World of Warcraft

While it may not be the first, World of Warcraft is undoubtedly the most popular MMORPG of all time, having more than ten times the active population as compared to the runner-up.  While other free MMOs boast populations of thousands, World of Warcraft manages to uphold over 10 million active players, despite being a subscription based-game

While the premise of using fantasy races, magic and monsters may not be something original, the sheer depth they went with customizing and giving everything their piece of lore makes you think it all started from WoW. World of Warcraft is the latest title of the Warcraft universe, having been preceded by a series of 3 other video-games of the RTS genre. This latest title cracks open every nook and cranny of exploitable lore and allow you as a player to feel like you are there fighting by spell or sword, and not just mashing a few NPCs with flashy button-mashing skills World of Warcraft's central story revolves around the two opposing factions that a player can join: the Horde and the Alliance.  Regardless of what expansion of the game you started off playing in, the story is always either about how the Horde and Alliance clash against each other, or how they join forces against a common foe, only to clash against each other later.

The game currently features a roster of 13 races to choose from, 6 of which are opposed to each other, while one race is common and can be played by both factions.  The Alliance is made up of Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Night-elves, Worgen (werewolf-like creatures) and Draenei (extraterrestrial beings), while the Horde is made up of Orcs, Trolls, Tauren (minotaur-like creatures), Undead, Goblins, and Blood-elves. The 13th available race is the Pandaren which can join either faction without any form of restriction.

The roster of classes that make up the Warcraft universe are as follows: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock, Monk, Druid, Demon-Hunter, and Death Knight. All fantasy MMORPGs follow the same pattern when it comes to classes: there has to be at least one tank, a healer, a damage-dealer, and all other classes are just variations of the three aforementioned archetypes. While Wolrd of Warcraft did indeed start off in previous expansions with the same pattern, subsequent changes allow a single class to perform various other roles, thus avoiding the need to create different characters for different roles.

There is only one type of in-game currency, and that is gold, along with all the sub-units (silver and copper). A good source of constant gold are quest rewards, but as you level up and equipment becomes more and more expensive, you realize that just farming doesn't cut it anymore. That is where professions can come in handy, and World of Warcraft has plenty of them to offer, from blacksmiths to alchemists and even engineers, all professions can be useful in one way or another. Gold can also be earned via the auction house, where players can post whatever item they want to seel, and then wait to see how much the highest bidder has to offer them.

While questing is the most casual way a character can level up, those of you that want some serious equipment should consider grouping up and do dungeons together. Taking all expansions into account, the game currently has over 40 dungeons that can be completed by 5-player groups and over 20 raids that require 25 player groups. Coordination is the key to defeating all enemies and mobs, and the payoff is access to some of the most powerful and great looking weapons available for that level bracket.

As mentioned before, WoW is the continuation of the Warcraft universe, and it does it great justice, as each expansion brings new elements to the already rich lore that makes up the game. The lore is so rich that there are entire books written that are set within the Warcraft universe, and most recently even a movie was launched explaining how it all began. All expansions are tailored in such a way that once you finish the story of one expansion, you are already set up to continue in the next one, thus ensuring a smooth story flow for those that are interested in the role-play

Competing with other players regarding who has the flashier armor would be boring if the game didn't have any PvP elements. However, PvP is such a core feature of the game that there are even national competitions with prize pools worth millions of dollars. Players can engage PvP combat in three ways: open world PvP (where you attack players of the opposite faction), battlegrounds (where teams are formed, and they have to work together to get the objective done before the opposition), and arenas (gladiatorial arenas where teams of 2, 3 or 5 players compete in deathmatch).

World of Warcraft impresses with pretty much every element that you can possibly discuss when speaking of MMOs, and Blizzard Entertainment's dedication to constantly keep the game balanced and alive, make it a game that is sure to stay with us for a long time.