My Life As A Gamer: The Classic Beta Has Arrived

The beta test phase for World of Warcraft: Classic (a.k.a. "Revenge of the Private Servers") began yesterday. The first wave of invites went to influencers, with a focus on well-known and well-connected live-streamers at Twitch and YouTube. More will be invited as the beta test progresses; I've opted in and I do hope to get selected to play the beta, as this is the version of the game I remember most fondly.

I know the experience won't be the same. It can't be the same. 15 years passed since this version launched, and everything's changed since then. Furthermore, all of the old data has been brought out from the archives and returned to live use at places like WOWHead, so there's no mystery anymore either. (Not all bad; it also means you can just tab out to look up where to go and what to do.) There's also technical differences, as the Classic team build the Classic version as a variation of the Live game and not rebuilt from the old code entirely.

I'm okay with this. I understand how and why these differences exist, and they aren't going to detract from my enjoyment of the game. When my chance to play comes, I'm going to take the opportunity to do things I didn't do the first time around, and I'm going to avoid making the mistakes I did the first time around, yet I will not deviate from what did work for me: taking my time.

This original version of the game was not one where the only game, the real game, was entirely at the cap and leveling was just a chore you did to pay your dues. There is no good reason to race to Level 60, no matter what the streamers would have you believe; you will neglect other aspects of the game, such as developing your Professions, that you'll benefit from as you go and will open doors to you once you arrive. Had I known that back then, I would've focused on something entirely different from trying to break into the raid scene or being the top PVP player. I will this time around; I want to be a top crafter.