Source: MMORPG.com. Verified against multiple sources; datamines and reports are labelled as such, not stated as fact.
What Happened
A community survey run by The Classic+ Project, a team led by WoW creators Joardee and OnlyBlacksmoke at wowclassic.plus, collected more than 250,000 submissions, believed to be the largest community data effort the Classic scene has produced, asking players what they want from a potential 'Classic Plus.' The results skew hard toward depth over convenience. New raids drew the highest content support, 97.0 percent with options combined, and dual specialization was the most lopsided single result at 92.3 percent, and new leveling content hit 92.2 percent, alongside strong support for relevant endgame professions (91.0 percent), guild banks (86.1 percent), and epic questlines (84.7 percent).
One honest caveat on the headline number: 250,000 is total submissions across the project's category surveys, not a count of unique players, and the individual categories run smaller. The audience was recruited through Classic content creators, and most respondents play ten-plus hours a week. That does not weaken the signal so much as sharpen it. This is the most demanding, most enfranchised slice of the genre, the exact crowd a depth-first MMO has to win.
The pushback centered on modern conveniences. Flying mounts were rejected by 80.6 percent, one of the most decisive verdicts in the dataset, a combined 72.1 percent wanted world buffs removed from raids or gone entirely, and modern character animations drew the most outright rejection of any visual change. Transmog was the real fault line, a near coin flip at 51.3 percent against. Respondents were overwhelmingly veterans, more than 75 percent having played 2019 Classic, 95.3 percent in EU or NA, and nearly two-thirds aged 26 to 36.
Two results complicate the depth-versus-convenience story in a useful way. Summoning stones outside dungeons and raids drew 73.8 percent support, and the leveling categories lean toward keeping the pace rather than slowing it down. Read together, the pattern is not 'make everything harder.' It is 'keep friction in the world, strip friction from group logistics.' And the intent numbers say these players mean it: 90.4 percent plan to play a Classic Plus if it ships, split between 46.9 percent who cannot wait and 43.5 percent who will show up but stay only if the quality holds.
Blizzard has teased Classic announcements at its State of Azeroth showcase and a Classic Plus reveal is widely expected at BlizzCon in September, but the studio has not formally responded to the survey.
The Details
- The wowclassic.plus survey, run by The Classic+ Project team led by Joardee and OnlyBlacksmoke, collected more than 250,000 submissions across its category surveys, described as the largest WoW Classic community data effort to date.
- Respondents were mostly experienced veterans (75 percent-plus played 2019 Classic), 95.3 percent from EU or NA, and nearly two-thirds aged 26 to 36.
- New raids drew the highest content support, 97.0 percent with options combined; new leveling content hit 92.2 percent; relevant endgame professions 91.0 percent; guild banks 86.1 percent; epic questlines 84.7 percent.
- Dual specialization was the most lopsided single result at 92.3 percent support.
- Flying mounts were rejected by 80.6 percent, one of the most decisive verdicts in the dataset; a combined 72.1 percent wanted world buffs removed from raids or gone entirely; 51.3 percent opposed transmog, a near coin flip; modern character animations drew the most outright rejection of the visual changes.
- Horde Paladins and Alliance Shamans drew 70.5 percent support; smaller, more flexible raid sizes 70.7 percent.
- Blizzard has teased Classic announcements at its State of Azeroth showcase, with a Classic Plus reveal widely expected at BlizzCon 2026 (September 12-13); the studio has not formally responded to the survey.
- The analysis, 'What Does the World of Warcraft Classic Community Actually Want?', was published July 3, 2026 by Emilien Lecoffre on MMORPG.com.
What This Means for the Riot MMO
Riot rebooted its Runeterra MMO in 2024 specifically because the first version looked too much like existing MMOs, which makes 'what do MMO players actually want that they aren't already getting' the central question of the whole project. This survey is the largest answer to that question anyone has gathered: a quarter-million survey answers from veteran players who want new raids and new zones far more than convenience features, and actively reject flying and world buffs.
Riot's MMO hired straight out of this exact game. Principal designer Brian Holinka, senior producer Raymond Bartos, and engineering manager Orlando Salvatore all came from WoW's dev team, so this survey reads like a focus group run on the audience they know best. The honest connection is not that Riot will copy the wishlist, but that it maps the appetite for old-school depth over modern convenience that Riot's team is weighing right now.
- Players ranking new raids (97 percent) and new zones above convenience features maps the depth-over-ease appetite a Runeterra MMO is designing for.
- Rejecting flying and world buffs signals players want friction and world presence preserved -- a live-world design choice Riot's MMO has to make.
- Riot's principal designer, senior producer, and engineering manager all came from WoW's dev team, so this survey reads the exact audience they know best.
Your Take
Should Riot's Runeterra MMO chase old-school depth (raids, no flying) over modern convenience?
Reported from MMORPG.com and corroborating coverage. The MMO read is ours and clearly speculative. Analysis by RuneGrove.
