[Satan]

Introduction


Wikipedia's Description:

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft takes place within the Warcraft world of Azeroth, approximately four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous Warcraft release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment announced World of Warcraft on September 2, 2001. The game was released on November 23, 2004, on the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.

The first expansion set of the game, The Burning Crusade, was released on January 16, 2007. The second expansion set, Wrath of the Lich King, was released on November 13, 2008. The third expansion set, Cataclysm, was released on December 7, 2010. The fourth expansion set, Mists of Pandaria, was released on September 25, 2012. The fifth expansion set, Warlords of Draenor, was released on November 13, 2014. The sixth expansion set, Legion, was announced at Gamescom 2015, on August 6, 2015.

With 5.6 million subscribers as of the end of June 2015, World of Warcraft is currently the world's most-subscribed MMORPG, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. Having grossed over 10 billion dollars as of July 2012, it is also the highest grossing video game of all time. In January 2014, it was announced that more than 100 million accounts had been created over the game's lifetime.

World of Warcraft, perhaps the most well-known MMORPG ever, is what I will be reviewing today.

I have been a player of this game since the end of Wrath of The Lich King, and likely have at least 6,000 hours in the game so far.

This thread will cover the basics, quests, feel, etc. of the original game, and following threads, given my motivation to do so, will cover subsequent expansions. These other threads will not cover topics already covered in this, or threads prior to them.


Gameplay

Controls:

The game has a fairly standard button layout, by default, for controls. General movement is done with the WASD keys, and you can optionally rotate with the mouse instead of A & D. Most camera movement I find easier to control with the mouse.

You are able to change your key bindings in game, for personalisation or making frequent actions more in reach.

One of the first features players are greeted with early on is their action bar. This bar across the bottom holds the spells and abilities for their class. The action bar is able to be expanded from the single bar up to five, two above the original bar, and two to the right side beneath the map.

The original action bar is default bound to your "Number" row of keys (1234567890-=), making it generally within reach to cast abilities without needing to click. This bar also has multiple pages, allowing quick access to a completely different set of abilities in situational circumstances.

Character Creation:

When creating a new character, you start by selecting first it's race. Each race has it's own set of perks, and you have the ability to select from 13 at the time of writing. 6 Races are bound to the two separate factions each, and the 13th race, pandaren, remain neutral until the beginning questline is completed, at which point you select the faction you wish to join.

With only the original World of Warcraft, you are limited to selecting only 4 of the available races per each faction, as other races were added in expansions.

Once you have selected the race, you then choose it's class. A class defines the roles and abilities you are able to use in game, with many leaning to specific roles within group activities. (For example, the "Priest" class has two specialisations built around healing, and one specialisation made for damage). It is a good idea, especially starting out, to research the classes you choose, and see what fits best for your play style. Once a character's class is chosen, it can't be modified.

After your class selection, you are given the option to customise the appearance of your character, such as hair, skin colour, facial features, earrings, etc, all dependent on your race.
You're given a set of options to choose from, with many, many possible combinations.

After customisation, you name your character, and then you are able to play as them. Character names can only be used once in a server, so if someone has the name you are trying to use, it won't allow it. Be creative, it'll be stuck with you unless you pay to change it.
(Fun Fact: My first character was named "Katsune", and I eventually changed to "Awake" when I had received my guild, [Beautiful Nightmares] from someone I used to play with.)

Beginning:


When you first begin your game with your recently created character, you are brought to your race's starting zone, where you learn the basics of gameplay, and level up through quests.

Quests are objectives given to you by NPCs (Non Player Character) in exchange for some form of reward, usually experience points and money. These quests can have all sorts of objectives, from being a courier type quest, to killing specific monsters, collecting specific items, etc. In your beginning area, these are meant to be easy without having the potential of easily killing you. All quests and the associated storyline depend on the race you selected, as each starting area has their own chain.

Eventually the chain will lead you out of the starting area and to the closest major city for your faction, to begin the main hub quest chains. These lead you around the world, progressing in levels and difficulty as you go. I won't cover areas, as I would run out of room on this thread.

Eventually, through questing, dungeons, and various other methods, you will reach the standard game's level cap, set at level 60. At this level, you are able to go raiding with other players in the "Vanilla" raid sets, though most require 40 players, and aren't feasible to do at this level.


To be continued and modified to include areas I only touched on, when I have more time to write. Will edit this post.

[ImmNinjaxD]

I've played WoW since the launch of Wrath. I love this game (although I can't say I like Draenor all too much ). Awesome review! Hoping to see more soon!

[Oni]

Great review, but you should try reviewing something that hasn't already been out more than 10 years.

[Satan]

Great review, but you should try reviewing something that hasn't already been out more than 10 years.

Reviewing all the games I play, but decided to start with the game I have the most experience with.

Will likely update this after work if I don't go to the gym.

[ImmNinjaxD]

Reviewing all the games I play, but decided to start with the game I have the most experience with.

Will likely update this after work if I don't go to the gym.

& plus the game is still consistently coming out with new content, so I'd say it's still relevant