Is Leveling In Cataclysm Fun?

[@lewmano7367]

Haha hilarious I was just thinking, “I wonder what Hamsterwheel has been up to”

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

Mostly changing diapers like a pro

[@brandonkruse6412]

@@HamsterWheelGaming we need another episode of musk-n-mates dude 😢

[@maxbonin1133]

Her: Babe, I thought we were going on a date? Me: Can’t babe, new hamsterwheel video dropped.

[@dusty_reaper96]

The 80 to 85 cata zones are so much better then wrath questing

[@Toini01]

No they're terrible. Every zone now is just 3 quests in one hub -> kill the mini elite (with a nerf, npc or something else ofc) -> move to new hub -> repeat. And you do this across all of the map, square inch by square inch. There is no area to "explore" because the game quests guide you into every corner. WotLK questing was probably peak questing for WoW, but too easy due to class/NPC tuning and sometimes a bit too convenient. Cata questing is so cringe with horrible in-game cinematics with no voice over, silly quests that show the limits of the engine (like the Harrison Jones ball quest in Uldum, you can hear the engine crying when you play this). Finally, the fact that each zone is disconnected from one another makes it boring + flying from level 80 onwards renders the world meaningless. You just fly over everything. Try playing Hyjal without flying mount and you'll see how grand the zone actually is.

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

@@Toini01 the reasons you list is exactly what makes cata questing so good: it doesn’t waste your time and you move efficiently from questing hub to questing hub.

[@rattlehead999]

Agreed, Wrath(Northrend) had a lot of weak zones and a few excellent ones IMO. For Cata, I don't like Vajir, the rest are great. Also cata still has the best pre-expansion leveling, though I do agree that they should tune it harder.

[@Toini01]

@@Fabriciod_Crv It is for people who don’t like MMO indeed. Unfortunately, by catering to these people (you it seems), Blizzard lost its core playerbase. Sub numbers show this and lack of hype for Cata classic too

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

@@Toini01 and? Sub dropped for many reasons, and one that no one talks about is how MMOs as a genre was falling off interest during that time, everyone else was moving to LoL and other games. Let’s also not forget that even with the game losing subs, WoW was (and still is) one of the top MMOs in the market, FFXIV is up there too and it includes most of the convenience systems the game got with cataclysm and is immensely popular.

[@ncwordman]

The reason for Classic, to begin with, was to get away from all those changes. Has everyone forgotten?

[@sdwone]

Yeah... I must admit, I do chuckle to myself a little when I hear Cata and Classic in the same sentence but this SHOULD be about as far as it goes! I mean if they dared to utter the words MoP and Classic in another same sentence, I suspect Blizzard will have a riot on it's hands! Anyway remember, for some, perhaps most people, Cata did mark the beginning of the end, when the chasm between Vanilla players and Retail players was blown wide open! Indeed Cata is the boundary between Vanilla and Retail as for as I am concerned. So yeah, it is a bit of a strange one! In any case, I personally did enjoy the Cata experience the first time around so, I'm up for playing it again! And at least we have a buffet of WOW now! From Hardcore, Classic, SoD and of course Retail so, in theory, Everyone should be happy!!! Lol! I said in theory!!! Because some people are simply impossible to please! I've LONG argued, even back then when the subscription numbers were collapsing that Blizzard needed to have a variety of different versions of WOW to cater for it's HUGE player base! I mean no two WOW players are alike so, it makes sense! And I'm actually surprised it took them a while to finally realise this! But hey! Here we are so at least that's something to celebrate! And if you don't like Cata "Classic" well... There's plenty of other flavours of WOW to enjoy now! So yeah... That's that really! 🤷‍♂️

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

Did they ever officially say that? Or did the community gaslit you into thinking that? I thought it was obvious we’d rotate through all the expansions eventually.

[@sdwone]

@@Fabriciod_Crv Not sure if that's directed at me or the original commentator but no... There's no official word either way at the moment. And I didn't claim that they would, or wouldn't go ahead with MoP Classic... Just that if they did, I can see the community going up in flames! I'm cool with Cata Classic myself, but I do appreciate the irony that Classic seems to be morphing back into Retail. So... What happens in a few years? A Classic Classic relaunch of Vanilla? All over again!? I mean I jest but, just as the original commentator has stated, Classic DID come out as a kind of "antidote" to Retail so I think this is a valid point to consider. Anyway, with Blizz currently experimenting with SoD, I actually think that they may have something else entirely planned for the Classic brand. Some kind of happy medium between the two flavours, but going in a totally new direction... Guess we'll see... 🤷‍♂️ And I still stand by my claim that MoP Classic would be WEIRD to say the least!!! 🤯😳🤪

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

it was at the OP, if they were to only do the old world trilogy (Vanilla, TBC and wrath) they would've said so long ago, this is why i think the classic community gaslight themselves into thinking "Classic" meant only the OG trilogy@@sdwone

[@Willbotx]

I actually liked Cata.. in my opinion had the best take on the talents before Mists butchered it..

