WoW Forever: I Was There The First Time

At some point, keeping track of the different versions of World of Warcraft starts to feel like a game of its own. There is the current game, Classic, the various trips through old expansions and experiments with the original experience. Now there is WoW Forever.

I’m going to sit this one out.

For anyone else trying to keep the versions straight, Forever builds on the original WoW foundation with new content while retaining the older game’s design and pacing. It is another direction for that version of Azeroth to develop, alongside the current game and Classic. So there is more going on here than simply opening another set of servers and asking everyone to start over.

Even so, the appeal depends quite a bit on wanting to spend more time in that earlier version of WoW. I was there at the time, and I don’t feel much need to revisit twenty years ago.

That is really the deciding factor for me. I don’t have enough gaming time available to play everything that interests me now. Adding another version of WoW means taking time away from something else, and the prospect of returning to the original era does not make that a particularly difficult decision. There are current games and current stories I would rather spend that time on.

New content within the old framework may be exactly what some players want. I can understand the distinction between preserving the original game and giving it somewhere else to go. But understanding the appeal does not mean I feel it myself. I don’t need another opportunity to try to recapture my gaming youth.

There is also something a little confusing about following a franchise where going back to the beginning now comes with several different options. I’m sure the differences are clear enough if you are invested in those versions. From where I’m sitting, it is getting harder to explain which WoW someone is talking about without a follow-up question.

What I’m actually playing

Meanwhile, I’m continuing to play a little Aion 2 and getting caught up on the new content in Midnight. So WoW is still getting some of my time. It is just the current version that interests me.

FFXIV, on the other hand, has lost me again. I have officially unsubscribed.

The problems I discussed last week were enough to bring this latest return to an end. Waiting nearly an hour for a trial required to progress the main story felt like a colossal waste of the limited time I had available. That came on top of the feeling that much of the main story involved watching scenes and clicking through dialogue, with relatively little actual gameplay outside the dungeons and trials. Then, when I reached one of those, I had the wait to contend with.

I wanted to get caught up, but that combination was not working for me. There is only so much of a gaming session I want to spend waiting to play.

For now, a little Aion 2 and catching up in Midnight are enough. Forever can carry on without me. I already did my time in that version of Azeroth, and I have other things I want to play.

Cheers,

Joar