I’m a Night Elf, or: How I Learned to Stop Hating and Love “World of Warcraft”

In the beginning…

I wish I could say it happened in a more exciting place, but it was in high school, with a friend, in the backseat of a van. And before you think I’m talking about something dirty, I’ll put a stop to that – I’m talking about World of Warcraft.

Not long into the ride (our assistant band director was taking us home from a weekend away at a university honor band), he leaned over and said, “You’re a gamer, right?” Naturally, I said I was. He continued, “So, do you know about Blizzard?” I didn’t play much more than JRPGs at that point, so I just kind of looked at him funny, instead.

“Blizzard what? Snow?” (Since I was born in Florida, I have an innate fascination with everything related to snow. You can feel free to ask me about hurricanes sometime.)

“Dude, they’re hilarious. They make awesome stuff. You should check ‘em out.” He gave me a litany of reasons why Game X or Game Y was hilarious (okay, maybe not Game Y – I specifically remember Diablo II getting mentioned).

I’m not really one to argue with that kind of compelling logic, but our computer at the time was a bargain PC – it could barely run Word, let alone anything with graphics above Spider Solitaire. So I never gave them a shot.

And then it changed somehow…

Not only did I never actually try a single Blizzard game, but I started hating them after I found out about World of Warcraft. Why? I have no freaking idea. (And I find that disturbing.)

Was it the $15 a month? Maybe. One thing I did know was that I sure wasn’t going to shell out cash to play the game I just bought. Obviously. I mean, why pay to play something you own?

More likely, it was probably the people I knew who played. I was still in that stage of my life where being cool was the most important thing ever. And since I’d just come to college…well, it was reinvention time. I’d be hitting frat parties where some guys actually skipped the socialization aspect in favor of WoW – really, guys? Really? – and I decided that I just didn’t want that for myself.

I tried to be a social butterfly during the day, but I huddled in the floor to play Psychonauts almost secretly (if you don’t count my roommate watching me conquer the Meat Circus with a look of horror on her face) at night. I wasn’t going to turn into those people. Never. (Though I did give up the not-that-much-of-a-geek charade fairly quickly.)

And then there was Starcraft II…

I’ll just go ahead and skip to this year. Since starting at GamingAngels, I’ve learned more about MMOs than I have about any other kind of game  - mostly because those were The Final Frontier, the one thing I hadn’t tried.

But then came Starcraft II. And I decided that it was definitely time to give Blizzard a shot. I mean, it wasn’t like it had been six years since the company was recommended to me or anything…oh, wait. It totally was.

And so, very much past due, I took advantage of a game trial that @Cherithe sent me. I installed it. I played it.

I hated it.

Oh. That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it? Maybe not – but I wasn’t a fan of strategy in the first place. And of course, most of what Blizzard had to offer fell under the RTS heading as far as I knew, and that left only one thing.

Yeah, it was time to take the plunge. With a ten-day free trial, what did I have to lose?

Only hours and hours of your time…

It’s been three months now, and while I’m definitely not addicted (though there were some points at the beginning where it was getting kinda close), I can say that I just love playing World of Warcraft. Thanks to @stealthyslyth, I’ve met a whole group of people who are willing to help me out when I need it – and they don’t laugh at how dumb I am when it comes to a lot of stuff in the game (as far as I know, anyway). The awesome part is that these folks have turned into good friends elsewhere, as well.

That’s one thing that has astounded me, for sure – just how welcoming everyone has been. I expected to be met with nothing but “LOL, n00b,” followed by a quick skullcrushing. (I am mostly on a PvP server, after all.)

But…not really. Everyone has been incredibly nice – from the guy I ran into who just gave me 150 gold (after carrying me to Winterspring, no less – I should NOT have been going through Felwood at that time, so thanks, dude) to @stealthyslyth taking me through a dungeon and then making Frostweave bags after I kept running out of room in what I had. I realize that these are all virtual items, but still – I’m incredibly touched. I’ve found my own friends in WoW, too – and my ex and I are actually speaking again thanks to the game. (Note: We didn’t really stop in the first place, but it might happen more often now, in any case.)

