Wynncraft update retrospective + update ranking

WithTheFish · May 29, 2024

When 2.0 was imminent, I thought I’d review every major/named update Wynncraft has ever had and give my thoughts on how they’ve affected the server for better or worse. Now, in 2024, I have updated the thread... but I can't remove the poll made back in 2022, sorry everyone. At the end I will also rank them from worst to best. A lot of this is my opinion but I will try to factor in community sentiment as well. My thoughts on each update are located within each spoiler tab.

This was Wynncraft’s first major update and I think it landed pretty well. Keep in mind I’m going off the wiki here as I actually wasn’t playing Wynncraft yet. But honestly, when I first joined, I don’t think I could’ve gone without some of the changes added here - especially /kill, which apparently wasn’t always in the game?

In terms of content, players got the jungle (roughly ⅔ of the currently non-dernel jungle today) to explore and new gear to work towards. Between swarms and this, the BRUTAL grind to max level at the time got a little bit easier. Dueling was added, pets for donators were added (hence why it’s called the pet update), VIP town (an exclusive town for donators, this was pre-EULA) was added, and apparently soul point regen and unique items being identifiable became a thing? I’m kinda shocked that wasn’t always a thing.

I also need to mention that this update released only 2 months after Wynncraft released to the public. It must have been nice playing back then, constantly getting new improvements and stuff. Even still, after this update, Wynncraft was definitely still missing some stuff, which the next update after this focused on addressing…

Given that I wasn’t around nor present in the community then, I’m not going to rank this update.

This was the first really big update the server had, and felt pretty substantial at the time. Given that grinding and exploring were the only content Wynn had at the time, I was interested to see how quests would shake things up.

Quests back then were almost exclusively fetch quests. You’d either need to get some specific item from a place or kill a frustrating amount of mobs or rarely, you’d explore some place. Imagine if every quest was a more tedious version of. The Ultimate Weapon. Quests also didn’t even solve the issue of grinding present at the time, as there were not that many quests, and the ones that did exist were mainly low-level.

Skill points also released and were pretty similar to how they were pre-2.0, minus the elemental stuff. You also couldn’t reset them back then, meaning if you messed up you would condemn a class to being unplayable in the endgame.

Speaking of endgame, the best part of this update at the time may have been a bit more endgame stuff to do. New grindspots (slightly) alleviated the grind to the max level of 70. The corrupter of worlds served as a super boss challenge like Qira today. Level 70 legendaries gave another reason to farm mobs and trade. It’s not much, but it was something.

Overall, while the main focus of 1.09 was lackluster, it was well-intentioned and several of its additions have gone on to be a core part of the server.

Ranking: #15 out of 16

Let me start by saying that I’m going to be grouping 1.10 and 1.10.1 together here as they both released in a 4-day timespan, with the latter update being the one that added Bob’s Reincarnation and Bob’s Mythic Weapons.

The launch of the ocean update was pretty exciting, as this was Wynn’s first update that added a ton of new places to explore, which was highlighted over new features. In my eyes, I think the idea of the expanded ocean is a success. It serves as a great way to at any time, add some content for any level past 15 or so, meaning this update had some stuff for everyone. Also due to the ocean’s size, there was a lot of exploring involved. And to “help” with this, the website map, intentionally or not, became unavailable for the first few days. Everyone was an intrepid explore, and I have a fond memory of randomly stumbling across Selchar and thinking “what the fuck why is there a detlas 2”. I think the exploration side of things was a massive success, and something that’s never quite been replicated.

Other cool stuff included Horses and the nether, the latter of which was a massive PVP minigame, meaning that PVP and horse breeding were added to the list of endgame activities. PVP in particular was very enticing due to an online leaderboard. The new quests were only a slight improvement over last update's, but it was clear that they were slowly improving their gameplay and storytelling.

Looking back, this was a great update: probably the best they’d had so far. I’m really impressed that this came out a month and half after the quest update, as this one clearly took a lot of work.

Ranking: #9 out of 16

This is the most interesting update to review. The comparisons between this update and Spellbound are obvious, as they both were reworks to the spell system, with 1.11 changing spells to roughly what they were prior to 2.0 (albeit with some changes). The changes weren’t as drastic as Spellbound’s are, with only two spells (stone shield and ice barrier) being reworked (into arrow shield and ice snake respectively), but the changes were for the better in my opinion.

The pre-1.11 spells SUCKED. Uppercut barely worked in terms of flinging mobs up, Bash and Meteor felt identical, Stone Shield was laggy, and spells just felt like they were missing something in general. However, the new spells came with the issue of balance. Multihit was notorious for doing 2000% OF YOUR WEAPON’S DAMAGE, and arrow storm + lifesteal + mana steal (which worked on spells back then) granted you immortality. It wasn’t until Gavel’s release where the most glaring issues were addressed, for better or worse.

Another interesting aspect of 1.11 was that it was the first revamp-focused update. Apart from spell reworks, we got two new quests, a bunch of new armor, music (!), skill point resets, and a rework to nether PVP… which is another rework. Every prior update had added stuff, meaning if you didn’t like those things, you could ignore them. But if you hated the new nether PVP and new spells, it felt like a part of the game was taken away. I distinctly remember threads complaining about this stuff, however in following months people were generally happy with the nether and spells. Overall, this is an interesting thing to look back on, given how common divisive reworks are in major updates now.

Let’s talk about the new nether now: I think it was one of the best features of the update. It changed it so that gear and skill points no longer mattered, meaning skill (and fully-upgraded spells, usually) was all you needed. The nether now had a larger PVP community, as the barrier for entry was a lot lower due to not needing the best gear anymore. Yeah, 1.11 didn’t have any new endgame content, but since the nether was fair for everyone past level 66, they now had something to do when they got bored of killing mobs.

Music of course was also a really cool addition, one we all take for granted today, but at the time it’s insane how they made this work. Skill reset scrolls were also an amazing QoL change. Overall, I think 1.11 turned out to be one of the better updates in the server’s history. The spells in particular were so much better, and the fact that people say they miss pre-2.0 spells seems like a testament to this.

Ranking: #5 out of 16

This update marked a shift in terms of what major updates stood for. They were now much larger on average, and this is shown in the 7 month gap between 1.11 and 1.12. Yeah, this was easily the largest update left. So, what did “The Mob Update” include?

I remember someone in the shoutbox saying it best: it was like a whole new game. Everything before 1.12 felt like a beta to the update that felt like Wynncraft 1.0. For one, every build was reworked to the same level of quality it is today. Ever been to Nemract? Those builds were changed in 1.12 and haven’t been changed since, same with stuff like most of the desert and mesa. I don’t think anyone hated the pre-1.12 builds, but there was no doubt the community overwhelmingly adored all the build reworks in this update.

As the title suggests, mobs were reworked too, but it really wasn’t by that much. Some boss mobs (mainly superbosses and dungeon bosses) got spells, but they only had one spell each. Mobs could now be melee or ranged, depending on what the GMs wanted. Mobs could now be anything, like an item or an end crystal, which was cool but pales in comparison to stuff like Orphion and Greg today. So yeah, these mob changes were not much when you look at what we have today, but at the time we needed this. A lot of people wanted better mobs, and this update delivered it. Kinda.

Dungeons were also significantly reworked, but of the three major parts of Wynncraft hit with sweeping changes, dungeons probably got the most underwhelming changes. The builds looked AMAZING, but in terms of gameplay, they felt inferior. For those who don’t know, there were 3 iterations of dungeons: their release, their 1.12 versions, and their 1.14.1 versions (which is what we have today). 1.12 versions consisted of mobs you could run by, minor parkour, and very easy puzzles (putting items on pressure plates). There were also no good rewards and getting dungeon keys was tedious. There was no reason to really do dungeons. And yeah, there was no reason to do dungeons pre-1.12 either. But they had this level of challenge to them that 1.12 dungeons didn’t have, so I and others likely completed it for the sake of accomplishment.

But here’s the thing about 1.12, and its dungeons: it just felt so polished. The game just felt more balanced, less glitchy, less laggy, and more like a full release. I can’t really explain it, it just felt like comparing a beta version to a full release.

Now, let’s talk about some other parts of 1.12 I really like. We got a lot of new quests, and they were the highest quality ones yet. There was also a ton of exploring to do, as the CT had filled the new map with easter eggs and secrets like potato storages.

Oh, I can’t believe I forgot about this: the update launched right when Minecraft changed it’s EULA to combat PVP stuff. This meant things like the donator town and VIP’s double XP had to be removed. So how did Wynncraft handle this? Turns out they did so pretty well. VIP+ was added, with both it and the reworked VIP getting a bunch of cosmetics to play around with. Via the addition of the Knight/Hunter/Dark Wizard/Ninja class skins, donators would get 2-4 classes to use - you couldn’t delete classes back then, so this was huge! But most of all, the absence of pay-to-win stuff just made things more fair. Everyone could level up at the same pace mostly, and everyone could now enjoy what the Assassin class had to offer. The loss of DXP wasn’t that bad either due to DXP bombs replacing them (which affected quests back then, but that wasn’t an issue until Gavel).

I think 1.12 is my favorite update (albeit not the one I think is the best). It’s one that just hit every mark for me, and I think the community at the time also enhanced the experience. Working together to find all the new lore and secrets led to this sense of adventurous camaraderie.

Ranking: #2 out of 16

I mentioned earlier that 1.11 had some detractors, but it was overall pretty well-recieved if I remember correctly. If that was the case, then I’d also say that 1.13, the update that added guilds, was the first truly divisive update among the playerbase.

I don’t think anyone would dispute that guilds are among Wynncraft’s most controversial features. I think it took less than a week for drama to appear on the forums. There’s a reason Reminder: Guild Arguments | Wynncraft Forums is pinned in the forums section. However, I’m of the opinion that guilds are very good in theory. They allow for a way to make friends and form small communities. I personally love the guild I’m in. Guilds weren't flawed because of bad players, they were bad because they weren't fully baked yet, unfortunately. To many, they were just a glorified party chat, as few participated in guild wars due to the map mainly being controlled by a single guild or alliance.

But of course, 1.13 is called the Wynnter Update, so it probably had more than guilds, right? Well, it also served as a content update that gave us the Ice Canyon, the Dernel Jungle, and a bunch of new quests. All that stuff was pretty good, not too much to add here. The highlight of this content was the Tower of Ascencion. You may forget this quest now, but back then, it was the ultimate endgame challenge. Could you fight 70 floors of mobs that were mostly the same in terms of content, and then fight death, the hardest AKA most unfair boss yet?

I also have to mention armor skins. Armor skins were this high-tech feature that replaced the armor on your minecraft skin with a custom minecraft skin for your character that looked like unique armor. IDK how this really worked, but what I can say is that it’s something not everyone liked. Eventually in 2016(?) the feature was removed for good for some reason I don’t remember. Given that no one is really clamoring for it back, I don’t think this was the most well-received feature.

1.13 released at an interesting time: the wait for Gavel, an update that was getting an obscene amount of hype. Everything added here would have to help with the wait, and due to guilds not hitting the mark, and ToA not being super interesting in the end, I’m not sure if it succeeded at this. As I will explain later in this thread, I think there’s definitely a correlation between the quality of the server during the wait for an update, and how much people get annoyed at that wait.

Ranking: #12 out of 16

We’ve made it to the big one. Or the second biggest, as I still believe that 1.20 was the actual largest update the server had.

As the name "The Gavel Update" suggests, this update added Gavel, making it the largest content update the server has ever seen. Players had a massive new world full of secrets and wonders to explore. Occupying this world was around 50 new quests, and while some of them (star thief comes to mind) were bad, some of the most memorable quests ever like Beyond the Grave and Memory Paranoia became instant classics. Sounds overall great, right? But then, why did Gavel need two updates in which it’s mostly reworked, a follow-up update, and why did this update always seem so controversial? I think it boils down to two reasons.

ONE: The story. Wynn didn’t have as prominent of a story as it does today, but players could definitely find out about stuff like the war against the corruption and Bob’s storyline, which honestly felt fairly cohesive. So, what would the teased threat of the Decay be like? Well, it turned out to kind of just be corruption 2. Okay, so what would the Realm of Light be like? Well, it turned out not much, it was just another dying land where once again, greed led to all the problems. This brings us to the second point, given how the story felt like it was missing something.

TWO: Incompleteness. Gavel was incomplete to a degree, even the admins have stated that. Past level 90, there were no new quests, making reaching level 100 (new level cap) super difficult. Molten Heights and the Sky Islands were around but just felt barren. We also got this trailer (Gavel Teaser Trailer | Wynncraft Forums) which promised insane boss fights, cutsences (we did get those, but not on the level of that trailer for a while), and 2x content (debatable, given Gavel’s lack of dungeons). Judging by a comment I found from Salted, I think a main storyline may have been promised too? And maybe raids? Also, powders were removed until 1.14.1.
(Wynncraft Isn't What It Used To Be | Page 7 | Wynncraft Forums is where I’m getting this info btw, this is also a good read in general)

Also, a lot of people hated Gavel’s grind, but I didn’t think it was that bad. There was no reason to be level 90+ unless you wanted an advantage against Qira or that one mythic, so why bother?

Now, I can understand why people would dislike 1.14, but now I’m going to make the argument that Gavel was not one of the worst updates in the server’s history, and here’s three reasons why.

ONE: The texture pack. It’s so cool. I can’t believe we used to play without it. Weapons look so cool, the blocks have this warm style that fits the feel of Wynncraft perfectly, and it seems like so much care went into it.

TWO: The new item system. Somehow, this complete work of the item system was gotten mostly right on its first try. Yes, there were imbalances, like +Spell Damage being busted for the first few months, and cactus thorn/reflection and/or mana regen builds being annoyingly meta. But once a lot of items were nerfed, certain ID rolls were improved or made static, and bugs were fixed, the end result is what I think is a great item system. It’s managed to go through so few changes and today, I don’t see anyone really upset with it. It’s crazy how we went from literally one build per class to countless. As far as I’m concerned, they absolutely got this part of the update right.

THREE: More reasons to play. Previously, you’d level up 4-8 classes, and then that was it. You had the nether, which didn’t affect your character, and maybe some trading/exploring/guilds/helping others, but that was it. Gavel added so much more content and stuff to do. Mythics changed the market and gave a goal for people to work for. Classbuilding created an entire subcommunity. Class slots + the item system allowed for so much replayability. And as that one trailer said, Gavel really did double the content on a playthrough.

Now, I want to conclude this already super long section by saying that Gavel changed the server in a way I doubt 2.0 will. And that’s because the playerbase shifted. For one, I feel like not everyone preferred the new item system and 1.14-era quests, and that led to some old-timers not logging in as much. Additionally, mythics, and selling/obtaining them led to some new community members becoming active who wanted to engage with a previously absent part of this game. As a result, I feel like the overall active community shifted to be slightly more competitive than before, as opposed to 1.12 where it felt like everyone worked together. These two points led to what was essentially a changing of the guard.

Gavel added some amazing core parts of modern Wynncraft that aged super well, and, in my eyes, overshadow its flaws. I wonder what a theoretical perfect planned Gavel update could’ve been like, but I’m more than satisfied with what we got in the grand scheme of things.

Ranking: #4 out of 16

The name they gave this update, “The Gameplay Update” sucks. It’s so nondescriptive. But at the same time, what else would they call it? Also, given its scale, it honestly should've been 1.15.

The most distinct feature of 1.14.1 is its scale. It feels like partially a more chill update that addresses what people wanted after Gavel, but it also added so much. For one, it’s kind of like a big 1.12 revamp update, only this time it really focused on polishing and improving specific things. We got the eight modern-day Wynn dungeons and their rewards. We got revamps to towns like the Iboju village, which previously didn’t have much of an identity. Many of the most disliked Wynncraft quests were updated. Powders were finally re-added, and we got our first batch of Boss Altars.

It’s been a while so I actually read the changelog to see what was added/removed/changed, and I can really see that this update was focused on addressing issues the community had. I already mentioned the quest reworks, but there were also a lot more level 80 Gavel quests (sadly the level 90-100 grind was still brutal). V.S.S seaskipper was added to deal with tedious ocean travel. YT rank XP bonus was removed (yes this was a thing and people hated it), DXP bombs no longer affected quests and mobs gave more XP to compensate, mobs could now have more spells and multiple stages, and reidentifications were added. That’s a LOT.

I also want to mention the reworked ??? quest. Today, you may see it as this tedious part of a 100% completion playthrough, but upon release, there was a massive community event dedicated to solving it. It took a week for the first people to complete it.

