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The fascinating personalities of World of Warcraft

Lisa Poisso
Updated ·8 min read
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The annual "Where are they now?" roundups for 15 Minutes of Fame are a high point of my year as a feature writer. It's rare to get a built-in opportunity to re-open the conversation with someone I've interviewed, and it's always intriguing to learn where these passionate, involved players and people are headed today. Not everyone's answers make print, of course; the pool of past subjects after six years is much larger than we could reasonably follow, and not everyone is still doing something related to WoW. So far, limiting coverage to those who reply to an email inquiry seems to keep things to a manageable roar.

The downside of compiling a yearly update is all the time I lose wandering down the side streets of Memory Lane. This year, I finally realized that if revisiting all those articles was so interesting to me, it probably would be to you too. So today, I'm curating some of my favorite 15 Minutes of Fame interviews for your perusal. There are many more I couldn't include due to space constraints, but you'll discover a little something for everyone here. As we push off from the shore of a new year, I think you'll find the creativity and passion with which they weave the World of Warcraft into their lives to be positively energizing and inspiring.


Inside the game

The world of gaming So many people from the gaming community at large play WoW. Over the years, we've talked with Sulka Haro, James Wallis, Alice Taylor, Frag Dolls Valkyrie, John Hopson, Jane McGonigal, Nick Yee and Liz Danforth.

Playing 10-man strict Remember when "10-man strict" was a thing?

Disabled players find a refuge in Azeroth The stories behind these articles are so inspiring I'm just going to link the entire category for you. Caution: You may find you have something in your eye as you read these articles. Keep a box of tissues nearby.

The WoW community We've interviewed so many personalities from the WoW community that I wasn't able to come up with a fair way to include them all here. What was slightly more unusual were the two so-called "anti-community" members we interviewed: a botter and a young guy who plays on a private server.

Eight years in Azeroth This long-time player, GM and blogger has some of the most astute observations and analysis of WoW's evolution you can read.

The nonconformists

  • Noor the pacifist Our very first interview for 15 Minutes of Fame (and one that earned a virtual avalanche of Diggs -- remember Digg?) was Noor the pacifist, the player who leveled all the way to the end of the game without killing anything or anyone. (And then did it again.)

  • The melee hunter Noor wasn't the only one blazing the paths of nonconformist play.

  • King of the Gurubashi Arena Here's yet another early example of a guy who's found out what he enjoys doing most in game -- and then goes for it.

  • Fashion FTW By the time we talked to a player who loved nothing more than playing dress-up, readers seemed to be beginning to realize that it's truly okay to enjoy Azeroth any way you happen to like it.

  • 10-boxing Karazhan We broke down this multiboxer's Karazhan strategies and then followed up with a broader perspective of the multiboxing experience.

  • The untalented player Here's another unique twist on nonconformist play: no talent points.

  • PvP on an imbalanced PvP realm Ouch.

  • The Pi Guy Here's a guy who makes trade chat worth listening to -- really.

  • Their own communities Proudmoore's GLBT guilds are widely welcomed today as one more type of special interest guilds, although their existence used to be considered controversial. Even a guild of women, by women and for women has ruffled commenters.

  • Blind raiding These players can see just fine -- but they don't look at any strats before they raid.

  • The third faction When neither Horde or Alliance is quite right.

  • The exclusively "X" groups If there's a guild exclusively composed of one particular class or race, we've interviewed them here. (And if you belong to a type we haven't, email me!)

  • The craftsman Players who devote themselves to crafting and their professions still exist in today's Azeroth.

  • Grandma the progression raid leader Yep, she's 70 years old, and she'll kick your butt in game. Mainstream news across the world picked up Marthazon's story!

  • "Guide dog" player steers blind teammate This is another incredible story that went viral all over the internet.

  • Capping it off This guys caps his entire roster of 90s every week.

  • Full up This player's filled an entire account -- all 50 slots -- with characters at level 85+.


WoW from the ivory tower

Our interviews with academic researchers whose studies relate to World of Warcraft have developed a devoted following with some readers.


And then there's the whole idea of using WoW as an educational tool.

Winners and achievers

These competitive players like to run hard and fast.

Well-known outside WoW

Readers always want to hear about celebrities and people they know from the world away from Azeroth.

The WoW-loving lifestyle


Send us your tips and requests

Okay, my fingers are worn out from linking. Now it's your turn! Is there someone who's somehow involved with the World of Warcraft that you'd like to read more about? It could be someone in particular, or it could be a type of player or playstyle you're interested in seeing represented. Send me your suggestions and requests (including contact information, if you have it) to lisa@wowinsider.com.

"I never thought of playing

WoW like that!" -- and neither did we, until we talked with Game of Thrones' Hodor (Kristian Nairn) or a 70-year-old grandma who tops her raid's DPS charts as its legendary-wielding GM. Send your nominations to lisa@wowinsider.com.