Irvine, CA (AP) – As World of Warcraft’s Cataclysm Classic prepares to revisit one of the MMO’s most transformative eras, its development team at Blizzard Entertainment is taking the opportunity to address a controversial aspect of the 2010 expansion that inadvertently disrupted the game’s guild communities.

The original Cataclysm expansion introduced a new guild leveling system that, while intended to encourage teamwork and camaraderie, ultimately backfired – driving players away from their long-standing social circles in pursuit of rewards gated behind high guild levels.

“The guild leveling system incentivized you to have a massive guild because it didn’t scale experience requirements based on size,” explained Kris Zierhut, principal game designer on Cataclysm Classic. “Small guilds would take forever to level, while huge ‘mega guilds’ maxed out very quickly.”

This led to an exodus from intimate gameplay communities as players abandoned their trusted guilds en masse to join these impersonal juggernauts, simply to access guild-based progression rewards like mounts, pets and vendor unlocks faster. For Nora Valletta, Cataclysm Classic’s lead engineer, it was a disturbing trend.

“People in smaller guilds started quitting to join the bigger ones, and those hoping to form new guilds couldn’t find anyone to join,” Valletta described. “It went completely against the philosophy and purpose of gameplay guilds.”

To rectify this issue, Cataclysm Classic has replaced the original leveling system with a more straightforward “guild reputation” progression. Players now earn reputation with their guild similar to other in-game factions, with cosmetic rewards purchasable at various reputation milestones.

“This leaves smaller communities intact and encourages players to stick together long-term, rather than bouncing around for quick rewards,” Zierhut explained. “We want the focus to be on shared goals and interpersonal connections.”

Certain ill-conceived guild perks like “Cash Flow,” which effectively enabled illegal gold funneling, have also been removed entirely. However, many desirable perks that were excessively time-gated, like increased mount speed and portable bank access, are now automatically granted upon joining any guild.

As World of Warcraft Classic continues revisiting these transformative moments in the MMO’s history, the Cataclysm Classic team remains dedicated to realizing the true spirit behind social gameplay features like guild systems. By rectifying the missteps of the past, the re-release aims to preserve the tight-knit communities that made the original game so enduring.

Tags: Adventure game Blizzard Entertainment Jeff Kaplan Massively multiplayer online role-playing game Tom Chilton World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic