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As each expansion of WoW goes on, more and more features of the game get abandoned by the developers. Sometimes, it’s for the best. For others, it’s a weird choice that leaves players like me disappointed. I understand that sometimes, there just isn’t room for everything. Occasionally, an idea only fits a particular expansion, so it will get left behind.
Blizzard has done something interesting with The War Within though, letting players keep the Dragonriding feature from Dragonflight.
It was a major part of the expansion and gave players the ability to fly from an early part of the storyline. Dragonriding also lets players customize their drakes in interesting ways, but the most important part is flight. While this will stick around, let’s talk about some ideas that have gone the way of the Dodo.
Features Blizzard abandoned over the many years of WoW
1) The Glyph System
Now an abandoned WoW feature, Wrath of the Lich King introduced the Glyph system, through the Inscription profession. It allowed players to adjust their spells in major and minor ways. This was reflected in Major Glyphs and Minor Glyphs. They could increase your damage (Glyph of Mangle), temporarily boost your armor (Glyph of Unbreakable Armor), and much more. You can still use these on the Classic Lich King servers, too.
During the Legion expansion (patch 7.0.3), the Glyph system was completely removed from the game. The Glyph panel was removed, and many of the minor cosmetic abilities that players had access to were added to the spellbook, or put onto toys. It was a cool method to change how your class played but has since been removed and abandoned by WoW.
2) Garrisons
Oh, Garrisons — at the time, I didn’t really appreciate how cool these were in Warlords of Draenor. Players still have access to their Garrisons, which are a now-abandoned feature in WoW. These were customizable military bases that were accessible, with lots of buildings to craft, and NPCs to recruit to help out on missions.
Each building had a purpose, and it was up to the players to put in place what felt right for them. I loved many of the Followers I recruited, and you also had Missions, which were set on a timer — this I liked a bit less. It was such a huge investment of time and effort, and it was a shame this WoW feature got abandoned in retail.
I could see Blizzard using these as a sort of housing feature for players in the future. However, as it stands, Garrisons is a forgotten relic of the past. Those who have one can still go back if they use their Garrison Hearthstone toy.
3) Order Halls
Though Garrisons were left behind, Order Halls/Class Halls were a loose iteration of that in Legion. This WoW feature brought players of a specific class together in locations scattered across the map. The timed mission feature remained, and instead of followers, there were Champions.
There were rich stories attached to these Order Halls, and they were located in spots that fit the class: Paladin’ Sanctum of Light was at Light’s Hope Chapel, for example, and Mages had access to Tirisgarde, in the highest tower of Dalaran. These were great places to bask in the lore of the world, as well as grow in strength throughout the expansion.
4) Mount Equipment
Mount equipment probably got hit the hardest in WoW, when it comes to abandoned features. Since the days of vanilla World of Warcraft, there was some contraption you could use on your mount. Carrot on a Stick and the Skybreaker Whip are just two examples of these.
However, in Battle for Azeroth, a dedicated “mount equipment” slot was added to the game. It would grant a specific buff to your mounts. The main reason for this was the Water Strider mount. There were two of these, and they granted waterwalking, while astride them. Players were using this in PVP to gain an advantage, instead of utilizing temporary waterwalking measures. In 8.2, this ability was removed and made into an equipment effect. It also didn’t work in Battlegrounds or Arenas.
Instead of simply disabling them in PVP, WoW’s developers turned that effect (Anglers’ Water Striders) into a mount slot buff. There were only five total pieces of equipment for this system before it was abandoned. The worst part is that beginners don’t have access to water walking equipment. If you didn’t get a Water Strider when it was around, that’s it.
5) Artifact Weapons/Legion Weapons
Artifact Weapons are a system I both loved and hated in equal measure. As far as abandoned features go in WoW, it’s the one I miss the most. One of the hardest things about WoW at times, is to find a powerful weapon. The Legion expansion guaranteed players a powerful, gorgeous weapon. You just had to do a ton of grinding, if you wanted it to be as strong as possible.
That’s the part I detested. However, they all looked amazing and boasted cool hidden cosmetic looks and useful powers. I can, to an extent, understand why this was taken away from players, as far as something useful, because it was a borrowed power item. An item that’s not meant to be powerful forever.
That said, I liked the idea of not having to stress out about where my next weapon upgrade was. I’ve gone — months at a time — without an upgrade in earlier expansions, as did some of my closest friends. One of them was stuck with Black Ice until sometime around the opening of Ulduar.
That said, retail WoW is always doing something interesting these days. Developers are still making features and game modes that, while temporary, are still worth trying. The next one is the upcoming WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria, coming in 10.2.7.