However, this update did bring two flaws with it. The first was despite some item rebalancing, the item system was still not at a level to account for numerous different builds like it was in 2018 onwards. A lot of items, especially Morph-Stardust and Hive Armors back then, were just overpowered.

Soul Points were also changed to what they are today in 1.14.1 - previously if you died with 2+ soul points you’d lose basically everything. Was this change for better or worse? Idk, but people did complain about this new system, and players like me complain about it now.

After 1.14.1. Wynncraft just felt a lot more polished now. Mobs, dungeons, and the Wynn province were a lot better IMO, and back then Gavel didn’t feel too far behind.

Ranking: #3 out of 16

This update is very small, but it got its own thread in the major updates section, so it's included.

Due to more EULA changes, Wynncraft had to make changes to the shop, which led to the HERO rank. In contrast to today’s champion rank, it was pretty well-received upon announcement. Inspired by niche indie game called Overwatch, Wynncraft also got crates and a lot of new cosmetics. The standout store feature here was probably mob totems; a compromise between no DXP or DXP for donators. I’ve heard some people these days say they’re OP, but I think they work well and lead to players working together.

Wynncraft also started dipping their toes into the waters of more complex quests. 1.14.2 saw the release of A Grave Mistake, known for its cool cutscenes which may have been too advanced for the time, given how much the quest broke on launch apparently. Interestingly enough, this quest would be overshadowed by the more old-fashioned 1000 Meters Under, a quest which remained a fan-favorite years later.

Ranking: #14 out of 16

It’s interesting how the update released near Christmas feels like a nice present made to occupy as while we waited for Corkus, which had been teased the month prior. We got the Corkus coast to explore as well as a new quest (Meaningful Holiday) and a revamped ocean quest. Sure, this was like 3 hours of content, but we also got the temporary Wynnter fair! There was also some nice QoL changes and more songs too. Since the update was so small I think it would be funny to only have this section be one paragraph long

Ranking: #16 out of 16

Ok, I need to state that I only played for like 30 minutes upon release and was pretty much a forums lurker during 2017 - I wasn’t even on discord then. So, my opinion here is the roughest out of all updates besides 1.05.

Corkus was the first update since the ocean update nearly almost everything was new content, rather than reworks or new gameplay features. But somehow, in the eyes of the community, Corkus sunk while the Ocean Update swam. And I think it’s due to differences of perspective. Back in 2013, we would take anything we could get. But back in 2016, I think people wanted more than 10 hours worth of content. Issues that had appeared as a result of updates since 1.13 were starting to become increasingly apparent and Corkus didn’t really address any of them, at least not intentionally, I think.

People wanted more level 90+ content, and a reason to actually reach max level apart from grinding to 101 and getting mythics. Instead, we got LI, which is only replayable to a certain degree, and mainly level 80 quests. As far as level 90+ content goes, fallen factory and two new boss altars were great but not enough for some people. People also wanted item rebalances, especially for mythics, and we didn’t really get them. Looking back, I think the content we got was really nice (excluding yahya bot, which was rightfully removed), it just came at a time where people wanted more endgame content, severe item rebalancing, general suggestions to be added to the game, and bugfixes. People really needed bugfixes, especially for guilds, which were held together by string at this point.

Ironically, this was the update that FINALLY solved the issue of the difficult grind to max level that had plagued Wynncraft since day 1. However, it may have been by accident? 1.16 added the Corrupted Sand-Swept Tomb. Prior to 1.18, the Sand-Swept Tomb, and its corrupted variant, took about 5 minutes to complete. Combine that with party xp, and yeah… basically all you needed to do was play the game normally until level 71, then you’d spend a few hours wallhugging until level 101.

In terms of 1.16’s legacy, I think it marked a drastic shift in quests from the stuff we got in 1.12 to what we get today. Cutscenes, characters, and custom scenarios are all more prevalent in modern quests, and this trend started in Corkus with stuff like Maxie and the Mixed Feelings docks section. Was this change for the better? I think it depends on the person, but I myself feel like these types of quests are more alienating for players who just want to level up or complete all content fast.

There was one feature in 1.16 that people don’t really talk about, and that’s world discoveries. They were mainly reserved for secret areas like boss altars, but no one really talked about this feature. And I think that sums up 1.16 in general. The slice of content it added to Wynncraft was good, but overshadowed by glaring issues at the time.

Ranking: #13 out of 16

1.17 was released at the perfect moment. Bugs were finally being fixed, many items were finally being rebalanced, and the Item Team was finally formed. But I’m not considering this stuff a part of the update. As such, I don't think the update itself was as great as people say, despite being added in on of Wynncraft's best eras. Yet I won’t fully discount the impact of 1.17 either, as it didn’t disturb this peace whatsoever.

1.17 was a very lore-focused update. A lot of quests were added that gave the backstory to dungeon bosses, but we’d also find out a lot more about the world. Combine that with the addition of discoveries; fun little secrets to discover around the wynn plains, and I think Wynn’s lore was now more interesting and accessible to the average player. It certainly got me invested in the lore for the first time since I read the story of Bob. I loved discoveries personally, and 1.17 left me excited to see what future ones would be like

We also finally got some major new QoL features in the form of a larger bank and better quest book! These were some of the most popular suggestions at the time, and their addition gave players hope that more QoL additions may come later, and more suggestions may be added.

Ranking: #7 out of 16

During the 1.18 beta, a thread called “I hate Wynncraft” got a lot of attention and some support on the forums. Not long after 1.18’s release, prominent user Bloww made what may be one of the most influential forum threads ever, titled “Wynncraft isn’t what it used to be”. It got even more agreement. I can’t remember a time where an update had become this divisive this quickly. Why was this the case?

1.18 was the update that added professions. These were even worse back then, as gathering xp ingredients and hunted mode weren’t a thing - and this plus the lack of loot bonus made any crafted item that didn’t abuse powders (busted at the time for crafteds) too niche. There was just no real incentive to do this really grindy addition that was the centerpiece of the update. Prof bombs were a bandaid fix for a near-fatal wound.

Oh yeah, there was also the market, which happened to be down quite a lot during the first few months of 1.18. Rip. But a cool feature overall IMO, I think it’s great that they were able to pull something like this off. Interestingly, I think the players who’d like it the most are the ones we never hear about: less-active people and newcomers who rely on this over discords and whatnot for their trade.

1.18 had other good stuff like the Doguns and Dwarves questline and Deja Vu, quest reworks to some poorly-aged content, item locks (not that impactful sadly due to mods accomplishing this already), and some other nice QoL stuff. These and the market (eventually in the latter’s case) would otherwise make for an update that would really be good, but I think they really didn’t succeed with the core aspect of an update. I know profs managed to get a subcommunity, which may have been the intent, but I feel like a lot of other people will view a hypothetical update that redid profs as the superior one.

Ranking: #10 out of 16

This update was really good. It was just so ambitious and anticipated and yet somehow, they managed to pull it off.

I’ll start with Shaman. When I saw that class in the reveal trailer I was flabbergasted. And I was even more shocked to find that it was basically complete. It didn’t feel behind any of the other 4 classes in terms of quality, and today it feels like Shaman was always around since day one. Yeah, it was unbalanced, but it could’ve been worse: just look at the pregavel classes.

The Silent Expanse turned out to be really good too. Yeah, it suffers from extreme linearity, but I think people generally love the atmosphere, especially in the Ruined Olmic city. But quests were where the update really shined. No update has had, or may ever have, a batch of quests as good as this one. MotS, Grookwarts, AJB, AJF, AHC, PoNR, Recover the Past - I can guarantee that a good portion of the people reading this thinks one or more of these quests is in their top five. Hell, even The Olmic Rune has some fans, or at least one fan (me). Sure, not every quest here is for everyone. I personally hate AJB and a lot of people dislike PoNR for its HIC-killing glitches, but on average I think people love a good amount of 1.19’s quests, or at least that’s what I’ve seen.

The Eldritch Outlook also was added and immediately became a core part of the endgame as a challenge nearly on par with LI. It also helps that the Eye was the most unique boss yet and had a beloved theme to go along with it.

Time for a quick round of other cool stuff: many bosses no longer regen-ed health, bosses got spell combos, gathering was made easier through hunted mode, prof miniquests, and just general buffs, and the ingredient pouch is really nice too. The Corrupted Undergrowth Ruins was also nice. Discoveries, especially the ultimate ones, were great this update as always. Static SP from items was a nice change too.

Unfortunately, the update wasn’t all perfect. I wouldn’t say any of the stuff I’m about to list is bad, but I can understand anyone having mixed feelings on them. Classes got some rebalancing, but I don’t know how much it changed: warrior in particular was still at the bottom. Loot quality was added, which was controversial. Oh, and we also got Hunted Mode, which is just... kind of there now.

But you know what? After this update, Wynncraft felt like it was in an amazing spot to me. AHC and the rest of the Silent Expanse felt like a perfect conclusion to a player’s journey, and I’ll fondly remember 2020 as a great year for Wynncraft thanks to this update.

Ranking: #1 out of 16

This update is weird to talk about. Back when I originally wrote this thread, I considered it to be the worst the server had, but after three years have passed, my opinion has gotten a lot more positive. Nearly every issue the update had can be put into either of the following categories: flawed but eventually fixed, or just decisive. CCI is the only feature I can think of that's agreed by most to still be a negative, but it has had some positive changes and isn't talked about much today.

Housing had no negative impact on the game, but upon its release, it was just there as a feature most players wouldn't touch. Especially so if they weren't a HERO, as that meant they'd have less space on their island. Raids had a lot of feedback posted about them, but I do think they were a step in the right direction towards strong endgame content and multiplayer content, and TNA improved on the issues of the original raids.

In the past, people were usually fine with more quests and build revamps, but things like "EO Style" and cutscene-heavy quests led to some detractors. I will say most people hated quests with profession requirements, though. Guilds were changed drastically, but as I've barely engaged with them, I cannot really comment on them, but they did seem divisive among thteir subcommunity in the first few months (it looks like opinions got more positive after seasons were added). The Champion rank was, and still is, controversial, due to many calling it the most pay-to-win addition to the store in years.

I think the positives of 1.20 are overlooked heavily. The fact that every region in Gavel got secret discoveries is insane, some beloved quests like new Forbidden Prison and Feathers Fly were added, and it's cool that the forgery was expanded upon in terms of being endgame content (even if it isn't the most viable). Features added in patches such as emerald pouches and the party-finder were also great additions.

It's hard to talk about this update since it actually still feels very recent, but despite being probably the most flawed update on release, I do think feedback on it has been taken to heart, and I'm glad many of its additions were ultimately implemented.

Ranking: #11 out of 16

2.0 is basically 1.11... 2.0. All spells got changed, balance isn't perfect (and with 15 archetypes I doubt it ever will be), but the core concept of an ability tree was a great addition, at least in my eyes. I can understand its complexity being controversial.

I do think the ability tree will be appreciated a lot more in the future than it is today, once it's been balanced more, and the server has been balanced around it better. I also think the server would benefit from much more frequent ability balance changes, much like how there were frequent spell changes in the weeks after 1.11.

It really feels like they went with quality over quantity in terms of content in 2.0, perhaps more than any other update. Quests were on average better received here than in 1.20, and some of them are community favorites like Canary Calls and Hollow Serenity. TNA feels like the best raid they've done yet, although it still feels like it could be improved. Galleon's Graveyard might not be as replayable, but it seems to be viewed as an improvement gameplay-wise.

This update still doesn't feel like a "2.0" to me, since it feels like the same old Wynncraft, just with new content and all-new player abilities. Unlike 1.14 it didn't change basically everything, or mark a shift in design philosophy like 1.20, or attempt to incorporate something into every facet of the game like 1.18 did. But it's still a good update in my opinion, and with every aspect of the game feeling up to date, I'm excited to see where Wynn goes from here.

Ranking: #6 out of 16

Yes, I know this isn't officially a major update, but if 1.15 is on here than so should this one.

Wynncraft feels like it's tried multiple times at making repeatable endgame content, between Raids, Legendary Island, and Nether PVP (which I still think is their best endgame content they've ever had). Lootruns feels both like their next attempt at this, along with an attempt at improving issues with loot chests as a whole. As a result, even if it isn't the strongest endgame content, it still feels like a positive feature. Losing serverside chests along was huge.

The update also brought a series of early-game reworks, and they were some of the best the server has had thus far. Previously, almost every storyline was criticized a lot more than standalone quests it felt like, but the earlygame storyline with Tasim seemed positively received. I personally really liked it, and it makes me excited to see what the GMs will do next.

Overall, while not the grandest update, it still feels like a good intermission between 2.0 and whatever comes next.

Ranking: #8 out of 16

1.19 - Silent Expanse (Some of the best content the server has gotten, numerous QoL changes, and crazy features that could've gotten their own update)

1.12 - The Mob Update (At the time it made the entire game feel so much better, was incredibly well-received on launch)

1.14.1 - The Gameplay Update (Addressed numerous complaints, all while adding so many reworks and additions taken for granted today)

1.14 - The Gavel Update (It didn't add everything it promised, but it still added an insane number of things that pushed Wynn into the modern era)

1.11 - The Spell Update (All-around positive rework update, with some beloved new additions to the server too)

2.0 - Spellbound (The ability tree still needs some work, but it and the new content is a step in the right direction)

1.17 - Dungeons and Discoveries (No real issues to speak of, and some great new content alongside community-requested features, even if the update is on the smaller side)

2.0.3 - Lootruns (Similar to 1.17 in terms of quality, scale, and being very positive for the game)

1.10 - The Ocean Update (Just a solid content expansion with some nice additional features)

1.18 - The Economy Update (Core focus of the update failed, but the rest of it was great)

1.20 - Gavel Reborn (Has aged far better with time, even if it might've been the worst update upon release)

1.13 - The 2013 Wynnter Update (Guilds and its content were okay, but not enough to help during the wait for Gavel)

1.16 - The Corkus Update (A solid content update, but not quite what was needed at the time)

1.14.2 - The Hallowynn Update (Has no real flaws and some cool stuff, but one of the smaller updates)

1.09 - The Quest Update (Nice to have quests as a feature, but the first quests were not good)

1.15 - The 2015 Wynnter Update (I have nothing wrong with this in terms of quality, but it barely added anything)

As always let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Lex! · Sep 7, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

With 2.0 imminent, I thought I’d review every major/named update Wynncraft has ever had, and give my thoughts on how they’ve affected the server for better or worse. At the end I will also rank them from worst to best. A lot of this is my opinion but I will try to factor in community sentiment as well. My thoughts on each update are located within each spoiler tab.

This was Wynncraft’s first major update and I think it landed pretty well. Keep in mind I’m going off the wiki here as I actually wasn’t playing Wynncraft yet. But honestly, when I first joined, I don’t think I could’ve gone without some of the changes added here - especially /kill, which apparently wasn’t always in the game?

In terms of content, players got the jungle (roughly ⅔ of the currently non-dernel jungle today) to explore and new gear to work towards. Between swarms and this, the BRUTAL grind to max level at the time got a little bit easier. Dueling was added, pets for donators were added (hence why it’s called the pet update), VIP town (an exclusive town for donators, this was pre-EULA) was added, and apparently soul point regen and unique items being identifiable became a thing? I’m kinda shocked that wasn’t always a thing.

I also need to mention that this update released only 2 months after Wynncraft released to the public. It must have been nice playing back then, constantly getting new improvements and stuff. Even still, after this update, Wynncraft was definitely still missing some stuff, which the next update after this focused on addressing…

Given that I wasn’t around nor present in the community then, I’m not going to rank this update.

This was the first really big update the server had, and felt pretty substantial at the time. Given that grinding and exploring were the only content Wynn had at the time, I was interested to see how quests would shake things up.

Quests back then were almost exclusively fetch quests. You’d either need to get some specific item from a place or kill a frustrating amount of mobs or rarely, you’d explore some place. Imagine if every quest was a more tedious version of. The Ultimate Weapon. Quests also didn’t even solve the issue of grinding present at the time, as there were not that many quests, and the ones that did exist were mainly low-level.

Skill points also released and were pretty similar to how they were pre-2.0, minus the elemental stuff. You also couldn’t reset them back then, meaning if you messed up you would condemn a class to being unplayable in the endgame.

Speaking of endgame, the best part of this update at the time may have been a bit more endgame stuff to do. New grindspots (slightly) alleviated the grind to the max level of 70. The corrupter of worlds served as a super boss challenge like Qira today. Level 70 legendaries gave another reason to farm mobs and trade. It’s not much, but it was something.

Overall, while a lot of 1.09 was flawed at the time, it was well-intentioned and several of its additions have gone on to be a core part of the server.

