Here are the differences between the Original Cataclysm 4.0.3a patch and Classic Cataclysm 4.4.0

With pre-patch for Classic Cataclysm underway, and the release of Classic Cataclysm just around the corner, Blizzard has announced that they are bringing various changes to the Classic version. A few of these have received backlash from players.

Some of the major changes involve guilds. While Blizzard is keeping some guild perks, they are removing the guild leveling system. While they have removed guild levels, any items that were previously tied to levels are now obtainable from the start, depending on the player’s guild reputation level. When people join a guild or are a part of one, they will obtain items and perks immediately upon joining. The two major perks that are being removed, however, are the two receiving backlash from players.

Cash Flow and Have Group Will Travel have been removed from Classic Cataclysm

Cash Flow level 2 was originally obtainable from Guild Level 15, and it allowed 15% of the money collected from monsters to be directly deposited in the guild bank. It allowed for a passive collection of gold, which was helpful for building up funds to buy the last two guild bank tabs, which were quite expensive. However, it also allowed guilds to recruit as many people as they could to make the gold, and then remove players who weren’t playing often or planning to go into end-game on more than a casual level. Other guilds would be robbed by the guild master and disbanded the guild after withdrawing all the gold from the guild bank. This perk will not be included in the Classic Cataclysm patch 4.4.0.

Have Group, Will Travel (HGWT) was a guild perk unlocked at Guild Level 20 that allowed a single person to be at the summoning stone for a dungeon or raid to summon the entire raid team in one spell. While warlocks have closets and summoning stones still exist, they do take a bit longer and aren’t an infinite range like HGWT. While this made accessing dungeons and raids faster, it also meant that guilds could form up several raid groups, summon at a nearby summoning stone, and then find a location where players are farming for ore, herbs, or just items or skins, and grief those players in that regard. Like Cash Flow, this will not be included in Classic Cataclysm 4.4.0.

Removal of Void Storage

This is another change that has players divided. Some believe it’s no longer necessary for transmogrification, as Blizzard has stated that there will be a new collections tab system, and that transmog will be account-wide. It will likely look something like WoW retail’s version, but that has not yet been confirmed. For the players who argue against this change, they believe Void Storage to be useful to store items such as unobtainable armor or weapons to not take up actual bank space.

Other Changes

Though it’ll be available at a later time, either during the pre-patch or once Classic Cataclysm officially releases May 20, Worgens will not have access to the barber shop initially in pre-patch.

Hunters will go into the pre-patch, and possibly the start of Classic Cataclysm with Wrath of the Lich King’s current pet system—they will only have one pet available while the rest are stabled, and must go to a stablemaster in order to trade out pets. By the launch on May 20, hunters may have their original Cataclysm pet system, where they can hold five pets on them, with far more in the stable.

These are some of the major changes so far, but if you want to read more, you can head over to their blue post on the forums to read all of it. If you’re unsure of whether you want to stay with your main class or want to try something different, you can see how the class system lines up in early Classic Cataclysm.