THE CLASSIC+ COLLECTION · ANALYSIS · RESEARCH CHECKED SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
The first new Classic+ raid would be the easy part to get excited about. The harder question arrives three months later, when the bosses are familiar and a friend who missed launch asks whether there is anything you can still do together.
A healthy endgame needs a good answer. More powerful loot alone does not provide one.
This article proposes a possible progression model. It does not describe confirmed Classic+ raid sizes, difficulties, or rewards.
Give level 60 several kinds of evenings
A persistent game should support different amounts of time without making every activity a weaker imitation of raiding. A short session might advance a profession project. A longer evening might finish a dungeon route. A regular guild night might tackle a raid. An unscheduled group might explore an outdoor threat.
Each can offer something worth caring about. The problem begins when one activity provides the mandatory currency for all the others. Then the apparent variety is just a longer preparation list.
Our proposed test is simple: can a player choose a satisfying evening without first clearing yesterday's obligations? That question matters more than the number of activities in a patch announcement.
Use horizontal rewards carefully
“Horizontal progression” usually means adding options without continually raising raw power. In practice, it needs some vertical progress too. Players still want an exciting weapon drop. A system with nothing but equivalent alternatives can make victory feel strangely flat.
A workable compromise would combine modest equipment gains with specialized tools, profession recipes, reputation rewards, and situational set bonuses. An older item might remain useful for a particular job while a newer item improves another. The important constraint is that collecting every alternative should not become the entry fee for a normal group.
Consider a hypothetical dungeon reward that helps a healer handle sustained pressure but gives up burst efficiency. That creates a choice. An item that is simply superior in every situation erases one. A resistance piece useful in a specific expedition can give an older dungeon a continuing audience, provided obtaining it does not demand unreasonable repetition.
Raids are social infrastructure
Raid size affects recruitment, leadership, attendance, and how painful one absence becomes. A larger roster can create a wider community; it can also become an administrative burden. Smaller groups are easier to organize, but every missing specialist may matter more.
SoD supplied a real experiment: its Phase 7 Naxxramas was tuned for 20 players while allowing up to 40, with an Empower difficulty system. That is a precedent to examine, not a Classic+ specification. Blizzard's Phase 7 description.
A future project should explain its roster expectations early and avoid casually changing them midstream. Guilds are not numbers that resize without cost. They are people deciding whom they can keep playing with.
Keep dungeons relevant without an endless treadmill
A dungeon can gain replay value through branching routes, optional encounters, class interactions, and targeted rewards. It does not automatically need an infinitely escalating difficulty ladder.
An optional challenge could change the way a group uses a room rather than just increase enemy health. Its reward might be an alternate appearance, an additional loot chance, or a specialized item. The ordinary version should still feel complete.
This approach connects with our class-design proposal: utility only feels valuable when the environment lets it matter. It also connects with world design, because the journey to a dungeon can involve useful activities rather than empty travel.
Catch-up should restore participation
A returning player needs a route into current groups. That does not require handing them every old reward. It does require avoiding a chain where each prerequisite needs a group that no longer forms.
One proposal is to let new dungeon content offer competent entry gear while preserving older prestige rewards and distinctive items. Another is to let veterans help a friend's attunement without repeating every personal prerequisite. Both need testing against the risk of making earlier content feel disposable.
Character permanence is part of that bargain. In a July Reddit discussion, participants disagreed about whether lasting characters or periodic resets better preserve meaningful progress. Neither preference can be assumed to represent everyone.
Judge the patch by what remains alive
After a new tier arrives, look beyond its completion rate. Are groups still forming for earlier dungeons? Can returning players get invited? Are guilds recruiting for enjoyable plans or merely replacing exhausted members?
Those are proposed measures, not data we currently possess. They would tell us whether the endgame is widening or narrowing. Our economy article examines another part of that picture, while the vision essay ties the whole design together. The hub is the starting point for the collection.
Companion viewing
Dave on Dev’s video puts Joardee and progression at the center of the conversation. Use it as a companion debate: what would make new rewards exciting without erasing the value of old ones? The title is the creator’s framing, not evidence of an adopted Blizzard design.
Joardee Knows How to Solve Classic+ Progression — Dave on Dev. Find more perspectives in the Classic+ viewing room.