Ranking: #10 out of 14

Let me start by saying that I’m going to be grouping 1.10 and 1.10.1 together here as they both released in a 4-day timespan, with the latter update being the one that added Bob’s Reincarntion and Bob’s Mythic Weapons.

The launch of the ocean update was pretty exciting, as this was Wynn’s first update that added a ton of new places to explore, which was highlighted over new features. In my eyes, I think the idea of the expanded ocean is a success. It serves as a great way to at any time, add some content for any level past 15 or so, meaning this update had some stuff for everyone. Also due to the ocean’s size, there was a lot of exploring involved. And to “help” with this, the website map, intentionally or not, became unavailable for the first few days. Everyone was an intrepid explore, and I have a fond memory of randomly stumbling across Selchar and thinking “what the fuck why is there a detlas 2”. I think the exploration side of things was a massive success, and something that’s never quite been replicated.

Other cool stuff included Horses and the nether, the latter of which was a massive PVP minigame, meaning that PVP and horse breeding were added to the list of endgame activities. PVP in particular was very enticing due to an online leaderboard. Bob was a better boss than the other superboss at the time (CoW), due to feeling a bit more fair than the corrupted foe who just constantly charged around oneshotting people.

In terms of update flaws, I will say that quests were the weakest point. Many of them were still fetch quests and had glaring issues like quest helmets, but at least you could not be teleported to places off the main map, and occasionally you’d be asked to explore somewhere cool in the ocean. Quests also, with the exception of Reincarnation, were all below level 45, meaning this update didn’t help with the issue of grinding at the time.

Looking back, this was a great update. The best they’d had so far. I’m really impressed that this came out a month and half after the quest update, as this one clearly took a lot of work.

Ranking: #8 out of 14

This is the most interesting update to review. The comparisons between this update and Spellbound are obvious, as they both were reworks to the spell system, with 1.11 changing spells to roughly what they are today (albeit with some changes). The changes weren’t as drastic as Spellbound’s are, with only two spells (stone shield and ice barrier) being reworked (into arrow shield and ice snake respectively), but the changes were for the better in my opinion.

The pre-1.11 spells SUCKED. Uppercut barely worked in terms of flinging mobs up, Bash and Meteor felt identical, Stone Shield was laggy, and spells just felt like they were missing something in general. However, the new spells came with the issue of balance. Multihit was notorious for doing 2000% OF YOUR WEAPON’S DAMAGE, and arrow storm + lifesteal + mana steal (which worked on spells back then) granted you immortality. It wasn’t until Gavel’s release where the most glaring issues were addressed, for better or worse.

Another interesting aspect of 1.11 was that it was the first revamp-focused update. Apart from spell reworks, we got two new quests, a bunch of new armor, music (!), skill point resets, and a rework to nether PVP… which is another rework. Every prior update had added stuff, meaning if you didn’t like those things, you could ignore them. But if you hated the new nether PVP and new spells, it felt like a part of the game was taken away. I distinctly remember threads complaining about this stuff, however in following months people were generally happy with the nether and spells. Overall, this is an interesting thing to look back on, given how common divisive reworks are in major updates now.

Let’s talk about the new nether now: I think it was one of the best features of the update. It changed it so that gear and skill points no longer mattered, meaning skill (and fully-upgraded spells, usually) was all you needed. The nether now had a larger PVP community, as the barrier for entry was a lot lower due to not needing the best gear anymore. Yeah, 1.11 didn’t have any new endgame content, but since the nether was fair for everyone past level 66, they now had something to do when they got bored of killing mobs.

Music of course was also a really cool addition, one we all take for granted today, but at the time it’s insane how they made this work. Skill reset scrolls were also an amazing QoL change. Overall, I think 1.11 turned out to be one of the best updates in the server’s history. The spells in particular were so much better, and the fact that some people have said they’ll miss pre-2.0 spells seems like a testament to this.

Ranking: #5 out of 14

This update marked a shift in terms of what major updates stood for. They were now much larger on average, and this is shown in the 7 month gap between 1.11 and 1.12. Yeah, this was easily the largest update left. So, what did “The Mob Update” include?

I remember someone in the shoutbox saying it best: it was like a whole new game. Everything before 1.12 felt like a beta to the update that felt like Wynncraft 1.0. For one, every build was reworked to the same level of quality it is today. Ever been to Nemract? Those builds were changed in 1.12 and haven’t been changed since, same with stuff like most of the desert and mesa. I don’t think anyone hated the pre-1.12 builds, but there was no doubt the community overwhelmingly adored all the build reworks in this update.

As the title suggests, mobs were reworked too, but it really wasn’t by that much. Some boss mobs (mainly superbosses and dungeon bosses) got spells, but they only had one spell each. Mobs could now be melee or ranged, depending on what the GMs wanted. Mobs could now be anything, like an item or an end crystal, which was cool but pales in comparison to stuff like Orphion and Greg today. So yeah, these mob changes were not much when you look at what we have today, but at the time we needed this. A lot of people wanted better mobs, and this update delivered it. Kinda.

Dungeons were also significantly reworked, but of the three major parts of Wynncraft hit with sweeping changes, dungeons probably got the most underwhelming changes. The builds looked AMAZING, but in terms of gameplay, they felt inferior. For those who don’t know, there were 3 iterations of dungeons: their release, their 1.12 versions, and their 1.14.1 versions (which is what we have today). 1.12 versions consisted of mobs you could run by, minor parkour, and very easy puzzles (putting items on pressure plates). There were also no good rewards and getting dungeon keys was tedious. There was no reason to really do dungeons. And yeah, there was no reason to do dungeons pre-1.12 either. But they had this level of challenge to them that 1.12 dungeons didn’t have, so I and others likely completed it for the sake of accomplishment.

But here’s the thing about 1.12, and its dungeons: it just felt so polished. The game just felt more balanced, less glitchy, less laggy, and more like a full release. I can’t really explain it, it just felt like comparing a beta version to a full release.

Now, let’s talk about some other parts of 1.12 I really like. We got a lot of new quests, and they were the highest quality ones yet. Quests like Canyon Condor provided challenge, The Mercenary provided unique gameplay we had not seen before, and that Dead Island quest I forgot the name of had an interesting story. Two of these quests were level 60+, and this along with the addition of Dead Island helped with the grind. There was also a ton of exploring to do, as the CT had filled the new map with easter eggs and secrets like potato storages.

Oh, I can’t believe I forgot about this: the update launched right when Minecraft changed it’s EULA to combat PVP stuff. This meant things like the donator town and VIP’s double XP had to be removed. So how did Wynncraft handle this? Turns out they did so pretty well. VIP+ was added, with both it and the reworked VIP getting a bunch of cosmetics to play around with. Via the addition of the Knight/Hunter/Dark Wizard/Ninja class skins, donators would get 2-4 classes to use - you couldn’t delete classes back then, so this was huge! But most of all, the absence of pay-to-win stuff just made things more fair. Everyone could level up at the same pace mostly, and everyone could now enjoy what the Assassin class had to offer. The loss of DXP wasn’t that bad either due to DXP bombs replacing them (which affected quests back then, but that wasn’t an issue until Gavel).

I think 1.12 is my favorite update (albeit not the one I think is the best). It’s one that just hit every mark for me. A reworked map gave the sense of exploration 1.10 did, the quests were the best yet, donator perks let me replay the game 4 times, and everything just felt really polished. Sure, dungeons and mobs were lackluster looking back, but they didn’t detract from the experience at all. I think the community at the time also enhanced the experience. Working together to find all the new lore and secrets led to this sense of adventurous camaraderie. I’m not the type of guy who asks for a Wynncraft classic (at least not anymore), but man, I’d pay a a thousand stacks of LE to relive the first month after this update.

Ranking: #6 out of 14

I mentioned earlier that 1.11 had some detractors, but was overall pretty well-recieved if I remember correctly. If that was the case, then I’d also say that 1.13, the update that added guilds, was the first truly divisive update among the playerbase.

I don’t think anyone would dispute that guilds are Wynncraft’s most controversial feature, well maybe that title goes to professions but you get the point. I think it took less than a week for drama to appear on the forums. There’s a reason Reminder: Guild Arguments | Wynncraft Forums is pinned in the forums section. I’m of the opinion that guilds are very good in theory. They allow for a way to make friends and form small communities. I personally love the guild I’m in. But I think a lot of people would say that the guild system had the issue of producing toxicity, and the issue of imbalance of who controls the map.

Personally I’d say toxicity was inevitable. There is no timeline where guilds didn’t lead to members of the community being against each other. The question is how bad it is. Does it paint guilds as a pile of sludge you don’t want to touch? Or do you not find guilds that toxic, and actually enjoy the political aspect of that stuff? As for gameplay, very quickly a group of guilds managed to take total uncontest control of the map. And that was the case for like, forever? Remember when Hack Forums had control of the map for all of 2017? I think they only lost their spot at the top because they got bored or something, idk guild lore.

I’m not sure if I’d call guilds in their original iteration a failure. Sure, they had aspects that turned off players from getting involved, and it was hard for players to participate in the combat side without being at the top, but I’m not one of those guys who will adamantly say “fuck guilds”. What I will say is that for the first time in Wynncraft’s history, I think one of the major features didn’t stick the landing.

But of course, 1.13 is called the Wynnter Update, so it probably had more than guilds, right? Well, it also served as a content update that gave us the Ice Canyon, the Dernel Jungle, and a bunch of new quests. All that stuff was pretty good, not too much to add here. The highlight of this content was the Tower of Ascencion. You may forget this quest now, but back then, it was the ultimate endgame challenge. Could you fight 70 floors of mobs that were mostly the same in terms of content, and then fight death, the hardest AKA most unfair boss yet?

I also have to mention armor skins. Armor skins were this high-tech feature that replaced the armor on your minecraft skin with a custom minecraft skin for your character that looked like unique armor. IDK how this really worked, but what I can say is that it’s something not everyone liked. Eventually in 2016(?) the feature was removed for good for some reason I don’t remember. Given that no one is really clamoring for it back, I don’t think this was the most well-recieved feature.

Oh and we also got these things called minidungeons which are what IB UR and GG are today but they gave like 1400xp per run and I actually forgot about them

1.13 released at an interesting time: the wait for Gavel, an update that was getting a monumentous amount of hype. Everything added here would have to help with the wait, and due to guilds not hitting the mark, and ToA not being super interesting in the end, I’m not sure if it succeeded at this. As I will explain later in this thread, I think there’s definitely a correlation between the quality of the server during the wait for an update, and how much people get annoyed at that wait.

Ranking: #12 out of 14

[Warning, this part is REALLY long]

Oh boy. We’ve made it to the big one. Or the second biggest, maybe. I still think 1.20 was the largest update but I’m the only one with that opinion I think.

This might be THE most controversial update ever. So that’s why, in this thread, I will explain why I believe Gavel was a somewhat successful update despite it’s flaws.

As the name suggests, this update added Gavel, making it the largest content update the server saw for the next 5 years. Players had a massive new world full of secrets and wonders to explore. Occupying this world was around 50 new quests, and while some of them (star thief comes to mind) were bad, some of the most memorable quests ever like Beyond the Grave and Memory Paranoia became instant classics. Sounds overall great, right? But then, why did Gavel need two updates in which it’s mostly reworked, and why did this update always seem so controversial? I think it boils down to three reasons.

ONE: The story. Wynn didn’t have as prominent of a story as it does today, but players could definitely find out about stuff like the war against the corruption and Bob’s storyline, which honestly felt fairly cohesive. So what would Gavel bring? What would the teased threat of the Decay be like? Well, it turned out to kind of just be corruption 2. Okay, so what would the Realm of Light be like? Well, it turned out not much, it was just another dying land where once again, greed led to all the problems. This brings us to the second point, given how the story felt like it was missing something.

TWO: Incompleteness. Gavel was incomplete to a degree, even the admins have stated that. Past level 90, there were no new quests, making reaching level 100 (new level cap) super difficult. Molten Heights and the Sky Islands were around but just felt barren. We also got this trailer (Gavel Teaser Trailer | Wynncraft Forums) which promised insane boss fights, cutsences (we did get those, but not on the level of that trailer for a while), and 2x content (debatable, given Gavel’s lack of dungeons). Judging by a comment I found from Salted, I think a main storyline may have been promised too? And maybe raids? Also powders were temporarily removed. So, yeah, Gavel lacked a lot of what we expected.

(Wynncraft Isn't What It Used To Be | Page 7 | Wynncraft Forums is where I’m getting this info btw, this is also a good read in general)

Also a lot of people hated Gavel’s grind, but I didn’t think it was that bad. There was no reason to be level 90+ unless you wanted an advantage against Qira or that one mythic, so why bother? A lot of people did despise the grind though, more than they did post-1.12 or 1.13 honestly.

THREE: 1.14.1 overshadowed it. 1.14.1 was a follow-up update that addressed parts of the game that lagged behind 1.14, but accidentally overshadowed a lot of 1.14 while barely touching Gavel. In fact, Gavel was barely changed up at all aside from the occasional quest (prior to 1.20), whereas Wynn got a ton of attention. Gavel overall felt like an anomaly compared to Wynn, which got two rework updates and a whole new region during the five years before Gavel was touched again.

THREE AND A HALF: Remember in the 1.13 section, where the current state of the game affects how desperate people are for an update? Well despite adding so much, I never saw the playerbase this ravenous for a new update than they were after Gavel. People (aka like 50 guys) started flocking to this other mmorpg server cause they needed something.

Now, I can understand why people would dislike 1.14, but now I’m going to make the argument that Gavel was not one of the worst updates in the server’s history, and here’s three reasons why.

ONE: The texture pack. It’s so cool. I can’t believe we used to play without it. Weapons look so cool, the blocks have this warm style that fits the feel of Wynncraft perfectly, and it seems like so much care went into it.

TWO: The new item system. Somehow, this complete work of the item system was gotten mostly right on its first try. Yes, there were imbalances, like +Spell Damage being busted for the first few months, and cactus thorn/reflection and/or mana regen builds being annoyingly meta. But once a lot of items were nerfed, certain ID rolls were improved or made static, and bugs were fixed, the end result is what I think is a great item system. It’s managed to go through so few changes and today, I don’t see anyone really upset with it. It’s crazy how we went from literally one build per class to countless. As far as I’m concerned, they absolutely got this part of the update right.

THREE: More reasons to play. Previously, you’d level up 4-8 classes, and then that was it. You had the nether, which didn’t affect your character, and maybe some trading/exploring/guilds/helping others, but that was it. Gavel added so much more stuff to do. Mythics changed the market and gave a goal for people to work for. Classbuilding created an entire subcommunity. Class slots + the item system allowed for so much replayability. The hidden max level of 101… gave another goal I guess. And yeah, as that one trailer said, Gavel really did double the content on a playthrough.

Now, I want to conclude this already super long section by saying that Gavel changed the server in a way I doubt 2.0 will. And that’s because the playerbase shifted. For one, I feel like not everyone preferred the new item system and 1.14-era quests, and that led to some old-timers not logging in as much. Additionally, mythics, and selling/obtaining them led to some new community members becoming active who wanted to engage with a previously absent part of this game. As a result, I feel like the overall active community shifted to be slightly more competitive than before, as opposed to 1.12 where it felt like everyone worked together. These two points led to what was essentially a changing of the guard.

Gavel added some amazing core parts of modern Wynncraft that aged super well and in my eyes, overshadow its flaws. I wonder what a theoretical perfect planned Gavel update could’ve been like, but I’m more than satisfied with what we got in the grand scheme of things.

Ranking: #4 out of 14

The name they gave this update, “The Gameplay Update” sucks. It’s so nondescriptive. But at the same time, what else would they call it?

The most distinct feature of 1.14.1 is its scale. It feels like partially a more chill update that addresses what people wanted after Gavel, but it also added so much. For one, it’s kind of like a big 1.12 revamp update, only this time it really focused on polishing and improving specific things. We got the eight modern-day Wynn dungeons and their rewards. We got revamps to towns like the Iboju village, which previously didn’t have much of an identity. Many of the most disliked Wynncraft quests were updated. Powders were finally re-added, and we got our first batch of Boss Altars.

It’s been a while so I actually read the changelog to see what was added/removed/changed, and I can really see that this update was focused on addressing issues the community had. I already mentioned the quest reworks, but there were also a lot more level 80 Gavel quests (sadly the level 90-100 grind was still brutal). V.S.S seaskipper was added to deal with tedious ocean travel. YT rank XP bonus was removed (yes this was a thing and people hated it), DXP bombs no longer affected quests and mobs gave more XP to compensate, mobs could now have more spells and multiple stages, and reidentifications were added. That’s a LOT.

