World Of Warcraft

Design a character from one of two factions, the Alliance or the Horde. There are eight races to choose from (all races can be both Female and Male) in the basic game and ten races with "The Burning Crusade" expansion. Currently there are eight playing classes (see below), but this is subject to change when the new expansion "Wrath of the Lich King" is released later in 2008.


Pros & Cons
Pros:

•Customizable interface with addon mods
•Great interface
•Excellent, interesting, and unique storylines
•Make your own adventure (not stuck on one storyline)
•Huge playerbase (amount of people playing)
•Excellent customer service in the game and on the phone
•Voice emotes and dances unique to your choice of race

Cons:

•Your friends might make fun of you (but who cares? its a great game)
•Frequent Updates (interface mod incompatibility)
•A lot of obnoxious people (most people have used this game as an entry point into the MMO scene)
•Different versions are tied to their regions, i.e. an American version of the game cannot play on European Servers and vice versa.
•Monthly subscription fee (about $15)

More information

You basically roam around inside the dynamic online world called "Azeroth" killing beasts, monsters, giants, dragons and even other players of the opposing faction if you so wish, while completing tasks (quests) to earn virtual money and items to improve your character and take it to the next level.

There are currently a total of 70 levels in World of Warcraft, you start at level one and as you progress in the game you gain levels, making your character more powerful with better character statistics (strength, stamina, intelligence, spirit and agility) and abilities/spells (depending on what class you choose/roll).

World of Warcraft is the most played game of the MMORPGs, connecting a huge amount of realms over several continents and countries. With over ten million subscribers --and growing-- you're sure not to adventure alone, but can of course if you prefer not to adventure with other people.

World of Warcraft has always been the gateway MMO for a lot of people new to the genre, it is a fairly simple game with a fast learning curve, the game only becomes as advanced as you want it to get.

The user interface is very simple and easy to understand, but for people that want a different look, or more advanced control there are custom user interfaces and interface enhancements to download from various World of Warcraft Interface sites. But for the inexperienced, the basic UI will take the new player to the highest level without any real need to change your UI.

Classes & Races

The Alliance consist of:

•Dwarves (Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warrior)
•Draenei (BC only) (Mage, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Warrior)
•Gnomes (Mage, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior)
•Humans (Mage, Paladin, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior)
•Night Elves (Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Warrior)

The horde consist of:

•Blood Elves (BC only) (Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Warlock)
•Orcs (Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior)
•Tauren (Druid, Hunter, Warrior)
•Trolls (Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior)
•Undead (Mage, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior)

Both factions now have the same classes (after BC was released), the classes are the following:

•Druid (Able to Shapeshift into various animals to benefit him or herself)
•Hunter (A tamer of animals and most commonly a ranged DPSer)
•Mage (A DPS class that focuses on magic spells to deal heavy damage to it's enemies)
•Paladin (The holy warrior that is a combination of a caster /healer / warrior with it's heavy armor, healing magic and combat magic.
•Priest (The primary healer, but can also be dealing damage if he or she is talented in that direction)
•Rogue (Uses the shadows, moment of surprise and stealth to deliver heavy blows to it's enemy)
•Shaman (With the use of totems that buff yourself or your group, also provide excellent for combat aid.
•Warrior (Primary tank class, but can be talented to deal melee DPS)
•Warlock (A caster with the ability to summon a demonic pet and a combination of DoT spells and heavy damaging spells like a Mage)

Tradeskill

There are also several trading professions in the game such as:

•Alchemy
•Blacksmith
•Enchanter
•Herbalism
•Jewelcrafter (BC Only)
•Leatherworker
•Skinner
•Tailor