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Where Are They Now? 2012 personalities, including the blind player and his 'guide dog'
At last, our look back at five years of WoW personality interviews rolls around to the duo everyone's been asking about: Hexu and Davidian, the British soldier blinded in Iraq and his redoubtable "guide dog" guildmate who steered him through full participation in current raid content. Their story exploded across the internet after we interviewed Davidian here on WoW Insider, and Blizzard recognized the dynamic duo with in-game helms with flavor text alluding to their inspiring bond of friendship. Hexu and Davidian are both still playing World of Warcraft -- but the duo is together no more. As of the new year, the ever-energetic Hexu has been raiding on a new rogue, Dirtypawz, in Unqualified on Stormrage (EU). "I know!" he replies to my unspoken exclamation of surprise and sadness. "It was just that people were only raid logging, and it got boring -- but it was all amicable and cool. I still speak to people in Die Safe. I just wanted to do more than raid three nights a week." Hexu/Dirtypawz says a "very nice bloke" named Vatic is serving as his current raiding "guide dog" helper. "The people in the guild are all nice people," he adds, "and there [are] always things going on." We'll visit with Hexu/Dirtypawz next month about how he's settling in and dig into his tips for the many sight-disabled players who've written to us during the past year trying to reach him for advice. Meanwhile, Davidian reports that the year since we interviewed him has been packed with recognition and encouragement. "The publicity was just unreal," he says. "Even to this day, I get people coming to our server just to say how much the story inspired them and restored their faith in the gaming community. The biggest thing of all, though, was the fact that it made its way to Blizzard, and myself and Ben got signed copies of the collectors edition of Cataclysm signed by at least 50 members of the Blizzard team, and [we] received in-game pets also. Then to top it off, having in-game items with our names on them was just outstanding -- I mean, to be immortal in a game that we love to play is just, well words couldn't possibly describe it." All good people connecting to play a game that's close to our hearts ... Keep reading for more updates about people who love World of Warcraft, from our interviews during 2012.
A peek inside The Insiders with WoW Insider
Just like this headline, there's a lot to get inside of in this particular feature -- in particular, the WoW Insider family of guilds, which loosely connect our website with readers and fans in game. While a handful of WoW Insider staffers have ended up in the same raiding guild after this many years, most are just like you and me, following friends, family or changing raiding opportunities to different realms and different guilds. There is a place, though, where WI writers, editors and readers come together to enjoy in-game holidays, meet and greet events where readers can chat with WI staffers, and a year-round home for casual players: the WI family of guilds on Zangarmarsh (US-Horde). This loose collective comprises It Came from the Blog, an open group for anyone who'd like to run holiday events with a gang of other WI readers; My Other Guild is Full, an overflow guild for alts; and The Insiders, a casual guild of players who enjoyed the atmosphere in ICftB so much that they stuck around with their mains. In the thick of all that activity is Kijani, a once-alt who's become an officer with The Insiders, helping an enthusiastic team of other "blog lords" build a group that's offering more and more to its huge group of members. "Kijiani exemplifies what is great about the members of The Insiders (as well as It came from the Blog)," says WoW Insider's Robin Torres, who leads It Came from the Blog special events. "He helps make guildchat and group activities fun. While he is enthusiastic, he's also relaxed. I'm happy he's representing such a wonderful guild."