[@EpicBlastrzzzz]

1-58 and 80-85 is less or more smooth - at least in my memories. But the Outland & Northrend parts are rythm-breaking and you can really feel the difference between "old" and "new" zones. The final quest of a zone bringing you to the next one was a good idea, tbh.

[@Huckle777]

Cata was the best leveling experience ive had. The new world is actually good and cata zones were sick

[@rattlehead999]

Agreed, bu I'd say the best expansion leveling is WoD and Dragonflight, but the best pre-expansion leveling is Cata bar none. It would have been nice if they revamped the existing world every 2-3 expansions to keep things fresh. Cata just needs the mobs to be tuned a bit harder to compensate for the inflated player power.

[@Huckle777]

@@rattlehead999HARD disagree. Dragonflight is the worst leveling experience I have ever had. The campaign is boring and forced, and you can barely chill and just do quests. Constantly needing to fly all over. I seriously hate dragonflight leveling

[@rattlehead999]

@@Huckle777 Well I guess it depends on weather or not you like the flying mechanics. I like them, especially after unlocking more of the flying talents, so the rest was great. As a story it's very soft and bland for sure, not bad in any way, but not interesting and exciting either, but that's how most games are nowadays sadly... You know get in line and either be woke or bland. But I just enjoy the level design and quests very much in DF, they are well done like WoD, but WoD had a better story.

[@belstar1128]

it looked cool at first but it got boring because some of the the zones were too linear and you were overpowered

[@MhWow66]

By the time of Cataclysm, Activision had their foot firmly in the Blizzard door and i remember reading lots about how Wow was instructed to make everything so much easier. It was not just a geography change in the game but a whole new way of playing...in my view its when Warcraft started its slow decline.

[@belstar1128]

yea making everything super easy was the trend back then you can see the same issues in other mmos between 2010 and 2014 .but some mmos reverted these changes later on but not blizzard

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

@@belstar1128 yet they all have dwindling playerbases, meanwhile the casual MMOs are all at the top with millions still.

[@belstar1128]

@@Fabriciod_Crv no wow has a lower player base now compared to the past. even most casual mmos like ff14 are harder than wow in terms of leveling

[@nightknight7748]

I think the quest design itself is actually great the big problem is that while quests are better they also removed any difficulty that was previously there is in old questing. If the mobs did the same damage the used to in older expansions but still kept the quest design i think it would be great

[@afout07]

One of the best quest chains in the entire game was introduced in cata though. it starts in Eastern Plaguelands and moves all the way to Western Plaguelands. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone who hasnt done it but it is well worth going there and following the whole thing.

[@claytonmurrayguitar]

What could be cool is if they almost did a Chromie time like thing, where you can get from 1-85 just in the old world zones rather than going to Outland or Northrend, but also make it a little more difficult.

[@bolindow176]

First time I died in Cata was when I got the achievement "Stood in fire" scorched by Deathwing. I prefer Classic Era and won't bother with Cata. Been there, done that, got the achievement...

[@hawkmoon7930]

I remember in Cata, my buddy and I didnt even hit the auction house once. zero gear upgrades and most of the time i forgot to add my Talent points. it was that easymode. we leveled to max with white and green gear. Honestly i think its more accurate to say i was playing World of NetflixCraft more than warcraft

[@Sartheris]

I recently started discovering more and more youtubers, that perfectly capture and explain why Vanilla was the best. It's because the world was not convenient or easy. All my years of playing WoW, and feeling that would be the downfall of it, I never seemed to find anyone else with similar opinion as mine. I am glad you people exist

[@thomasgrim9309]

dead servers are gonna be such a problem after first few weeks of cata.

[@meta1152]

Oh well, easier farming materials for my guild.

[@sonixczek2553]

I really like the background music in this video. May I inquire what it is?

