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WoW Wrath Classic Joyous Journeys ends, players are furious

The WoW Wrath Classic Joyous Journeys boost has been removed upon release, prompting a wave of backlash from angry players that can't plough time into the MMO

WoW Wrath Classic Joyous Journeys buff is over, players are angry: An orc with long white hair in a ponytail holding a shard of ice as a blizzard whips around him

WoW Wrath Classic Joyous Journeys was a huge in-game buff that granted players 50% additional XP, allowing those who can’t dive into the MMORPG for long periods of time a chance to level their characters quickly. Coming into the new expansion this buff has been removed, sparking outrage from the fanbase.

Blizzard did refer to the buff as being part of a temporary summer event, writing “we haven’t locked down the specific timeframe for when this buff will activate, but we expect it to last for at least six to eight weeks; beginning a few weeks before the 3.4.0 Pre-Patch and persisting right up until the day that Wrath of the Lich King Classic launches.”

Despite this, its popularity with players who have, well, lives and jobs, was incredible. It allowed them to reach a decent level without having to constantly grind, opening up more experiences and ensuring that they weren’t left behind as others surged ahead.

While some argue “Joyous Journeys is a weird hill to die on,” this hasn’t stopped a wave of backlash in the wake of its removal.

WoW Wrath Classic Joyous Journeys buff removed, players are angry: A werewolf in heave plate armour howls as he is surrounded by golden light

“Restore Joyous Journeys to fresh start servers!” writes one player. “This really shouldn’t have been removed from fresh start servers. Having to re-start multiple times before finally getting on a fresh start server without a queue, now we’re stuck slogging the rest of the way to 68 before we can enjoy the expansion.

“Only those who didn’t have to relocate to another server and had excessive free time were able to take advantage of this. Those of us with families and careers are now left behind before even getting to Burning Crusade. Why do you keep making such bad decisions? Are you actively trying to punish players with real life commitments?”

Another follows this up with “No Joyous Journeys = no subscription. Level 60, just turned in five quests in hellfire for one fourth of a bubble. I have no interest now in slogging to 70. They [Blizzard] didn’t care about what I wanted. Why should I care to stay subscribed?”

A final comment notes that, during his interview with YouTubers Dan ‘MrGM’ Carter and Scott ‘Scottejaye’ principal technical designer Kris Zierhut “expressed how much he enjoyed the Joyous Journeys buff and that it brought a lot of players back to the levelling process and how it felt good with the increase.

“Why then would they remove the Joyous Journeys buff for players still levelling when Wrath comes out? It should stay and be removed once you hit level 70, no reason to remove it other than to bring it back in the future and go ‘Hey come back!'”

Grinding through Classic can sometimes feel like a full-time job, especially for those of us who can’t afford to wait in lengthy queue times and drop into Azeroth during working hours. I agree that Joyous Journeys would need a cut-off point to save players being able to level too quickly, but there does seem to be a place for it in the game.

If you’re looking to fill the void left by Joyous Journeys you can check out our WoW Classic leveling guide, as well as our own exclusive interview with WoTLK’s Kris Zierhut and Joshua Greenfield.