WoW Classic Shares Itemization and Item Update

Recently, Community Managers at the World of Warcraft: Classic forums have been detailing exactly how the game is going to play for months now, with itemization the latest look at how WoW Classic will work behind the scenes.

Unsurprisingly, it's almost exactly as how players remember it. For instance, developers searched through vendor lists and treasure tables to see when items were released, so if a specific item was released for a specific raid, the item won't be available until then.

However, items that were continually changed over Classic's lifetime will launch at the last patch's (1.12) specs. Here is Blizzard's reasoning: The Tier 2 warrior Helm of Wrath originally had Spirit and Agility on it, as well as critical strike chance. In Patch 1.5.0, the helm's stat budget was changed to Stamina, Strength, and Defense, along with elemental resistances. Then in Patch 1.7.0, the amount of Defense on the helm was reduced. In Patch 1.8.0, the 5-piece set bonus that included the helm was fixed to work with Whirlwind, and in 1.9.0, it got a better look with an art update.

These changes resulted from players playing WoW, with the developers realizing that they had to make changes for the betterment of Classic. This applies to other infamous events in Classic that will not be replicated, such as C’thun, a boss that was unkillable until Blizzard released a hot-fix patch in April 2006. Basically, if the changes/fixes have already been made, Blizzard is not going to recreate the period between the bug and the fix. The fixes are what is going to be implemented:Rather than try to recreate a specific experience from 2005 that can never fully be recaptured, our aim has been to accurately and fully restore the original game’s mechanics and stats to their final and most polished state from before The Burning Crusade. That mission has been a pillar of WoW Classic’s design from its inception.