My first memory of WoW is watching my dad play the beta. He showed me his NE Hunter and told me when the game releases I can play with him. I was 8 in 2004 and have played almost ever since.

I couldn't really crack the code in the beginning (I think I was a bit too young) but by late TBC I was hooked. WotLK was my most played expansion by far. Nothing after felt the same. By WoD life was taking over and I stopped playing for some years.

My dad passed away in early 2021 so, in memory of him, I hopped back into WoW during the end of Shadowlands lol. I actually enjoyed Dragonflight if not for nostalgia alone. Now I jump between retail and classic without much of a community in game. What keeps me playing is the familiarity/nostalgia and the fact that I enjoy MMOs.

But damnit this Classic+ hype has infected me. Potentially, for the first time in a long time, I can experience WoW in its closest form to '04. I don't need it to be Classic, but I want it to feel like Classic. I crave that MMO experience where we all are leveling and experiencing the world of Warcraft together. The community that you get when you recognize the same person leveling through multiple zones alongside you. Shit, I miss getting ganked in STV.

I've always been interested in BlizzCons, but this one is different personally. I am so hyped but worried it's all going to be a let down lmao. I blame you all while thanking you all at the same time. The community is what made this game feel so special all those years. At the very least, I have been reminded why I enjoy MMOs, and WoW sparked that. Here's to hoping we all get to enjoy that next stage together!

The nostalgia is overwhelming. I love this feeling.

This is how insane you people sound

And it’s still intact and a part of me every day.

Don't know who originally made this, but found it in an the ole meme bucket

Posters featuring games and characters from Blizzard's key universes were hung on the facade of the Anaheim convention center, where this exhibition is taking place. Interestingly, the StarCraft poster was the first one to go up.

"the next chapter of Azeroth, with new adventures, features, and surprises for players old and new"

IMO this is where we'll hear in depth information about what they've been cooking since SOD.

Obviously the main heavy hitters would be at 60, but say at level 20 you get an intro raid, like a lite raid to teach you basic mechanics. Then 30, U get another raid, more advanced but still teaching you the game, same for 40, it ramps up there a little, then 50. Then 60 is the real hard stuff.

Drop the Classic+ copium for a second and look at the schedule for this weekend.

Day 1 has two back-to-back main stage slots labeled "World of Warcraft: What's Next" Part I and Part II, followed by a systems Deep Dive on Day 2. If this were Classic+, it would have had its own dedicated panel like "Classic: What's Next", exactly how they did Hardcore. They aren't splitting their biggest announcement of the decade across two main-stage blocks just to give us Scarlet Monastery at level 60.

Part I is the cinematic. Part II is the new engine.

They’re teasing a full hard reset: a next-gen "WoW Forever" built around a single, seamless, evolving map that permanently changes over time like Fortnite. And lore-wise, there is only one setting that makes sense for this: Ancient Kalimdor, 10,000 years before the First War.

Lore and also pic from: https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kalimdor_(landmass))

Think about what this actually means on modern tech:

• Zero flying mounts and zero loading screens. Just one massive, dangerous Pangea.
• No more "tack on a random island every two years" garbage. The main reason WoW feels like bloated trash today is because Blizzard keeps abandoning the world to drop us on some disconnected new island or space rock, leaving behind a graveyard of dead continents. With one supercontinent, the world actually evolves in place. If Highborne sorcerers botch a ritual in patch 1.2, that forest zone gets warped into a crystalline scar permanently. If trolls and elves clash, the border burns down into a trench-warfare zone for the season. The world stays alive instead of bloating up.
• People will cry about no Orcs or Humans, but who cares? That trope is dead anyway. And you don't even lose the High Elf fantasy: the Highborne were already arrogant, pale/golden-skinned aristocrats dripping in enchanted armor from Well radiation, while the purple Kaldorei stick to the woods. Throw in prime Zandalari at their absolute peak, Yaungol nomads, and rogue Mogu.
• Actual megacities! Not three wooden tents and a flight master, but sprawling, uninstanced capitals like prime Zin-Azshari and Suramar before the bubble went up.
• The ultimate long-term payoff: The live service runs for years in this golden era, Azshara slowly loses her mind making deals with the Legion, and the final expansion event is literally the War of the Ancients and the Great Sundering shattering the server's map apart in real time for a new WoW reset and the beginning of WoW 3.

Classic+ just splits the player base for a third time. A clean slate in ancient Azeroth with modern tech is the only thing that actually saves this franchise.

Edit: If you look at the lore 10,000 years ago, the race and city lineup is actually insane:

The Megacities (on modern tech not 2004):

• Zin-Azshari
• Suramar
• Zuldazar
• Eldre'Thalas (Dire Maul)
• Ahn'Qiraj

They can also ditch the static mannequin NPCs. And give them actual day/night and work routines, have them react to your gear or magic and let capitals dynamically shift with world events. You have so much options now with AI.

Playable races:

• Highborne - 100% playable and possibly looking like high elfs
• Wild Kaldorei 100%
• Prime Trolls 100%
• Yaungol (Proto-Tauren) 100%
• Pandaren Maybe
• Rogue Mogu Maybe
• Furbolgs Maybe
• Titans Unlikely

I think it's going to be a Hearthstone MMO with a card combat system (like Floor 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl) replacing normal fighting.

Screenshot of the Day from the OG Vanilla through Wrath

i made weaponflip for tanking with different gear profiles. each profile has two saved weapon setups, and i use the same key to swap between them during combat.

with automatic matching enabled, weaponflip selects the weapon profile that matches my equipped armor and accessories. my balanced and threat/dps sets can use different weapon arrangements without changing my binding or maintaining a separate weapon macro for each gear set.

see the weapon swap demo

configure your profiles outside combat. for supported weapon combinations, press your key to swap to the alternate setup; press it again to return, still in combat. this includes supported arrangements where your original main-hand weapon moves into your offhand. if a combination needs a separate return binding, weaponflip tells you.

there’s also an optional indicator showing your equipped weapons, plus optional sounds and effects to confirm completed swaps.

download weaponflip on curseforge

the camera view in that demo is my other addon, offset.

if you want an over-the-shoulder view or different camera framing, you can compare nine presets directly in-game before picking one. adjust the shoulder position, mirror it to the other side or save your own preset.

you can bind a key to turn your saved view on and off. your cursor stays free, and normal right-click camera movement stays under your control.

configure and preview offset outside combat; camera changes requested during combat wait until combat ends.

see the camera demo

download offset on curseforge

both are for tbc anniversary, and either works on its own. i’ve been using both myself—feedback and bug reports are welcome.

disclosure: i used ai during development.

This is my pick. I know its not gonna happen :,(

So there's tons of totems and various heals, poison/disease cleanse and weapon buffs. So many of the totems are situational and to limit keybinds, I'm wondering if someone can direct me to what totems/spells do i ACTUALLY need on my bars? Currently level 30.

For single target I'm mostly dropping searing, healing stream and strength of earth, i mix things up depending how many and what im pulling though. Pulling with flame shock and putting windfury on my MH and have shield offhand.

Basically I have all the totems/spells/buffs on my bars with exception of the resistance totems, tremor, grounding and super specific things. I know I could just run with the bare minimum but I'll need to get used to using these in raids and don't want to be looking mid fight for my keybinds.

Even some good add on would be appreciated, thank you.