World of Warcraft: Introduction

 

During 2004 the gaming company Blizzard released their MMORPG (Massively

Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), World of Warcraft, to the public. Few, if any,

could have predicted the success this game would achieve and it’s impact on the

industry. Nearly three years later, World of Warcraft has 8 million subscribers,

controlling over 50% of the MMORPG market share. It has shattered boundaries

and taken this genre and the gaming industry as a whole to a different level.

If there were a survey done asking people whether they would spend $70 and then
$15 a month for a game, few would say yes. Yet 8 million people pay this fee in order
to play one of the greatest games ever created.

World of Warcraft is a computer-based online game where people can set up a virtual
character and then adventure through the world of Azeroth.

There are 9 various classes, 8 different races, and two conflicting factions to choose from.
The game’s endless possibilities begin with the long journey of leveling.

Your character starts as level 1 and must work his way to level 70 by killing mobs,
completing quests, and grouping with other people to enter instances (enclosed areas
with very tough beasts that drop exceptional gear for your character). The grind to level 70
takes days of actual time spent, meaning it takes weeks to get to level 70.

The grueling time spent to reaching level 70 is not only an adventure but also a stepping
stone to a whole different experience. Once one reaches the maximum level they enter a
whole new phase of grueling work to obtain gear suitable for their level. A player must
spend many hours working to obtain gear through various means that are usually separated
into two categories: PvE and PvP. PvE stands for Player versus Environment, meaning
characters join guilds filled with other players and work together in tough instances in order
to obtain better gear. PvP stands for Player versus Player, where characters either fight
the opposing faction in Battlegrounds (large areas where both factions clash for valuable
resources and flags) or both factions in Arenas (small scale, and very organized, battles
where players create teams and face other teams for valuable points.

Eventually you start to gear up and are then able to access more competitive and
harder areas of the game.

Many people wonder why a person would be willing to invest so much time just to be able
to be competitive and to have fun. The time spent leveling and gearing up is grueling and
frustrating, but the reasons people do it are endless. Both PvE and PvP can be related
to team sports (PvP has actually started to become an e-sport, which I will talk about in
another article), where people work together to either defeat bosses (extremely hard beasts
found in PvE instances) or to kill the opposing faction. Most people not only do it for the
experience but also the respect you receive from other players when you become one of
the best.

The best PvE guilds and best PvP teams are renowned throughout the World of Warcraft
Community and players would give up anything to play on them. The experience someone
gets from playing World of Warcraft is hard to describe to a non-player, but I can attest to
that it has been more fun for me than most activities I have done. World of Warcraft is
currently the most popular game in the United States and will continue to be for quite some
time.