'World of Warcraft Classic' players are hilariously mistaking features for bugs
World of Warcraft Classic is meant to take fans of Blizzard's hit MMORPG back to simpler times. But memory, as it turns out, is a funny thing.
The new-old WoW -- Classic restores to the MMO many of the rules and systems that defined its 2005 release -- isn't set to launch until the summer, but players are participating in the closed beta test now. And an apparently not-insignificant number of them are running into issues that they're reporting as bugs.
There's just one problem: some of those bugs are actually features.
It's hard to say how many people are making the mistake when Classic isn't even out yet. But the number is apparently large enough that Blizzard felt it necessary to run down a bunch of actual WoW features in a "Not A Bug" list posted to the Blizzard forums.
The intro here kinda says it all: "As we’ve discussed before, the nature of WoW Classic sometimes invokes different memories for different players, and this leads to certain misconceptions for some about what is or isn’t working as intended."
If you are playing WoW Classic right now, or you're eagerly awaiting the summer launch, here's a rundown of everything in the game right now that is definitely 100 percent not a bug.
* Tauren’s hitboxes and their melee reach is slightly larger than other races. * Being critically struck while using /sit to sit does not cause abilities like Enrage, Blood Craze, and Reckoning to activate. * Using the “Automatic Quest Tracking” option does not auto-track newly accepted quests. (It instead will start to track an existing quest once progress towards an objective is started.) * Warrior health Regeneration is working at the expected rate. * Quests objectives and points of interests are not tracked on the map or minimap. * Completed quests are marked on the minimap with a dot. (and not a “?”) * Feared players and NPCs run fast. * Standing on top of other players while facing away allows spells and attacks to be used. * Creature respawn rates are much slower than in Battle for Azeroth. * NPCs which offer multiple quests may inconsistently display them as a dot or a “!” on the available quests list. They were inconsistent in 1.12, and we’ve reproduced the exact inconsistency they had back then. * Quests that are too low level for do not show up as a “!” in the game world. * Available quests do not display a “!” on the minimap. * On level up, the message: “Your skill in Protection increased to 15” was added in 1.12.1, and we’re intending to keep that.
Some of these might read to you like they should be bugs. The above "not a bug" list even notes at one point that "we've reproduced the exact inconsistency [from] back then." Part of the appeal here is bringing players back to the original game they remember, quirks and all.
WoW Classic is expected to go live for all players on Aug. 27, 2019.
Topics Blizzard Entertainment Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
