r/wowservers • u/HopLaud • 3h ago
vanilla Concept: Evergreen
Hello, this is a concept for a server I've been cooking up for some time. I have a truly disturbing amount of hours spread over 17 years of playing this game, much of it in the classic/pserver scene, and have done pretty much everything including raid leading in non-hardcore and raid tanking in hardcore. I have distilled my wants and interests into a few minor but impactful system changes that I think would make for a server I'd never get tired of, and one that would never need to be reborn as "fresh," hence the title. Bold claims, so let me substantiate them. Here are the key tenets:
Items Retain Their Place in the Progression Ladder
There's a trinket called Thunderbrew's Boot Flask. Acquiring it entails a long and arduous goose chase across both continents for an item that for most players will quickly be replaced by BRD trinkets. That is, if you're playing non-hardcore. On my hardcore warrior, it goes without saying that no holds were barred in ensuring my maximum preparation for tanking ST, which included obtaining this trinket. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed taking my time to do this quest chain, and felt duly rewarded in the context of the level of preparation I wanted to have before venturing into the dungeon. Because it was hardcore, appreciating this small piece of otherwise overlooked content was worth it.
Another example: Tier 0.5. This was another egregiously overlooked piece of content due simply to the fact that the time and gold investments were not worth gear on par with MC for most classes. However, people still did it, including myself. This quest chain is in my opinion one of if not the best the game has ever featured, and the SoM changes made the sets even more worthwhile. Again going back to hardcore, these sets were of massive importance since they could be acquired with so little risk and paved the way towards MC.
Let's contemplate these examples. Hardcore gave certain items and pieces of content "places" in the progression ladder that they otherwise either wouldn't have had, or would have only for a very short time. And I really loved that. But hardcore isn't for everyone. So, how could I retain these satisfying experiences I've had without hardcore? I believe the answer is release-order-locked content. What I mean is, all of the game's content may only be done using gear that precedes that content's original release. Every week when you do MC, the entire raid will be using their pre-raid BiS. Every week when you do BWL, the entire raid will be using their phase 1 BiS. This is the first minor (from a programming standpoint) yet impactful system change.
To accommodate the sheer amount of gear sets players will need, acquired items will go into a "collection" tab similar to modern WoW's heirloom tab where a streamlined gear set editor makes swapping out easy and inventory-slot free. Permanent enchants are applied to the item's collection slot, and temporary enhancements work as normal. What does this achieve? Exactly what I was praising about the hardcore experience. Your tier 0.5 will remain useful as the BiS gear usable in MC (I believe this is the best spot for it to go since it was in a sense a retroactive release by Blizzard back in the day anyways). The enchants acquired from open-world take on new usefulness as well. Instead of being rendered obsolete by better enchants released in later phases, these older and lesser enchants are the best that can be brought into early raids. Another huge benefit is that content never becomes trivialized due to overgearing. I believe this is a huge reason people continuously want "fresh." I propose that for convenience, all of the game's content be bundled into four barriers: 1) MC/Ony, Azuregos/Kazzak, and all non-raid content must be done in non-raid gear. 2) ZG/BWL allows gear up to and including that acquired from content behind the first barrier. 3) Dragons of Nightmare and all of AQ. 4) Naxx.
A glaring issue so far: What do I get to do with all my Naxx gear if not bring it into Naxx? Obviously adding another raid tier just pushes the issue farther. My solution is Naxx+. It functions just like Mythic+, and any and all gear is allowed. However, better gear will not drop. Guilds could have a fun time seeing who can push it higher. I know I would. Beyond that, in PvP anything is fair game.
Prestige
Prestiging is a simple enough concept that needs little explanation. If you desire, you may reset your character's level to 1 and experience the leveling scene again in exchange for a nice little number next to your name to show off how many times you've done it. I believe I have a novel implementation that is superior to others I've seen.
First, when you decide to prestige, a clone of your character is created. You may continue to play on your main with the clone running parallel. Once the clone hits 60, you are given a chance to mail over anything you want to keep, and the clone is deleted. Your main receives an increase to the number beside their name. Second, when you initially create your character, you may choose normal or hardcore with the option of becoming normal at 60 or continuing as hardcore. Usual restrictions apply, and I believe Turtle handles this the best. If you choose permanent hardcore, prestiging simply wont be an option. If you initially chose 1-60 hardcore, all of your prestiges will also be 1-60 hardcore. You don't lose your main on death, just the clone. Naturally the hardcore number looks cooler and is worth more of those ever-important awesomeness points.
Summary
I have described two quite minor implementations. Beyond these, the game is vanilla WoW as we know it. So, what is the overall effect? The game is permanently fresh. Content is always as challenging as it was when it first came out and is never trivialized by overgearing. Every piece of gear in every phase's BiS list retains its place and importance. You are rewarded for "going agane." You are rewarded for pushing your character's power and your raid's teamwork as far as it will go in Naxx+. You are rewarded for experiencing every bit of content the game has to offer. I want to see Evergreen be a made a reality. Maybe a partnership with some team with experience in this field. Regardless, thanks for the read. I'd love to hear any potential improvements.
Edit 1: Another great benefit is visual variety. T3 looks badass and all, but I think it would be very refreshing to see your character in multiple outfits over the course of a raiding lockout.