As we approach the release of Classic, I thought it’d be fun to wind back the years and talk about the events that led to me playing WoW almost 15 years ago. Feel free to share your story too.
I had just turned 17, I had just graduated from high school and I was looking at going to the local community college. Lots of changes were happening in my life, and I was really just trying to enjoy the last “free” summer I’d have in a while. I started watching an old anime on Toonami called .Hack//sign. I was immediately smitten with the idea of playing in a world that was expansive, with mysteries to be discovered and uncharted terrain to be explored.
I was completely unfamiliar with MMO’s at that point in my life, so imagine my joy when I discovered that many games like that existed! Initially I wanted to go with Final Fantasy, but after scouring the net a bit, I realized that WoW was alot more forgiving and friendly to newcomers to the genre, so I went with that.
Created my first character in December of '04 in Eonar and I took my time reaching 60. I believe I dinged 60 around May or June '05. Once I did, I started raiding hardcore with a few guilds and after a few years, I wound down, playing casually towards the end of TBC. I haven’t really touched BFA, and I’m burnt out on live WoW.
Fast forward to today and I’m married with a career and a 13 month old, and time is at a premium. I understand I might not recapture the magic I felt when I first explored Teldrassil, I won’t feel the awe of staring at my first Ancient Protector as they lumbered outside of Shadowglen, neither will I feel the burst of excitement I felt when I got my first green drop at lvl 13. I know I won’t feel the terror I felt when I ran with 4 others from Menethil Harbor to Iron Forge. I know there are so many things that won’t and can’t be replicated. But I’m hoping that if I can even capture just a tiny bit of that magic again, it’ll all be worth it!