a really challenging task. For the normal user, there's not much incentive and people need a good carrot to volunteer to move somewhere new. What likely should happen is blizzard invest some time and money to identify specific guilds that are active and give them a chance to move the whole guild. even that is problematic because i might be in a guild but play a lot with friends in another guild. Do you move me without consent? Outrage!
i also hope they do a copy char to TBC server option. Give people that want to stay just in vanilla that option. Segmenting the player base is going to cause a whole new slew of pain though.
I think they have to figure out the server population issue, though. It feels like they opened too many extra servers in response to the queues and now some have dreadfully low populations. I think they'll either need to open a smaller number of TBC servers for people to migrate to if they wish, and connect the vanilla realms to address populations, OR do the opposite - make all realms TBC, connect them, and open a couple fresh vanilla realms for the 60-only crowd. I almost prefer the latter; maybe open 1-2 new vanilla realms every 12 months with an adjusted content schedule to fit. I think someone upthread may have likened it to seasons, which I think would pretty neat.
I think the opposite. The problem is servers are TOO packed, and they made bad choices with where when and how they allowed people to do transfers.
This purposefully created mega-servers to the detriment of normal servers...
What few normal pop servers exist are actually very pleasant. It's quite stunning how different the game is when the playerbase isn't consuming thousands of arcanite per week or tens of thousands of dreamfoil...
My proposal
1) Please, for the love of god, do not carry forward progress to BC, totally new servers plz
2) Cap populations earlier and more aggressively to spread people around
3) Faction-restrict new characters as needed. This was never done in Classic and that is stunning to me
4) Do not allow mass-exodus from PVP servers, instead, give packed servers the ability to flow into smaller servers that need balancing as needed
They were very confident the servers would lose 60%+ of their population and end up somewhere around classic's actual server pops.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
+1
fRAWRstThe Seas CallThe Mad AnswerRegistered Userregular
You know how, if you mouse-over someone, they kind of light up a little? I just realized that, if you do that to a Shadow Priest riding the Scarab Lord mount, the only thing that lights up are the mount's eyes. It reminds me of that "I sleep / real shit??" meme.
Friendship ended with Savage Gladiator Chain, now Breastplate of Annihilation is my best friend.
We haven't seen one yet but I'm the only SGC owner due to the most ridiculous brd run ever but I also want conq Soley for power rangers and I'll be so close to Crit cap once I get a dark edge and swap to arms with axe spec for the ownage
36 people in the raid and still 2 minutes faster than our first kill, lol. If you're an alliance holy pally, feral druid, or geared dps warrior willing to offtank on occasion, and if you're looking for a home, we could use you!
We had 40 people for the first time in a good while last night!
Overall a good night. We even 1-shot emps after losing one of our tanks at 30% (somehow we only had 2 healers on that side of the room at the time...)
We had an hour left after Emps, but the post-emps trash still proves annoying. We had 2 false starts on it when the trash packs multi-pulled. Then the anubisaths we got to seemed to have 3 of the 4 available abilities, instead of just 2? That was neat...
On the bright side, I've got 2 of my AQ set pieces and we're set up to have some good prog on cthun tonight. Hoping we can get him and Ouro down!
If you drink margaritas while you raid, you can call it a marga-raid-a!
I had a tank in the train wreck of a guild I was in that about after the first boss would be four sheets to the wind. He did pass out drunk at least 3 times I knew about [I was in that guild from classic to wrath when a chunk of people had enough of the drama and broke off to make their own that guild went belly up in panda}
Posts
I think they have to figure out the server population issue, though. It feels like they opened too many extra servers in response to the queues and now some have dreadfully low populations. I think they'll either need to open a smaller number of TBC servers for people to migrate to if they wish, and connect the vanilla realms to address populations, OR do the opposite - make all realms TBC, connect them, and open a couple fresh vanilla realms for the 60-only crowd. I almost prefer the latter; maybe open 1-2 new vanilla realms every 12 months with an adjusted content schedule to fit. I think someone upthread may have likened it to seasons, which I think would pretty neat.
So how long before Classic Classic?
I think the opposite. The problem is servers are TOO packed, and they made bad choices with where when and how they allowed people to do transfers.
This purposefully created mega-servers to the detriment of normal servers...
What few normal pop servers exist are actually very pleasant. It's quite stunning how different the game is when the playerbase isn't consuming thousands of arcanite per week or tens of thousands of dreamfoil...
My proposal
1) Please, for the love of god, do not carry forward progress to BC, totally new servers plz
2) Cap populations earlier and more aggressively to spread people around
3) Faction-restrict new characters as needed. This was never done in Classic and that is stunning to me
4) Do not allow mass-exodus from PVP servers, instead, give packed servers the ability to flow into smaller servers that need balancing as needed
i also hope they do a copy char to TBC server option. Give people that want to stay just in vanilla that option. Segmenting the player base is going to cause a whole new slew of pain though.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
If people have time to clear Naxx before Christmas, I can see lots of people not coming back after taking a break for Christmas
They were very confident the servers would lose 60%+ of their population and end up somewhere around classic's actual server pops.
https://clips.twitch.tv/SuavePowerfulKoupreyWTRuck
they are going up
the notion that you could even be outbid by bowen is impressive on its own
the dumpster was finally out-dumpstered
I told frawrst to spec 2h arms and roll !raid on 2handers 'cause there's actually good ones in aq40 that don't immediately get dumpstered
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
gonna make all those warriors in stormwind post mean shit about paladins now
Flying Mounts: What
don julios and unstoppable in my hands
mmmmmmmmmmmmmhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
We haven't seen one yet but I'm the only SGC owner due to the most ridiculous brd run ever but I also want conq Soley for power rangers and I'll be so close to Crit cap once I get a dark edge and swap to arms with axe spec for the ownage
36 people in the raid and still 2 minutes faster than our first kill, lol. If you're an alliance holy pally, feral druid, or geared dps warrior willing to offtank on occasion, and if you're looking for a home, we could use you!
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Overall a good night. We even 1-shot emps after losing one of our tanks at 30% (somehow we only had 2 healers on that side of the room at the time...)
We had an hour left after Emps, but the post-emps trash still proves annoying. We had 2 false starts on it when the trash packs multi-pulled. Then the anubisaths we got to seemed to have 3 of the 4 available abilities, instead of just 2? That was neat...
On the bright side, I've got 2 of my AQ set pieces and we're set up to have some good prog on cthun tonight. Hoping we can get him and Ouro down!
Are you secretly in my raid?
I swear.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
I had a tank in the train wreck of a guild I was in that about after the first boss would be four sheets to the wind. He did pass out drunk at least 3 times I knew about [I was in that guild from classic to wrath when a chunk of people had enough of the drama and broke off to make their own that guild went belly up in panda}
When I was with PUG 1 we did Zg in about 2 hours
Usually an hour and a half by now, since everyone knows it well and probably has better gear. AQ20 is barely an hour already.