The first time I saw inside the World of Warcraft, I was being shown a gorgeous sunset in Stranglethorn Vale. My boyfriend at the time had finally worked up the courage to tell me about his secret nerd world that included Ultima Online and World of Warcraft. He encouraged me to start playing, so I created a Night Elf hunter named Elfbeth; her purple braids and pet tiger was what sold me.
As I began my journey through Azeroth, it was just a mere six months after the game had launched.
I fell in love and began to play more with my boyfriend–shortly after 30 I switched characters and began leveling an Orc Hunter. It was rough back then, and I learned quite quickly to always stand on an ice trap, which saved my life more than once (darn rogues)! After several months my boyfriend quit, but I kept goingp; I became a Stone Guard before I even hit 60 and lived inside Warsong Gulch. Alterac Valley brings back memories of weekend long battles, with whole guilds switching in and out to keep the fight going. I loved the community, the intricate raiding, and even the fire cloak grinds.
Shortly before Burning Crusade’s launch I fell ill and moved home–the only thing that kept me going was the game. As I logged into the expanded world filled with fire orcs, I was itching to down the first new dungeons. My favorite zones are still located in Outlands, and I commonly find myself longing to sit under a shady tree in Nagrand. I would play for more than 12 hours a day, with my parents using bean burritos to bribe me to eat.
As my health returned, I was accepted into college a state away; but dedication waned, and real life concerns interrupted my hardcore love. From there, I raided on and off for nearly 10 years and when 5.4 dropped, I found a deep love for the game once again. The community aspect was found once again with Flex, Celestials and the Isle providing ways to come together to down bosses. The good players you keep on your RealID, and casual friends on carebear servers can still run a flex with you.
Blizzcon 2013
When I heard about the new expansion at Blizzcon I was overjoyed; it didn’t seem as kitschy as Mists of Pandaria had been and I loved the idea of return to “old.” As I sat in the audience at Blizzcon 2013, listening to Chris Metzen reminisce about historic moments in WoW’s history, I couldn’t help but smile. Those memories were my memories, dragon pulls to Stormwind, epic battles in Stranglethorn Vale and Hillsbrad Foothills, the old heroes from the table top game.
For a game that has held my attention, money, time and interest for almost a decade, I look forward to the night where I will be standing in line waiting to pick up my fourth collector’s edition; Warlords of Draenor.