I also wanna mention the reworked ??? quest. Today, you may see it as this tedious part of a 100% completion playthrough, but upon release, there was a massive community event dedicated to solving it. It took a week for the first people to complete it. This was such a good time. Please Salted, give us ??? 2. And if you’re some random guy who’s still reading this I commend you.

However, this update did bring two flaws with it. The first was despite some item rebalancing, the item system was still not at a level to account for numerous different builds like it was in 2018 onwards. A lot of items, especially Morph-Stardust and Hive Armors back then, were just overpowered. Soul Points were also changed to what they are today in 1.14.1 - previously if you died with 2+ soul points you’d lose basically everything. Was this change for better or worse? Idk, but people did complain about this new system, and players like myself complain about it now.

After 1.14.1. Wynncraft just felt a lot more polished now. Mobs, dungeons, and the Wynn province were a lot better IMO, and back then Gavel didn’t feel too far behind. With the promise of future corrupted dungeons and level 90+ content

Also why this fuck was this a 1.XX.1 update. It was so massive it should’ve been 1.15

oh and this update HAD THE WORST BETA EVER. THEY SAID THEY’D MAINLY JUST LET IN PEOPLE WHO WON A RAFFLE BUT THEY ALSO LET IN A BUNCH OF FAMOUS PLAYERS FOR SOME REASON??? WHY DIDN’T THEY MAKE IT VIP ONLY LIKE IN 1.12 OR SOMETHING. It’s been 6 years and I’m still bitter

Ranking: #3 out of 14

This update is very small but it got it’s own thread in the major updates section, so let’s begin. Due to more EULA changes, Wynncraft had to make changes to the shop, which led to the HERO rank. In contrast to today’s champion rank, it was pretty well-recieved upon announcement. Inspired by niche indie game called Overwatch, Wynncraft also got crates and a lot of new cosmetics. The standout store feature here was probably mob totems; a compromise between no DXP or DXP for donators. I’ve heard some people these days say they’re OP, but I think they work well and lead to players working together.

Wynncraft also started dipping their toes into the waters of more complex quests. 1.14.2 saw the release of A Grave Mistake, known for its cool cutscenes which may have been too advanced for the time, given how much the quest broke on launch apparently. Interestingly enough, this quest would be overshadowed by the more old-fashioned 1000 Meters Under, a quest which remained a fan-favorite years later.

Ranking: #9 out of 14

It’s interesting how the update released near Christmas feels like a nice present made to occupy as while we waited for Corkus, which had been teased the month prior. We got the Corkus coast to explore as well as a new quest (Meaningful Holiday) and a revamped ocean quest. Sure, this was like 3 hours of content, but we also got the temporary Wynnter fair! There was also some nice QoL changes and more songs too. Since the update was so small I think it would be funny to only have this section be one paragraph long

Ranking: #14 out of 14

Ok, I need to state that I only played for like 30 minutes upon release and was pretty much a forums lurker during 2017 - I wasn’t even on discord then. So my opinion here is the most rough out of all updates besides 1.05.

Corkus was the first update since the ocean update nearlyalmost everything was new content, rather than reworks or new gameplay features. But somehow, in the eyes of the community, Corkus sunk while the Ocean Update swam, at least that’s how it felt to me. And I think it’s due to differences of perspective. Back in 2013, we would take anything we could get. But back in 2016, I think people wanted more than 10 hours worth of content. Issues that had appeared as a result of updates since 1.13 were starting to become increasingly apparent and Corkus didn’t really address any of them, at least not intentionally I think.

People wanted more level 90+ content, and a reason to actually reach max level apart from grinding to 101 and getting mythics. Instead, we got LI, which is only replayable to a certain degree, and mainly level 80 quests. As far as level 90+ content goes, fallen factory and two new boss altars were great but not enough for some people. People also wanted item rebalances, especially for mythics, and we didn’t really get them. Looking back, I think the content we got was really nice (excluding yahya bot f u yahya bot), it just came at a time where people wanted more endgame content, severe item rebalancing, general suggestions to be added to the game, and bugfixes. People really really needed bugfixes, especially for guilds, which were held together by string at this point.

Ironically, this was the update that FINALLY solved the issue of the difficult grind to max level that had plagued Wynncraft since day 1. However it may have been by accident? 1.16 added the Corrupted Sand-Swept Tomb. Prior to 1.18, the Sand-Swept Tomb, and its corrupted variant, took about 5 minutes to complete. Combine that with party xp, and yeah… basically all you needed to do was play the game normally until level 71, then you’d spend a few hours wallhugging until level 101.

In terms of 1.16’s legacy, I think it marked a drastic shift in quests from the stuff we got in 1.12 to what we get today. Cutscenes, characters, and custom scenarios are all more prevalent in modern quests, and this trend started in Corkus with stuff like Maxie and the Mixed Feelings docks section. Was this change for the better? I think it depends on the person, but I myself feel like these types of quests are more alienating for players who just want to level up or complete all content fast.

There was one feature in 1.16 that people don’t really talk about, and that’s world discoveries. They were mainly reserved for secret areas like boss altars, but no one really talked about this feature. And I think that sums up 1.16 in general. The slice of content it added to Wynncraft was good, but overshadowed by glaring issues at the time.

Ranking: #7 out of 14

My personal pick for the golden age of Wynncraft is 2018. So given that 1.17 launched weeks before that year began, you’d assume that would be the greatest update of all time? Well… maybe not. It just happened to be released at the perfect moment. Bugs were finally being fixed, many items were finally being rebalanced, and the Item Team was finally formed. But I’m not considering this stuff a part of the update. I won’t fully discount the impact of 1.17 either, as it didn’t disturb this peace whatsoever.

1.17 was a very lore-focused update. A lot of quests were added that gave the backstory to dungeon bosses, but we’d also find out a lot more about the world. Combine that with the addition of discoveries; fun little secrets to discover around the wynn plains, and I think Wynn’s lore was now more interesting and accessible to the average player. It certainly got me invested in the lore for the first time since I read the story of Bob. I loved discoveries personally, and 1.17 left me excited to see what future ones would be like

We also finally got some major new QoL features in the form of a larger bank and better quest book! These were some of the most popular suggestions at the time, and their addition gave players hope that more QoL additions may come later, and more suggestions may be added.

Overall, I’d say while not the main contributor to Wynncraft’s potential golden age, 1.17 was a solid update with no flaws I can think of, and it provided a lot of excitement for whatever could come next…

Ranking: #2 out of 14

…but, Wynncraft is actually a grand tragedy, so 1.18 had to be the most disliked update upon release yet. Yeah, I know that’s a bold claim. But during the beta, a thread called “I hate Wynncraft” got a lot of attention and some support on the forums. Not long after 1.18’s release, prominent user Bloww made what may be one of the most influential forum threads ever, titled “Wynncraft isn’t what it used to be”. It got even more agreement. I can’t remember a time where an update had become this divisive this quickly. Why was this the case?

1.18 was the update that added professions. I am honestly too tired to talk about professions, we’re at the point in Wynncraft’s history where stuff is pretty much the same as it is today. Just note that they were even more rough back then, as gathering xp ingredients and hunted mode weren’t a thing - and this plus the lack of loot bonus made any crafted item that didn’t abuse powders (busted at the time for crafteds) too niche. There was just no real incentive to do this really grindy addition that was the centerpiece of the update. Prof bombs were a bandaid fix for a near-fatal wound.

Oh yeah, there was also the market, which happened to be down quite a lot during the first few months of 1.18. Rip. But a cool feature overall IMO, I think it’s great that they were able to pull something like this off. Interestingly, I think the players who’d like it the most are the ones we never hear about: less-active people and newcomers who rely on this over discords and whatnot for their trade.

1.18 had other good stuff like the Doguns and Dwarves questline and Deja Vu, quest reworks to some poorly-aged content, item locks (not that impactful sadly due to mods accomplishing this already), and some other nice QoL stuff. These and the market (eventually in the latter’s case) would otherwise make for an update that would really be good, but for the first time ever, I think they really didn’t succeed with the core aspect of an update. I know profs managed to get a subcommunity, which may have been the intent, but I feel like a lot of other people will view a hypothetical update that redid profs as the superior one.

Time to talk about one final thing that in 1.18 not mentioned in the changelog that they messed up: the PR (public relations) department. It was so bad that on the thread I mentioned earlier (https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/wynncraft-isnt-what-it-used-to-be.243357/page-7#post-3000678), Salted admitted they’d messed up with feedback responses and whatnot. If you want insight as to what happened, let me tell you about the level 101->104 fiasco.

A lot of players grinded to the previous max level 101 thinking they’d automatically get to whatever the next big level change would be, in this case 104. But that didn’t happen. Instead they were set to level 102. A thread titled “The Biggest Scam” was made discussing how unfair this seemed, and many CT commented on it, in some cases acting rude or troll-y; essentially apathetic to the plight of the playerbase. It was really not the best way to respond to an upset playerbase that made good points. An ex-admin even responded in the worst way possible, saying he was disappointed in their behavior, and told the playerbase to play the game as he intended.

That thread kinda exemplifies 1.18. An update with some good stuff marred by some flawed or outright bad stuff. With the exception of 1.13, this may have been the first update that really didn’t turn out optimally, I’m sorry to say. For the record, I actually did really like it and I don’t mind professions, but I can understand why this would be a disliked update, or even a turning point that gets them to leave, for some people.

Ranking: #11 out of 14

This update was good. Like, really really good. It was just so ambitious and anticipated and yet somehow they managed to pull it off.

I’ll start with Shaman. When I saw that class in the reveal trailer I was flabbergasted. And I was even more shocked to find that it was basically complete. It didn’t feel behind any of the other 4 classes in terms of quality, and today it feels like Shaman was always around since day one. Yeah, it was unbalanced, but it could’ve been worse: just look at the pregavel classes.

The Silent Expanse turned out to be really good too. Yeah, it suffers from extreme linearity, but I think people generally love the atmosphere, especially in the Ruined Olmic city. But quests were where the update really shined. No update has had, or may ever have, a batch of quests as good as this one. MotS, Grookwarts, AJB, AJF, AHC, PoNR, Recover the Past - I can guarantee that a good portion of the people reading this thinks one or more of these quests is in their top five. Hell, even The Olmic Rune has some fans, or at least one fan (me). Sure not every quest here is for everyone. I personally hate AJB and a lot of people dislike PoNR for its HIC-killing glitches, but on average I think people love a good amount of 1.19’s quests, or at least that’s what I’ve seen.

The Eldritch Outlook also was added and immediately became a core part of the endgame as a challenge nearly on par with LI. It also helps that the Eye was the most unique boss yet and had a beloved theme to go along with it.

Time for a quick round of other cool stuff: many bosses no longer regen-ed health, bosses got spell combos, gathering was made easier through hunted mode, prof miniquests, and just general buffs, and the ingredient pouch is really nice too. The Corrupted Undergrowth Ruins was also nice. Discoveries, especially the ultimate ones, were great this update as always. Static SP from items was a nice change too.

Unfortunately, the update wasn’t all perfect. I wouldn’t say any of the stuff I’m about to list is bad, but I can understand anyone having mixed feelings on them. Classes got some rebalancing, but I don’t know how much it changed: warrior in particular was still at the bottom. Loot quality was added, which to some people may have damaged the mythic market, and others may blame it for making lootrunning more popular. It was definitely busted on launch though. Oh, and we also got Hunted Mode, which is just kinda there now… and definitely not balanced. Thanks Toxo!

But you know what? After this update, Wynncraft felt like it was in an amazing spot to me. AHC and the rest of the Silent Expanse felt like a perfect conclusion to a player’s journey, and with changes made to professions, there was no longer any feature that stood out like a suboptimal sore thumb. I’ll fondly remember 2020 as a great year for Wynncraft thanks to this update.

Ranking: #1 out of 14

Let me start by saying that this is less of a retrospective given how “new” this update is, and more of a review.

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I guess I can start by saying that this shouldn’t have been one update, at least in my eyes. I believe this update was more ambitious than Gavel. Raids, the guild rework, the Gavel rework, housing, and Champion all could’ve been packaged into like 2-4 updates of their own. Doing so would’ve allowed for more feedback to be given, which in particular would’ve helped Housing, Guilds, and maybe raids a lot.

Today, housing is just kinda there. You can do some really cool stuff with it, but it’s so niche due to a lack of gameplay advantages, and the size restriction for non-HEROs might hold it back for some players. At least it isn’t intrusive or anything. I can’t comment on guilds due to not spending more than an hour with them, but on the forums, I saw a poll made in march 2021 where 192 out of 228 people said they were dissatisfied with guilds. Make of that what you will. I’ve also barely done raids, but on a feedback thread made in late 2021, 53/55 (96.4%) of players voted “they’re a great concept but could’ve been done better”. The remaining 2 people said they shouldn’t have even been added. Perhaps, if 1.20 was split into 3 updates, each update could have had it’s own raid release (of the 3 added in the update), and the CT could’ve built on the feedback gotten from each one. Given how positively TNA seems to have been reviewed, this idea could’ve maybe worked.

Champion Rank immediately became one of the most criticised features upon its announcement, with many worried that it was TOO pay-to-win in comparison to other stuff considering its likely high price tag. Unfortunately, this worry came to fruition, at least for me: I feel like bomb bell + champion slots is too overpowered, but this is something that may be too late to change. However, do the ends justify the means? Wynncraft is a server that could very well shut down if it wasn’t for donations. I’d gladly take some p2w stuff if it meant keeping the server going.

I haven’t even touched on Gavel itself yet. For the first time maybe ever, I feel like some people got a bit critical of some of the build reworks, with the concept of build themes being called into question, and the term “EO style” being thrown around a lot. Quests in general had evolved into something more character/cutscene/sequence heavy, and no longer felt as much like some quick thing you’d do for XP, but rather a story that takes a decent chunk of time, and with characters who you might hate depending on who you are. I can understand why it isn’t for everyone. Also some quests had profession requirements, and I can understand discontent with that too, as profs previously felt really optional.

Two other features they added which I consider negative are CCI (which I’m too tired to even explain. It’s been discussed enough) and a new secret discovery on the emerald trail. I especially hate this one as it discourages exploration in my opinion and has a demoralizingly frustrating boss. I talked about it in length in a feedback thread I made so I won’t repeat it here. Also I should mention tomes and corkian amps which are just kinda there… sorry guys but writing this is burning me out.

1.20 had a ton of hotfixes and 1.20.X updates, but while those did improve some stuff like housing. It also brought changes to the dialogue system that have been really unpopular. Tempo Town was also added in a patch and that feels like sort of a meme.

Given everything I’ve said about 1.20, you might think it’s some nightmare that has condemned Wynncraft to the darkest timeline. But I don’t want that to be the legacy. 1.20 was flawed, but I truly, firmly believe that it’s a mistep that the CT and admins have collected a lot of feedback from, feedback that they’ll use to make Wynncraft the best they can. I think so much passion really did go into this update, it’s just that they tried to work on too much. When you look at minor parts, like builds, and new secret discoveries (I actually really love these!), it’s clear they’ve made some amazing stuff. Maybe history will remember 1.20 as the worst update, who knows, it is absolutely not without flaws. Hell, remember when I talked about 1.09? It was filled to the brim with flaws, but they kept going and made this server into the amazing place it is today. I don’t think 1.20 will lead to a dark age for Wynncraft, I mean hell, we lasted a year and a half with no update afterwards, that’s pretty damn impressive.

Some other cool stuff since I want this thread to end on a high note: forgery changes are really nice and I like how dungeon keys can now let 4 people in.

Ranking: #13 out of 14

1.19 - The Silent Expanse (Managed to add a whole new class in a good state, added some of the best content ever)

1.17 - Dungeons and Discoveries (Pretty much no issues, added some cool stuff including community suggestions)

1.14.1 - The Gameplay Update (Fixed a ton of issues the game had, and that the playerbase wanted addressed, all while adding some great new stuff)

1.14 - The Gavel Update (Faltered in some places due to its ambition, but they pulled it off really well IMO, and to this day the texture pack and modern item system are some of Wynn’s best features)

1.11 - The Spell Update (Sets spells to close to what they were pre-2.0, and added a great post-game experience in the nether)

1.12 - The Mob Update (Completely changed the entire game for the better, with only mobs and dungeons now being a bit lackluster. Added highest-quality content thusfar)

1.16 - The Corkus Update (A pretty solid content update, but not much more than that)

1.10 - The Ocean Update (Provided an unparalleled sense of exploration, mostly content focused though and didn’t address the severe grind)

1.14.2 - The Hallowynn Update (Has no real flaws and some cool stuff, but one of the smaller updates)

1.09 - The Quest Update (First quests were flawed, but it’s amazing how they were now in the game, same with skill points)

1.18 - The Economy Update (Profs are naturally controversial, but the rest of the update was good)

1.13 - The 2014 Wynnter Update (Guilds had some issues, new content was good but not enough during the wait for Gavel)

1.20 - Gavel Reborn (Suffered from extreme overambition and really needed more time to collect feedback, leading to many of its core aspects being flawed)

1.15 - The 2015 Wynnter Update (I have nothing wrong with this in terms of quality, but it barely added anything)

Yeah this thread is long there will be many typos. As always let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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cool thread wit fis

Beanie Boi · Sep 7, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

Given that no one is really clamoring for it back, I don’t think this was the most well-recieved feature.
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iirc wynnncraft had to have some random mc accounts which constantly switched skins or something like that, which minecraft didn't like, so they forced wynncraft to stop doing this

this could be completely wrong but thats what some random person on #wynncraft said about it(not very trustworthy source)
but very epik post regardless, so based wtf...

