World of Warcraft: Description

As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure. At long last, the world of Azeroth, first glimpsed in Warcraft I and further enhanced in subsequent strategy games, is realized in glorious detail and ready for the arrival of millions of prospective players. So step upon the hallowed shores of this embattled world, and see what journeys await for those who would plumb this ancient realm’s many secrets.

World of Warcraft draws heavily upon the lore of the Warcraft universe. Long-time fans of the Warcraft games are finally able to step into the world from a player’s perspective, and experience the universe firsthand. People, places, and units from the strategy games are finally brought to life in World of Warcraft. You can visit such places as the Burning Steppes, where Grom Hellscream fell in battle against the demon lord Mannoroth, and Ironforge, where the dwarves make their home below the mountain. Legendary heroes, such as Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, and King Magni Bronzebeard, are also in the game, presiding over their respective peoples as leaders in their race’s capitals.

Guards in the human city of Stormwind look just like footmen from Warcraft III, peasants in the human town of Hillsbrad look exactly like their counterparts in the strategy games, and orc peons shuffle about the farms of Go’Shek in the Arathi Highlands. Night elf players can even see gargantuan Ancient Protectors patrolling the elven lands of Teldrassil, while a towering Ancient of War waits to greet all visitors to Darnassus.

World of Warcraft: Key Features

» Adventuring A Vast World

» Character Creation

» Instance Dungeons

» Player vs. Player Combat

» Questing

» Social Aspects

World of Warcraft: Key Features In-Depth Look

» Adventuring A Vast World: When you first start a game of World of Warcraft, you will be taken to your race’s starting area. All the races except trolls and gnomes begin in a unique location. Those two races have to share starting locales with the orcs and dwarves, respectively. After watching a brief in-game cutscene introducing your race, you are set loose upon the world.

World of Warcraft presents many different monsters to challenge you in battle. These creatures roam the countryside and populate vast dungeons and aboveground locations. There are wandering beasts, such as wolves, spiders, scorpions (called scorpids in this world), six-legged crocodiles called crocolisks, crabs, vultures, hyenas, big cats, bears, and more. More sinister enemies also block your travels. Humanoid foes of every kind, such as pirates, bandits, cultists, and soldiers from the opposing faction, join more unnatural monsters like undead, oozes, gryphons, and elementals, in providing conflict and danger on your journeys.
You’ll also see some familiar monstrous creatures, such as ogres, gnolls, centaurs, satyrs, murlocs, wildkin, and others, that are inspired by the hostile creeps of Warcraft III. And you’ll encounter more spectacular enemies like demons, infernals, dragonspawn, and mighty dragons stalking the dungeons and high-level areas of the world.

The territories and terrain you will be able to explore are vast and varied. In addition to borrowing from some of the most storied locations in Warcraft history, the game also shows off many different kinds of environments, such as the lush forests in Ashenvale and Feralas, the snowy mountains in Dun Morogh, the savannah of the Barrens, the plains of Mulgore, and the deserts of Tanaris. Swamps in Un’Goro Crater, jungles in Stranglethorn Vale, farmland in Elwynn Forest, and even deforested hills in Stonetalon Mountains are some more of the many environmental regions you can explore. Terrain that has been vastly altered by magic and the ravages of war also appear in the game. The razed city of Dalaran, encased in a protective magic shell, is a painful reminder of the devastation of the Reign of Chaos, while the infested Eastern and Western Plaguelands are filled with diseased animals and plantlife, courtesy of the Scourge’s plague.

This long list of fascinating terrain doesn’t even include the underground environments and dungeons of the world. There are dungeons available for all ranges of mid- to high-level players, and offer many rich quests, rewards, and enemies to encounter in the depths below ground.

» Character Creation: When choosing a character to create in World of Warcraft, there are many choices before you. There are eight races and nine classes available, but the game’s primary choice when it comes to character creation is the faction you wish to fight for. You can join the Horde or the Alliance, and your choice here determines much of what you can and cannot accomplish in the world.

