Just How Fresh is it?

I wasn't that enthusiastic about the prospect of new so-called "Classic Fresh" servers, since I was already fine with hanging around on Classic Era. The nicest thing about Classic Era is that it's (theoretically) not supposed to change. There is absolutely no rush or FOMO or anything in Classic Era, because it's simply not going anywhere. There's nothing new coming to the servers, so if you want to take years to finally get around to raiding Naxxramas, that's fine. If you want to gradually get to Rank 14 in PvP, sure, take your time.*

That's the thing about Azeroth in Classic Era: sure, it's static, but it also means the entire place is relevant. (Yes, even Azshara.) You don't have to worry about broad areas of the game being cast aside and not played by 99% of the player base because it's not part of the latest expansion, because there simply aren't any expansions.

My Questing Buddy and I have discussed at length the only weakness in Classic Era: the lack of TBC Era or Wrath Era servers. If you've read this blog during the period of TBC Classic, you know I have issues with The Burning Crusade expansion, but to be perfectly honest the issues were less with the expansion itself but more with my interactions with my guild and its transition into a hardcore Meta-driven raiding guild.** If we'd have been given the opportunity to keep our old toons in TBC Era, I would have done it if for nothing else than to give me a chance to enjoy TBC on my own terms without the external pressure to be something I'm not.

As far as my Questing Buddy goes, she loved how the Warlock played in TBC Classic, but probably even more than that she missed her Draenei Priest, who became her main in Wrath Classic.

So when I logged into Classic Era the evening after the 30th Anniversary video release, I should have known she had opinions on the matter.

"CARDY!!"

"hey there"

"There's gonna be new Fresh Servers that go to TBC!!!"

Yeah, you could say she was excited.

***

I'm somewhat less enthusiastic, because I don't intend to give up Classic Era. If these servers become --or transition to-- TBC Classic Era servers, I'd be fine with that. I suspect, however, that they'll move on to Wrath Classic just like the current progression Classic servers do. And since they're Fresh servers, I won't be able to transfer my original Cardwyn over either. I would have to do all the things she'd done, and I'm not sure I really want to. 

But in the end I did agree with my Questing Buddy that I'd spend about half of my WoW time in these new servers. I suspect that among our friend group I'll be the last person to L60, because I do dawdle a bit when I don't have a goal in mind. 

*You can't de-rank in Classic Era due to inactivity; that was part of a change to the PvP ranking system put in place in Era presumably to combat the issues with a lack of people playing Era servers when they first appeared. The changes made also make it harder to get to Rank 10 and beyond, but I've learned to cope with that. After all, I never got past Rank 9 in original 2019 Classic.

**I think the biggest loss for me in that TBC Classic period was how that naked pursuit of hardcore playstyles wrecked relationships in the guild. I should have never accepted a raid leadership position, because I was exposed to the conflicts within guild leadership which manifested in a fracturing of the guildies. That I was one of the Leftovers, the leveling Shamans abandoned when the Dark Portal opened, didn't help. I would have been much better off staying separate, within the confines of my old guild Retail Orphans, and tried to hold onto Cardwyn as my main instead of volunteering to level a Shaman instead.