Top 9 Reasons to play World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft has over 10 million active subscribers, meaning that Blizzard makes around $180 billion dollars a month! While the game gave birth to forum trolls, fanboys and more soldiers in the MMO Wars, WoW is probably one of the most enjoyable MMORPGs out there!

But why do I give it such credit? I'll be stating my top nine reasons in random order, hoping that you're inspired to go out and at least try the trial for this game.

World of Warcraft does not take place during Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, but shortly after. In a sense, it does have many events linked to Warcraft 3's expansion, The Frozen Throne, and really tells the story of how you can become as famous as the main characters of the plot. The best thing about WoW is that you don't need to be a lorefreak to love this game, nor do you need a major understanding at the beginning. There's little that you need to know during quests, besides following the questgiver's instructions, nor does it mean much in dungeons and raids.

The lore does not just focus around the leaders of the Horde and Alliance, but rather the ones who helped form the factions, and how they retired or died in battle/treachary. Agreed, some of the lore is TL;DR'ed (e.g we knew not about Lady Sylvanas Windrunner until Arthas killed her, reanimating her as a banshee. As she was freed from the Lich King's grip, she later formed the Forsaken with those who sought revenge), but sometimes it goes extremely lengthy (such as the Orcs and their homelands).

It's original, has few twists and more is revealed about the stories through the expansions. Worth looking at? Well, it depends if you're a huge fan of the game or not. I consider myself more than an average fan, and quite an avid reader, so I could spend hours straight reading about the Horde's origins. It gets thumbs up any day.

Warcraft was a series of three games, with (I believe) an expansion for each game. With World of Warcraft, a new expansion is released every year, bringing new characters, quests, dungeons and raids, and more lore. New characters will have taken over their race's throne, new threats will arise and once again the Horde and Alliance must fight side-by-side to conquer it, 'lest they face certain doom without one another. Content is updated constantly - expansions are brought out with huge gaps, that we can take for granted, but "patches" are brought every few months. Examples of a patch:

• Patch 4.1 (Rise of the Zandalari) - this patch was a major deal for those who reached endgame. The once raid-only Troll areas, Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub are now 5-man Dungeons. This was because the Amani and Gurubashi tribes needed to work together and wipe out more clans.... especially the Darkspear, led by Vol'jin. As well as the dungeons there were new quests, more politcal changes and hotfixes as always.

For Cataclysm there have been three patches: Rise of the Zandalari, Rage in the Firelands and Hour of Twilight. Each of these have brought new content yet still staying on the subject of the Cataclysm. Hour of Twilight is the final patch for WoW: Cataclysm, and players will soon be facing Deathwing himself.

For those who don't know, Azeroth is seen as the game's globe. It's here where the Alliance and Horde have established themselves on islands adjascent to each other. The Horde is seen as the rulers of Kalimdor, while the Alliance controls the Eastern Kingdoms. It remains true that the Draenei and Night Elves have residence in Kalimdor (Orgrimmar is its capital, belonging to the Horde), and the High Elves (Blood Elves / Sin'Dorei, named that in honor of the fallen) and Forsaken start in the Eastern Kingdoms, and the capital is Stormwind owned rightfully by the Alliance.

Azeroth has seen many major changes, including the island of Northrend where the Lich King resides, and the Isle of Panderia opposite in the south (coming soon). Deathwing has destroyed the cities, making many differences to the environment (noticed mainly in Kalimdor), and opening the Maelstrom. In The Burning Crusade expansion, Outland was added as another area of the map by right-clicking on the main one. However, it is not a part of Azeroth.

The environments in game aren't done to inch detail, but rather to how we'd imagine them. It throws in traditions and stereotypes of countries, then plasters it with myth and fantasy. Each area suits the races and species it holds, and gives it a magical feel when you're there.

Because World of Warcraft focusses more on a story than the mindless killing of players, Blizzard Entertainment give us plenty to do in PvE which develops the story of the game, but sadly, less of our character. In World of Warcraft, questing is like any other game - kill [x] amount of this and collect [y] amount of that. Simple, sometimes grinding, but I can't lie - if you hate it so much and get out of it, the reward is brilliant. The gasp of relief will be treasured for life.

Dungeons are instances where players can group together and face enemies that can't be fought alone (unless they have a higher level, but at that stage they won't get any reward from it). Groups often involve a Tank (enemies attack this person who has excellent gear and health), a Healer and three DPS (Damage Dealers - casters, ranged and melee). Dungeons add little to the story of the Warcraft franchise, as the quests inside are often the end of a chain. The same applies to quests in Raids. The only difference with raids is that these are a lot harder and recommended for fewer players, and that they make a big difference when it comes to the lore. In dungeons you kill lieutenants, in raids you're killing the general.... that kinda thing.

I'm not talking about the middle-aged men and over-sexually hyped teens telling rude jokes in a bar located in the Elwynn Forest. I'm talking about the simple woodcutter to the ferocious hunter. While we say that RP is just a waste of your monthly fee, we're all technically roleplaying. We all chose a class, a name for our character, a race.... that's enough to be called a roleplayer. PvPer, PvEer - doesn't matter, you're still fulfilling a role.

Roleplay in WoW is often exaggerated though, meaning that players will make in depth stories about their characters, being whoever they like, when they like. I don't blame them. One of my many characters is in an OOC (Out of Character) RP guild, and he's my Troll Death Knight serving under the banner of famous Shadow Hunter Vol'jin. While he's supposed to be loyal to Sylvanas, he doesn't get the drift of the Forsaken ways. He lets nothing stand in the way of tradition, even if it involves killing his Forsaken allies.

