June 1 launched Burning Crusade Classic (TBC), the second opening of the Dark Portals on World of Warcraft's Classic servers. If you live in a cave, then you don't know that Blizzard's MMORPG has been available since August 26, 2019 in a version stripped of all its expansions, faithful to the 2007 original. But the adventure did not end here. thanks to community requests, and now Burning Crusade returns, restored through the painstaking work of Blizzard. Moreover, I recently had the opportunity to ask some questions to World of Warcraft producers, where they talk about the development process and the various problems encountered: interview avec Holly Longdale (Lead Producer sur WoW Classic) et Patrick Dawson (Production Director sur World of Warcraft).
I, for my part, started the adventure at level 1, with a blood elf thief, and I have just passed level 60 this weekend, after a short month of pexing. Because yes, Classic obliges, you have to level up the old-fashioned way, with dozens of quests that lead from right to left. Unsurprisingly, my first notable death happened one evening when, being too sure of myself, I wanted to attack a Murloc, and that damned fish-man ran away, to call a gang of friends who, to their turn, went to look for their cousins and you guess the rest!
My new Onidra's career began in the blood elf starting zone, then continued among the undead, then continued through Thousand Needles, Hillsbrad Foothills, and Alterac Mountains overrun with yetis. Between each zone, from level 30, I didn't forget to follow the rhythm of the quests in the Valley of Stranglethorn, filled with pirates, gorillas and other beasts to kill (thank you Hemet Nesingwary). Once I reached level 40, it was time to visit Tanaris and Feralas, then continue to the side of Un'goro Crater where I, of course, died because of one of these elite dinosaurs which arrives without warning, when you're already desperately punching one of the smaller, already beefy saurians. I finished my adventure in the snow of Winterspring before finally leveling up to level 58 in the Eastern Plaguelands by killing a big ugly worm.
In a month, I do not count the trips back and forth between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, whether on board zeppelins, in boats, or on the back of Wyverns. However, I was able to take advantage of the few improvements made with TBC, such as poisons that last 1 hour, or components that stack better in bags. Despite the drawbacks, I must admit that I took great pleasure in finding all these places filled with memories with their iconic quests.
But the real adventure has only just begun, because now I'm in Outland, in Hellfire Peninsula, where I find myself killing orcs over and over again, not to mention a few pigs and birds! Here, it's not an evil dinosaur trying to eat me, but a Fel Reaver, a huge level 70 mechanical creature that crushes the stunned. Then, Zangarmarsh, Terokkar Forest, Nagrand, Blade's Edge Mountains, Netherstorm, and Shadowmoon Valley await me! A long way which, by the end of July, should bring me up to level 70, or even perhaps before, if time permits!
This rediscovery of the first extension of World of Warcraft is moving. I remember like it was yesterday the initial release! I had played a little at midnight, but the servers were so crowded that I had quickly gone to bed. I got up early the next morning, the servers were running much better, and the players had mostly gone to bed (or were in the next area for the lucky ones). I had thus been able to climb one or two levels without being bothered until the evening, when the players finally returned. But I had already made good progress and I found myself in the swamps where I was more peaceful, even if I had to call a friend to help me kill a damn firefly that too many people were camping.
If you've played Burning Crusade before, maybe you'll find some friends to relive a beautiful, more authentic Blizzard MMORPG experience, free from group research and mythic dungeons. And if you haven't experienced that era, then you really should test to see what WoW was like at that time, you might be surprised, and make up for lost time. In addition, even if the idea is debated, you can use the Dark Portal pass, which will allow you to raise a character of your choice to level 58 on a Burning Crusade Classic kingdom! Outland is just a click away!
Now I leave you, I have to join some friends to go to the Ramparts, the first instance of the extension!
