Blizzard to create World of Warcraft Classic "vanilla" servers

Finally, no need to play on private servers. Blizzard is actually listening to wow players.
Wow classic still offer the best MMORG experience ever.

At BlizzCon 2017, Blizzard announced World of Warcraft Classic. This is the vanilla version of World of Warcraft. What this means is, fans will be able to play World of Warcraft as it originally released, prior to its many updates and gameplay changes. There have been several third-party vanilla servers in the past that Blizzard has shut down and World of Warcraft Classic appears to be the company's way of catering to its many fans who want an old school experience.

No release date or timeline has been given for World of Warcraft Classic other than Blizzard saying it's being worked on.

World of Warcraft Classic is Blizzard's response to fans who have long begged for a server based on the original version of World of Warcraft.

“We want to reproduce the game experience that we all enjoyed from the original, classic WOW,” said executive producer J. Allen Brack, following a trailer that revealed the server.

Fans have worked on making their own vanilla servers over the years, some of which Blizzard Entertainment has shut down over copyright and other issues. But that hasn’t stopped players from wanting to return to the classic World of Warcraft experience. That typically refers to gameplay from prior to the Burning Crusade expansion, which dramatically changed the game when it launched in 2007. 2010's Cataclysm expansion further removed content from what fans call the “vanilla” version of the game.

The official Classic version is currently in development, Brack said.

Warcraft movie will finish shooting in June, coming out in 2016

This movie will be mostly on Computer Graphics.
The question is who will be the voice actors.

Too bad Sam Raimi is not the director anymore, I want to The Army of Darkness in Wow setting.

The upcoming Warcraft movie doesn't come to theaters until March 2016, but the production crew is expected to finishing filming in just three weeks, director Duncan Jones has revealed.

"For those counting down with me, we're done shooting Warcraft in three weeks as of tomorrow! Holy shnikey…," Jones said on Twitter today. Filming began earlier this year.

But filming isn't the only component of making a movie, especially a movie like Warcraft, which we expect to have a significant CG component. Acclaimed Star Wars effects studio Industrial Light & Magic is working on the CG components of the movie, like the Orcs.

Unfortunately for fans, the only glimpse of the Warcraft movie seen so far is a mood piece and one image from the Stormwind throne room. The Legendary Pictures-produced movie was expected to debut on December 18, 2015, but it was delayed after Disney announced that Star Wars: Episode VII would also premiere on that date. It was probably the right move, we'd have to say.

The Warcraft movie will tell a Humans vs. Orcs origin story (from the warcraft 1 game), specifically the battle between Durotan and Lothar. The movie will be a mix of live-action and CG, with an overall goal of coming across as "Avatar meets Game of Thrones."

The next World of Warcraft expansion is Warlords of Draenor, which introduces seven new zones and raises the level cap to 100 (grinding from level 1 to 100 would be crazy if under the original pace). In other World of Warcraft news, the third episode in the Azeroth Choppers web series is now live. The video series follows acclaimed custom-bike designer Paul Jr. and his team as they create two real-world bikes, one for the Horde and the other for the Alliance. Fans will get to vote on which bike is ultimately recreated in the game.

You can buy a level 90 character directly from Blizzard

I guess Blizzard wants to cut off the middleman.
How much more can Blizzard milk Wow franchise ?



Blizzard has been flirting with in game purchase for a while now. The World of Warcraft store is mostly stocked with cosmetic items, or flashy pets, but nothing that does much to change the way the game is played. Today, though, Blizzard steps across that line with its new Character Boosts, sending one character on the fast track to level 90. Character Boosts can be purchased from the in-game interface for $60.

We got an unintended sneak peek at that price tag when a glitch allowed players to visit the in-game store last month, but the details weren't confirmed back then. Now, it seems like this is the real deal: one Character Boost comes free with all purchases of the Warlords of Draenor expansion, but subsequent boosts will cost $60. For those keeping track at home, that's ten dollars more than the price of the expansion, which you'll need to own to reach the level cap.

Once you purchase a Character Boost, you'll be able to use it on any character with a level lower than 90. The Boost brings that character to the level cap, outfits them with level-appropriate gear to start playing end-game content, and (if the character was level 60 or higher) maxes out their professions.

