World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic Impressions | A Fun Trip Down Memory Lane

The Burning Crusade was arguably one of the best expansions of WoW (at least for me and other fans), and Blizzard has decided to continue its release of The World of Warcraft classic experience following their success with World of Warcraft classic in 2019. And this time, the Burning Crusade Classic Beta is well underway and I had the opportunity to partner up with UnGeek to get early access into exploring the Outlands once more.

I’m actually a 15-year veteran of the World of Warcraft games and expansions. Upon the news of Blizzard deciding to continue on from their release of Classic WoW into the Burning Crusade, I couldn’t help but remember my high school days back in 2007 during the midnight release of World of Warcraft’s first expansion, and the hours upon hours of gameplay that came from it. Fast forward to present day, I eagerly looked forward to seeing the Outlands once again, and although this is still very early on in the beta with many more changes surely to come, here are my first impressions of The Burning Crusade Classic Beta.

Reliving the peak of WoW Nostalgia

Just like in 2019 when Classic WoW was released, the Nostalgia hit hard. Millions of players woke up early or planned their days around the release,  and the game had so many returning players that there were queue times for many players. I joined up with friends to relive our days in Azeroth, exploring the world once more, just about 15 years older. Many players have been waiting for Blizzard to confirm if they were going to continue down the line of expansions once again, and so once the official announcement came out that Burning Crusade Classic would come out, tons of players prepared for the upcoming release.

Once logged into the beta, I began by making the same exact character I played originally–a Night Elf Rogue. Once I got past the loading screen, the iconic Dark Portal sat in front of me. This would be the first of many hits of nostalgia, that I’m sure many other players would be experiencing soon as well. I think back to how iconic the “opening of the Dark Portal” event was for the entire WoW community; if you didn’t get to experience back then, in a few months once the game launches this will surely be another massive event for all veteran and new WoW players heading into the Outlands. I can’t wait to experience the raids once again, but this time around not worrying about making it in time for dinner because I’d hear it from my parents for “not being able to pause that game.” The Classic community is still going very strong and I know friends who are excited to experience this event and the expansion as a whole as for various reasons they weren’t able to back in 2007.

Better than last time with some quality of life changes

A great thing about the Classic release is that it is improved on pretty much every aspect of the initial game. Once World of Warcraft Classic came out, the players began to realize how outdated some of the systems were or gameplay mechanics. Although some enjoyed this, another group of players hoped for some quality of life changes. These were implemented in The Burning Crusade.

There were systems in place and changes that improve the overall game. Key rings, summoning stones, LFG tool to help form groups, and even class changes which allowed players to play specializations that were seen as a “meme” originally are now actually relevant in TBC. Lots of these changes were welcomed with open arms back then, and surely will be this time around. There is also talk of Blizzard being ready for “some changes” when it comes to TBC. This is different than their “no changes” approach to Classic WoW. The changes are said to be subtle and overall help the overall health of the game. Lots of these changes are still in the works and will be released from Blizzard over time.

The infamous story of Illidan

Two of the most iconic characters in the Warcraft universe were Illidan and Arthas. Many players wanted to know more about their stories and The Burning Crusade offered that to the players. Illidan being one of the main raid bosses gave a lot of hype to the player base. The opening cinematic of the expansion has Illidan telling us “You are not prepared!” and surely back then we weren’t. A lot of players did not even get the chance to battle it out with Illidan because raiding was harder to get into.

This time around, a bigger majority of the player base will get to experience the story, the raids, and all the other content because, simply put, people are just better at video games these days. Well, better and there is loads of information on the internet. That being said, The Burning Crusade has a great story and some great raid bosses to take down. It also sets things up for the next expansion which was “The Wrath of The Lich King” which was arguably the best expansion by a big majority of the player base.

Although the Burning Crusade Classic beta has just begun, I couldn’t help but feel the hype for the release of the full expansion. Even though I had the chance to play it on its initial release, I look forward to tackling it this time around with friends, old and new. TBC was a very large expansion with tons of content and I only got to experience portions of it. Due to being in high school and strict game time rules. This time around I can’t wait to explore all of it. The beta is said to go on for a couple of months, and more information and changes will come out in time, so in the meantime I’ll have to continue exploring what’s available in the beta, and reporting those bugs.

For more on Burning Crusade Classic, visit the game’s official website.