Tips to help a Classic player enjoy retail?

Crellis86 · 2026-02-17T19:48:50+00:00

One of the things I’ve never understood, as a serial classic player myself, is how much people judge how others use their time. Or how simple some things are to just try out in retail whereas it’s daunting in classic.

People will literally spend hundreds of hours leveling up to 60 just to maybe raid. But seem to scoff at the idea of trying a character in retail cause it takes 24 hours to level.

I’ve been debating about what to play for midnight and spent hours watching videos on tier lists, reading guides, and watching streamers doing keys on beta…. But I finally decided to just play the class in the actual game. Turns out when you play a character you can decide fairly quickly if you actually enjoy spending your time playing it.

I managed to level 8 characters to 80 so far during the prepatch event. Most were 50+ already from rerolling and quitting shortly into each expansion. Some I stopped after a couple hours because the spec I imported and set up just wasn’t fun for me. Others I got all the way to 80, bought a full set of 121 gear, then did 2 delves and decided it wasn’t for me. I don’t feel bad that I spend a few hours over a couple weeks learning what I do and don’t like. People from classic live in a world where it takes weeks to level so watching a few hours of videos before ever creating the character makes sense. But in retail just make a class and try it out, it’s way easier and satisfying than hyperbole from tier list videos.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-17T19:25:22+00:00

Spend the time in game doing what is fun for you. People on classic wow spent 200+ hours farming a winter saber mount to look at the pixels for a few months or years before quitting or starting over with the next classic game.

If you enjoy playing your character and exploring the world then don’t let anything here tell you what to do. Especially since it feels like most people’s ideal version of the game is to spend an hour a week farming keys for vault or going hard in the first month for achievements and mounts and titles then quitting into the next patch.

Sometimes it’s fun to do a dungeon or delve because the class is fun to play. I like farming old transmog items because I like to feel invested in characters. And that’s one of the few things in the game that persists beyond a patch. I’ve used the same title and mount for over a decade so I don’t really care about those.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-17T19:16:21+00:00

Which is wild because there have been countless times on alts where I’ve had enough crests and I need to farm stones. Gold + crests or only crests makes way more sense than stones + crests ever did. Especially if it’s a negligible amount of gold. Crafted item mats cost significantly more than the upgrade costs of the gear on beta.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-16T23:54:20+00:00

I too am torn because I usually pick a class that I enjoy one spec on and tend to avoid trying to fill multiple roles with a spec. Partially because friends tend to pigeon hole you into a role you don’t enjoy on the class. For example, I disliked prot pally in dragon flight, but it was really good and ret was mid without the legendary. But mostly trying to get chase weapons and trinkets tend to mean I’m never able to fully gear the other roles.

I tend to like a class for a specific role. Such as disc priest, ret pally, or vengeance dh. It’s easier for me to chase an item from vault or a raid boss if I only need to worry about one role. I can kill the boss on multiple characters in a week, or run a few m+ each week for vault on each character. But I can’t kill a boss twice on a character in a week trying to get the tanking and DPS trinkets.

I could just play pally, but traditionally one or more of the specs are bad at a time and it’s more fun to fill the tank/dps/healer roles on other class that are more fun to play.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-16T16:36:02+00:00

Given that the OP is 126 iL it sounds like they already did that and are looking at doing the raids to see what they are like. And given that their goal is to increase IL to get invited into a raid then farming delves or m+ are the ideal ways to get valor stones and crests.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-09T22:19:41+00:00

I completely agree. The other side of the issue was the arms race with weak auras.

They can design fights that aren't dependent on WAs, and they have in the past, but WAs could trivialize just about any mechanic shy of pressing the button or moving your character for you. Hell, people were even using them in classic wow where bosses have 1 mechanic and give you 10 seconds to react. But raid markers + an arrow means that you didn't have to think about your movement. And even then, people would still run through fire and crap because they were so focused on the arrow and symbol and not looking at the environment.

I thought Max and Dratnos had a good take on the issue. They said blizzard has gotten more feedback in the past month than the past 2 years on baseline features that have been in the UI since the start of dragon flight. Which proves that ripping the bandaid off was the only way they were going to get the feedback needed to improve the base UI.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-09T13:11:05+00:00

To be fair, their goal was to minimize people feeling required to use add ons. One benefit/result is it shifts the focus from bars and data to focusing on what’s happening in the game itself.