[@1ViivviiX1]

Just within the first minute, everything you said I resonate with and relate to, having the same mindset. 🙏🔥 I love Cata personally, as it was Peak for me, and when I got my first own WoW account over 15 yrs ago. (Played before then on a family members account before that since Vanilla.) So hype for Cata. Thanks for this videk homie. 🖤 And personally I believe if they just simply buffed and rebalanced the early game and atleast leveling experience to give it a lil more difficulty(especially with players being so good and knowledgeable by todays standards), and I think that alone would make Cata my absolute favorite expac.

[@rattlehead999]

Leveling in Cata is great and the best pre-expansion leveling to date, this is coming from a person who hated the idea of the new world back in the day. I do agree that the enemies should be tuned harder to compensate for the inflated player power. The rest is great.(That said in Cata you can still die to a pack of mobs with most specs, MoP is where you just became invincible).

[@hawkmoon7930]

hmmm you thinking of Cata dungeons? cuz the open world questing was just as easy as MoP

[@rattlehead999]

@@hawkmoon7930 Open world questing was only as easy as MoP if you were a class with a pet, a lot of CC or HoTs.(or had heirlooms) Otherwise no, MoP is where you became invincible, in Cata you can still die.

[@hawkmoon7930]

Sure, you could die to a pack of mobs in Cata - if you try to die, heh

[@josephteller9715]

Cata will be the new home of the Streamers and the Retail Andies, not real gamers. It will be flavor of the month for 3 months of hype and die worse than the first time. Lets be honest, in the first week the Rush-Rush Boys will all be max level with dungeon spamming and never having done anything in questing, except for starting areas for Goblin and Worgen. The rest will be them in the dungeons or BGs.

[@Frostgnaw]

I was just watching a video going over the details in Booty Bay that make it so unique. There's so much passive storytelling in classic, like the caravan trails that lead out into the desert of Tanaris. I love the atmosphere of WoW, but yeah, classic is fun because you actually have to try to kill mobs. Running them down and losing 2% of your hp isn't exactly engaging.

[@ahetzel9054]

I know some people wont enjoy it but personally i think its amazing. Everything feels smoother, you get access to class fantasy spells as early as level 10. I also really like the rework. Its like rediscovering the world and not needing to hop contients or zones every hour to maximize exp gains. I would like it if they tuned up world mobs a bit but either way i love cata leveling.

[@Simulacrummmm]

You dont like rpgs

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

@@Simulacrummmm he doesn’t like outdated rpgs*

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

4:08 i mean, you are fighting GREEN level mobs, so obviously they'd drop like flies

[@EXP_Jenova]

I’ve been leveling on a Cata server to refresh my memory and while I’m having way more fun than expected, it is definitely easy af lol. I dropped the level 54 elite T Rex in Un Goro at level 49 without breaking a sweat lol.

[@josedavidmunozmartinez4722]

@@EXP_JenovaIt is only easy until lvl 80, starting in Hyjal for example, mobs have way bigger Hp pools and damage.

[@rattlehead999]

@@EXP_Jenova Depends on the class and specs. Classes with pets a lot of CC and HOTs were super strong for sure. Cata is easy, but MoP is when you became invincible.

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

There's more clips on this video where similar level mobs also drop like flies :)

[@josedavidmunozmartinez4722]

@@HamsterWheelGaming Lvl 81+ mobs won’t drop like flies ;)

[@Toini01]

The biggest issue with Cataclysm's questing is that it was designed for solo play in mind. All elite quests now have some item to nerf the elite or an NPC accompanying you making them soloable, everything can be facerolled to the point where grouping is extremely inefficient in terms of XP sharing, there is phasing everywhere preventing you from playing with friends, LFD killed all interactions, you can fly over everything so you don't see other players, etc.

[@panzer4720]

Thats not an issue, nobody has time to form a group for every single elite quest.

[@Toini01]

@@panzer4720 That is exactly what everyone did during all of vanilla, TBC and a chunk of LK (including classic). The chase for "convenience" by players killed the game. Subscribers dropped like crazy for Cataclysm and it will be the same story for Classic. Almost no one will play what is one of WoW's worst xpacs.