Above was a minor sample involving an RP story - people can often write a few sentences, or reems and reems of information. I don't blame those people. In fact, I salute them - the more you expand your character's story, the more you become that character and begin to get a great connection. When you're constantly grinding, your connection to the character needs to be strong. How do you think I'm surviving questing in Outlands?!

I'm glad this game's not free, even though my £20/two months could be going to people who need the money to keep themselves and others alive. Why? Let's see what my £20 goes to:

• Extremely fast troubleshooting
• Weekly maintenance, sooner if urgent
• Customer support online and by phone (don't bother in-game, it's not desirable)
• Room for new characters and players on servers
• Funding for the next expansion and future patches
• Security from account hacks and possible computer infection

Yes, my £20 does a lot. And yours can too. What happens to servers in Team Fortress 2 (which is now free) that use Premium features? They get blacklisted due to spoiling everyone's experiences. That's what happens when you make your MMO free and decide to advertise all the time, very much like LOTRO. World of Warcraft allows players to do what they pay to do - be it Roleplay or conquer others in PvP, as long as it goes by the rules and regulations. By paying, I'm thankful that I'm covered and can get account access quickly. If my items are stolen, I can get quick support from Customer Support to help me recover them. They will offer so much help in so little time, and all because I pay.

Now about this free trial - yes, the game is free up until Level 20. You can't get more than 100 gold (to prevent farmers), nor can you join guilds, use public chat channels, /yell or experience a great deal more of the game. Out of 85 levels, at 20 you're barely experiencing much. I'd say raise that cap to thirty, and people will be much more obliged as to give their money. But 20 levels can be a bit limited, and doesn't help give people give a decision as to whether they want to pay for this game. Still, it's worth playing just for the trial.

It's no lie - the forums will always have their trolls, their haters and their fanatics. But ask a sensible question or just for mere advice, and you'll get quite a lot in return. The same applies to guilds - some are social, some are raiding, and some are PvP-based. Not all guildies will agree with you, and you may not agree with their terms (especially if it's RP). But doesn't this happen in life anyway?

When I went on the Rift forums shortly after I got headstart access, it was atrocious. The community refused to help, there was little to no hope for the game due to the WoW/WAR fanboys, and things were getting ugly. One thing that keeps me playing is the community of WoW - long ago when I was a Night Elf Resto Druid, I took so much pain and suffering because of my lack of knowledge. But, a friend pulled me out of the mud and cleaned me up, sending me back in as a Hunter with a brain. If I had a question the people of WoW would always be there for me, giving me motivation. Agreed, there's tough scrapes, but that happens. The ignore button works fine if there's any trouble, and you can carry on.

The one thing I'd like to say about community is this: Value your online friends while you still have them. Cherish every moment you spend in a dungeon together, on a quest.... some may just slip away from contact, others you may fall out with, and some don't come back for IRL issues.

World of Warcraft doesn't advertise its products in-game. It doesn't fill half of your HuD, ordering you to convert your real cash into WoW tokens to buy a mount everyone else has. That's what the blogs are for. You're giving them enough money. But how do they advertise their game in all? Just because the game's got such a famous name doesn't mean it's going to sell. People need reason. And that's why they have celebrities starring in their adverts. They usually begin with the celeb introducing themself, and telling you their class, before doing some of their clichés or whatever. Take this for example - my favourite World of Warcraft advert:

Other celebrities advertising the game involve:

• "Mini-me"
• Mr. T
• Chuck Norris

When celebrity endorsement is brought into the mix, every other game is hit like a tidal wave, and the trauma will take a long time to recover from. Nice work Blizzard!

I've heard many players say they've "dinged 85 in three days", and so on, but that means very little. The game can last several weeks by getting from lv.1-85, by experiencing all the content. The Battlegrounds, the Arenas, the Dungeons and Raids, the Quests. What about maxing professions, getting the highest ilevel, collecting all mounts and companions, earning all achievements?!

There is so much to be done in World of Warcraft, and players have been suscribed since vanilla (WoW before expansions). If players can go 6 years of WoW and repeat barely any of its stuff, then that's a good sign in a video game.

This game did not just get 10 million players overnight; It's not as easy as getting a few billion views on YouTube due to viral interest. Making an account and playing regularly takes time and effort, and will put pressure on your wallet. Think how many next-gen games and consoles have come out over the years, and think how many suscribers Blizzard has lost to them, but think also about how many remained loyal to the cause, knowing that in the end WoW will always come out on top.

Think of the hypes of Halo and CoD - they were played only for a few months before they were no longer mentioned, but what of WoW? People still talk about that, and will for years to come. It offers lifespan, rewards, punishment, joy, suspense, teachings.... it's more than a game to some. It's a way of life. And human rights dictate you must, you shall respect it. Me? I'm not much of a fanatic for this game, but I don't hate it. At times I get really stressed with it, bored to tears, but I know there's something waiting at the end of the rainbow. It's the reward, it's the thrill of the kill, that long sigh of relief, that long drag of the cigarette you've just been craving for.

World of Warcraft isn't just some 3D version of RuneScape, nor is it nerdy or stupid - it's the inspiration for many authors, filmmakers, artists, singer-songwriters, composers alike. It's the ambience that remains always during peaceful or suspenseful moments, and only WoW gamers feel it. I tell you now, as a WoW gamer for two years, I am proud to be a member of such a large community devoted to making this game better in anyway we can.

It will take time to reach the top and truly see endgame, it will take effort.... but the reward is there, believe me. So I hope I've persuaded you to go out and buy Vanilla (comes with the Burning Crusade expansion now), and give it a try. A free 30-60 days will help you decide. I thank you for your time.