My plan was to celebrate the anniversary with the latest World of Warcraft expansion Warlords of Draenor because I know we have a few mmorpg gamers in here but due to my machine blowing up I didn't get the opportunity. I actually stopped playing World of Warcraft a year ago and when I returned my account had been hacked (more on this later) but it meant restarting from scratch and with my finite time I only reached Lvl76, Warlords of Draenor is lvl 90-100 which is a days gametime away from me.
So I decided what I would use this anniversary for is the entire World of Warcraft series because it's more than any individual expansion. To begin with this game is like Marmite, you love it or hate it. I am a reluctant lover. Prior to World of Warcraft I was primarily an FPS gamer and only downloaded it because they offered a free trial which if I remember was 10days at the time. After some pushing from my fps pals I picked it up and went on my way.
My first character was a Night Elf Warrior, I've not really bothered making another Night Elf since but long ago got rid of that character, but without it I probably wouldn't have continued playing. For those of you who play MMO's or RPG's (or mmorpg's) it may seem like nothing to be in an environment that is surreal when you play a game, something fantasy based and unusual. However, my prior gaming was focused on Call of Duty so I was used to good graphics (for the time) and to step into inferior graphics was a saw spot. However, the starting area for the Night Elf is definitely surreal, it's kind of a forest which a purple sky. Throw in the musical score and I was hooked. The most reluctant of my friends to get the game I'm the only one who reached max level, who raided and played for years.
When you review a product you like to know the person reviewing it has experienced it, so this is my World of Warcraft experience. Over 10 characters to max level (90 during previous expansion), nearly 9000 achievement points (and I don't farm achievements) raided 10man and 25man in 3 expansions, server first 25man heroic kills in previous expansion. Played actively as Tank, Healer & Melee & Ranged dps; my pride & joy is a level 55 paladin Ironman (more on this later). My only lack of experience is PvP which I've touched upon but never seriously got into it.
As this is a huge game I could go on for ages so I'm going to hit the highlights and lowlights real quick then a warning & a challenge.
The highlight is definitely longevity, my fastest levelled character was a Rogue which from level 1-90 took me 3days and 4hours of gametime. Add to this once you're levelled the game is just beginning end game content is a huge part of World of Warcraft with Dungeons & Raids for gear, collecting mounts, hunting for new gear to style your character; or PvP if your that way inclined. A huge number of achievements for those of us who love to do it all means there is always something to do. Another highlight, expansions. Most games get a couple of expansion's but World of Warcraft currently has 5 and a 6th has just been announced. Each time a new expansion comes out the initial levelling is a couple of days playtime then all new endgame content to conquer.
The lowlight, I have to go with support on this one. As mentioned earlier my account got hacked whilst I was away from the game for a while, I returned to find all my Gold gone, characters gear had been sold and then deleted. Whilst support were able to restore my characters they gave me green gear, which at top level is pathetic hence my decision to create a new character instead either way restoring myself to a character with quality was going to be a lot of work so I decided to start fresh, I could of saved time and salvaged one of my returned characters but I felt like questing for a bit. Whilst this is a lowlight this happens for a reason, Gold in game sells for real money. It used to be that Blizzard didn't sell gold so people use to buy it from other sites and get it in game, a lot of these "Gold farmers" just hacked accounts as it's quicker and easier than actually making the gold legit. Another lowlight is the graphics, but it's not hugely important, you can look past the not perfect visuals because the immersion is live and well.
Silver lining, the highlight will always be a highlight but the lowlight may change. Blizzard recently started selling gold on there site, and I've heard rumours (no stats, sorry!) that Gold sellers are less common now. You can also buy and sell gametime for in game Gold for those that find themselves overloaded with Gold you can pick up a free month.
Now I mentioned the Ironman, and this is the challenge I put forward. I didn't invent it and I haven't completed it, about a dozen people have. You create any character, alliance or horde is your choice. Then you level it to the cap. Sounds easy? Long but yeah, so here's the kicker. You can't be helped by anyone else, you can't equip anything but vendor gear (not even green were talking statless grey) which puts you at a huge disadvantage even in a 1on1 fight. But still that's doable if you got the commitment but it get's harder. If your character dies... Delete it and start over. My current attempt is around level 55 with zero deaths; a paladin and my only horde character. I refuse to touch it unless the house is empty and I'm calm, cos 1 mistake and I have to delete it. Someday I'll finish this challenge, but I want you lot to give it a try too!