[@panzer4720]

@@Toini01 yes but it gets boring when you make multiple characters especially when you realize that leveling is like 10% of the game, i'd rather steamroll through leveling and get to do raids or battlegrounds asap, i understand that not everyone feels this way but it is what it is

[@Toini01]

@@panzer4720 Oh for sure, I'm not advocating for changes to Cata in Classic, just highlighting why it sucks in my opinion and why the general sentiment for the xpac is not good

[@rattlehead999]

@@Toini01 There are many reasons why subscribers dropped in Cata. The three main reasons are as follows: 1. 4.1 had no raid tier(first mid-expansion content drought) 2. WoW had proper competition for the first time. 2006-2010 WoW had no real competition. So many quality MMOs came out 2010-2012, many of which are still popular to this day. 3. MMOs were no longer the most popular genre, the rise of MOBAs, Shooters, survival sandbox games, single player RPGs(there is a reason why every MMO nowadays is basically a singleplayer RPG with co-op), etc, etc also played a role in it. Cataclysm was WotLK+, it's better than WotLK in every single way, except it had 1 fewer raid tiers and it didn't have a proper equivalent to WotLK's 10 Man Normal raid difficulty(LFR is NOT it). Everything else was better in Cata. Class design, pre-expansion and expansion leveling, dungeons, raids, PVP, reputation + rewards, currencies, systems and max level, end-game open world activities are just all better in Cata.

[@cole8834]

They had phasing in Cata. Cata zones should've been an optional phase. once I leveled from 1 to 35 in 6 hours during cata (no heirlooms) and I think that that fundamentally diminished what little respect I had for the leveling experience at that point. WoD killed the max level open world so I quit the first patch. I should say, it's not the quests themselves that are the problem (or rather, not the biggest problem), it's the balancing of player health, damage, etc.

[@alfonsomural4792]

After making 8 alts to 80 I'm really looking forward to getting my last 2 toons up vi cataclysm.

[@mcfarvo]

On-rails theme park "Retail" version 1.0

[@Alexensualtv]

play project epoch

[@claytonmurrayguitar]

That music at the beginning just hits different

[@rihes1995]

I’m a person just like you who enjoys the journey and leveling more than just the endgame of raids and stuff like that! You mentioned private servers in the video so do you have any private blizzlike Cata servers you can recommend?

[@Menace_oce]

Agree with most of what you said in this video although I really thoroughly enjoyed the 80-85 zones a lot.

[@Petter1900]

Strange how the questing is so easy, while dungeons and raiding were significantly more difficult than what came before

[@naejimba]

This is a VALID critique; the power level of mobs was not increased to match the new power level of players at lower levels. This is what led to the "rush rush, go go" style of play to get to the "real content", and this is what made dungeon leveling so efficient compared to everything else. More difficult mobs would solve for both. This is a change that should happen in Cata Classic.

[@kyogery8927]

I know for horde, lots of zones are way more fun and actually have me love questing in open world. Like Stonetalon Mountains, such a fantastic zone. Ashenvale was made even better. But thats me, I say the questing and leveling in cata is so much betetr than prior expasions

[@f0zenn683]

Personaly I enjoy the revamped world. Its much more alive than in Pre-Cata. Quests are more enjoyble, storry lines and etc. For me its much better than the old ones.

[@Popmycherryyo]

05:00 - 05:10 unfortunately how SoD also has become, as far as leveling goes :P BUT, at least it has some other stuff to make up for it, which is...something I guess.

[@c2thewick]

I'm doing 1-80 two more times during pre

[@crowmaster9652]

1:40 tons of things to discover huh its just retail leveling before chromie time

[@ght405]

id really like blizz to crank up the strength of all the world mobs in cata classic

[@josephteller9715]

They don't have a dev team for it, they were mostly already laid off. Its going to get worse than it ever was... I saw some PTR footage and its a bug ridden mess with missing stuff all over the place. If they took it and overhauled it the easy way, what they could do is NOT use the Cat talent trees but leave the wrath ones intact and simply give folks the extra talent point per level to invest in the existing Wotlk talent tree.

[@brandonkruse6412]

Cataclysm is the first version of WoW that I truly consider a fun video game to play in modern day. Great balance of classic and modern.

[@patrickobrienstr]

You gonna play epoch wow private server when it comes out? I really think you should cover it. Beta 3 is dropping April 5th

[@kytch111]

I see a new Hamsterwheel video and I watch it and like it!

[@josejuanandrade4439]

There's a reazon Hamsterwheel... Most people were already lvl 80 when Cata arrived... The vast majority of players was gonna be leveling in the new zones. Making leveling quick and easy for fresh characters means those re-rolling, or new players that wanted to catch up to their friends, could do it with no problem. It was a far better solution then a paid boost... Only a few people back then would be constantly creating new characters to replay all the content from level 1. Most people had a couple 1, maybe 2 alts besides their main, and that was it. So making the new cata content from 1 to 60 in the old world hard, would have just meant lots of people frustrated by the slow pacing, and discouraged because it would take too long to catch up to the already lvl 80 players.

