Should the Mage Tower and other limited-time events return to WoW? If so, how?

Good news, everyone! In the latest Shadowlands beta build, you are now able to transmog your Artifact appearances among all specs of your class. Your Fury Warrior might get to dual-wield those sweet-looking flails that were previously exclusive to Protection Warriors! Awesome, right? Totally!

Unless… you didn’t get them back in Legion. Because even though you’re a Fury Warrior main now, you had no interest in playing Protection back then. Man, I really wish Chromie Time meant that I could go back in time and try those Mage Tower challenges again!

I gave this subject some thinking, and it reminded me of other things that have been lost — things like gorgeous-looking PVP sets that were rewarded to the top players of certain PVP seasons. For instance, what I consider to be the best-looking armor set in the history of this game: The “Elite” version of the Cataclysmic Gladiator’s Scaled Armor for Paladins. This set was only obtained by the most elite PVPers of the time, so I’m positive that the number of players who are able to rock it today is extremely small; almost insignificantly so. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone wearing it in-game.

Prestige is an interesting concept. There is doubtlessly value to things that are exclusive or time-limited. I am very proud to display my “of the Black Harvest” title on my Warlock. Anyone can get green fire now — Kanrethad is still a level-90 boss, so he can be defeated trivially — but only those who completed this super-difficult challenge during Mists of Pandaria can rock the title as well. But at the same time… scaling technology is available now. Would it be an awful thing if Blizzard allowed players to attempt the Kanrethad encounter under very similar circumstances to how it was originally presented in Mists — that is, scaled down to level 90, and having to correctly do all the mechanics of the fight? Maybe, but some would argue that it still wouldn’t be the same — the class itself is very different now, with totally distinct design and abilities from what they had in the Mists era. The challenge wouldn’t be the same.

Other types of content that are also time-limited, but not as prestigious, do come back from time to time. There are the holiday events, of course, but we’re also seeing the Scourge invasion return to the game, almost unchanged from its Wrath of the Lich King version, in the upcoming pre-expansion patch. And then, there is always the Black Market Auction House, which already recycles certain items — for gold. Should farming gold be the only solution for players to earn unobtainable things?

So now I ask you: Should that same treatment be given to other content? Should other challenges, such as the Mage Tower or green fire, return? If so, should it be temporary, or permanent? Should super-exclusive armor sets like the aforementioned elite PVP sets make a return every once in a while? Is there anything in WoW that was your white whale, eluding you until it permanently got away, that you really wish you could get a second shot at earning?