world-of-warcraft-anniversary
Latest
Looking back at the WoW Archives
We've reached the end of 2014, and 2014 held a special milestone for World of Warcraft: the 10th anniversary celebration. The game has built a rich history in the last ten years. Not just its in-game lore, but the history of the game itself and the community around it. WoW Insider's WoW Archivist has been reflecting on that history since early 2011 and now seems like a good time to revisit the best of the archives. The Karazhan Crypt One of World of Warcraft's most infamous mysteries among old school players, the Karazhan Crypt is a creepy glimpse of content that was never released. The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj The world event surrounding the opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj was a server-wide effort, an in-game event the likes of which we're not likely to see again. Talisman of Binding Shard, the lost legendary The Talisman of Binding Shard was a legendary item never intended to go live -- but it did. Only one person ever received it. Indalamar the Warrior Numerous items have been named after Indalamar. Most of them use a simple reverse form of the name: Ramaladni. Indalamar was famous in vanilla WoW for his warrior shenanigans, many of which resulted in nerfs to the class. He also shared a guild with that sole recipient of the Talisman of Binding Shard. Memories of Dire Maul The dungeon known as Dire Maul was the first dungeon to be added to the game after the launch of World of Warcraft. Players who look back on classic World of Warcraft thinking epics used to mean something -- recall Dire Maul, where its rare-quality items outclassed most early epics. The legacy of Leeroy Jenkins Leeroy Jenkins made a comeback in Warlords of Draenor as a garrison follower. His origins are as ancient as they were viral. The Corrupted Blood Plague An unanticipated exploit of a boss ability in old Zul'Gurub -- simply leaving the dungeon with a particular debuff -- triggered an in-game epidemic so catastrophic, world governments studied it. The Emerald Dream, Outland, and other Z-Axis secrets In classic World of Warcraft, there were oodles of unfinished lands hidden away throughout the world -- tucked beneath the world's terrain, meant to be inaccessible. Enterprising players found them, and in some cases, entirely by accident as the game glitched when it couldn't determine a player's coordinates. Massacre at the Crossroads Let's wax nostalgic about world PVP and the violent hotbed that was the Barrens. 5 years of daily quests In June of 2012, we were looking back at 5 years of daily quests and the impact they had on the game's landscape. Now, going into 2015, Warlords of Draenor has almost entirely eliminated them. Is that a good thing? Blackrock Depths, WoW's ultimate dungeon Not everyone loved Blackrock Depths, but it may have been the truest dungeon crawl World of Warcraft has ever had. Its vast spaces and myriad of potential paths and activities was beloved by some ... an enormous headache for others. The evolution of Alterac Valley Implemented in classic World of Warcraft, Alterac Valley once ran for hours on end -- maybe even days. Nary a patch or expansion has passed without Alterac Valley balance changes. Seen by many as a shadow of its former self, we all must admit that a battleground that could stalemate for days could be infuriating. Vanilla WoW's most hidden questline It's still sometimes rumored that classic World of Warcraft contained quests that no player ever discovered or completed. Given the game's long history of datamining, that's unlikely. However, some quests were far more hidden than others. A raid exploit compendium part 1 and part 2 As long as players have been raiding, players have been finding ways to exploit them. Some exploits were more blatant than others -- some resulting in guild-wide bans. WoW's craziest television advertisements Let's be real -- it can't get more absurd than night elf mohawks. WoW's most terrifying secrets The Karazhan Crypts aren't the only creepy location in World of Warcraft. WoW's most terrifying monsters The list ranges from murlocs to monstrosities -- mobs that scare us for their gameplay and those that have rather horrific stories. WoW in China, an uncensored history part 1 and part 2 The history of World of Warcraft in China is rich in ways quite different from Europe or the Americas. Differences in culture resulted in alterations to select in-game models, a distribution dispute meant a delayed release schedule for certain expansions, and more. The Martin Fury incident What would you do if you accidentally received an item that could instantly kill anything and everything? The zombie plague event Much like the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, an in-game event of this scale is unlikely to happen again ... though the zombie plague struck twice. Flight You can fly! You can't fly! You can fly! You can't! All of this is only a sample of the Archivist and the long history of Warcraft. If you're particularly bored this New Year's Eve, page through Archivists past like we often do -- take in patch notes from patches of old, get nostalgic for those days-long Alterac Valleys, and remember how far we've come.
Celebrate 10 years of World of Warcraft at BlizzCon
Blizzard has just announced a World of Warcraft 10-year anniversary celebration at BlizzCon 2014. While the event is to be held outside of the Anaheim Convention Center the evening of November 7, it's strictly outdoors -- meaning you don't need a BlizzCon ticket to attend. If you happen to be in the area, you're welcome. The event will include live music, access to Anaheim's many food trucks, a photo booth, and a tattoo artist. I'm curious whether this is an artist of permanent ink tattoos -- rather than, say, press-on or henna tattoos. If we're taking ink-and-needles here, we wonder how many will look back on this as a night of regret.