And to think that it was a community that I originally wanted no part of. I think I can officially say that I am ashamed of myself. If I could take back every negative word I’ve ever said in reference to WoW, I’d do it in a heartbeat (and I would’ve started playing years ago).

I’m still a casual player – I’ve never raided and I’ve only been in one instance. I’m not sure if I’ll ever join a raiding guild, though I want to at least try one day. In any given week, I might play once – though that’s school’s fault more than mine, I think. (Oh man, if I weren’t in school, I don’t even want to think about the amount of time I’d be spending on WoW – my preferred contact method would be RealID, and don’t think for one second that I’m kidding.)

I’m learning. I read up on the lore. I use “Elune be praised!” in real-life conversation (yeah, my main is a Night Elf). I know what it means to respec and dual-spec (even if I can’t do the latter yet). I can tell when an ability’s been completely nerfed – and hey, I know what that means now, too. I’m listening to five or six WoW podcasts now. I occasionally throw shorthand out on Twitter that makes my husband turn around and ask for a translation – he plays Star Trek Online, so maybe that says something. (What that “something” is, I’m not sure.)

There are quite a few things I just don’t get yet – for instance, why do people from the Horde kill me when I’m just being an innocent little elf and questing? Am I just in the way? Do they really need another honorable kill? Do they not even once think that maybe I can just log in as an 80 toon and hunt them down? All mysteries to me. (I’ll be saying the opposite soon enough since I plan to roll my first Horde toon this month. See? Lingo!)

My current concept of getting geared up really just involves always wearing the best things I have. Raid gear? PvP gear? I hear it mentioned, but it goes over my head. Sure, that’s obviously the items best suited for those situations, but how do you know? How do I know? Maybe that’s just one of those things that I’ll pick up eventually, but for now – I think my idea works just fine.

Even though I like playing as a druid, I don’t know that I’ve got any of the class’ eccentricities down. I can go boomkin or bear, but I don’t know why I would. For the most part, I just stay in her regular form – and the fact that I’m not using my character to her fullest bugs me, but it’s not like there are in-game tutorials for getting it all right. It’s a process of trial and error, and learning what works for you – and you know what? I like that.

I could go on. My UI needs work, but I haven’t liked any that I’ve tried. I don’t have any macros yet (but since I’m only level 32, that might not even be necessary right now). I play with a simple two-button mouse, but those Razers sure do look nice – especially the ones with thousands of buttons. I literally drool at the sight of the Naga Epic.

And even though I’m totally late to the party, I think it’s a good time to start playing World of Warcraft. I mean, come on – in the course of three months, I’ve seen one heck of a change. The Kalimdor my night elf “grew up” in is now completely changed – I’m not lying when I say that I shed a tear when Deathwing decimated Auberdine in the Cataclysm cinematic. (I recently reset a file that had me watch it again when I launched the game – don’t ask – and it hurt just as much then as it did a week earlier.)

Also, from what I can tell, the game is a lot easier than it was in the “vanilla” days. Now, I can just Google any quest I’m doing and get notes on it. The various enhancements from the community itself make the game more fun and help you play your class. Five years ago – yeah, there wasn’t so much of that, I’m guessing.

I’ve learned to embrace something new. I’ve found a new gaming world to love. And just a few hours ago, I was at my local GameStop, ready to pick up the latest expansion, amongst the people I tried so hard not to be like for six years. Funny, but the stereotypes I thought were true? Not even close to it. I know that now, but hanging out in the freezing cold waiting for a box together kind of cemented it. I’m sorry for anything I’ve ever said – whether you heard it or not – and I appreciate the acceptance I’ve experienced – both online and off, at this point.

It’s time for a new journey, and I’m so happy to be there with you. Even if I never thought I would be.