________________________________

WithTheFish said: ↑

Occupying this world was around 50 new quests, and while some of them (star thief comes to mind)
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nevermind this thread sucks old star theif fucking slapped
I MISS MY STARRRY WHY DID YOU TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME :CCC
nostalgia aside that quest probably was removed for the better, i think the new version makes up for me going into some random dudes house by summoning a carrot

yellowscreen · Sep 7, 2022

Honestly, this is a very good summary of Wynn's history in general. It's not as in-depth as some of the other threads on the topic, but the responses to the updates and the attached controversies tell the story well enough.

In terms of the updates, I'd have to agree on your ranking, with the additional note that I didn't really start playing until after the mob update and didn't even reach level 50 before Gavel. I think I reached my first (and so far, only, I think?) level 100 after Corkus. I've always been a very on-off casual player who plays a little during events and updates, which has given me an entirely different experience from most people, I'd wager.

The Dungeons and Discoveries - Silent Expanse era (that is to say, until Gavel Reborn) feels like it was largely the peak of the game, for me. I'm a bit of a lore enthusiast, even if I don't play much, and I liked those updates for that. The atmosphere and worldbuilding peaked, it was all new stuff or elaboration on things we'd never seen before. I didn't quite understand how terrible a place Wynn was until DnD, Silent Expanse made it clear it was worse.

Gavel Reborn, I didn't hate it. It's probably because I went in with zero actual expectations, but I would put it pretty high on the list? The story felt a little stiff at times, I'll admit, and raids were a bit of a mess, with TCC being horrible, Grootslag being hard for me to try out, and Orphion's Nexus of Light actually being really really fun, really shows that they made the right decision keeping it in development a while longer. I actually don't like multiplayer content in general and I still love that raid. The new discoveries, the lore, the quests were all good.

Champion rank, the Emerald Trail changes, CCI, housing, dialogue system, Tempo Town, all the guild stuff (I think that was Gavel Reborn? I don't remember exactly), that was stuff I didn't really like about the 1.20 update cycle. But it was (mostly) parts of the game I didn't engage with, so I could mostly ignore that. Honestly, I think I have a favourable opinion of it mostly because the "late" release of ONoL made the update end on a high note.

Until the smaller updates made me log back in and be mildly dissapointed.

I think you could have also noted the festivals a bit. I recall the Bonfire festival, the very first one, was very poorly recieved. Limited-time crates, and no actual content? Lots of people tossed around the words "cashgrab," IIRC. The latter ones had a better reception, I think the most memorable one was the Wynnter festival for me, but honestly they still feel more than a little frustrating to play. Also, there's (probably understandably?) some crates salt mixed in my opinions, so I might not be entirely objective.

Definitely looking forwards to 2.0 though, and this is a nice retrospective to set me in the right mood for it. Haven't seen much of the beta content so I can go blind, but the peeks I've had all make it out to be a really good update. Could even make me a regular player, if it's good enough!

Castti · Sep 7, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

It didn’t feel behind any of the other 4 classes in terms of quality, and today it feels like Shaman was always around since day one.
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THIS

It feels weird now knowing Shaman was not always a thing.

1.19 peaked. 1.20 and 2.0 are still good, but 1.19 is peak

That_Chudley · Sep 7, 2022

I just spent 45 minutes reading every word of this. Once again, Fish, you've enthralled me and created something excellent in hitting nostalgia and making me even more excited about Wynncraft than I already am :D

aFireBlaze · Sep 7, 2022

What a trip and refresher down the memory lane. Thank you fish for another fun writeup.

On that note, 1.19 was easily one of my favorite updates. Aside from EO and a new class, class building was absolutely all over the place in terms of balance, but also the most fun of all with the whacky shenanigans you could create such as the galloping horse spurs cstack builds, infinite HP regeneration, actually being able to play any style without getting heavily punished because "the stage mechanics say no to that type of build," in the latest update.

Dr Zed · Sep 7, 2022

As someone who joined in December of 2013, this thread takes me back. It's amazing how far Wynncraft has come so far since its release, and I think that's why I have still stuck around all these years just to see where it goes next.

I'm surprised that 1.20 was ranked lower than 1.18 though. I guess I wasn't around as much as I was before, though I thought 1.20 fixed a lot of what was wrong with Gavel. I still remember being disappointed after finishing the original Realm of Light quest. The quests and discoveries alone sold the update for me, though I agree that because there was so much content it was a bit overwhelming. Other than that and bugs (which most updates on this list were buggy af on launch), I remember having a good time with it. I haven't tried housing though.

Though that brings me to 1.18, and as much as I still don't like professions, I dislike my response to them the most. When you brought up that thread, "Wynncraft isn't what it used to be," I felt pretty bad when I realized how much shit the devs have gotten throughout the years. For 1.18, I think myself and a lot of others were just disappointed that after waiting a year, the update was focused on players that wanted to grind. And as this retrospect points out, Wynncraft was becoming less about grinding after each update, so that's why it was also a bit shocking.

None of that is an excuse though for how I and others treated the devs/CT. At the end of the day this is just a game made mostly by volunteers who care about the game, and there are posts that I regret because I didn't always keep that in mind. I just hope that everyone can keep this in mind too.

I also agree that 1.19 was one of the best updates no doubt; it was a smooth release and just added a lot of polish like 1.14.

Bart (MC) · Sep 7, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

I also have to mention armor skins. Armor skins were this high-tech feature that replaced the armor on your minecraft skin with a custom minecraft skin for your character that looked like unique armor. IDK how this really worked, but what I can say is that it’s something not everyone liked. Eventually in 2016(?) the feature was removed for good for some reason I don’t remember. Given that no one is really clamoring for it back, I don’t think this was the most well-recieved feature.
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IIRC, the way the armor skins updated for players was constantly sending updated back and forth to Mojang's skin servers, and apparently this was either asking too much from the skin servers or it used some backdoor that'd make people's connection vulnerable -information on the specifics of this is pretty inconsistent- and as a result was removed on Mojang's request. I'm not sure about you, but in the two years or so after it was removed there were quite some suggestions or requests to add it back, even a few in later years- unfortunately when there's something as big as Mojang preventing it from even being possible it never really picks up any traction. Back in the day it was also somewhat of an unpopular feature, as it had a tendency to disconnect people as their skin was updating, as well as being insanely laggy with full servers and it would often display up to like 10 minutes into the past, which as far as I'm aware lead to people not missing it too much when it did get removed.

I think you missed some stuff for 1.18 as well, so I'll try to lay out out fully (probably for future reference as well!):

1.18 was coming for a very long time. Wynns previous update was primarily a QoL one, which while easily the best QoL style update was also not too terribly engaging; there were some new quests and updated content with shining improved features and ancient bugs finally getting fixed, but in terms of content it was pretty small and people had started to reach a point of having used CSST to push all their classes to the max and such, with fairly few goals past that for most. And then you had to wait for a new update to even be announced. To be specific, 1.18 actually took longer than Gavel to be made and released, and especially after all the updates between those two having been 6 months or less it was a really unfamiliar long wait (nowadays, we are more used to the longer wait between updates and have actually really meaningful patches to introduce new stuff. this really wasn't the case back then and the most you'd get was a batch of new items & item changes). Then when the update did get announced and a changelog was released and the beta opened it turned out to be.. not anything players were actually interested in, pretty much. Professions were the primary focus of the update, and while nowadays they're already somewhat niche, once people realized how absurd the grind was there really weren't many if any players satisfied with it. Professions back then compared to now took more experience to grind (iirc either node xp rates or level xp reqs were lowered some patches in and then again later), there were less nodes and less "node clusters", there was no hunted mode for xp, there was no gathering xp or speed, midlevel crafting took much more time due to limited ingredients able to be used at lower levels, it had not one but two compounding paid bombs to improve the grind, it was very poorly received and after the initial hype (specifically for leaderboards grinding- profession level leaderboards having been added just about saved the feature from flopping 100%) died off for the first few months people were left with the rest that the update had done. And that's honestly where the real pain began.

CSST was reworked, great. Trade Market was added in-game, great. There was a great new quest, there was a bad new quest, there was a much-too-long-but-on-average-fine new questline.

And that's it for the new content if you weren't interested in doing professions. Oh yeah, but what was also changed was the level cap changing from level 101 to level 104, erasing enormous amounts of extra xp people had stored up from running CSST on already max level classes, the following poorly created and commonly not actually functional react of "sorry guys here is a star lol", nerfing lootrunning into the ground by removing all neat random / secret chests and only having chests in caves or roads leaving only a singular lootrun left from like 5 viable ones (being MH, sky islands had like 3 chests and needed them to be added later on and there were overall way less chests than before in the world) as well as ingredients being added to loot chests that ended up lowering item (including mythic) rates considerably, emerald rates from quests were lowered drastically, other non-lootrunning moneymaking methods like Seavale Reef were nerfed considerably as well, item buyers pretty much never gave you a net positive emeralds back (think current day fableds but for every rarity), to name the things I remember specifically being complained about often- there's probably a bunch more, but you get the idea. The update that aimed to improve the economy ended up moreso bringing it to the brink of destruction, and for a lot of people it was valid reason to quit, which didn't help either- 1.18 had its own changing of the guard like you mentioned happened back in Gavel, and a lot of endgame playerbase went. Although that was probably mostly because of the biggest problem 1.18 introduced.

Communication. Utter lack thereof, or unabashedly toxic. To stay a little in chronological order, the first really bad stuff was as a result of the beta and the beta discussion forums. Like happens now during betas, people would post about their opinions on new or changed quests, gameplay, features etc. However, especially during the 1.18 beta there were not many CT members actually checking and responding to this- but the ones who were generally acted as if they were better than the people giving criticism, talking down on them or just declaring their feedback invalid for totally unrelated reasons. This didn't really go unnoticed, and a few flamewar threads and some transparency complaint threads later and the CT kinda just went quiet. The update rolled out, and as you can imagine, with all the problems still existing and practically nothing having changed from the beta, people were pretty quick to point to all the beta discussion threads that had apparently ended up with close to no results, and with the directly following level 101 drama with disappointing conclusion and the deafening silence from basically all of CT and management afterwards just further reinforced this idea- and you can really see that come to words when Bloww posted his thread. You can still read some of the responses from people that were in CT at the time and it was absolutely a clusterfuck, and while maybe in hindsight a lot of comments made on there seem out of place, most of the things the community members said were pretty accurate and most of the responses were dismissive to all hell and Salteds response more or less made people even angrier. After this though, the CT communication line essentially was locked down and players were just left to fester in their own disappointment. And wouldn't you know it, everything got even worse when the shoutbox got removed, hitting nearly every seasoned forums user right in the heart, and there was no response. War servers had gone down to support player influx during the release of 1.18 and didn't come back up, no response. The Trade Market went down with many people's most valuable items inside. Aside from a confirmation that it would be down for a bit, no response. This kept up for several months and it was really awful and there was so much toxic echochamber-ing and ugh. Easily the worst time community-wise I've experienced.

So, yeah, I think if you want to include an update's response & social consequences, I think 1.18 was a really mediocre and for many tiny update that took more than it gave, and the following months up until 1.18.1 was rolled out could be really agonizing to be around Wynn, depending on where you stood in the community or CT. Personally I think I would rank it as my #7 of the 8 updates I've been in- I absolutely adore how well crafting & ingredients ended up working in Wynn, and to me that does just barely push it into the positive end of the updates.

I might go into more detail later, but my personal ordering of the updates I've experienced (I started playing during Gavel) would be:
#1 1.17 - Dungeons & Discoveries. Essentially where Wynn started ironing everything in terms of features out, which went really well and is very commendable.
#2. 1.19 - The Silent Expanse. Shaman was added essentially without a hitch and the entire new region was a blast. However, hunted mode and consequences were so toxic I can't justifiably rank this as my number 1.
#3. 1.16 - Corkus Update. What can I say? I just really like Corkus, and I think this was overall a really solid update, and went underappreciated.
#4. 1.14.1 - Gameplay Update. Took a huge number of problems that came with Gavel and fixed them. Weirdly probably the most needed update ever, and it did that well.
#5. 1.14.2 - Hallowynn Update. I think A Grave Mistake is a pretty cool quest.
#6. 1.20 - Gavel Reborn. This brought many enormous new often requested features, and as such I cannot discredit it. However, the execution of this update failed in the details for nearly everything it contained and the mental anguish it's given people (mostly me) is unbearable help
#7 1.18 - Economy Update. See above for the long version, but general update negativity beyond its unappealing primary feature followed by a long amount of community agitation makes it rank low.
#8 1.15 - Wynnter Update 2016. I think Meaningful Holiday is a pretty lame quest.

WithTheFish · Sep 7, 2022

Beanie Boi said: ↑

iirc wynnncraft had to have some random mc accounts which constantly switched skins or something like that, which minecraft didn't like, so they forced wynncraft to stop doing this

this could be completely wrong but thats what some random person on #wynncraft said about it(not very trustworthy source)
but very epik post regardless, so based wtf...

________________________________

nevermind this thread sucks old star theif fucking slapped
I MISS MY STARRRY WHY DID YOU TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME :CCC
nostalgia aside that quest probably was removed for the better, i think the new version makes up for me going into some random dudes house by summoning a carrot
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I also didn’t mind the old quest, but man people seemed to hate it.

Bluescreen said: ↑

Honestly, this is a very good summary of Wynn's history in general. It's not as in-depth as some of the other threads on the topic, but the responses to the updates and the attached controversies tell the story well enough.

In terms of the updates, I'd have to agree on your ranking, with the additional note that I didn't really start playing until after the mob update and didn't even reach level 50 before Gavel. I think I reached my first (and so far, only, I think?) level 100 after Corkus. I've always been a very on-off casual player who plays a little during events and updates, which has given me an entirely different experience from most people, I'd wager.

The Dungeons and Discoveries - Silent Expanse era (that is to say, until Gavel Reborn) feels like it was largely the peak of the game, for me. I'm a bit of a lore enthusiast, even if I don't play much, and I liked those updates for that. The atmosphere and worldbuilding peaked, it was all new stuff or elaboration on things we'd never seen before. I didn't quite understand how terrible a place Wynn was until DnD, Silent Expanse made it clear it was worse.

Gavel Reborn, I didn't hate it. It's probably because I went in with zero actual expectations, but I would put it pretty high on the list? The story felt a little stiff at times, I'll admit, and raids were a bit of a mess, with TCC being horrible, Grootslag being hard for me to try out, and Orphion's Nexus of Light actually being really really fun, really shows that they made the right decision keeping it in development a while longer. I actually don't like multiplayer content in general and I still love that raid. The new discoveries, the lore, the quests were all good.

Champion rank, the Emerald Trail changes, CCI, housing, dialogue system, Tempo Town, all the guild stuff (I think that was Gavel Reborn? I don't remember exactly), that was stuff I didn't really like about the 1.20 update cycle. But it was (mostly) parts of the game I didn't engage with, so I could mostly ignore that. Honestly, I think I have a favourable opinion of it mostly because the "late" release of ONoL made the update end on a high note.

Until the smaller updates made me log back in and be mildly dissapointed.

I think you could have also noted the festivals a bit. I recall the Bonfire festival, the very first one, was very poorly recieved. Limited-time crates, and no actual content? Lots of people tossed around the words "cashgrab," IIRC. The latter ones had a better reception, I think the most memorable one was the Wynnter festival for me, but honestly they still feel more than a little frustrating to play. Also, there's (probably understandably?) some crates salt mixed in my opinions, so I might not be entirely objective.

