Classic+ Feature Predictions: What Could Return from Past Expansions

With Blizzard actively developing the next major Classic World of Warcraft project, our team at Misti.services has been analyzing which features from previous expansions could enhance the Classic+ experience. Let's explore the possibilities across WoW's expansion history.

The Burning Crusade: Building on Beloved Foundations

The Burning Crusade remains one of the most beloved expansions in World of Warcraft history. The Classic community generally embraces TBC and Wrath of the Lich King as natural extensions of the Classic experience.

New Races and Starting Zones

Blood Elves and Draenei could potentially join Classic+, complete with their iconic starting areas like Silvermoon City and The Exodar. Season of Discovery hinted at cross-faction class availability (Horde Paladins and Alliance Shamans), though this never fully materialized. Could Classic+ finally deliver on this concept?

Raid Content Integration

Karazhan stands out as an ideal raid addition for Classic+. The mysterious tower in Deadwind Pass nearly made it into Season of Discovery with the Karazhan Crypts content planned for Phase 7. Mount Hyjal already exists in Classic WoW as an empty zone, waiting for meaningful content after its TBC raid implementation and later Cataclysm transformation.

Badge System Evolution

The Burning Crusade introduced Badges of Justice, pioneering the PvE currency system for purchasing gear and catch-up items. This concept has proven its longevity across multiple Classic iterations. Current progression realms feature similar systems like Celestial Dungeons in Mists of Pandaria Classic, allowing players to earn previous tier raid loot through challenging dungeon content.

Season of Discovery experimented with Tarnished Undermine Reals, earned through high-level dungeons and raids for purchasing various rewards. These currency systems provide accessible progression paths while maintaining player engagement.

Wrath of the Lich King: Quality of Life Innovations

Wrath of the Lich King delivered numerous improvements while introducing Northrend and WoW's first Hero class.

Dual Specialization

This feature seamlessly integrated into both Anniversary Servers and Season of Discovery. Given its success and player demand, dual specialization seems almost certain for Classic+.

The Scarlet Enclave Experience

The Death Knight starting zone made a memorable return in Season of Discovery Phase 8 as a 25-player raid environment, proving these zones can be reimagined for different content types.

Raid Composition Flexibility

Wrath introduced raid-wide buffs instead of party-only buffs, eliminating rigid raid compositions. This change embodied the "Bring the Player, Not the Class" philosophy, allowing more flexible group building while maintaining class identity.

Cataclysm: Selective Feature Integration

Despite mixed community sentiment toward Cataclysm, certain features deserve consideration for Classic+.

Rare Boss Encounters

Cataclysm elevated rare spawns from forgettable mobs to exciting world bosses worth hunting. Creatures like Aeonaxx in Deepholm and Madexx in Uldum provided meaningful rewards and fostered competition without disrupting immersion. This approach to rare encounters could add depth to Classic+ world content.

Mists of Pandaria: Modern Conveniences

Currently featured on progression realms, Mists of Pandaria introduced several universally appreciated improvements.

AoE Looting

Perhaps the most uncontroversial quality-of-life feature ever added to WoW. AoE looting dramatically reduces time spent collecting loot during farming sessions, making area-effect grinding significantly more efficient.

Warlords of Draenor: Learning from Economic Lessons

While generally remembered poorly, Warlords offers valuable lessons about in-game economies.

Gold Generation and Economy Management

The Order Table system notoriously flooded servers with gold through passive mission rewards, damaging server economies. However, this concept presents an interesting solution to a persistent Classic problem: bots and gold buying.

If Classic+ faces economic issues from automation and real-money trading, deliberately devaluing gold through controlled generation might be preferable to allowing third-party gold sellers to dominate. Sometimes drastic measures are necessary to protect game integrity.

Legion: Class Fantasy and Identity

Legion successfully emphasized class identity through meaningful content systems.

Class Order Halls

These faction-specific headquarters perfectly complement Classic's focus on class fantasy. Rather than homogenizing classes for balance, Order Halls celebrate what makes each class unique. They provide expandable content frameworks while deepening class lore and identity. Imagine Paladins gathering in their sanctified halls while Druids commune in their sacred grove.

Battle for Azeroth: Profession Depth and World PvP

BFA delivered mixed results but introduced concepts worth exploring.

Gathering Profession Ranks

Battle for Azeroth featured a ranking system for gathering professions, increasing yields and bonus materials as players progressed. A Classic+-adapted version could use Bind-on-Account skill books earned through gameplay, helping legitimate players compete with automated farming.

Meaningful World PvP Events

BFA attempted to bring warfare back to World of Warcraft with mixed success. However, timed zone events proved effective at encouraging world PvP. Season of Discovery demonstrated this potential—while Battle for Ashenvale had issues, the Blood Moon event in Stranglethorn Vale remained popular across multiple phases.

Warmode's PvP toggle system could theoretically unite servers, though practical implementation remains uncertain.

Shadowlands: Competitive PvP Options

Despite its reputation, Shadowlands contributed at least one valuable feature.

Solo Queue Arena

Solo Shuffle emerged in patch 9.2.5, evolving from earlier brawl formats. Classic players often envision this as duel tournaments rather than retail-style solo queue. Hardcore's Mak'gora Duels hint at this possibility. Whether as tournament brackets or matchmaking systems, competitive solo PvP could thrive in Classic+.

The War Within: Storage and Difficulty Options

Current retail expansion features suggest interesting Classic+ possibilities.

Warband Banks

Account-wide storage doesn't eliminate inventory management as a skill—it simply reduces tedious alt-switching. A single shared bank (perhaps standard bag size, expandable with player-purchased bags) would respect character progression while improving quality of life.

World Tier Difficulty System

Borrowed from Diablo and tested in Legion Remix, World Tiers let players control their challenge level.

Picture this: You're a level 13 mage in Westfall. Instead of casually questing, you enable World Tier 3 for intense combat against empowered enemies with increased health and abilities. You're rewarded with bonus experience and better loot for the heightened difficulty.

Meanwhile, another player just finished work and wants to relax while questing at standard difficulty. Both playstyles remain valid and rewarding.

World Tiers could also combat automation by letting real players choose challenging content that bots can't easily handle, even in traditional leveling zones.

Midnight: Future Possibilities

Retail's upcoming expansion (currently in Alpha) offers speculative opportunities.

The Prey System

While details remain limited, this system apparently involves hunting specific monsters with enhanced enemy spawns during the hunt. Such mechanics could provide additional rewards while encouraging open-world engagement—exactly where Classic players should spend their time.

What Classic+ Means to the Community

Classic+ represents different visions across the player base. From quality-of-life improvements to major content additions like player housing (currently prominent in retail development), possibilities abound.

Our team at Misti.services will continue monitoring Classic+ developments and community discussions. What features from past expansions would you most like to see return? What innovations could Classic+ pioneer? The conversation continues as we await more information about this exciting project.

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