WoW: Phase 4 catapults Classic to a new level of gameplay fun

WoW Classic reached an important milestone this week - in terms of the entire life cycle - and thus also a new high point for me in terms of gaming fun. Of course, we have the various innovations of content phase 4 to thank for this high point: the 20-player raid Zul'Gurub, the new tasks in the high-level zone Silithus, and the four nightmare dragons Taerar, Ysondre, Lethon, and Smariss, which, together with the content already in the game, make for a fun mix of activities.

Sure, in theory there was plenty to do in Azeroth even before Phase 4 - especially if you enjoy twinking, want to boost your reputation with one of the more elaborate factions, or you're keen on the highest ranks in PvP. However, the daily routine of many players looked like this: Spending one or two chilled evenings a week cleaning the raid instances Onyxia's Hoard, Molten Core, and Pitchwing Hoard, and in between farming a bit, twinkling a bit, playing a bit of PvP, and helping out guildmates when needed.

Don't misunderstand: Already this mixture made me in the last weeks and months quite a lot of fun. The Mountain of Joy of previously neglected games is my witness, despite some long weekends lately. But now I can extend these activities, namely every three days by the very entertaining raid Zul'Gurub, in which it is also great to farm solo or in small groups and which is thanks to the low difficulty level also very doable for spontaneously assembled PUG groups.

addition, there is the questing and reputation gathering in Silithus, with the summons at the windstones, as well as the hunt for the nightmare dragons (with now six potential world boss spawns, the chance of catching one with the guild increases).

And the best: All these challenges are best tackled with the guild - the togetherness and joint achievement of goals, the greatest strength of Classic, is further expanded with phase 4. This increases the fun of the game, the nights become much longer again, the atmosphere in Discord as well as in the guild chat is great - Classic may still have its rough edges, but the overall package wipes the floor with many other online role-playing games on the market from my point of view.
WoW Classic: Zul'Gurub may be too easy, but it's still a lot of fun to clean up the 20-player raid with the guild every few days. Source: Blizzard

The future will be exciting, but also more exhausting

Looking at the upcoming content of WoW Classic, I have some good news and some bad news for you. First the good news: with the opening of Ahn'Qiraj, the two associated raid instances as well as Naxxramas, there are still some highlights waiting for us, which I personally am already looking forward to and which will certainly be noticeably more difficult than the previous challenges.

Now the bad news: The upcoming content is very time-consuming and will not fit in as well with existing activities as it did with Phase 4. With the current usual two raid days, guilds will have to prioritize and cut raid instances from the weekly schedule, or increase the number of raid days per week. In addition, the farming of consumables and gold will become more important due to the higher difficulty, leaving less time for other things.

Again, don't get me wrong: I'm looking forward to phases 5 and 6, and I'm already preparing for them (as much as possible)

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I just want to say that I think the current mix of Phase 4 content is more balanced and has something for every type of player, without being too overwhelming or too much work. I'm definitely going to enjoy the next few weeks in Azeroth, dancing at as many weddings as possible while continuing to prepare for my personal end goal: Defeat C'Thun and Kel'Thuzad.

How much fun are you having playing WoW (buy now €14.99 ) Classic right now? How do you rate the current content status? And are you looking forward to the last two phases? Tell me in the comments!

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