Happy birthday to WoW
As Anne pointed out in today's Queue, we are wishing the inimitable Chris Metzen a happy birthday today, and it's a pleasant coincidence that Blizzard is also wishing WoW its official happy birthday today, as well. Nine years is a long time for any one game to be going strong--though, of course, we could probably argue that WoW isn't a single mere game, it's a conglomeration of all its marvelous patches, expansions, tweaks, and adjustments from over the years. Blizzard's official happy birthday announcement focuses on the strength of the WoW community, and I feel that whether or not you're entirely pleased with the direction the game is taking at the moment, the WoW community is definitely something that inspires and humbles. We're all just people, and we're not always perfect, but over the last nine years WoW has certainly had an enormous impact on the lives of its many players, myself included. World of Warcraft has catalyzed a complete transformation of my career and has formed the initial glue for some of the most cherished friendships of my life. Earlier this year I was at the wedding of two of my best friends, who met each other through WoW. What an amazing gift this game has been to my life, and to the lives of many others. Thank you Blizzard, from the bottom of my heart, and happy birthday, World of Warcraft.
Reminder: WoW's 9th Anniversary event begins today
Festivities for World of Warcraft's 9th Anniversary begin today! During this two-week event, players can log on and take advantage of a 9% boost to experience and reputation gain for all characters. In addition, logging on during this time period will grant you a Feat of Strength. Players logging on during the event will receive an in-game mail with a Celebration Package attached. Using the item will grant the XP and reputation buff -- but only during the event! Although World of Warcraft officially launched on November 23, 2004, this two-week event surrounding that auspicious date allows players to get a leg up on leveling those pesky alts that they might want to dust off before the launch of Warlords. New players can take advantage as well, of course. The event ends at noon on December 2, so be sure to log in on all your characters and nab those Feats of Strength before they're gone for good.
Parting the mists: World of Warcraft turns eight
World of Warcraft's eighth anniversary arrives after a rough year for the franchise. Cataclysm, the expansion that redesigned much of the old world and trumpeted the return of archvillain Deathwing, also saw subscriber numbers drop from their highest point, reached during the Wrath of the Lich King years. Players expressed discontent over the empty zones and the lack of anything to do save run endless heroic dungeons or chain battlegrounds. It's said that humans often prepare to fight the next war by devising tactics to deal with the last war, and World of Warcraft's newest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, is definitely a reaction to player complaints about the previous one. The past year saw the game transition from one with two separate, segregated endgames to a game with a great deal more variety for players who've reached max level. Whether you loved or hated Cataclysm, you can't deny that the past year has seen more change than the entire expansion dedicated to changing the game ever provided.
Blizzard's tribute to 8 years of World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is eight years old. Coincidentally, that's also the same age as one of my nephews, and it's really odd to think that when the kid was just a baby, I was taking my first baby steps in Azeroth. Eight years is an incredible amount of time, and Blizzard has put together the tribute video shown above as a thank you to all the players both past and present for the years of devotion. It's a really well put together video that honestly sweeps me right back to day one of the game, when I stumbled through the night elf starting experience and delighted in the fact that my night elf sometimes flipped when she jumped. This led to years of compulsive jumping and several keyboards worth of play, all of which were totally worth it. And although I'm Horde now, I still remember those first months of frolicking as Alliance fondly. Take a look at the video, and be sure to crank the music up -- the sweeping blend of soundtracks from vanilla to now is always worth a listen. And while you're at it, why don't you leave us a comment with your favorite or earliest memory?
What's taking the Battlecry mosaic so long?
When the World of Warcraft Anniversary mini-site was unveiled last November, one of its features was a photo-mosaic dubbed the Battlecry which would unlock little art goodies each time a certain milestone was reached. The Battlecry mosaic called for player submissions to submit their pictures with a logo of their favored faction, with a modest goal of 20,000 player-submitted pictures in order to reveal the final artwork created specially for the event. It's come along rather smoothly, and some really cool player pictures have been submitted, with the seeming abundance of Horde-aligned pictures prompting us to ask where the Alliance pride was. But what really surprises me is how long the whole project is taking. When the site was launched, one of the first questions that actually ran through my head was how long it would take to fill up the whole mosaic. With over ten million active players, you'd think getting to 20,000 would be easy. Out of ten million, that's like a drop in a bucket. But after almost two months of the site being active, we're still only at 32% of the goal. Why?
World of Warcraft celebrates five years of domination
Alpha-build UI Five years ago today, Blizzard unleashed the World of Warcraft, a scourge that went on to ruin countless lives and make venture capitalists around the globe throw millions at any monkey with an MMO idea. The game has sold beyond 8.6 million units in the US and that's not even accounting for the millions of players happily handing over $15 a month for an Azeroth fix. The full cultural and financial impact of World of Warcraft can't yet be comprehended, as the phenomenon marches on into the Cataclysm. One day we may be able to grasp the myriad ways WoW has impacted gaming, but that date with epiphany appears to still be a ways off.
WoW's 5th anniversary celebrations have begun
The celebrations have started in Europe and Oceania, anyway! Players in these regions have started to receive their Onyxian Whelps in the mail, along with a letter welcoming them to a new year in Azeroth and a feat of strength upon logging in. This probably means that those of us in the United States (and Canada and whatever other magical lands are in the region) will be getting ours tomorrow. Considering Pilgrim's Bounty also starts tomorrow, it's kind of exciting! It really is a holiday in Azeroth. The screenshot above comes from Enduser of Ghostlands EU. Since most of us here at WoW.com are US players, we're in dire need of screenshots! If you have any, please send them our way along with your character name (if you want credit for it) so we can add them to a gallery! %Gallery-78670%
