Wagnerites

World of Warcraft For People Who Don't Know Nothing
Alt: World of Warcraft For Beginners, World of Warcraft Explained for Newbies

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a computer game developed by a company named Blizzard. There are millions of players all around the globe. You enter the game by buying a game cd-r with an access code, install the game on your computer and create a personal game account. Then you wait and wait and wait and wait for all the updates to download - several gigabytes of them - and then you're ready to begin.

WoW takes place in a very large virtual fantasy world named Azeroth. With the latest expansion pack Azeroth now consists of four continents: The Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Outland and Northrend. Each of these continents are made up of a number of different areas or zones, and some of these areas have major cities. These cities are important in the game. It's where you go to shop and to sell, to train, to socialize, to have a hair cut, etc.

The different areas of the game are dominated by different level characters. You enter the game at level 1. For now the highest level is 80. Since entering a high level area while being a low level player will almost immediately get you killed, you have to reach higher levels in order to be able to explore. At level 71 - where I am right now - there are still plenty of places I haven't been to. The Outland continent is for level 58+ players. Northrend is for 68+.

There are two ways to reach higher levels. One is by killing. While you're exploring you will come across a great many vicious animals and evil characters, and they will attack you. You get points for winning battles. And also, you need to do quests. Friendly characters will ask you to perform certain tasks, and when you succeed you get level points. Azeroth is home for a multitude of different groups of characters, and as you do tasks for them you also gain reputation within the specific groups.

As you move around Azeroth you not only come across a lot of game generated characters. You will also have to interact with other players. Players are divided into two main groups: Those who play for the Alliance, and those who play for the Horde. There's a whole tolkienesque mythology behind all things in Azeroth, including the division behind the Alliance and the Horde. The most important thing is, however, that Alliance and Horde players generally do not get along very well, and they cannot communicate with each other. Once you've decided and you start gaming you're part of the Alliance/Horde war. When you start gaming you are asked whether you want to play PvE which is player versus game generated environment only, or PvP which is player versus player. If you pick PvP you can be sure that you will be spending a great deal of time doing battles with hostile players from the opposite group, the Alliance or the Horde. I myself play Horde PvP. I'm not very good at it so I get killed by Alliance players all the time.

Both Alliance players and Horde players are sub-divided into various races and types. Alliance has human players and elven players and more. Horde has trolls and undead and orcs, etc. When you create your character you have to decide what to be. Once you've picked your race and your gender, you also have to pick a type. There are rogues and hunters and warlocks and priests, etc. Each type has certain characteristics, and what you pick will influence greatly on your gaming experience. Hunters shoot and can tame wild beasts, whereas you as a warlock will have to deal with magic and demons. Some types are well suited for close up combat, and others are best suited for long range attacks.

Even though there are so many WoW players, and despite the limited numbers of races and types, you'd have a hard time finding two identical player characters. The game offers each player ways to specialize and differentiate characters. You can develop various professions - such as herbalism, first aid, or blacksmithing - and there's a somewhat complicated talent system that you have to observe. Every time you reach a higher level you get a talent point to spend on your character's talent tree. If you're a hunter you can decide to spend the point on a talent that will enable you to shoot faster or longer. And so on.

There are basically three things that determine the power or force of a specific player character: The first is level. A level 20 character is much more powerful than a level 5 is. The second is talents. And the third is equipment. Throughout the game you need to acquire new equipment - new pants, new shoes, new jewelry, new hats, new weapons. The equipment is not only meant to protect you by giving you armour. It also boosts your abilities. Wearing a specific hat may boost your spell power abilities. Wearing a specific coat may boost your speed in a critical situation. For each new item that you buy you have to evaluate your character's current abilities.

There are different ways to get the stuff that you need. There are merchants and vendors to buy from, and there are very important auction houses where players can sell and buy stuff from each other. Once you start to get friendly with other players you can do trades. The basic way to accumulate things and money is by looting. Once you've killed a game generated enemy character you can loot it. What you get is what's called a drop. You take what the character happened to be carrying, money and various items. If you're lucky you can use some of it yourself, and the rest you sell to vendors or put up for sale at an auction house. In return you get money.

World of Warcraft is an online game. When you start the game your computer connects to a Blizzard game server. Everything has to go through your computer's internet connection, and for this reason there's a limit to how detailed the graphics and so on can be. Still, it looks great - and it sounds even better.

Azeroth is a beautiful place, and the beauty of it is one reason why people play. There's the green jungle of Stranglethorn Vale in Eastern Kingdoms, and the snowy hills of Dun Morogh, home of the dwarfs. There's the shadowy, creepy Ghostlands, and the golden Eversong Woods. Westfall is farmer country, and The Barrens is a savannah. Tanaris is dry desert. There are shores and lakes, caves and mountains. Islands, sunken ships, places of magic, and places of horror. Every area looks different, and it has its own music. You get around by running, riding, swimming, or flying.

I think there are basically two main reasons why so many of us are willing to spend so many hours playing this game. One has to do with what I'll refer to as texture. The other has to do with rewards. The World of Warcraft game has a reward structure that makes sure that no matter what level you are playing, and no matter what your game strategy is, there's always some new reward in reach for you. There is no right way to play WoW. Apart from the level system there's also an achievement system that allows you to gather achievement points for doing tasks that often have very little to do with levelling. I just completed an achievement called "To all the squirrels I've loved before". To get this particular achievement you have to find a whole lot of different animals and declare them your love. Several times a year there are major events in Azeroth, celebrating spring, or celebrating love. There's Christmas time, Halloween, and a Children's Week. During these week long events there are many achievements to be earned from - for instance - saving Rudolph the Raindeer from the pirates, or the like. It's not all about fighting dragons. Some players are very focussed on levelling, whereas others go for the looting and getting rich. Some like heavy fighting. Some are more interested in progressing with their herbalism skills, collecting flowers and herbs. Whatever suits you best there are rewards to aim for.

World of Warcraft is a many-layered game, and therefore it attracts many different kinds of people. There's a rich mythological layer. Think Tolkien. And there's the trading. Think eBay. The game has paganism and high religion, warfare, sci fi and fantasy, a personal growth aspect - and it allows the player to take part in an international, dedicated community. Think Facebook.

There are several ways to interact with other players. You can chat with them, you can talk with them, and you can show emotions. Spontaneous dancing is quite popular. You can wave and bow and cheer, etc. And also, Azeroth has its own postal service. Your ability to communicate is limited when it comes to players from the opposite group, Alliance or Horde. Rude gestures are not uncommon - and, of course, you can attack them.

When questing you can group with other players. Permanent groups are called guilds, and there are plenty of guilds in Azeroth. Some are role playing guilds for people who like to pretend that they really are elven magicians or dwarven hunters - but most are simply social guilds with people chatting and helping each other out once in a while. A guild is a great way for new players to be introduced to the many aspects of the game, and to get acquainted with strange in-game abbreviations, colloquial terms, and so on.

I myself am a member of a guild named Wagnerites. Our website is www.wagnerite.dk. Come join us in Azeroth. We'd love to have you as a member. When you sign on, remember to pick Horde, and remember to create your character on the PvP server called Outland. And then, once you're in, send me an in-game message. I'm Babzilla. Blood elf warlock.