This is definitely a convenience purchase, intended for players with a lot of disposable income. Still, it raises some questions - if you're willing to pay the equivalent of four months of subscription time to skip most of the game's content, your definitions of "work" and "play" might be getting a little blurred.

Some old pictures from the Molten Core raid

The good old days of Wow vanilla ! The Molten Core was a level 60 raid dungeon located within Blackrock Mountain, home to Ragnaros the Firelord. It was a forty (40) player raid dungeons available upon release of World of Warcraft, with the other being Onyxia's Lair. That was before any of the expansion releases. A raid of forty players was an accomplishment just for the organization skill involved alone. It was a time when getting a purple item meant something ! Epic items are no longer epic in the current wow ! Considered the pinnacle of raiding achievement at the time, the Molten Core enticed adventurers to enter the instance in the search of realm glory. Before even seeing Ragnaros, you must defeat several of his lieutenants. And the trash mobs were not easy either, the raid group can get wiped by the trash mobs. My hunter finally got the Blastershot Launcher gun after many hours of raiding !

Silverp the Rogue runs through the Ragefire Chasm instance

Ragefire Chasm is an instance dungeon located in Horde's capital Orgrimmar.
This is one of the shortest instances in the game, and of the easiest difficulty. For many players, this is likely the first instance they will play.
Definitely it is helpful to develop a player's group play skill. It will take teamwork to kill all the bosses.
This instance has not been changed since the Cataclysm expansion.
Mobs include elementals, trolls, snakes and orcs.
Three Horde quests are availiable, all quest givers are near the entrance of the instance. There are four bosses to kill:
Bazzalan
Jergosh the Invoker
Oggleflint
Taragaman the Hungerer

Overall, this is a beginner's instance, no problem for Silverh the Rogue. This instance is mainly used to teach players how to cooperate in a team to defeat enemies.





Silverh completes her 100th quest. A good achievement!

Silverh the hunter runs through Blackfathom Deeps instance in Ashenvale

Blackfathom Deeps is the only remaining instance I have not visited that is accessible in WOW starter Edition (level 20 cap). I decide to take Silverh the hunter for a run of this instance.
It seems very few people are playing this instance, it took Silverh half hour to assemble a group going in.

Blackfathom Deeps is an underwater dungeon in northwestern Ashenvale. It is accessed by a stair-lined shaft that requires one to swim through an underwater entrance. The deeps are comprised of a series of watery caverns leading deep to a temple devoted to the Old Gods. The Twilight's Hammer cult runs this shrine, and it has joined forces with local naga and satyrs to defend the unholy creature, Aku'mai (final boss).

Situated along the Zoram Strand of Ashenvale, Blackfathom Deeps was once a glorious temple dedicated to the night elves' moon-goddess, Elune. However, the great Sundering shattered the temple - sinking it beneath the waves of the Veiled Sea.

Mobs in this instance include murlocs, nagas, humans, turtles, elementals etc, with a level range of 18-25.
There are four alliance quests, with excellent rewards, all quest NPCs are at the beginning of the instance.

First boss, a big named turtle.


Logalis Manuscript, a quest item.


Gelihast, a murloc boss, there is an orb behind him that gives you a 10% more stats buff for one hour.


Lorgus Jett is a high ranking Twilight's Hammer human, he is wanted for a Horde quest.


Elemental quest NPC, again, he is there for a Horde quest.


Twilight Lord Kelris, he will use a Mind Control spell periodically, as well as a Sleep.


final boss - Aku'mai, an easy boss, just tank and spank.


A quest reward, this is the best bow you can get on a level 20 character.

Silveri the undead hunter running through the Wailing Caverns instance

I liked hunter class, in fact, the very first character I played in Wow was a tauren hunter.
So, after Silverh the night elf hunter reaches the level 20 cap, I created Silveri, an undead hunter.
Joining a random group, we ran through the Wailing Caverns instance, which is also the very first instance I ever played in Wow. It seems not much has changed for this instance, the same bosses exist as the very beginning of Wow, only the drops and quests are modified. All of the quests start from NPCs at the entrance of the instance.

The Wailing Caverns in Northern Barrens is one of the first instanced dungeons that lower-level players encounter. One primary reason to venture into the Wailing Caverns is for BoP drops from the numerous bosses in the instance. Some of the quest rewards are also highly desirable. A large portion of random drops are good BoE gear for levels 10-19.

My undead rogue hunter Silveri.


