Contrary to prior “nerd” culture, World of Warcraft is a now household phrase. World of Warcraft, or WoW, as it is frequently called, is considered by many to be a contribution to pop culture, but it's a split down the middle of the world of the nerd.  This game(amongst others) has given rise to a new breed of socially acceptable “gamer”, and pushed away the gaze of the original “nerds”. Names and ages don’t matter here, but what is truly important is the impact the game has made. Boasting an impressive 9 million subscribers, the game has even landed a South Park episode revolving around it. That’s the same as Weird Al making a parody of your song. Myself personally, I have played the game from a month after it started, up until a month ago (February, 2010), and have survived the “rise and fall” of the patches that have pushed away, and grabbed so many newcomers.

Referred to as “vanilla wow”, the first installment of the game prior to any of the 3 expansions, was an extreme hit and miss with enjoyment for myself personally. As a gamer since I was young, the cartoony graphics the game implemented pushed me away. I had been a Everquest gamer prior, and even at the ripe young age of 16 did not enjoy the graphics of WoW. From lack of other portals for my online gaming needs, and friends who stuck with it, I decided to play. Vanilla WoW was known as the most challenging (and fun) stage of the game for most serious gamers. Travel time took its toll with large landscapes and slow mounts to traverse them. The raids were what really got people hooked, however. The original 40 man dungeons were the top of the line for WoW raids, and have been continually nerfed (dumbed down) ever since. Like a chain, every link had to act accordingly, or the entire fight would quickly turn on you. Sharing loot with 40 other members meant that you were lucky to get a new piece of armor in a month. Original WoW had its charm, but as they say, all good things must come to an end; enter the Burning Crusade.

The first expansion released for Wow was “The Burning Crusade” (BC). BC was where many serious raiders left the game, and a younger crowd jumped onto the wagon. 40 mans were wiped from the game, and bosses were dumbed down. The new world of “outland” held its aesthetic wonder—a giant floating island with infinite falls near the edges—but as far as space went, it was significantly smaller than the old world. The introduction of flying mounts was a pleasant surprise to the game however. Flying mounts meant that instead of running around a hill for 3 hours, one could take a minute to fly over it. Where BC failed, is that they could not be used in the old world, without giving a single logical reason as to why not. It was lazy programming, and very irritating to many players.

The growing waves of new young gamers to enter the scene brought with them pain and suffering to the original masses. 8 year olds joining up for groups and not having the mental capabilities to properly execute their jobs would cause headaches for most people, myself included. Raiding wasn’t as fun as the vanilla, but it was pleasant to actually get more than one piece of loot every month. Now we come to the Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK).

WotLK was a wonderful expansion at first that quickly left any serious gamers disappointed and leaving. Gorgeous landscapes, fun, interactive quests, and useful professions made leveling an honest treat. The soundtrack to the world was fun, and fitting, and had you for once turning the game's music and sound fx on and UP. However, once level 80 came (the new cap), everything started to fall apart. Farming honor or badges for new gear had never been easier; it was all a giant joke now. A "nobody" could pick up a new account, and within a week, gear himself up well enough to enter Naxxramas, the original baddest mother-fucker in the game.Naxx was a recycled instance, that was once the cream of the crop in vanilla. A full clear was to my knowledge unheard of (a "full clear" being killing all the bosses and finishing the dungeon instance). Fun new boss battles, at times challenging trash(non-elite) mobs, and more loot than you could possibly know what to do with quickly corrupted the games mechanics. The worst players could be dragged along and pick up wonderful loot. The ominous dungeon was now a child friendly daycare. The Obsidian Sanctum, The Vault of Archavon, a revamped Onyxia’s Lair, and The Eye of Eternity all were as easy.

Seeing the error of their ways, Blizzard released the "Ulduar" and "Trial of the Crusader" patches to fix the problem, but both were laughable attempts at a difficult dungeon. The final straw was the use of Death Knights. A “heroic” class, the DK’s single handedly wrecked the game for most of us. Impressive tanks, and even better dps, DK’s could easily blow other melee out of the water. Having the ability to do almost anything, they also ruined the PvP that blizzard had to offer. Arenas came about in BC and were a huge hit. Setting up teams to face off against each other, and even into early WotLK they were a favorite of the crowds. However, DK’s pushed away anyone who didn’t play with a DK, myself included. All in all, WoW was a fun way to pass the time, and the more it went “downhill” the easier it was for people who didn’t want to take the game seriously.

It doesn’t deserve the money it charges per month, or the millions of subscribers it has, but it in itself is not a terrible game. Bad mouthing WoW is a habit most unintelligent children pick up to impress their friends that know little about the gaming world. As far as WoW goes, it is just a relaxing, simplified, and dumbed-down MMO that is fun to play when you are high or an insomniac (or a child). If you have not given it a try, play at your own risk. Leveling in WoW is a rare addiction that will hit you in the neck and turn you into a nerdy vampire, staying up all night to kill “just 10 more pirates before going to bed mom!” Newly implemented systems allow newcomers to receive mounts at level 30, and experience was revamped to allow you to scale higher, and quicker. Of course being the notoriously lazy company that it is, prepare to be annoyed by gold farmers spamming you and the trade channel looking for any possible way to get some money from your greasy American fingers (or whatever country you live in). Good luck all, and happy gaming.

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