WarCraft 3 players upset over missing features on Reforged release

The release of WarCraft 3: Reforged has left players disappointed after popular features from the original like profiles, clans, automated tournaments, and even custom campaigns were left out of the game on Day 1.

Long-time WarCraft 3 players were finally given their wish of a remaster at BlizzCon 2018 with the announcement of Reforged. Not all of their prayers were answered on the game’s January 28 release, however.

The community has noted that the vintage real-time strategy title is lacking popular features that were included in the original game’s day one.

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A thread on the WarCraft 3 subreddit criticizing the lack of features players can use reached the top of the forum within hours of the game’s release. The primary concern is that most of these features were included in the original WarCraft 3 on day one, but not in the remastered version.

Custom campaigns, a big part of the game’s single player experience where players could create their own stories, has been removed.

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While the User License Agreement has changed so Blizzard own the copyright of all custom games to avoid another Dota 2 blowing up outside of the studio, players weren’t expecting their creative freedom to be limited like this.

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On top of that, simple features like profiles, clans, a competitive ladder, and automated tournaments have all been removed as well, leaving many to dub Reforged a shell of the game it once was.

Some have even argued the game has lost some of its flavor that originally made it popular in 2002, with standout creative touches like animated portraits and campaign backgrounds being removed instead of upgraded.

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“These [were] the heart and soul of the game’s aesthetic,” Reddit user ‘TheDeadKeepIt’ explained. “The menu screens were iconic. You take these away, that’s a real deep stab in the heart.”

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The release of WarCraft 3: Reforged also forced players onto the new client instead of playing the older, but more reliable game. Some players have called it a “forced downgrade for classic users,” with the lack of key features the breaking point for many asking for refunds of the $30 game.

“It’s truly incredible how they ruined this game so badly,” said ‘Bfreshdangz.’ This sentiment was echoed by players like ‘Trenix,’ who even went as far as saying the new release was a sign Blizzard was “begging for bankruptcy.”

Others have called for a complete revert, or at least two game clients — one for classic and one for Reforged — like how World of Warcraft runs its Classic client.

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“I wanted two different game clients, one that was the original game and one that was reforged,” said TheDeadKeepIt. “Instead you mashed them together into a disgusting bloated cesspool. Now players who just want to play the original online are forced to download 30 gigs of bloated cr*p onto their computer, let alone they lose all of these iconic features of their beloved game.”

While some players are hopeful a patch is on the way in the coming months, many aren’t holding their breath. Starcraft 2 players added how the competitive ladder has still not been implemented two years after the game’s remaster, even after it was pitched as coming on day one.

Blizzard are yet to release a statement on when, or if, the missing features will be making a return into Reforged.