Definitely looking forwards to 2.0 though, and this is a nice retrospective to set me in the right mood for it. Haven't seen much of the beta content so I can go blind, but the peeks I've had all make it out to be a really good update. Could even make me a regular player, if it's good enough!
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I skipped festivals since they were too small of updates and too far out from 1.20, but maybe once we have more I’ll make a retrospective on them too.

aFireBlaze said: ↑

What a trip and refresher down the memory lane. Thank you fish for another fun writeup.

On that note, 1.19 was easily one of my favorite updates. Aside from EO and a new class, class building was absolutely all over the place in terms of balance, but also the most fun of all with the whacky shenanigans you could create such as the galloping horse spurs cstack builds, infinite HP regeneration, actually being able to play any style without getting heavily punished because "the stage mechanics say no to that type of build," in the latest update.
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I totally forgot to mention major IDs! One of my favorite 1.19 additions and something I always wanted from the game.

Bart (MC) said: ↑

IIRC, the way the armor skins updated for players was constantly sending updated back and forth to Mojang's skin servers, and apparently this was either asking too much from the skin servers or it used some backdoor that'd make people's connection vulnerable -information on the specifics of this is pretty inconsistent- and as a result was removed on Mojang's request. I'm not sure about you, but in the two years or so after it was removed there were quite some suggestions or requests to add it back, even a few in later years- unfortunately when there's something as big as Mojang preventing it from even being possible it never really picks up any traction. Back in the day it was also somewhat of an unpopular feature, as it had a tendency to disconnect people as their skin was updating, as well as being insanely laggy with full servers and it would often display up to like 10 minutes into the past, which as far as I'm aware lead to people not missing it too much when it did get removed.

I think you missed some stuff for 1.18 as well, so I'll try to lay out out fully (probably for future reference as well!):

1.18 was coming for a very long time. Wynns previous update was primarily a QoL one, which while easily the best QoL style update was also not too terribly engaging; there were some new quests and updated content with shining improved features and ancient bugs finally getting fixed, but in terms of content it was pretty small and people had started to reach a point of having used CSST to push all their classes to the max and such, with fairly few goals past that for most. And then you had to wait for a new update to even be announced. To be specific, 1.18 actually took longer than Gavel to be made and released, and especially after all the updates between those two having been 6 months or less it was a really unfamiliar long wait (nowadays, we are more used to the longer wait between updates and have actually really meaningful patches to introduce new stuff. this really wasn't the case back then and the most you'd get was a batch of new items & item changes). Then when the update did get announced and a changelog was released and the beta opened it turned out to be.. not anything players were actually interested in, pretty much. Professions were the primary focus of the update, and while nowadays they're already somewhat niche, once people realized how absurd the grind was there really weren't many if any players satisfied with it. Professions back then compared to now took more experience to grind (iirc either node xp rates or level xp reqs were lowered some patches in and then again later), there were less nodes and less "node clusters", there was no hunted mode for xp, there was no gathering xp or speed, midlevel crafting took much more time due to limited ingredients able to be used at lower levels, it had not one but two compounding paid bombs to improve the grind, it was very poorly received and after the initial hype (specifically for leaderboards grinding- profession level leaderboards having been added just about saved the feature from flopping 100%) died off for the first few months people were left with the rest that the update had done. And that's honestly where the real pain began.

CSST was reworked, great. Trade Market was added in-game, great. There was a great new quest, there was a bad new quest, there was a much-too-long-but-on-average-fine new questline.

And that's it for the new content if you weren't interested in doing professions. Oh yeah, but what was also changed was the level cap changing from level 101 to level 104, erasing enormous amounts of extra xp people had stored up from running CSST on already max level classes, the following poorly created and commonly not actually functional react of "sorry guys here is a star lol", nerfing lootrunning into the ground by removing all neat random / secret chests and only having chests in caves or roads leaving only a singular lootrun left from like 5 viable ones (being MH, sky islands had like 3 chests and needed them to be added later on and there were overall way less chests than before in the world) as well as ingredients being added to loot chests that ended up lowering item (including mythic) rates considerably, emerald rates from quests were lowered drastically, other non-lootrunning moneymaking methods like Seavale Reef were nerfed considerably as well, item buyers pretty much never gave you a net positive emeralds back (think current day fableds but for every rarity), to name the things I remember specifically being complained about often- there's probably a bunch more, but you get the idea. The update that aimed to improve the economy ended up moreso bringing it to the brink of destruction, and for a lot of people it was valid reason to quit, which didn't help either- 1.18 had its own changing of the guard like you mentioned happened back in Gavel, and a lot of endgame playerbase went. Although that was probably mostly because of the biggest problem 1.18 introduced.

Communication. Utter lack thereof, or unabashedly toxic. To stay a little in chronological order, the first really bad stuff was as a result of the beta and the beta discussion forums. Like happens now during betas, people would post about their opinions on new or changed quests, gameplay, features etc. However, especially during the 1.18 beta there were not many CT members actually checking and responding to this- but the ones who were generally acted as if they were better than the people giving criticism, talking down on them or just declaring their feedback invalid for totally unrelated reasons. This didn't really go unnoticed, and a few flamewar threads and some transparency complaint threads later and the CT kinda just went quiet. The update rolled out, and as you can imagine, with all the problems still existing and practically nothing having changed from the beta, people were pretty quick to point to all the beta discussion threads that had apparently ended up with close to no results, and with the directly following level 101 drama with disappointing conclusion and the deafening silence from basically all of CT and management afterwards just further reinforced this idea- and you can really see that come to words when Bloww posted his thread. You can still read some of the responses from people that were in CT at the time and it was absolutely a clusterfuck, and while maybe in hindsight a lot of comments made on there seem out of place, most of the things the community members said were pretty accurate and most of the responses were dismissive to all hell and Salteds response more or less made people even angrier. After this though, the CT communication line essentially was locked down and players were just left to fester in their own disappointment. And wouldn't you know it, everything got even worse when the shoutbox got removed, hitting nearly every seasoned forums user right in the heart, and there was no response. War servers had gone down to support player influx during the release of 1.18 and didn't come back up, no response. The Trade Market went down with many people's most valuable items inside. Aside from a confirmation that it would be down for a bit, no response. This kept up for several months and it was really awful and there was so much toxic echochamber-ing and ugh. Easily the worst time community-wise I've experienced.

So, yeah, I think if you want to include an update's response & social consequences, I think 1.18 was a really mediocre and for many tiny update that took more than it gave, and the following months up until 1.18.1 was rolled out could be really agonizing to be around Wynn, depending on where you stood in the community or CT. Personally I think I would rank it as my #7 of the 8 updates I've been in- I absolutely adore how well crafting & ingredients ended up working in Wynn, and to me that does just barely push it into the positive end of the updates.

I might go into more detail later, but my personal ordering of the updates I've experienced (I started playing during Gavel) would be:
#1 1.17 - Dungeons & Discoveries. Essentially where Wynn started ironing everything in terms of features out, which went really well and is very commendable.
#2. 1.19 - The Silent Expanse. Shaman was added essentially without a hitch and the entire new region was a blast. However, hunted mode and consequences were so toxic I can't justifiably rank this as my number 1.
#3. 1.16 - Corkus Update. What can I say? I just really like Corkus, and I think this was overall a really solid update, and went underappreciated.
#4. 1.14.1 - Gameplay Update. Took a huge number of problems that came with Gavel and fixed them. Weirdly probably the most needed update ever, and it did that well.
#5. 1.14.2 - Hallowynn Update. I think A Grave Mistake is a pretty cool quest.
#6. 1.20 - Gavel Reborn. This brought many enormous new often requested features, and as such I cannot discredit it. However, the execution of this update failed in the details for nearly everything it contained and the mental anguish it's given people (mostly me) is unbearable help
#7 1.18 - Economy Update. See above for the long version, but general update negativity beyond its unappealing primary feature followed by a long amount of community agitation makes it rank low.
#8 1.15 - Wynnter Update 2016. I think Meaningful Holiday is a pretty lame quest.
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Very good writeup too, it honestly makes me feel like I might have been too kind to 1.18. Looking back they hyped it up so much.

Samsam101 · Sep 7, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

(debatable, given Gavel’s lack of dungeons)
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didnt it have 5 new dungeons upon release which were later removed

WithTheFish said: ↑

I feel like some people got a bit critical of some of the build reworks, with the concept of build themes being called into question, and the term “EO style” being thrown around a lot.
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WithTheFish · Sep 7, 2022

Samsam101 said: ↑

didnt it have 5 new dungeons upon release which were later removed

View attachment 182940
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There were these five longer than average caves in the canyon of the lost but I don’t think they were official dungeons

Also wow the mushroom says that? That’s meta as hell

Druser · Sep 7, 2022

Samsam101 said: ↑

didnt it have 5 new dungeons upon release which were later removed

View attachment 182940
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Where does the mushroom say this lol? Really funny addition.

________________________________

Wow, 1.14.2 added both 1k Meters Under and A Grave Mistake? Really cool. I think the latter's cutscenes still hold up pretty much completely today.

Samsam101 · Sep 7, 2022

Druser said: ↑

Where does the mushroom say this lol?
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guild hall after AJF

Aya · Sep 7, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

arrow storm + lifesteal + mana steal (which worked on spells back then) granted you immortality
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I literally remember using this specific trick to grind 20 of both bob's quest drop and CoW's. Good times.

lemonalade · Sep 8, 2022

Reading all the updates makes me feel old. Quite incredible to see how far it's come. Wonder how old I'll be once Fruma and Dern are released...

ratcrux · Sep 8, 2022

I'm so excited to see how far Wynncraft has come and how far it will go in the future. I only started playing back around 2020, so I feel a bit left out in terms of all the history and updates and stuff that other players have experienced. I'm looking forward to the games future and what will come next :3

WithTheFish · Sep 9, 2022

Guys you should read this while you’re waiting to get into a server

Sg_Voltage · Sep 9, 2022

WithTheFish said: ↑

With 2.0 imminent, I thought I’d review every major/named update Wynncraft has ever had, and give my thoughts on how they’ve affected the server for better or worse. At the end I will also rank them from worst to best. A lot of this is my opinion but I will try to factor in community sentiment as well. My thoughts on each update are located within each spoiler tab.

This was Wynncraft’s first major update and I think it landed pretty well. Keep in mind I’m going off the wiki here as I actually wasn’t playing Wynncraft yet. But honestly, when I first joined, I don’t think I could’ve gone without some of the changes added here - especially /kill, which apparently wasn’t always in the game?

In terms of content, players got the jungle (roughly ⅔ of the currently non-dernel jungle today) to explore and new gear to work towards. Between swarms and this, the BRUTAL grind to max level at the time got a little bit easier. Dueling was added, pets for donators were added (hence why it’s called the pet update), VIP town (an exclusive town for donators, this was pre-EULA) was added, and apparently soul point regen and unique items being identifiable became a thing? I’m kinda shocked that wasn’t always a thing.

I also need to mention that this update released only 2 months after Wynncraft released to the public. It must have been nice playing back then, constantly getting new improvements and stuff. Even still, after this update, Wynncraft was definitely still missing some stuff, which the next update after this focused on addressing…

Given that I wasn’t around nor present in the community then, I’m not going to rank this update.

This was the first really big update the server had, and felt pretty substantial at the time. Given that grinding and exploring were the only content Wynn had at the time, I was interested to see how quests would shake things up.

Quests back then were almost exclusively fetch quests. You’d either need to get some specific item from a place or kill a frustrating amount of mobs or rarely, you’d explore some place. Imagine if every quest was a more tedious version of. The Ultimate Weapon. Quests also didn’t even solve the issue of grinding present at the time, as there were not that many quests, and the ones that did exist were mainly low-level.

Skill points also released and were pretty similar to how they were pre-2.0, minus the elemental stuff. You also couldn’t reset them back then, meaning if you messed up you would condemn a class to being unplayable in the endgame.

Speaking of endgame, the best part of this update at the time may have been a bit more endgame stuff to do. New grindspots (slightly) alleviated the grind to the max level of 70. The corrupter of worlds served as a super boss challenge like Qira today. Level 70 legendaries gave another reason to farm mobs and trade. It’s not much, but it was something.

I kno

Overall, while a lot of 1.09 was flawed at the time, it was well-intentioned and several of its additions have gone on to be a core part of the server.

Ranking: #10 out of 14

Let me start by saying that I’m going to be grouping 1.10 and 1.10.1 together here as they both released in a 4-day timespan, with the latter update being the one that added Bob’s Reincarntion and Bob’s Mythic Weapons.

The launch of the ocean update was pretty exciting, as this was Wynn’s first update that added a ton of new places to explore, which was highlighted over new features. In my eyes, I think the idea of the expanded ocean is a success. It serves as a great way to at any time, add some content for any level past 15 or so, meaning this update had some stuff for everyone. Also due to the ocean’s size, there was a lot of exploring involved. And to “help” with this, the website map, intentionally or not, became unavailable for the first few days. Everyone was an intrepid explore, and I have a fond memory of randomly stumbling across Selchar and thinking “what the fuck why is there a detlas 2”. I think the exploration side of things was a massive success, and something that’s never quite been replicated.

Other cool stuff included Horses and the nether, the latter of which was a massive PVP minigame, meaning that PVP and horse breeding were added to the list of endgame activities. PVP in particular was very enticing due to an online leaderboard. Bob was a better boss than the other superboss at the time (CoW), due to feeling a bit more fair than the corrupted foe who just constantly charged around oneshotting people.

In terms of update flaws, I will say that quests were the weakest point. Many of them were still fetch quests and had glaring issues like quest helmets, but at least you could not be teleported to places off the main map, and occasionally you’d be asked to explore somewhere cool in the ocean. Quests also, with the exception of Reincarnation, were all below level 45, meaning this update didn’t help with the issue of grinding at the time.

Looking back, this was a great update. The best they’d had so far. I’m really impressed that this came out a month and half after the quest update, as this one clearly took a lot of work.

Ranking: #8 out of 14

This is the most interesting update to review. The comparisons between this update and Spellbound are obvious, as they both were reworks to the spell system, with 1.11 changing spells to roughly what they are today (albeit with some changes). The changes weren’t as drastic as Spellbound’s are, with only two spells (stone shield and ice barrier) being reworked (into arrow shield and ice snake respectively), but the changes were for the better in my opinion.

The pre-1.11 spells SUCKED. Uppercut barely worked in terms of flinging mobs up, Bash and Meteor felt identical, Stone Shield was laggy, and spells just felt like they were missing something in general. However, the new spells came with the issue of balance. Multihit was notorious for doing 2000% OF YOUR WEAPON’S DAMAGE, and arrow storm + lifesteal + mana steal (which worked on spells back then) granted you immortality. It wasn’t until Gavel’s release where the most glaring issues were addressed, for better or worse.

Another interesting aspect of 1.11 was that it was the first revamp-focused update. Apart from spell reworks, we got two new quests, a bunch of new armor, music (!), skill point resets, and a rework to nether PVP… which is another rework. Every prior update had added stuff, meaning if you didn’t like those things, you could ignore them. But if you hated the new nether PVP and new spells, it felt like a part of the game was taken away. I distinctly remember threads complaining about this stuff, however in following months people were generally happy with the nether and spells. Overall, this is an interesting thing to look back on, given how common divisive reworks are in major updates now.

Let’s talk about the new nether now: I think it was one of the best features of the update. It changed it so that gear and skill points no longer mattered, meaning skill (and fully-upgraded spells, usually) was all you needed. The nether now had a larger PVP community, as the barrier for entry was a lot lower due to not needing the best gear anymore. Yeah, 1.11 didn’t have any new endgame content, but since the nether was fair for everyone past level 66, they now had something to do when they got bored of killing mobs.

Music of course was also a really cool addition, one we all take for granted today, but at the time it’s insane how they made this work. Skill reset scrolls were also an amazing QoL change. Overall, I think 1.11 turned out to be one of the best updates in the server’s history. The spells in particular were so much better, and the fact that some people have said they’ll miss pre-2.0 spells seems like a testament to this.

Ranking: #5 out of 14

This update marked a shift in terms of what major updates stood for. They were now much larger on average, and this is shown in the 7 month gap between 1.11 and 1.12. Yeah, this was easily the largest update left. So, what did “The Mob Update” include?

I remember someone in the shoutbox saying it best: it was like a whole new game. Everything before 1.12 felt like a beta to the update that felt like Wynncraft 1.0. For one, every build was reworked to the same level of quality it is today. Ever been to Nemract? Those builds were changed in 1.12 and haven’t been changed since, same with stuff like most of the desert and mesa. I don’t think anyone hated the pre-1.12 builds, but there was no doubt the community overwhelmingly adored all the build reworks in this update.

