Why I'm Still Playing World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft’s fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, will likely be released sometime in December of 2014 (just in time for the holidays). With the upcoming expansion of the top selling massively multiplayer online game, many conversations about the declining player base and the direction the game has taken have begun anew. As a somewhat veteran player (I’ve been playing for four years now), I debated on whether to spend the $60 on pre-purchasing the expansion (with the special pre-order mount and pet). After much soul searching, the burning desire to accumulate more achievements won out, and my digital purchase was made. There are lots of reasons to play World of Warcraft (WoW), but the ultimate reason remains the same as always, WoW has one of the most exciting and dynamic storylines in all of gaming. Warlords of Draenor will take that story one step further.    

If you’ve been playing Mists of Pandaria, you’re familiar with the end of game story. In the Siege of Orgrimmar, players help a somewhat united Horde and Alliance take the city and defeat Garrosh Hellscream. Rather than putting him to death (as Thrall attempts to do immediately), both factions and the Shado Pan agree to bring him to to trial to account for his crimes against all of Azeroth. If you read Christie Golden’s novel War Crimes, you’ll see Garrosh painted as both a criminal whose atrocities on Azeroth rival those of Adolf Hitler in Europe and as a leader who wants nothing more than a secure and glorious future for his people. Garrosh is despised by both the Alliance and the Horde, and his trial shows how his behavior has affected all peoples. At the climax of the novel, his time-manipulating accomplice helps him, not only to escape, but takes him to a Draenor before the orcs were betrayed by Ner'zhul and Gul’dan; before the world was torn asunder by portals; before the world was corrupted and destroyed by fel energies. This is the world we travel to in the new expansion. One that is familiar and strange and creates a sense of deja vu for players.

World of Warcraft has managed to do what classics in the role playing game genre have failed to do; it took a storyline begun in 1994 with the release of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and weaved a story and world that has cohesively spanned twenty years. While there have been shifts in the lore to accommodate the evolving storyline, as a whole, the universe has stood the test of time. The WoW universe, essentially, began with the orcs and draenei on Draenor. We’re traveling back to that world in this expansion. We get to experience the world when the orcs were still many clans, where the Draenei have not been decimated by the corruption of the orcs by Kil'Jaeden. The story of the orcs and Hellscreams has come full circle. Much like classic novels, WoW’s story has created a microcosm for our own world. It addresses deep seeded issues such as racism and genocide. We can see ourselves in the heroes that are our avatars, and unlike our everyday lives, we are able to make a decisive difference in this universe.   

Reading War Crimes reminded me of why most of us play WoW. Sure, raiding, PvP, achievements, and the people we meet online are an important part of the experience, but most important is the storyline. At heart, World of Warcraft is a role playing game. It shares its roots and goals with timeless classics like The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy series. While some people dislike the idea of lore hounds, it is the lore that creates the game. It’s the lore, the completely immersive story, that creates the intense feelings for “being” Alliance or Horde. It’s the minute differences in the story between factions that drives us to level up a character of both factions. It’s why we love Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore, and why we are torn up over Varian Wrynn and his relationship with his son Anduin. It’s why we have a love/hate relationship with Sylvanas Windrunner, and why we despise Garrosh Hellscream.

While there is plenty of room to debate over the coming stats squish, the removal of some of the secondary stats, the changing of glyphs (what will be the point of inscription now?), and the removal of “extra” abilities, the coming expansion will also bring a new and dynamic twist to the storyline. We will have new ways to engage with the story through garrisons and the recruiting of NPCs to our cause. Rather than feeling the rush to level to end game content as fast as possible, I’m excited to let myself be immersed in the world that gave birth to the race that is the heart of the conflict in the story of the world I love, Azeroth.