Kresh, a neutral turtle boss, he can still drop a nice shield. Optional boss.


Skum, another named boss, do not remember what he can drop. Optional boss.


Lord Serpentis, one of the four druid bosses in this instance. He is a quest boss.


Verdan the Everliving, he hits really hard, and has an AoE entangle.


Muyoh, a Disciple of Naralex. He is a quest NPC, he summons Naralex from the Emerald Dream.
You can only start this sequence after the four druid bosses are killed.


The summoning chamber.


Mutanus the Devourer, a huge murloc, he will try to interrupt the summoning.
He can drop a blue caster ring, which is probably the first blue ring you can get as a Horde.

Silverh the hunter runs through the new Shadowfang Keep instance

The Shadowfang Keep, like the Deadmines, has also been remade into a new instance in the Cataclysm expansion, with four new bosses.
In fact, the entire Silverpine Forest zone has been remade, with many new quests. And on the Horde side, a long series of chain quest involving the Dark Lady Sylvanas leads to the bosses in the Shadowfang Keep.
Silverh, my new night elf hunter, joined a random group to go through this instance.
This instance only has one starting quest, and after beating each boss, next quest is automatically given.
Most of the mobs including the four bosses are undead. This instance has been given a level range of 16-26.

Silverh has already reached the level 20 cap of Wow starter edition. My third level 20 character :)



First boss, Baron Silverlaine, easy boss, he has a special ability that drains each player's life to almost zero.



Second boss, Commander Springvale, he still has a chance to drop a nice blue shield.



Third boss, Lord Walden, unlike the first two melee bosses, this one is a caster.




Fighting some trash mobs



Final boss, Lord Godfrey, a tough caster boss does tons of shadow damage (this is afterall, Shadowfang Keep). I like his hat ! He has a long story if you play the Horde quests in this zone.

Silverp the Rogue comes to the new barrens in wow cataclysm

The Barrens was one of the largest and most popular zones in World of Warcraft.
The land is mostly flat, with a few hills scattered throughout, running from Mor'shan Rampart near Ashenvale to the Great Lift near Thousand Needles can take 15 minutes without mount.
Barrens also had the widest level range of any single zone, spanning 15 levels (10-25).
The Barrens was infamous as a very busy secondary zone shared by tauren, orcs and trolls. With three instances and multiple travel hubs, it is a busy "in-between" area traversed by higher-level characters as well. This is a major contributing factor to the high volume of the chat in this region. The chat in the region has had the infamous tag of Barrens Chat due to its sometimes frequent trend of players going completely off-topic in discussions and delving into silliness, which annoys some players while amusing others. The Crossroads was also a popular destination for Alliance raids as it is a good meeting point to raid Orgrimmar.

Silverp the rogue decides to come to Barrens again to see the changes made in wow Cataclysm.

Silverp the blood elf rogue


Entering the Barrens, zebra, like Africa ... Also, it's so quiet, noone is playing in Barrens.


Mankrik, he found his dead wife in the old quest, now he wants to revenge.


Good old Crossroad, where all roads in Barrens intersect.


The barrens is split in two with a lava river separating the Northern Barrens and Southern Barrens. A fortified gate and high wall now separates the southern Barrens from Mulgore.


Verog the Dervish, a named Kolkar boss, I remember him from questing with previous toons.


Raptor King Reaperclaw, this maybe a new quest boss.


Silverp reaches level cap 20 from questing in Barrens.


Silverp gets a mount.

A revisit of the Deadmines instance

Silverhp the warrior went through the new Deadmine instance with a random pick up group.
This instance has been updated, it is totally new, with new quests.
The old boss Van Cleef is no more.
A new set of bosses await.


At a start of the instance, a replay of the demise of Edwin Van Cleef.
His daughter witnessed it, and vowed to avenge for his father's death.
Too bad she only appears in the Heroic version. We don't face her in a normal run.


First boss, a two headed ogre.


Second boss, a Goblin that sets bombs on the floor


Third Boss, a Mech Reaper.


Van Cleef's old boat.


Fourth Boss, a Worgen Admiral.


He has some cool special attacks, a mist of shadow


Final boss, a Murloc Captain sits in a pot, and throw you rotten food.


a new achievement.

Overall, a very nice and enjoyable instance. But I do miss the old version of Deadmines, wish Blizzard gives you an option to replay the old version.