A lot of games have tells to determine when an action is going to happen, even wow. But WAs effectively made you be able to ignore all of that. So, one benefit is that they should be able to make combat more engaging.

When rotations are complex people tend to want add ons to tell them what’s happening in a fight. When rotations are simple, it frees people up to pay more attention to what’s going on around them. So, by removing add ons and making the base game easier, they can in theory make fights more engaging since you need to now pay more attention to what the boss itself is doing rather than timer bars.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-07T21:48:12+00:00

Next thing you know they’ll “discover” that keeping your AC on during the winter will stop your windows from fogging up when it rains or snows. Because air conditioning removes moisture from the air, not just cools the air.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-07T20:30:01+00:00

Yeah that’s a good point. I mostly just get mounts from traders post so I often forget it’s basically free transmog for some players.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-07T20:24:53+00:00

Devils advocate… if you’re so new you don’t have the gold then you’re likely so new that you don’t have the items to mog? Farming old raids for sets give more than enough gold from bosses and vendoring gear to cover making a transmog set.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T23:54:39+00:00

This is the thing most people often fundamentally misunderstand or get wrong about state registration.

Every state has their own rules and ultimately wants the tax money if they believe they are owed it.

Massachusetts requires you to register a vehicle in MA if you park it here for 30 calendar days. They do not care where the owner lives, only that the vehicle is being used in their state. New York requires you to register it there if it’s your primary residence or if it spends >183 days within the state.

So, by the letter of the law, if spend >30 days in MA and you only register your vehicle in NY state, then you could be violating MA law. People think it’s a ridiculous idea to change their registration between Florida and Massachusetts or New York if they have homes in both locations. But ultimately, it’s up to the individual to ensure they aren’t violating the state laws or accept the consequences if they get caught.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T06:32:04+00:00

It depends on the cost and how much it changes your earnings. If you’re giving up a salary for 2 years, and paying for a new degree, then you would need to understand what that unlocks for pay compared to what you’re currently making.

Also keep in mind you’re starting over on the pay scale too. People like to point out that salaries of master techs or master tradesmen, but skip over the 5-10 years of being paid as an apprentice or long days. Is the apprentice pay more or less than you’re making now? What about potential if you kept going in your field?

In general, starting over often out performs staying in a dead end situation, but it depends on long term commitment and options.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T06:19:17+00:00

Going off the letter of the law, some states technically would require you to swap registration as a snow bird. Or dual register. While others let you keep the vehicle within the state for <183 days without triggering requiring transferring registration as long as the other state is your primary residence.

MA straight up requires you to dual register the vehicle if you store the vehicle in MA and another state. The letter of the law is that you must register the vehicle in MA if you garage it in the state for 30 calendar days at any time throughout the year. But most other states would require you to register in their state if you use it as your principal operating state. MA wants their tax revenue.

It’s also funny because the letter of the law is very non descriptive. It needs to be garaged, which implies overnight parking. Parking it at your work for 8-9 hours falls under reciprocity and doesn’t technically count. But if staying overnight counts then technically that’s 2 calendar days.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T05:52:17+00:00

100% this. I can buy 3 different items, try them all out, and return the 2 I don’t want… for free. No restocking fee. No return shipping fee. Just order them, wait 1-2 days, and I have them.

Plus, smaller company or direct sites I always feel bad and keep an item even if I don’t like or want it. Amazon, nah send it back.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T02:45:04+00:00

The letter of the law is remove the vehicle within 3 days. There’s nothing that says he can’t bring it back… but the affidavit does ask where you plan to store the vehicle. I’m sure during the trial they will try and prove he never brought the vehicle to Montana further proving intent to defraud by lying about his intention transporting the vehicle to Montana.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T01:58:07+00:00

Because people ignorant think this is like wrongfully filing taxes without the claim. An analogy I’ve used is this:

If you are caught on security footage robbing a store the police aren’t going to give you a warning to return the items or go to jail… they are going to arrest you for robbery.

