With World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic on the horizon, the game's developers have to take a careful look at what worked and what didn't work in World of Warcraft Classic. Although Blizzard fulfilled its promise with a faithful recreation of the original World of Warcraft, WoW Classic had some significant issues caused by the game's age. With Burning Crusade Classic, the game's developers can take a measured approach and explore changes that may be beneficial to the overall health of the game.
World of Warcraft Classic was driven by a "No Changes" philosophy, which was intended to help fans of the game relive their nostalgia from over a decade ago. While the game surely delivered on the promise of nostalgia, its age also led to some legitimate gameplay issues. Due to the easy access of information, gearing characters became somewhat trivial and options such as "World Buffs" were abused. These factors led to WoW Classic's most difficult content being easier than expected, such as with the final raid Naxxramas, which was cleared just 2 hours after it's release.
A "Some Changes" philosophy will still allow for World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic players to relive the original game's content, but in this case with meaningful changes to difficulty and quality of life. Blizzard has already revealed some of the changes it intends to make, such as ensuring that Burning Crusade Classic's bosses are implemented in their most difficult, pre-nerf forms. Keeping the game's bosses as difficult as possible will be important since, like WoW Classic, even casual players will have easy access to plenty of gear and strategy guides to help them progress through content.
Faction Imbalance in WoW: Burning Crusade Classic
One potential issue that some World of Warcraft fans have likely been concerned about for Burning Crusade Classic is faction imbalance. In the original World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, only Blood Elf Paladins could use Seal of Blood, an ability which has a significant impact on damage dealt. Unique perks such as this, along with the popularity of Blood Elves overall, led to Horde becoming significantly more popular. Blizzard has already announced that both faction's Paladins will have access to the opposing factions Seal in Burning Crusade Classic, and steps like this should help to ensure balanced factions.
Beyond just difficulty and faction imbalance, there are plenty of other problems that Blizzard will have to consider. One is the Drums of Battle, an item created with the Leatherworking profession that was often considered overpowered in the original World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. The game's developers may look to nerf items such as the Drums of Battle in order to to better balance the professions, especially since many players would rather try out the profession being reintroduced, Jewelcrafting.
No matter what specific changes are made to World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic, it is important that Blizzard has moved away from a "No Changes" philosophy. Legacy versions of World of Warcraft do not seem to be slowing down any time soon, and so the game's developers must look to make adjustments that better fit a modern audience. While fans are hopeful for an authentic experience in World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic, they may find that "Some Changes" will make the game even more enjoyable.