[@JohnDoe-km9vx]

Hey is there a season of the mastery private server? #Hamsterwheel

[@sdwone]

Vashj'ir and Deepholm were two really good zones in Cata, that I enjoyed thoroughly! Particularly Vashj'ir! And I also thought the dungeons were actually very good! My biggest gripe was losing the old world and, to a lesser extent, gaining the ability to fly in the new one! Indeed for many, Cata marked the beginning of the end of Blizzard's phenomenal success with this game! And forged the schism between retail and vanilla! So yeah... Even calling this "classic" does feel a bit off! But I suspect that this will be the last of these classic releases since Mists of Pandaria is most definitely retail only!

[@rattlehead999]

Cata was WotLK+, a better WotLK in every way, except it had 1 fewer raid tiers and no proper equivalent to WotLK's 10 Man Normal raid(LFR is NOT it). Everything else was better in Cata. Class design, pre-expansion and expansion leveling, dungeons, raids, PVP, reputation + rewards, currencies, systems.

[@sdwone]

@@rattlehead999 Yeah mileages vary... As they should! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions! And I know Cata was pretty divisive across the entire community! But for me personally, I did enjoy it first time around! It had it's issues but, overall, I had a great time with Cata! And I was totally pumped for the next expansion (Mists) but alas! That expansion was, for me at least, when the wheels started to come off! So yeah... Looking forward to dive into that Maelstrom once more... And then my Classic Journey will finally come to an end! But at least Blizz seems committed into taking the classic brand forward in some way so... Here's to classic+ or fresh or seasonal classic or whatever! 😁 🤷‍♂

[@rattlehead999]

@@sdwone To me MoP is the weakest expansion, not because it was bad, but because it had the more negatives compared to its positives, at the same time it had a lot of positives. I think that Cataclysm should be the last classic expansion, I'm pretty sure the fanboys will not play Cata, due to thinking WotLK is the last classic expansion.

[@sdwone]

@@rattlehead999 Yeah MoP really broke the WOW magic for me but kudos to those who enjoyed it! And as for fan boys and Cata? Well, I'm playing Hardcore at the moment and actually prefer it now that the hype has died down, so that I don't have to compete with other players! So I'm honestly not too fussed about server populations! And would rather have players who are toxic to Cata, to go play somewhere else!!! It ALWAYS baffles me when certain gamers get upset when you either like a game that they don't like... Or you dislike a game that they like!!! I mean... Seriously??? 🤪🤯 Anyway, here's too Cata aye?! 👍🏼

[@rattlehead999]

@@sdwone MoP was the first time I stopped playing WoW, but that said I still enjoy it, there are many great things about it, but it was when the game was no longer classic. And I do want WotLK, Cata and MoP leveling to be numerically difficult as Vanilla/TBC so that it's engaging. I currently have no time for WoW sadly, but I'd play SoD if I did. In general Vanilla is the only version of the game I don't enjoy very much, especially the end game.

[@voievod9260]

What are your PC specs if I may ask?

[@pasha715]

i like doing quests in cata but i do agree enemy should deal more dmg

[@27Zangle]

I only leveled one character in Cata from low level to max and it was fun enough for the one time. All my other characters start at much higher levels from the previous expansion. Not sure I will be playing Cata, even though I thought it was really fun, I am loving SoD.

[@HamadAlMutairi97]

What I love about Cata is the introduction of rated battlegrounds.

[@ntall123]

Cata optimized questing, but also did the whole layered questing depending on quest state and that was just one more anti mmo thing added on top of all the other anti mmo crap they'd added since TBC. I remember trying to hook up with my friends in certain zones, but because we were all on different quest phases, we couldn't group up. Felt really bad.

[@Scarletpimpanel73]

Bingo, everything you said I agree with.

[@sygos]

this is how i feel playing modern MMOs like ff14.

[@0Jrock01]

if they make these changes, then cata could be classic+

[@TheSaival]

I remember it being too easy. I was soloing dungeons till lvl 40-50 as a palladin.

[@Vegeta-9000-and-a-half]

That was MoP not Cata.

[@space5476]

nice vid!

[@freddelarsson4434]

I remember it being quite underwhelming. Especially Vashir, I really disliked that zone. Not being a leveling zone but I also couldn't stand Tol Barad. The zones compared to Northrend was a real disappointment atleast for me.

