Suffice it to say that there is no shortage of opinions as to what the community thinks is essential to Classic Plus. As we endure a full summer of waiting before all is (hopefully) revealed at BlizzCon, thoughts on the structure of WoW Classic’s most daring version yet are being flung all over the place. There are many good ideas and observations but no full consensus across the board. Of course, why would there be?

I have some specific thoughts as to structure, design, and features that I’d personally like to see in Classic Plus, but today I want to push those aside to look at four broader categories — four general goals that this version must pursue to succeed in the long term no matter what specific course is laid.

Retain the “Classic” feel

Change is inevitable for any type of Classic Plus, and for those not on board with it, Classic Era exists (and presumably still will). It’s going to be different than straight-up World of Warcraft vanilla in many ways, from new content to altered systems.

But what’s most important is that Blizzard never allows that feel of true Classic to fade or be traded in for something new to do. I know saying “Classic feel” is nebulous, but I also think that most of us know what I mean. It’s the more methodical pacing, the slower fights, the meaningful progression, the “old Azeroth” tone, and — more than anything else — how the leveling journey is at the core of this experience, far more so than the so-called endgame.

Everything that Classic Plus does and becomes must be mindful of not losing that feel. It’s a whole package, a holistic experience, and it’s what we want more of with this new version. If we wanted different, again, there are other worlds than these.

Be accessible to a wide range of player types

Probably my biggest concern about Classic Plus is that the studio will see the the potential playerbase in a limited demographic — namely, veterans who are more eager to raid and push high-level group content than anything else. Season of Discovery’s additions skewed in this direction, which definitely made some people very happy but also left others in the dust.

If raiding and endgame dungeon hopping is your thing, that’s great, and I have no problems about more being added. But raiders aren’t the fullness of WoW Classic’s population, nor was it of the original game. There were plenty of slowpokes and roleplayers and PvPers and casuals and traders who looked for other ways to experience WoW.

My biggest fear is that everything Blizzard adds will be more raids and super-tough progression content with a blind eye to anything that’s not vertical treadmilling. My biggest hope is that we see indications that the studio’s keeping an eye on the full variety of players so that a healthy, balanced population might emerge.

Safeguard the economy and business model

There are fast ways to sink Classic Plus even before it begins, and some of those involve Blizzard selling out the promise of the game for the potential of more profits. We don’t know whether Classic Plus will be part of the current one-size-fits-all subscription or ask for its own sub, and we certainly don’t know how the cash shop, battle passes, WoW token, and boosts enter into this conversation.

Unlike some of the other more transitory or temporary versions of Classic, this version will ideally be around in its initial incarnation for a long time. That’s a foundation that you don’t want to erode by pumping players for quick cash. MMOs that tried that — ArcheAge, I’m looking at you right now — paid for it by a quick exodus of population.

Blizzard should want Classic Plus to be healthy and endure, and if that’s the case, it’s going to need to do more than it has in the past to safeguard it from damage caused by studio bean-counters and players and bots looking to exploit the economy.

Offer more horizontal progression and achievements

We’ve already had a version of World of Warcraft that kept balancing new content on top of old in a very vertical fashion. We don’t need a repeat of it for Classic Plus. Thus, the only way not to rebuild the game more or less as retail originally did is to give us more to do that isn’t directly tied to vertical progression.

There’s a lot of potential in Classic for tried-and-true retail systems to take root without ruining the feel. Collectable transmog with saved outfits is first in line, and it’s not the only option. There’s room here for an achievement system, a rudimentary housing system, more “for fun” professions, alternative reward tracks, customizable effects, and other more experimental features (I’d love to see incentive to reroll the same character back to level 1 with more benefits once you hit 60).

My point is that Classic Plus can borrow general ideas from retail and other MMOs to expand its horizontal progression offerings without directly copying what came before. It can put its own spin on it so that it fits nicely into the established game world.

Stepping back into the MMO time machine of WoW Classic, Justin Olivetti offers up observations and ground-level analysis as a Gnome with a view. Casually Classic is a more laid-back look at this legacy ruleset for those of us who’ve never stepped into a raid or seen more than 200 gold to our names.