You can only group and talk to players in your own faction. You also can only view and befriend players in your faction when using the in-game social commands. The intent is to make you feel like a member of one enormous team, while at the same time setting up the other faction as an enemy or, at best, a rival. Thus, if you wish to play with your friends, you will want to all join the same faction. Other content, such as the zones you can visit and the quests you can accomplish, are also organized by faction. Some quests can only be completed by Horde players and others can only be completed by Alliance players. Some zones offer cities and interactive NPCs for one faction, but are completely hostile to the other.

The Horde side includes the orc, tauren, troll, and undead races, while the Alliance side includes dwarves, gnomes, humans, and night elves. All classes are equally well-represented on both sides, with the exception of the shaman and paladin classes. Shaman can only be played by Horde players, and Paladins are exclusive to the Alliance side.

» Instance Dungeons: To promote the idea of epic adventuring with friends, World of Warcraft also introduces a concept called the instance dungeon. Instance dungeons are dungeons in the world that spawn specifically for each group of adventurers that enter them. Each time a group enters such an instance, a unique version of it spawns for that group only. This means no other players can play in that instance and bother the group, steal kills or treasure from the party, and hinder its play experience. With each group getting its own personal dungeon, players will have all the benefits of a single-player role-playing experience but with the camaraderie and fun of an online game.

Instance dungeons are incredibly difficult yet fun. There is especially good treasure in instances to entice players to explore their depths, and more powerful foes called elite monsters to keep the instances challenging. Instances are also more densely packed with monsters, and home to some of the game’s most unique and powerful adversaries.

The first available instance dungeons are for characters in the mid-teens in levels, and there are dozens more to accommodate all levels thereafter up to 60.

» Player vs. Player Combat: Player-versus-player gameplay is very important to World of Warcraft. However, the designers are mindful that players are very divided about this issue. Thus, Blizzard is made sure that there are two different server types at launch. On the normal servers, PvP combat is entirely consensual. You cannot be attacked by other players unless you want to be. The other server type is player-versus-player, and on this server, you can sometimes be attacked by players of the opposing faction without warning.

On normal servers, you can enter into player-versus-player combat by storming enemy capitals, entering special PvP zones called battlegrounds, or by attacking the guards in enemy cities. In all cases, you have a choice to engage in PvP combat or not.

On PvP servers, there are many zones that are flagged as contested territory. In these zones, players from opposing factions can attack each other freely. Thus, you could be fighting monsters by yourself, only to be killed by a stealthed enemy rogue. PvP servers also enable PvP combat through Battlegrounds, attacking enemy guards, and entering enemy capitals.

The rewards for PvP play are excellent, however. Blizzard wants to encourage players to participate in PvP, since the Horde-Alliance conflict is central to the Warcraft universe. As you kill enemy guards and enemy players, you will accumulate honor points, which translate into a military rank. As you progress through the ranks, you will gain certain benefits, such as special equipment, weapons, and mounts. Because rank is competitive, you will have to continue to engage in PvP play to maintain or increase your rank, since other players could advance past you if they accomplish more in the battle against the opposing faction. Keep in mind though, that you will only gain points for killing players near your level. Blizzard will not reward players who attack lower-level characters.

» Questing: Quests are a big part of World of Warcraft. Like most other role-playing games, World of Warcraft lets you advance in level as you gain experience. Experience can be gathered by killing monsters, exploring new destinations, and completing quests. Unlike in other games, quests are a significant tool for level advancement. Players who try to level up through sheer combat will never advance as fast as those who combine questing with monster killing.

Sprinkled liberally throughout the game world are hundreds of quest givers who provide thousands of quests. These quests can range from the simple to the complex. Some quests ask you to kill a set number of beasts or monsters, others ask you to collect trophies from creatures, and others ask you to slay unique non-player characters or named creatures. Other quests ask you to deliver documents or items to other NPCs, escort important characters out of danger, or recover artifacts or lost items from fortified dungeons. Although many quests share a similar structure, all of them are presented by unique NPCs who deliver interesting backstory with each quest, which in turn brings the world alive and gives each quest a unique flavor.

Although those who love the story will want to dive into the quests for the lore they reveal, many players will also want to complete quests for the experience and the rewards. Nearly all quests give sizeable experience rewards. Many quests also provide material rewards, such as cash, potions, food, drink, magic items, armor, and weapons. Some of the best equipment you can find in the game will only be available as quest rewards.

