W is for World of Warcraft

I don’t play WoW anymore because of X.  WoW was so much better when Y wasn’t nerfed.  Let’s get beyond that.  I had me some glory days (100 days of playtime, methinks) in ‘ole Azeroth and I thought I’d share some of my highlights with you.

I played as a Night Elf Druid named Ashrandhaar on the Gorefiend server.  As fun as it might have been for some to blaze through the leveling experience, I found great satisfaction in familarizing myself with the lore of the world.  Because I took so long, I was never able to level any other character’s anywhere near the game’s level cap.

Now there were (and are) lots of things to do in the World of Warcraft, but I was more excited than anything by the people I played with.  None of them (aside from the one I brought in) I’ve ever met in real life, but we all found ourselves loyally bound to our own guild called “Clan Moon Wolf.”  So this will be something of a roll call (let’s not expect this to be comprehensive or even justified, I still treasure you if you’re off the list):

Ulwin: He played as a Night Elf hunter, formed the guild, and ran it for quite some time.  Ulwin always made it a point to lead the guild with gentleness.  Ulwin was more concerned with keeping the guild open as opposed to keeping the guild at the front of our server’s progression.  So we were years behind everyone else, but we were actually friends.  Love this man to death.

Pawlaar:  Mouthy wonder of a man.  Very funny.  Played as a Night Elf warrior and led the guild once Ulwin stepped down.  Paw was good at leading raids and persevered in the face of repeated defeat.  Also, he was pretty good at PvP (player vs player as opposed to player vs environment where you’re fighting the computer).  Loved to kill Horde players.  Also Slovakian.

Diran: A friend of Paw’s who played in Slovakia.  He would sometimes stay up very late just so he could play with us over here in the US.  Played a Night Elf Rogue and also loved to kill the Horde.

Veneerous: A little gnomish rogue.  Wonderful man who got caught cheating and was banned from the server.  This didn’t stop him from wanting to play with us so he leveled up a dwarven priest.

Butterchubs: Hah!  One of my good friends in real life.  Played a dwarven priest.  Did not only love killing Horde players, but loved to ruin their days.  I love this man and his hugs.

Chibitenshi: Human warrior.  One of our ladies.  Dear, dear girl who we all loved and protected.

Hothar: Human Paladin and was a constant source of wisdom.

Squeeky:  The other lady.  When she got on our voice server all of us were awkward for a while, but eventually she became one of our own.  Played a gnomish warlock.

Phyndel: Gnomish mage.  Friend of Hothar and to the whole guild.  Also willing to say the hard thing when nobody else was willing to lose face.

Hybar: Hothar’s son and played a gnomish mage.  Expert gymnast in real life.

Dotrianna:  Never heard the man’s voice but he was exceptionally witty.  I would not be surprised if he has written a score of novels all under different pen names.  Played a Night Elf Hunter and a Druid.

I like the idea of crawling through dungeons, but I delight in it with friends.  The World of Warcraft continued on after Ulwin, myself, and Chubs (and I’m not sure, maybe most of them) quit playing the game.  But this was the game for us – a loyal band of pals out to kill dragons and claim treasure.