[@MattSinz]

Yes, leveling in Cata is fun, the first time you do it.

[@Pioner4444]

I've prepared my characters for the cataclysm in almost every class and I don't need to rock them from the very beginning, so I don't understand what you're talking about. And if Blizzard hadn't made character leveling easier, then we wouldn't have gotten a huge number of new players, because that would mean that they would need to spend an incredible number of hours in the game to get into the first raid. I like you for creating a hype around my favorite cataclysm.

[@pedroalbuquerquebs]

I feel that Vanilla was a still a little bit too punishing for casual players in terms of leveling. But with some persistence was still perfectly doable with patience and/grouping. A few years later WotLK things had already gotten considerably easier but you still to pay some attention to what you were doing. However, once Cataclysm came it became mostly a snore fest.

[@rhuntsinger8899]

EXACTLY. Cataclysm was the first expansion where leveling felt mindless. i mean so easy i couldnt take it anymore. I loved the lore and world changes of the expansion but for the first time I felt like this game is no longer about progressing a character or exploring a world - its about ushering you to endgame while you watch the worst Disney movie drivel for 5 year olds. the raids were decent overall. but i could tell Warcraft would never be the same again. Cata was my last expansion. dont think i even killed Deathwing. who cares.. PROJECT EPOCH is here to save us.

[@Flowrida407]

So there is nothing to look forward to in cata?

[@rattlehead999]

The leveling is fun, 1-60 is better than it was before(and I used to hate it when it came out, just for the fact that they changed the world) I do agree that they need to buff the enemies. Outside that the 80-85 leveling is the best expansion leveling WoW had until that point. And there is more. Cata was WotLK+, it's better than WotLK in every single way, except it had 1 fewer raid tiers and it didn't have a proper equivalent to WotLK's 10 Man Normal raid difficulty(LFR is NOT it), which should have been between Normal and Heroic dungeon difficulty and ilvl. Everything else was better in Cata. Class design, pre-expansion and expansion leveling, dungeons, raids, PVP, reputation + rewards, currencies, systems and max level, end-game open world activities are just all better in Cata.

[@thiskneegrow]

Had fun leveling Cata. Then quit once I hit max. Stopped playing WoW altogether after that until Classic.

[@pascalgraul2201]

what do u mean with dungeon leveling is now the fastes way ? xD

[@Selesto1]

It really comes down to taste I guess, but i really enjoyed cata leveling. Vash´hir - You love, or you hate it. I..actually enjoy it. Its something different. Sadly, a lot of content was cut. And it really shows around the second half of the second area in the zone and the whole 3rd one. Uldum - Lets be real here. That zone is a meme. Its a big Indiana Jones ...sorry Harrison Jones joke but it did a good job at it. Hyjal - The zone was really well done...but quest-wise imo the most boring one. What was the 4th one called? Ironically, since it was actually my favorite with the dragonmawl clan for Horde and the Wildhammers for alliance. It played really well in the greater story + the world overhaul in terms of the escalating faction war. The World overhaul itself. I..actually liked it, since I really enjoyed the background story of the faction war, so the overhauled zones reflecting this + the "new" or rather more often used phasing systems made the world feel more alive/ ractive to the player action (actually changing when completing certain quests etc) But I have to say....sometimes I really miss the classic zones. And I wished Blizz would give us an Option to visit the old ones, via an npc, like they let us do for example with darkshore, Arathihighlands etc.

[@jaydeus]

I had 4 or 5 80s going into Cata so I didn't get much xp in the "old world". I'll probably roll one just for that reason and will likely quit once I hit 90 unless the pvp community is good

[@bison_life]

Cataclysm was very cool, the zones offered a similar but different Vanilla experience. I recently finished Thousand Needles (Cata version) and had so much fun (private server). The actual expansion zones were amazing and offered plenty of lore.

[@Swatta637]

Your intro to the video about your enjoyment of leveling casually - man. I wish we had more of that. That's why I've always liked WoW! Your describing of WoW vanilla and how the world doesn't revolve around you - I just don't get why they don't understand this in the newer expacs. Questing only seemed great in classic and TBC. By WoTLK classic questing died for me and I quit the game.

[@alex-dh8zy]

feel like the cata zones are very hit or miss. but i'm also someone who likes leveling through tol barad and vashj'ir.

[@rattlehead999]

I think there were some that sucked, like Thousand Needles getting flooded and a few more.