» Social Aspects: World of Warcraft is an online game with thousands of players, so naturally the game is built to facilitate extensive in-game socializing. You can search for players easily by key words, looking for those in your same zone or with certain names. You can also add players to a friends list, so you can keep track of nice and helpful players for grouping or just talking.

Grouping is simple as well. Many quests are designed to be accomplished with other players, and you’ll therefore want to seek out the help of other characters. Groups can have up to five players, who should be around the same level so that all players in the group can fight acceptable challenges and earn good experience. The game also has “raid groups,” which allow up to 40 players to adventure together against uncommonly powerful foes and quests.

World of Warcraft: Alliance Characters

» Dwarf

» Availible Classes: Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rouge, and Warrior

» Gnome

» Availible Classes: Mage, Rouge, Warlock, Warrior

» Human

» Availible Classes: Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warrior, and Warlock

» Night Elf

» Availible Classes: Druid, Hunter, Priest, Rogue, and Warrior

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World of Warcraft: Horde Characters

» Orc

» Availible Classes: Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior

» Tauren

» Availible Classes: Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior

» Troll

» Availible Classes: Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, and Warrior

» Undead

» Availible Classes: Mage, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, and Warrior

World of Warcraft: Class Descriptions

» Druid: Druids are the keepers of the world. Locked in slumber for generations, they awoke to meet the threat of the Burning Legion during its recent invasion. After Archimonde’s defeat, the Druids chose to remain in the waking world and help to rebuild their shattered lands. The Legion’s attack left a terrible scar on the natural order, and the Druids seek to heal it.

» Hunter: Azeroth is home to a wide variety of beasts. From the new world of Lordaeron to the old world of Kalimdor, all manner of creatures can be found. Some are friendly, some are ferocious and aggressive – yet they all have one thing in common. Each creature shares a special connection with Hunters. Hunters track, tame and slay all manner of animals and beasts found in the wilds. Whether they rely on bows or firearms, Hunters consider their weapons and pets to be their only true friends.

» Mage: The Mages of Warcraft once centered their powers within the mageocracy of Dalaran. After that kingdom’s destruction by the Burning Legion, however, the arcane arts spread to the far corners of the world.

» Paladin: Upholders of the Holy Light and defenders of the Alliance, the Paladins can be found from the northern forests of the Tirisfal Glades, fighting back the advance of the Forsaken, to the southern reaches of the Blasted Lands, ceaselessly upholding their vigil against demonic forces from beyond the Dark Portal. Wielding their mighty hammers and the strength of the Light, these holy warriors command forces in battle, all the while throwing themselves to where the fighting is the thickest.

» Priest: Priests lead the many faiths spread throughout the disparate lands of the world of Azeroth. In Kalimdor, Night Elf Priestesses revere the moon goddess Elune, while Dwarven priests in Khaz Modan deliver the message of the Light to their people. In the ruins of Lordaeron, the undead priests of the Forsaken, their faith twisted and tainted by their tortured existences, spread a dark interpretation of the Holy Light. Regardless of their faith, however, all Priests share in their ability to manipulate the minds of those who turn to them for spiritual guidance.

» Rouge: At home in the shadows and skilled at disappearing from sight, the Rogues of Azeroth are most comfortable when acting in the background. Twisting events to their favor, striking only when advantage is greatest: this is where a Rogue excels. With their cunning tricks, physical abilities, and mastery of concealment and disguise, Rogues have no trouble finding employment as thieves, cutthroats, spies, and assassins.

» Shaman: Shaman are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They communicate with spirits, have visions of the future, and guide their people through the darkest of times. Many mistake their wisdom and serenity for a pacifist nature. When challenged, though, shaman have a range of powers available for dealing with threats to the natural order.

» Warlock: Warlocks were mages that delved too deeply into the roots of demonic power. Consumed by a lust for dark knowledge, they’ve tapped into chaotic magics from beyond the world. The Burning Legion now feeds them their powers, allowing them to channel destructive energies and call upon the powerful emissaries of their demon masters.

» Warrior: Warriors are the melee-centered class. These characters are as tough as nails and masters of weaponry and tactics. The special abilities of the warrior are naturally combat-oriented.