is a Online computer game. You take on the side of the Alliance or Horde, and battle the various forces against you. There are various classes (warrior, druid, mage, etc.) and professions. The game is pretty wide open as to what you do and your choices.
My WOW
So, release date issued for next expansion. November 13, 2008. I haven't been playing much recently (raiding only for the most part). I still like WOW, but the downside of an expansion is... not much to care about right now. I have gold, so I don't need dailies. I won't play arena (or most bg's for the most part). That leaves raiding, and I'm in a casual guild. Many of the guildies care more about gear, or have a beta key, so they're not raiding.
For any that don't know, WOW
I have a Blood Elf Knight (Blood Knight). Holy spec. Rated for Black Temple , though I'm not too sure about various ranking sites. For non raiding, I have been playing my alts more. The holy Pallie is meant for teamwork, not individual play. That is changing a bit right now as I work on his professions.
Being a counter culture individual, I prefer the horde to the Alliance. Alliance faction seems pampered, arrogant, and overall pathetic. There is little difference between the Scourge and the Alliance.
Alliance
- Night elves? They originally drew the burning legion to Azeroth. They remained clueless about the nature of evil, blamed magic, and finally escaped into a tortured dreamland.
- Humans? Their leadership drew the Orcs to Azeroth, and later topped that by becoming the leader of the Scourge!
- Gnomes? Nuked their own capital! Otherwise just funny... but really, nuking your own capital?
- Draenai? Led the burning legion to countless worlds, abandoning the natives to slavery and extermination. Guilty of dozens, if not hundreds, of genocides. From the lore, it is clear that the Draenai never told the orcs about the Burning Legion, or mentioned the little detail that they intended the Orcs to be wiped out while they moved yet again. By far the most vile race in the WOW universe.
- Dwarves? Okay, kind of cool. A bit materialistic, and bit rough on the poor natives that get in their way, but very badass. I like the dwarves.
On the Horde side, the playable side, we have the following races. I've tried them all. Some are great, some... less so.
- Troll. I consider them the "meh" race. The racials are unimpressive, the storyline bland. The opportunity to clear out the Echo isles (brief homeland) is nice, but any race can do that. There is no bonus for the Troll. There are too many Troll tribes, with no clear lore advantage to be a Darkspear. I have two trolls, neither will ever see Level 30. With the latest patch... perhaps 40
- Orc. A little better. Racials still blah, but the Orc storyline is strong, the lore vital to the world. Roleplaying an orc, a noble yet very bloodthirsty warrior race is challenging. The Orc leader is perhaps the strongest NPC leader in WOW. I have two Orcs, one a dedicated bank, one hunter that I'd like to advance, but won't have the time. Perhaps just a bit more for the leathermaking fun.
- Undead. The Forsaken are the truly evil portion of the Horde. They were killed by the Scourge. They are back and somewhat annoyed about the whole bit. A bit insane, a bit powermad, and very unreliable, the Forsaken make the rest of the Horde a bit nervous. I generally prefer not to roleplay evil, so I have only undead character, Unezrest. I like the Mage class, and he is my primary alt.
- Tauren. Onto the best race in the game, the lovable cows. While excellent fighters like the Orcs, the Tauren are a peaceful race. They don't have the flaws that most of the races do. They have no guilty secrets or shameful past. Their lands are beautiful and wild. They are wonderful caretakers that extend the hand of friendship even to the Alliance and Forsaken. I have three Tauren characters, including one 70 (another is level 66).
- Blood Elves. One of the most balanced races in the game. That is, the race most balanced between good and evil. The former High elves were crushed by the Scourge, then betrayed and nearly exterminated by the Alliance. To survive, the Blood Elves adapted to a regimented warlike society. Unlike the other races, their lands are still beset by war, and the Scourge still openly attacks the capital gates. Furthermore, the loss of their magic leaves the arcane race vunerable to insanity, becoming the wretched. The Blood elves have made terrible sacrifices to reclaim even a portion of their lands, and look to Outland for a new home even while counter attacking the Scourge with all they have. They are barely hanging on, and unknown to them, their former leader has turned entirely to evil.