As the title suggests, mobs were reworked too, but it really wasn’t by that much. Some boss mobs (mainly superbosses and dungeon bosses) got spells, but they only had one spell each. Mobs could now be melee or ranged, depending on what the GMs wanted. Mobs could now be anything, like an item or an end crystal, which was cool but pales in comparison to stuff like Orphion and Greg today. So yeah, these mob changes were not much when you look at what we have today, but at the time we needed this. A lot of people wanted better mobs, and this update delivered it. Kinda.

Dungeons were also significantly reworked, but of the three major parts of Wynncraft hit with sweeping changes, dungeons probably got the most underwhelming changes. The builds looked AMAZING, but in terms of gameplay, they felt inferior. For those who don’t know, there were 3 iterations of dungeons: their release, their 1.12 versions, and their 1.14.1 versions (which is what we have today). 1.12 versions consisted of mobs you could run by, minor parkour, and very easy puzzles (putting items on pressure plates). There were also no good rewards and getting dungeon keys was tedious. There was no reason to really do dungeons. And yeah, there was no reason to do dungeons pre-1.12 either. But they had this level of challenge to them that 1.12 dungeons didn’t have, so I and others likely completed it for the sake of accomplishment.

But here’s the thing about 1.12, and its dungeons: it just felt so polished. The game just felt more balanced, less glitchy, less laggy, and more like a full release. I can’t really explain it, it just felt like comparing a beta version to a full release.

Now, let’s talk about some other parts of 1.12 I really like. We got a lot of new quests, and they were the highest quality ones yet. Quests like Canyon Condor provided challenge, The Mercenary provided unique gameplay we had not seen before, and that Dead Island quest I forgot the name of had an interesting story. Two of these quests were level 60+, and this along with the addition of Dead Island helped with the grind. There was also a ton of exploring to do, as the CT had filled the new map with easter eggs and secrets like potato storages.

Oh, I can’t believe I forgot about this: the update launched right when Minecraft changed it’s EULA to combat PVP stuff. This meant things like the donator town and VIP’s double XP had to be removed. So how did Wynncraft handle this? Turns out they did so pretty well. VIP+ was added, with both it and the reworked VIP getting a bunch of cosmetics to play around with. Via the addition of the Knight/Hunter/Dark Wizard/Ninja class skins, donators would get 2-4 classes to use - you couldn’t delete classes back then, so this was huge! But most of all, the absence of pay-to-win stuff just made things more fair. Everyone could level up at the same pace mostly, and everyone could now enjoy what the Assassin class had to offer. The loss of DXP wasn’t that bad either due to DXP bombs replacing them (which affected quests back then, but that wasn’t an issue until Gavel).

I think 1.12 is my favorite update (albeit not the one I think is the best). It’s one that just hit every mark for me. A reworked map gave the sense of exploration 1.10 did, the quests were the best yet, donator perks let me replay the game 4 times, and everything just felt really polished. Sure, dungeons and mobs were lackluster looking back, but they didn’t detract from the experience at all. I think the community at the time also enhanced the experience. Working together to find all the new lore and secrets led to this sense of adventurous camaraderie. I’m not the type of guy who asks for a Wynncraft classic (at least not anymore), but man, I’d pay a a thousand stacks of LE to relive the first month after this update.

Ranking: #6 out of 14

I mentioned earlier that 1.11 had some detractors, but was overall pretty well-recieved if I remember correctly. If that was the case, then I’d also say that 1.13, the update that added guilds, was the first truly divisive update among the playerbase.

I don’t think anyone would dispute that guilds are Wynncraft’s most controversial feature, well maybe that title goes to professions but you get the point. I think it took less than a week for drama to appear on the forums. There’s a reason Reminder: Guild Arguments | Wynncraft Forums is pinned in the forums section. I’m of the opinion that guilds are very good in theory. They allow for a way to make friends and form small communities. I personally love the guild I’m in. But I think a lot of people would say that the guild system had the issue of producing toxicity, and the issue of imbalance of who controls the map.

Personally I’d say toxicity was inevitable. There is no timeline where guilds didn’t lead to members of the community being against each other. The question is how bad it is. Does it paint guilds as a pile of sludge you don’t want to touch? Or do you not find guilds that toxic, and actually enjoy the political aspect of that stuff? As for gameplay, very quickly a group of guilds managed to take total uncontest control of the map. And that was the case for like, forever? Remember when Hack Forums had control of the map for all of 2017? I think they only lost their spot at the top because they got bored or something, idk guild lore.

I’m not sure if I’d call guilds in their original iteration a failure. Sure, they had aspects that turned off players from getting involved, and it was hard for players to participate in the combat side without being at the top, but I’m not one of those guys who will adamantly say “fuck guilds”. What I will say is that for the first time in Wynncraft’s history, I think one of the major features didn’t stick the landing.

But of course, 1.13 is called the Wynnter Update, so it probably had more than guilds, right? Well, it also served as a content update that gave us the Ice Canyon, the Dernel Jungle, and a bunch of new quests. All that stuff was pretty good, not too much to add here. The highlight of this content was the Tower of Ascencion. You may forget this quest now, but back then, it was the ultimate endgame challenge. Could you fight 70 floors of mobs that were mostly the same in terms of content, and then fight death, the hardest AKA most unfair boss yet?

I also have to mention armor skins. Armor skins were this high-tech feature that replaced the armor on your minecraft skin with a custom minecraft skin for your character that looked like unique armor. IDK how this really worked, but what I can say is that it’s something not everyone liked. Eventually in 2016(?) the feature was removed for good for some reason I don’t remember. Given that no one is really clamoring for it back, I don’t think this was the most well-recieved feature.

Oh and we also got these things called minidungeons which are what IB UR and GG are today but they gave like 1400xp per run and I actually forgot about them

1.13 released at an interesting time: the wait for Gavel, an update that was getting a monumentous amount of hype. Everything added here would have to help with the wait, and due to guilds not hitting the mark, and ToA not being super interesting in the end, I’m not sure if it succeeded at this. As I will explain later in this thread, I think there’s definitely a correlation between the quality of the server during the wait for an update, and how much people get annoyed at that wait.

Ranking: #12 out of 14

[Warning, this part is REALLY long]

Oh boy. We’ve made it to the big one. Or the second biggest, maybe. I still think 1.20 was the largest update but I’m the only one with that opinion I think.

This might be THE most controversial update ever. So that’s why, in this thread, I will explain why I believe Gavel was a somewhat successful update despite it’s flaws.

As the name suggests, this update added Gavel, making it the largest content update the server saw for the next 5 years. Players had a massive new world full of secrets and wonders to explore. Occupying this world was around 50 new quests, and while some of them (star thief comes to mind) were bad, some of the most memorable quests ever like Beyond the Grave and Memory Paranoia became instant classics. Sounds overall great, right? But then, why did Gavel need two updates in which it’s mostly reworked, and why did this update always seem so controversial? I think it boils down to three reasons.

ONE: The story. Wynn didn’t have as prominent of a story as it does today, but players could definitely find out about stuff like the war against the corruption and Bob’s storyline, which honestly felt fairly cohesive. So what would Gavel bring? What would the teased threat of the Decay be like? Well, it turned out to kind of just be corruption 2. Okay, so what would the Realm of Light be like? Well, it turned out not much, it was just another dying land where once again, greed led to all the problems. This brings us to the second point, given how the story felt like it was missing something.

TWO: Incompleteness. Gavel was incomplete to a degree, even the admins have stated that. Past level 90, there were no new quests, making reaching level 100 (new level cap) super difficult. Molten Heights and the Sky Islands were around but just felt barren. We also got this trailer (Gavel Teaser Trailer | Wynncraft Forums) which promised insane boss fights, cutsences (we did get those, but not on the level of that trailer for a while), and 2x content (debatable, given Gavel’s lack of dungeons). Judging by a comment I found from Salted, I think a main storyline may have been promised too? And maybe raids? Also powders were temporarily removed. So, yeah, Gavel lacked a lot of what we expected.

(Wynncraft Isn't What It Used To Be | Page 7 | Wynncraft Forums is where I’m getting this info btw, this is also a good read in general)

Also a lot of people hated Gavel’s grind, but I didn’t think it was that bad. There was no reason to be level 90+ unless you wanted an advantage against Qira or that one mythic, so why bother? A lot of people did despise the grind though, more than they did post-1.12 or 1.13 honestly.

THREE: 1.14.1 overshadowed it. 1.14.1 was a follow-up update that addressed parts of the game that lagged behind 1.14, but accidentally overshadowed a lot of 1.14 while barely touching Gavel. In fact, Gavel was barely changed up at all aside from the occasional quest (prior to 1.20), whereas Wynn got a ton of attention. Gavel overall felt like an anomaly compared to Wynn, which got two rework updates and a whole new region during the five years before Gavel was touched again.

THREE AND A HALF: Remember in the 1.13 section, where the current state of the game affects how desperate people are for an update? Well despite adding so much, I never saw the playerbase this ravenous for a new update than they were after Gavel. People (aka like 50 guys) started flocking to this other mmorpg server cause they needed something.

Now, I can understand why people would dislike 1.14, but now I’m going to make the argument that Gavel was not one of the worst updates in the server’s history, and here’s three reasons why.

ONE: The texture pack. It’s so cool. I can’t believe we used to play without it. Weapons look so cool, the blocks have this warm style that fits the feel of Wynncraft perfectly, and it seems like so much care went into it.

TWO: The new item system. Somehow, this complete work of the item system was gotten mostly right on its first try. Yes, there were imbalances, like +Spell Damage being busted for the first few months, and cactus thorn/reflection and/or mana regen builds being annoyingly meta. But once a lot of items were nerfed, certain ID rolls were improved or made static, and bugs were fixed, the end result is what I think is a great item system. It’s managed to go through so few changes and today, I don’t see anyone really upset with it. It’s crazy how we went from literally one build per class to countless. As far as I’m concerned, they absolutely got this part of the update right.

THREE: More reasons to play. Previously, you’d level up 4-8 classes, and then that was it. You had the nether, which didn’t affect your character, and maybe some trading/exploring/guilds/helping others, but that was it. Gavel added so much more stuff to do. Mythics changed the market and gave a goal for people to work for. Classbuilding created an entire subcommunity. Class slots + the item system allowed for so much replayability. The hidden max level of 101… gave another goal I guess. And yeah, as that one trailer said, Gavel really did double the content on a playthrough.

Now, I want to conclude this already super long section by saying that Gavel changed the server in a way I doubt 2.0 will. And that’s because the playerbase shifted. For one, I feel like not everyone preferred the new item system and 1.14-era quests, and that led to some old-timers not logging in as much. Additionally, mythics, and selling/obtaining them led to some new community members becoming active who wanted to engage with a previously absent part of this game. As a result, I feel like the overall active community shifted to be slightly more competitive than before, as opposed to 1.12 where it felt like everyone worked together. These two points led to what was essentially a changing of the guard.

Gavel added some amazing core parts of modern Wynncraft that aged super well and in my eyes, overshadow its flaws. I wonder what a theoretical perfect planned Gavel update could’ve been like, but I’m more than satisfied with what we got in the grand scheme of things.

Ranking: #4 out of 14

The name they gave this update, “The Gameplay Update” sucks. It’s so nondescriptive. But at the same time, what else would they call it?

The most distinct feature of 1.14.1 is its scale. It feels like partially a more chill update that addresses what people wanted after Gavel, but it also added so much. For one, it’s kind of like a big 1.12 revamp update, only this time it really focused on polishing and improving specific things. We got the eight modern-day Wynn dungeons and their rewards. We got revamps to towns like the Iboju village, which previously didn’t have much of an identity. Many of the most disliked Wynncraft quests were updated. Powders were finally re-added, and we got our first batch of Boss Altars.

It’s been a while so I actually read the changelog to see what was added/removed/changed, and I can really see that this update was focused on addressing issues the community had. I already mentioned the quest reworks, but there were also a lot more level 80 Gavel quests (sadly the level 90-100 grind was still brutal). V.S.S seaskipper was added to deal with tedious ocean travel. YT rank XP bonus was removed (yes this was a thing and people hated it), DXP bombs no longer affected quests and mobs gave more XP to compensate, mobs could now have more spells and multiple stages, and reidentifications were added. That’s a LOT.

I also wanna mention the reworked ??? quest. Today, you may see it as this tedious part of a 100% completion playthrough, but upon release, there was a massive community event dedicated to solving it. It took a week for the first people to complete it. This was such a good time. Please Salted, give us ??? 2. And if you’re some random guy who’s still reading this I commend you.

However, this update did bring two flaws with it. The first was despite some item rebalancing, the item system was still not at a level to account for numerous different builds like it was in 2018 onwards. A lot of items, especially Morph-Stardust and Hive Armors back then, were just overpowered. Soul Points were also changed to what they are today in 1.14.1 - previously if you died with 2+ soul points you’d lose basically everything. Was this change for better or worse? Idk, but people did complain about this new system, and players like myself complain about it now.

After 1.14.1. Wynncraft just felt a lot more polished now. Mobs, dungeons, and the Wynn province were a lot better IMO, and back then Gavel didn’t feel too far behind. With the promise of future corrupted dungeons and level 90+ content

Also why this fuck was this a 1.XX.1 update. It was so massive it should’ve been 1.15

oh and this update HAD THE WORST BETA EVER. THEY SAID THEY’D MAINLY JUST LET IN PEOPLE WHO WON A RAFFLE BUT THEY ALSO LET IN A BUNCH OF FAMOUS PLAYERS FOR SOME REASON??? WHY DIDN’T THEY MAKE IT VIP ONLY LIKE IN 1.12 OR SOMETHING. It’s been 6 years and I’m still bitter

Ranking: #3 out of 14

This update is very small but it got it’s own thread in the major updates section, so let’s begin. Due to more EULA changes, Wynncraft had to make changes to the shop, which led to the HERO rank. In contrast to today’s champion rank, it was pretty well-recieved upon announcement. Inspired by niche indie game called Overwatch, Wynncraft also got crates and a lot of new cosmetics. The standout store feature here was probably mob totems; a compromise between no DXP or DXP for donators. I’ve heard some people these days say they’re OP, but I think they work well and lead to players working together.

Wynncraft also started dipping their toes into the waters of more complex quests. 1.14.2 saw the release of A Grave Mistake, known for its cool cutscenes which may have been too advanced for the time, given how much the quest broke on launch apparently. Interestingly enough, this quest would be overshadowed by the more old-fashioned 1000 Meters Under, a quest which remained a fan-favorite years later.

Ranking: #9 out of 14

It’s interesting how the update released near Christmas feels like a nice present made to occupy as while we waited for Corkus, which had been teased the month prior. We got the Corkus coast to explore as well as a new quest (Meaningful Holiday) and a revamped ocean quest. Sure, this was like 3 hours of content, but we also got the temporary Wynnter fair! There was also some nice QoL changes and more songs too. Since the update was so small I think it would be funny to only have this section be one paragraph long

Ranking: #14 out of 14

Ok, I need to state that I only played for like 30 minutes upon release and was pretty much a forums lurker during 2017 - I wasn’t even on discord then. So my opinion here is the most rough out of all updates besides 1.05.

Corkus was the first update since the ocean update nearlyalmost everything was new content, rather than reworks or new gameplay features. But somehow, in the eyes of the community, Corkus sunk while the Ocean Update swam, at least that’s how it felt to me. And I think it’s due to differences of perspective. Back in 2013, we would take anything we could get. But back in 2016, I think people wanted more than 10 hours worth of content. Issues that had appeared as a result of updates since 1.13 were starting to become increasingly apparent and Corkus didn’t really address any of them, at least not intentionally I think.

People wanted more level 90+ content, and a reason to actually reach max level apart from grinding to 101 and getting mythics. Instead, we got LI, which is only replayable to a certain degree, and mainly level 80 quests. As far as level 90+ content goes, fallen factory and two new boss altars were great but not enough for some people. People also wanted item rebalances, especially for mythics, and we didn’t really get them. Looking back, I think the content we got was really nice (excluding yahya bot f u yahya bot), it just came at a time where people wanted more endgame content, severe item rebalancing, general suggestions to be added to the game, and bugfixes. People really really needed bugfixes, especially for guilds, which were held together by string at this point.

Ironically, this was the update that FINALLY solved the issue of the difficult grind to max level that had plagued Wynncraft since day 1. However it may have been by accident? 1.16 added the Corrupted Sand-Swept Tomb. Prior to 1.18, the Sand-Swept Tomb, and its corrupted variant, took about 5 minutes to complete. Combine that with party xp, and yeah… basically all you needed to do was play the game normally until level 71, then you’d spend a few hours wallhugging until level 101.

