Is the beta for the first WoW Classic expansion live yet? Yes! Really, people can log in and try out The Burning Crusade all over again. That means datamining has started up, and while players are finding that the leveling appears to be slower than normal, the dataminers are finding new strings related to automatic matching within the dungeon finder in TBC’s classic version. That would be a pretty major change to the game (hashtag some changes), as the automated dungeon finder wasn’t introduced to the game until midway through Wrath of the Lich King.
Obviously, these are datamined strings and thus are not confirmation of anything, just like the presence of datamined toys and a mount aren’t actually confirmation of a Burning Crusade Classic collector’s edition. The fact that there are strings alluding to it definitely help support that idea, though. So far it’s all speculation based on early datamining, but it seems clear that the beta testers will have some new changes to content with aside from the classic game content.
Meanwhile, on the modern version of the game, there’s a rumor that insiders are worried about the long delay already for patch 9.1. That’s… not encouraging. Someone should write a column about this.