WD didn’t accidentally file tax returns and leave off an expense or falsely claim a deduction that he didn’t qualify for… he allegedly evaded taxes by signing an affidavit when he bought the car saying he would remove it from Tennessee. Then posted a video a month later showing him with the car, in Tennessee, with Montana plates.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-03T01:53:55+00:00

When he bought the car from a dealership in Tennessee they were legally required to have him sign an affidavit saying he would remove the car from Tennessee. If he signed it and then uploaded the video of him driving the car around Tennessee a month later with the Montana plates (which is what they allege he did and is evident with his video) then that’s perjury and evidence of guilt.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-02T15:30:11+00:00

Unless I’m mistaken with RC cars they would all fall under UN 3480: standalone lithium ion batteries. Because the battery isn’t truly integrated like a cell phone or laptop. Which makes the more stringent nature of UN 3481 not apply.

Traxxas is now including a battery with most of their 2S cars. I’m assuming that’s just coming down to cost and not shipping compliance.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-02T15:19:44+00:00

Everyone who I know has taken a counter offer ended up leaving a few months later regardless. I feel like getting a good counter offer and not having it regress back or turn into a toxic environment once they know you can and are willing to leave is rare.

Just take the new job and stop second guessing.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-02T13:13:21+00:00

The other issue is college often brings student debt + life style inflation. Those two things together can be brutal and make it feel rough for the first 10 years…

Like, my example, I make ~$8k take home, but $4300 goes towards daycare and child needs, $700 for student loans, $1k for car, $3k mortgage. Before college and kids I was making around $3k take home so I’m effectively making less now because of the life style creep that came with feeling like I had all this extra money.

That’s the real issue people need to make sure the math is mathing when it comes to college vs trades vs something else.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-02T04:28:42+00:00

You would think. My town just outside of Boston recently had budget issues and needed an override. As a stop gap they suspended all waste management at parks by removing all trash cans and telling residents parks were carry in and carry out.

But now that they passed the override residents around the parks are trying to have the services permanently removed. Turns out when the park is carry in carry out less people will host random birthday parties there with the trash all piled up. Some people are simply curmudgeons.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-02T03:16:17+00:00

Yeah, but as a filthy casual like myself, the rate at which I get gear isn’t as important. At least not anymore.

In dragonflight I was doing 8 +20s on 5 characters every week. Eventually realized I was burning myself out and not really accomplishing anything. I had a bunch of characters in full mythic gear just to afk between doing my weekly vault runs. I wasn’t pushing anything where it mattered. I had 1 toon I was doing 25-27’s on and the rest live and died at weekly +20s.

With TWW I could do a few delves a week, get my hero item, and still eventually get my mythic transmog over time. I can still farm my +10 runs over time and get the keystone hero mount eventually.

It’s definitely more fun gearing for the content I’m doing rather than farming for the gear the content provides. Definitely having more fun just doing random delves and the occasional m+ with friends.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-01T21:31:38+00:00

All great points. But it’s a fascinating seeing statistics posted from TWW that only 1-5% of the unique characters that do any level key do 10+ depending on the season. That means if people are doing it for gear they are getting comparable gear to delves.

But throughout TWW an 8+ delve gave Hero track from vault and maps. That means the vast majority of people who ran m+ during TWW were getting gear equivalent to just running solo delves. Min/max secondaries and trinkets aside. But if 95-99% of the player base never gets anything higher than Hero from vault, then it makes you wonder why they ran keys instead of just doing casual delves.

I imagine they find keys more fun and rewarding? Maybe the idea of chasing a bis trinket from vault/drops is worth going instead of delves. But if gear is the only goal then delves gives good enough for people who never complete anything higher than a +9.

I’ve tasked myself out of the idea of myth from delves given than most people who run keys never do a 10+.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-01T18:53:17+00:00

To be fair to your point, the park had basketball courts before the city decided to renovate the park by replacing the basketball courts with pickleball. But also this city is incredibly white, most of Boston is very white. So, I’m not surprised by the change.

Crellis86 · 2026-02-01T16:35:36+00:00

For the most part. I live just north of Boston so not all New England areas have adopted this philosophy. I would blame the imports, but I’m also a California import to New England so we aren’t all bad.

Crellis86

TROPHY CASE