In terms of 1.16’s legacy, I think it marked a drastic shift in quests from the stuff we got in 1.12 to what we get today. Cutscenes, characters, and custom scenarios are all more prevalent in modern quests, and this trend started in Corkus with stuff like Maxie and the Mixed Feelings docks section. Was this change for the better? I think it depends on the person, but I myself feel like these types of quests are more alienating for players who just want to level up or complete all content fast.

There was one feature in 1.16 that people don’t really talk about, and that’s world discoveries. They were mainly reserved for secret areas like boss altars, but no one really talked about this feature. And I think that sums up 1.16 in general. The slice of content it added to Wynncraft was good, but overshadowed by glaring issues at the time.

Ranking: #7 out of 14

My personal pick for the golden age of Wynncraft is 2018. So given that 1.17 launched weeks before that year began, you’d assume that would be the greatest update of all time? Well… maybe not. It just happened to be released at the perfect moment. Bugs were finally being fixed, many items were finally being rebalanced, and the Item Team was finally formed. But I’m not considering this stuff a part of the update. I won’t fully discount the impact of 1.17 either, as it didn’t disturb this peace whatsoever.

1.17 was a very lore-focused update. A lot of quests were added that gave the backstory to dungeon bosses, but we’d also find out a lot more about the world. Combine that with the addition of discoveries; fun little secrets to discover around the wynn plains, and I think Wynn’s lore was now more interesting and accessible to the average player. It certainly got me invested in the lore for the first time since I read the story of Bob. I loved discoveries personally, and 1.17 left me excited to see what future ones would be like

We also finally got some major new QoL features in the form of a larger bank and better quest book! These were some of the most popular suggestions at the time, and their addition gave players hope that more QoL additions may come later, and more suggestions may be added.

Overall, I’d say while not the main contributor to Wynncraft’s potential golden age, 1.17 was a solid update with no flaws I can think of, and it provided a lot of excitement for whatever could come next…

Ranking: #2 out of 14

…but, Wynncraft is actually a grand tragedy, so 1.18 had to be the most disliked update upon release yet. Yeah, I know that’s a bold claim. But during the beta, a thread called “I hate Wynncraft” got a lot of attention and some support on the forums. Not long after 1.18’s release, prominent user Bloww made what may be one of the most influential forum threads ever, titled “Wynncraft isn’t what it used to be”. It got even more agreement. I can’t remember a time where an update had become this divisive this quickly. Why was this the case?

1.18 was the update that added professions. I am honestly too tired to talk about professions, we’re at the point in Wynncraft’s history where stuff is pretty much the same as it is today. Just note that they were even more rough back then, as gathering xp ingredients and hunted mode weren’t a thing - and this plus the lack of loot bonus made any crafted item that didn’t abuse powders (busted at the time for crafteds) too niche. There was just no real incentive to do this really grindy addition that was the centerpiece of the update. Prof bombs were a bandaid fix for a near-fatal wound.

Oh yeah, there was also the market, which happened to be down quite a lot during the first few months of 1.18. Rip. But a cool feature overall IMO, I think it’s great that they were able to pull something like this off. Interestingly, I think the players who’d like it the most are the ones we never hear about: less-active people and newcomers who rely on this over discords and whatnot for their trade.

1.18 had other good stuff like the Doguns and Dwarves questline and Deja Vu, quest reworks to some poorly-aged content, item locks (not that impactful sadly due to mods accomplishing this already), and some other nice QoL stuff. These and the market (eventually in the latter’s case) would otherwise make for an update that would really be good, but for the first time ever, I think they really didn’t succeed with the core aspect of an update. I know profs managed to get a subcommunity, which may have been the intent, but I feel like a lot of other people will view a hypothetical update that redid profs as the superior one.

Time to talk about one final thing that in 1.18 not mentioned in the changelog that they messed up: the PR (public relations) department. It was so bad that on the thread I mentioned earlier (https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/wynncraft-isnt-what-it-used-to-be.243357/page-7#post-3000678), Salted admitted they’d messed up with feedback responses and whatnot. If you want insight as to what happened, let me tell you about the level 101->104 fiasco.

A lot of players grinded to the previous max level 101 thinking they’d automatically get to whatever the next big level change would be, in this case 104. But that didn’t happen. Instead they were set to level 102. A thread titled “The Biggest Scam” was made discussing how unfair this seemed, and many CT commented on it, in some cases acting rude or troll-y; essentially apathetic to the plight of the playerbase. It was really not the best way to respond to an upset playerbase that made good points. An ex-admin even responded in the worst way possible, saying he was disappointed in their behavior, and told the playerbase to play the game as he intended.

That thread kinda exemplifies 1.18. An update with some good stuff marred by some flawed or outright bad stuff. With the exception of 1.13, this may have been the first update that really didn’t turn out optimally, I’m sorry to say. For the record, I actually did really like it and I don’t mind professions, but I can understand why this would be a disliked update, or even a turning point that gets them to leave, for some people.

Ranking: #11 out of 14

This update was good. Like, really really good. It was just so ambitious and anticipated and yet somehow they managed to pull it off.

I’ll start with Shaman. When I saw that class in the reveal trailer I was flabbergasted. And I was even more shocked to find that it was basically complete. It didn’t feel behind any of the other 4 classes in terms of quality, and today it feels like Shaman was always around since day one. Yeah, it was unbalanced, but it could’ve been worse: just look at the pregavel classes.

The Silent Expanse turned out to be really good too. Yeah, it suffers from extreme linearity, but I think people generally love the atmosphere, especially in the Ruined Olmic city. But quests were where the update really shined. No update has had, or may ever have, a batch of quests as good as this one. MotS, Grookwarts, AJB, AJF, AHC, PoNR, Recover the Past - I can guarantee that a good portion of the people reading this thinks one or more of these quests is in their top five. Hell, even The Olmic Rune has some fans, or at least one fan (me). Sure not every quest here is for everyone. I personally hate AJB and a lot of people dislike PoNR for its HIC-killing glitches, but on average I think people love a good amount of 1.19’s quests, or at least that’s what I’ve seen.

The Eldritch Outlook also was added and immediately became a core part of the endgame as a challenge nearly on par with LI. It also helps that the Eye was the most unique boss yet and had a beloved theme to go along with it.

Time for a quick round of other cool stuff: many bosses no longer regen-ed health, bosses got spell combos, gathering was made easier through hunted mode, prof miniquests, and just general buffs, and the ingredient pouch is really nice too. The Corrupted Undergrowth Ruins was also nice. Discoveries, especially the ultimate ones, were great this update as always. Static SP from items was a nice change too.

Unfortunately, the update wasn’t all perfect. I wouldn’t say any of the stuff I’m about to list is bad, but I can understand anyone having mixed feelings on them. Classes got some rebalancing, but I don’t know how much it changed: warrior in particular was still at the bottom. Loot quality was added, which to some people may have damaged the mythic market, and others may blame it for making lootrunning more popular. It was definitely busted on launch though. Oh, and we also got Hunted Mode, which is just kinda there now… and definitely not balanced. Thanks Toxo!

But you know what? After this update, Wynncraft felt like it was in an amazing spot to me. AHC and the rest of the Silent Expanse felt like a perfect conclusion to a player’s journey, and with changes made to professions, there was no longer any feature that stood out like a suboptimal sore thumb. I’ll fondly remember 2020 as a great year for Wynncraft thanks to this update.

Ranking: #1 out of 14

Let me start by saying that this is less of a retrospective given how “new” this update is, and more of a review.

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I guess I can start by saying that this shouldn’t have been one update, at least in my eyes. I believe this update was more ambitious than Gavel. Raids, the guild rework, the Gavel rework, housing, and Champion all could’ve been packaged into like 2-4 updates of their own. Doing so would’ve allowed for more feedback to be given, which in particular would’ve helped Housing, Guilds, and maybe raids a lot.

Today, housing is just kinda there. You can do some really cool stuff with it, but it’s so niche due to a lack of gameplay advantages, and the size restriction for non-HEROs might hold it back for some players. At least it isn’t intrusive or anything. I can’t comment on guilds due to not spending more than an hour with them, but on the forums, I saw a poll made in march 2021 where 192 out of 228 people said they were dissatisfied with guilds. Make of that what you will. I’ve also barely done raids, but on a feedback thread made in late 2021, 53/55 (96.4%) of players voted “they’re a great concept but could’ve been done better”. The remaining 2 people said they shouldn’t have even been added. Perhaps, if 1.20 was split into 3 updates, each update could have had it’s own raid release (of the 3 added in the update), and the CT could’ve built on the feedback gotten from each one. Given how positively TNA seems to have been reviewed, this idea could’ve maybe worked.

Champion Rank immediately became one of the most criticised features upon its announcement, with many worried that it was TOO pay-to-win in comparison to other stuff considering its likely high price tag. Unfortunately, this worry came to fruition, at least for me: I feel like bomb bell + champion slots is too overpowered, but this is something that may be too late to change. However, do the ends justify the means? Wynncraft is a server that could very well shut down if it wasn’t for donations. I’d gladly take some p2w stuff if it meant keeping the server going.

I haven’t even touched on Gavel itself yet. For the first time maybe ever, I feel like some people got a bit critical of some of the build reworks, with the concept of build themes being called into question, and the term “EO style” being thrown around a lot. Quests in general had evolved into something more character/cutscene/sequence heavy, and no longer felt as much like some quick thing you’d do for XP, but rather a story that takes a decent chunk of time, and with characters who you might hate depending on who you are. I can understand why it isn’t for everyone. Also some quests had profession requirements, and I can understand discontent with that too, as profs previously felt really optional.

Two other features they added which I consider negative are CCI (which I’m too tired to even explain. It’s been discussed enough) and a new secret discovery on the emerald trail. I especially hate this one as it discourages exploration in my opinion and has a demoralizingly frustrating boss. I talked about it in length in a feedback thread I made so I won’t repeat it here. Also I should mention tomes and corkian amps which are just kinda there… sorry guys but writing this is burning me out.

1.20 had a ton of hotfixes and 1.20.X updates, but while those did improve some stuff like housing. It also brought changes to the dialogue system that have been really unpopular. Tempo Town was also added in a patch and that feels like sort of a meme.

Given everything I’ve said about 1.20, you might think it’s some nightmare that has condemned Wynncraft to the darkest timeline. But I don’t want that to be the legacy. 1.20 was flawed, but I truly, firmly believe that it’s a mistep that the CT and admins have collected a lot of feedback from, feedback that they’ll use to make Wynncraft the best they can. I think so much passion really did go into this update, it’s just that they tried to work on too much. When you look at minor parts, like builds, and new secret discoveries (I actually really love these!), it’s clear they’ve made some amazing stuff. Maybe history will remember 1.20 as the worst update, who knows, it is absolutely not without flaws. Hell, remember when I talked about 1.09? It was filled to the brim with flaws, but they kept going and made this server into the amazing place it is today. I don’t think 1.20 will lead to a dark age for Wynncraft, I mean hell, we lasted a year and a half with no update afterwards, that’s pretty damn impressive.

Some other cool stuff since I want this thread to end on a high note: forgery changes are really nice and I like how dungeon keys can now let 4 people in.

Ranking: #13 out of 14

1.19 - The Silent Expanse (Managed to add a whole new class in a good state, added some of the best content ever)

1.17 - Dungeons and Discoveries (Pretty much no issues, added some cool stuff including community suggestions)

1.14.1 - The Gameplay Update (Fixed a ton of issues the game had, and that the playerbase wanted addressed, all while adding some great new stuff)

1.14 - The Gavel Update (Faltered in some places due to its ambition, but they pulled it off really well IMO, and to this day the texture pack and modern item system are some of Wynn’s best features)

1.11 - The Spell Update (Sets spells to close to what they were pre-2.0, and added a great post-game experience in the nether)

1.12 - The Mob Update (Completely changed the entire game for the better, with only mobs and dungeons now being a bit lackluster. Added highest-quality content thusfar)

1.16 - The Corkus Update (A pretty solid content update, but not much more than that)

1.10 - The Ocean Update (Provided an unparalleled sense of exploration, mostly content focused though and didn’t address the severe grind)

1.14.2 - The Hallowynn Update (Has no real flaws and some cool stuff, but one of the smaller updates)

1.09 - The Quest Update (First quests were flawed, but it’s amazing how they were now in the game, same with skill points)

1.18 - The Economy Update (Profs are naturally controversial, but the rest of the update was good)

1.13 - The 2014 Wynnter Update (Guilds had some issues, new content was good but not enough during the wait for Gavel)

1.20 - Gavel Reborn (Suffered from extreme overambition and really needed more time to collect feedback, leading to many of its core aspects being flawed)

1.15 - The 2015 Wynnter Update (I have nothing wrong with this in terms of quality, but it barely added anything)

Yeah this thread is long there will be many typos. As always let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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I did this a couple years ago for 1.20 and caught a lot of shit for my rankings, but I think it's interesting to see how your list differs and your reasons. One thing I will say is that it's isn't necessarily fair to just rank the base updates based on their content (which I'm assuming you're doing since you didn't mention big stuff from the sub patches) when the sub patches either added content which generally made the patch better or made the patch playable in the first place. For example, for all the shit 1.20 has caught post release hype, I feel like it isn't really fair for it to be the worst real patch anymore since the sub patches actually added quite a lot and fixed at least a few issues. Similarly, some of these patches released broken AF without their patches like 1.19 which was actually unplayable on release, people were losing mythics upon release or 1.18 which was so laggy that you couldn't really do anything for a while unless you were insanely lucky to get a low population server with no bombs.

Also, since I put 1.18 in the top of my list I figure I should defend it by saying that you didn't mention that 1.18 also included what was essentially a rebuild to the entire world which brought it all up to an extremely high standard. You put 1.20 low so this isn't really target at you but I genuinely have no clue how 1.20 got so much praise for a couple places in gavel being made better when a couple years earlier 1.18 already did that to not just a couple areas but the whole damn province. I think people really take the builds for granted in this game but if we were to go back to the pre-1.18 world, I think people would pretty quickly realize that 1.18 was a lot better than it gets credit for. Also new Detlas was the best city in the game for a long time only recently surpassed by new, new Cinfras (maybe that's a hot take, idk).

Finally, even though I'm not a fan of 1.20, I also think it deserves recognition for being the patch to introduce seasonal events and crates allowing F2P players to get some cool cosmetics and have some limited time content, something which this game desperately needed to feel like a real MMO.

Anyways, nice list, threads like these are always good for making interesting conversations about the game :)

Unrelated since you didn't rank 2.0, but I feel like this quote is aging worse and worse every patch

“You guys gave us a lot of feedback since the Gavel Expansion, and even though it sometimes stings to hear complaints about your game, we listened and fixed some of the issues we've been told about.”

Dr Zed · Sep 9, 2022

Sg_Voltage said: ↑

I think people really take the builds for granted in this game but if we were to go back to the pre-1.18 world, I think people would pretty quickly realize that 1.18 was a lot better than it gets credit for. Also new Detlas was the best city in the game for a long time only recently surpassed by new, new Cinfras (maybe that's a hot take, idk).
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Personally I thought most of Wynncraft was perfected build-wise after the Gameplay update. Not saying that the build team has stagnated or gotten worse (EO is still one of my favorite places in the game), just that’s when they improved the most and are overall pretty good. So whenever a build gets reworked, I’m glad they still did it, though I would’ve been completely fine without it either way.

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Wynncraft update retrospective + update ranking

What do you think was the best year for Wynncraft?

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022 (so far)

WithTheFish Internet Macrocelebrity CHAMPION

Lex! :] CT Manager QA GM CMD CHAMPION

Beanie Boi Well-Known Adventurer VIP

yellowscreen Certified Lurker

Castti Kookie HERO

That_Chudley Wynncraft Addict HERO

aFireBlaze DM another mod if you have any appeals with me CHAMPION

Dr Zed Famous Adventurer HERO

Bart (MC) Ex-Item Maker & Day Counter (MC) CHAMPION

WithTheFish Internet Macrocelebrity CHAMPION

Samsam101 Star Walker GM CHAMPION

WithTheFish Internet Macrocelebrity CHAMPION

Druser ele defs don't matter HERO Featured Wynncraftian

Samsam101 Star Walker GM CHAMPION

Aya Very Serious Gensokyo Journalist HERO

lemonalade [insert misinformation here] CHAMPION

ratcrux Well-Known Adventurer VIP+

WithTheFish Internet Macrocelebrity CHAMPION

Sg_Voltage 1.18 was the best update, don't @me CHAMPION

Dr Zed Famous Adventurer HERO