[@alex-dh8zy]

@@rattlehead999 yea I agree, also wasn’t into some of the ones that were just completely comedic. and i’m fine with humor in my questlines but a whole zone is too much

[@fritzschnitzmueller3768]

I recently leveled a char on a new cataclysm private server and for me, leveling in cata is super lame and the talent tree is so bad. Old world > revamp

[@garadak7.]

alternate title : is eating 5hit fun?

[@Vegeta-9000-and-a-half]

Funny how you say the leveling is too easy while other currently whine on beta since (Leveling too hard) I assume it all depend on the class, enhancement shaman is really good to level up with for example. Personally I think leveling in Cata feel just right to me, I wish they would put back the Elites quest mobs in though...

[@SonySteals]

Without watching, based on my own experience from the past - it is fun. It’s way different from Vanilla but far from bad. Cata was pretty much when WoW turned into what we know now so the experience is moderately familiar. Clustered quests, very streamlined leveling experience but pretty cool story and great new locations. It’s also when dungeons (endgame cata dungeons) hit people really hard with difficulty and many people quit after trying heroics. Dungeons were short but crowd control was back and it was merciless. Think Forge of Souls when it was released and caught you a bit under geared. Maybe a bit harder because it was not only heavy hitting but also mechanics were ment to actually be followed. I also disagree with Dragon Soul raid being bad. I loved the way they solved the Deathwing encounter and I know many people who also enjoyed it very much. Don’t get the weird bias twist your opinion, just make your own. Overall - I really enjoyed my time in cata, I didn’t enjoy the fact that all the damages it did to WoW landscape lasts till today. But that’s not the expansion’s fault. AFTER WATCH EDIT: Yes, the game became way less immersive and stopped giving “world” any more. But as much as I like the first two expansions better it doesn’t make Cata a bad game to play. It’s just a different game since it came out.

[@SonySteals]

Post scriptum: As much as I’m a TBC nerd I still enjoy wow today but for different reasons - I’m really happy I can pick up my gamepad and play on my couch with no Fs given as if it was Genshin Impact but World of Warcraft. ConsolePort addon does a great job especially if you play more melee oriented class. As much as I miss the immersion of the original I am enjoying the modern new experience WoW became for me. I just take it easy. I don’t need to place all my ambitions into the casual entertainment this game is for me at this point. I’m getting way more fun out of it since I stopped being very sad about the days gone.

[@rattlehead999]

@@SonySteals I disagree, Cata was WotLK+, it's better than WotLK in every single way, except it had 1 fewer raid tiers and it didn't have a proper equivalent to WotLK's 10 Man Normal raid difficulty(LFR is NOT it), which should have been between Normal and Heroic dungeon difficulty and ilvl. Everything else was better in Cata. Class design, pre-expansion and expansion leveling, dungeons, raids, PVP, reputation + rewards, currencies, systems and max level, end-game open world activities are just all better in Cata. Now I do agree that the open world enemies should be buffed for sure, I don't think blizzard's intention was to make it too easy, I think they overlooked the inflation of player power over the expansions, especially when spells in Cata scaled much more with stats compared to previous expansions and on top of that having a good gear progression when questing, which Vanilla didn't have, while TBC and WotLK kind had. In MoP however, they for sure just made you basically play Diablo 3, but World of Warcraft.

[@sonjaromijn7264]

i played wow 20 yrs ago...all wow is soooooo easy now

[@mnaglich]

Ha well if you want all new quests filled with puns written by a 3 year old, and content you'll blow right through, then I guess yeah. I surprisingly don't hate the talent tree in cata, it's the last time I liked a talent tree.

[@rattlehead999]

DF's talent tree is amazing, so IDK what you are talking about, but Cata had the best talent tree prior to DF for sure.

[@mnaglich]

@@rattlehead999 DF can have the best TT of all time.. but it's still DF so I don't really count it... :)

[@rattlehead999]

@@mnaglich DF is the best expansion to date overall and I've been playing since TBC. It either does things as good as the best aspects of previous expansions or better, on top of having new things. The only thing that isn't as good as say Cataclysm, WotLK or TBC is pre-expansion leveling(10-50 in this case), but it's quite fast so it's not bad.

[@xsazimo]

well said... to me -- cata and beyond is trophy kid WoW

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

also i agree that cata leveling is too easy, but too convenient for making better design decisions that respect the player's time i can't agree with, i'm currently leveling a warrior in WoTLK classic and im just struggling to find reasons to log in and continue my journey because the 1-60 range is a real low point and i despise the lack of flight paths and quests that make you go back and forth constantly, just walking around the world is not fun, period. There's a reason blizzard abandoned this style of leveling by the time you get to the TBC and WoTLK zones, and why the world revamp in cata even happened in the first place.

[@cole8834]

between your hearthstone, flight paths, and (maybe) making a mage friend for teleports; there really shouldnt be an issue getting between all the zones tailored to your level during vanilla levels. maybe if a quest sends you to another zone, wait* and finish up things locally before heading off; so that you're not constantly going back and forth.

[@fritzschnitzmueller3768]

Well this is a first timer I heard someone say that about wrath

[@jonathanbrown625]

Might be easy but deathwing isn't 🤓

[@jdsim9173]

Cat zones are the best xp until; 30 when you go to WoD after you get flying

[@rattlehead999]

In retail yes, but we are talking about Cataclysm the expansion since Cata classic is coming out. Otherwise Cata has the best pre-expansion leveling of any expansion, while WoD(and DF) has the best expansion leveling.

[@Wraize1]

well, I've never heard you say any part of wow isn't fun. so I'm going to assume this vids is the same.

[@Boxkar24]

Hey man, good video and I understand that's your opinion, and ain't nothing wrong with that but there's nothing more boring to me in wow leveling that constantly running around doing nothing like pre cata. So much downtime between doing actual quests because they're spread out so far is what bores me to death. Yes, the mobs have been weakened too much, on that we agree but classic's quest design is just bad. Stopped me in my tracks trying to replay classic when it was re-released. That damned harpy quest in the barrens, that you obtain from crossroads, is a prime example. It just sucks. You're literally running across a third of the entire zone for a low drop rate item, only to have to run back to the quest npc and do it again. 3 times, that's what makes me turn my brain off. I think what cata, and beyond, did was make leveling more thematic with a greater amount of story elements to catch the players eye. Not to mention, if cataclysms leveling was still as slow as vanilla's, I highly doubt a lot of people would of bothered. That's 85 levels they would have to slowly level through. It would of been murder. And finally, the enemies in the actual cataclysm zones, from 80-85 could definitely kill you (unless you were heroic icc geared but even then that only lasted a couple of levels through). And also, people just dungeon grind in classic as well. It's just more tedious to get the group together. Or at least, that's been my experience slugging through season of discovery.

[@hvdiv17]

cata was a great expansion but because of one raid being hard the toxic wow player base doesnt cinsider cata a good expansion. tbc,cata,mop and wrath are my top 3.

[@temper1776]

I dont feel like i have a journey at all when i am leveling my 3rd character in wotlk

[@belstar1128]

1:50 yea too bad levelling in cata is so easy you wont even notice the difference and everyone uses heirloom gear. cata came out in a bad time for mmos when everything had to be hyper streamlined and easy and linear and the changes made in cata couldn't be undone without causing more drama. i think most companies now realise the 2010 mindset was wrong.

[@Fabriciod_Crv]

FFXIV said hello

[@crustman5839]

Tldr: No

[@stefxy682]

Cant wait for whitemanes wotlk

[@maxpowers5055]

First min YEP 😊

[@Halflife1976-kb1wz]

Come play on chromiecraft.

[@daami7100]

questing after the cata revamp is way better

[@rattlehead999]

Yes it is.

[@frisykamm9362]

if you´re bored of lvling in cata because its to easy.. than stop playing shitty pservers and play on blizzard beta its day and night

[@robbe6194]

I couldnt disagree more with everything u said except that cata leveling is easier and some quests are fun. Lvling in vanilla tbc is the worst lvling experience wow ever had and im happy they changed things up in cata. learning your spec inside a dungeon while lvling, finishing the endgame campaign quests for some reputations, then going into endgame raiding is a much better experience to me.

[@jullsan]

Never liked Cata. They ruined the talent trees and the old world. Also everything became too homoganized and class identity was gone.

[@noonesp3cial]

No

[@taxesrtheft]

yes

[@TheWhiteFaction]

The easy leveling began with woltk, not cata.

[@rattlehead999]

True, and the Diablo 3 leveling began with MoP

[@AB-su7jt]

it's way too easy, one thing I like about legion mob lvl scaling made leveling a bit harder

[@deadlykilla39]

"is leveling in Cataclysm fun?" leveling in general is super boring. it's only when you get to the max level when raiding is fun.