I didn’t really have any particular expectations about the game. I didn’t even know about the game to begin with until I saw a friend playing it when I was a kid. I played the Human starting zone on his account and then went home and convinced my parents to buy the game for me.
While I didn’t have any expectations, I -did- have a benchmark for MMORPGs.
2005-era F2P Runescape.
Playing WoW for the first time with that as my only prior experience was insane. The world was SO much bigger, and that’s on top of the obvious graphical disparity over Runescape.
It wasn’t a day-one thing, but exploring the world was very much a big part of what I did in those early days. I distinctly remember getting to the Beach in Westfall, and then just deciding to swim North along the coast of the continent to see if I’d run into anything.
And, I mean, yeah! There’s a couple little things along the way, but then I hit Menethil Bay. I didn’t know about Menethil. I didn’t know Wetlands existed. I’d never been up there and the map wasn’t uncovered.
I “discovered” Menethil by swimming like that and it felt amazing.
And that’s how my Questing path ended up being:
Elwynn Forest → Westfall → All that Northern territory that only has Horde quests now.
I still remember basically just running around Silverpine and poking at chat for SFK groups.
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I was blown away. Many friends were playing and kept trying to get me involved, but I was reluctant. One of them gave me a free month game code, so I tried it out.
I’d never played an MMO before, and I was hooked.
The art of the world. The music. The hugeness of the world. Just loved the immersion of it all.
Started near the end of Vanilla.
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I honestly do not remember my first day in world of warcraft. Not sure why this is because I remember my first day in daoc but I think it was hard for wow to top that hence I can’t remember it. I should note that wow was not the first mmo and it’s probably why.
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My first day I quit the game for like a week. I hated WoW when I first played. Just didn’t understand why my character didn’t turn around or run into range like other RPGs like Runescape.
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I started back in February 2007 after TBC came out. I first made a night elf druid and got mad after I died in the starting area to the first mob I attacked. I quit the game, deleted the toon, and then let my brother have a go. He faired far better so I tried again. I couldn’t let him get the last laugh. Created a blood elf paladin and still have her. She was my main for a good part of TBC. My shaman came next who was my main for the rest of TBC until DF followed by another night elf druid that I’ve been maining this expansion. My first day was more a competition between my brother and I on who was the better player. He was more of a gamer than me but he was more console and I was more PC. He went more toward fighters while I was more toward RPGs and city builders. Clearly the game got my attention enough that first day that I’m still here 17 years later, but a lot of it was due to my brother.
My brother and I shared an account for a few months before I got him his own and moved his characters to it. We then played together from 2007-2020 when he died the day after Shadowlands came out. The death theme of the expansion hit me very hard. My brother was one that suffered from severe autism and often got frustrated leading to him getting into fights. When we started to play WoW together, he stopped getting into fights. While I got bored playing in MoP and WoD, I kept up our subscriptions because the game helped him. I kept playing for him. At one point late into MoP and into WoD, finances got tight and I had to cancel my accounts, but I always found money to keep his going. When he died, I took a break until last October when I finally found the will to come back although I don’t do nearly what I used to do when he was with me. During that time I was out on break, I didn’t let our subscriptions lapse despite me not playing. I’d still log in for the odd holiday, but I didn’t really do much. I still have my brother’s account and I’m still paying for it. It’s more sentimental for me now than anything. I could care less on wasting money on an account I don’t use. It’s really the only thing left of his I still have.
My brother and I went to Blizzcon in 2017 when they announced BFA which looking back on it would have been our 10th year playing the game. They actually used his dwarf hunter, his first toon, in the diorama they built. It made his day and mine. He was laughing excitedly when I showed him that, especially when none of my own characters were included. A part of me wishes I could get Blizzard to give me that figurine since I’m sure the diorama’s now in storage somewhere if it wasn’t just tossed in the trash, but I know I can’t. They wouldn’t give it to me even if I asked. Why would they? But knowing his first toon and his favorite was included was a highlight of our trip and a memory I’ll keep. I still play even if he’s no longer with me.
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I remember i started as a nelf druid. I was in stormsong valley after the intro. And there was a rare or something up, me and this other player killed it. He /thanked me. It sounds small but, those small interactions got me hooked and kept me going.
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i was just blown away by wandering around in a new world. questing and gameplay were much secondary. These days entering new worlds is a dime a dozen - nothing new.
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Stumbled around Tirisfal then went to UC and promptly got lost inside.
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Made my way to goldshire as a fresh human paladin. Saw a horde enhance shaman wrecking havoc then astral recall out of there. Rerolled horde right away.
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My clan came over from DAOC-Percival. We rolled on Warsong, I think. The lag was so bad that 3 days in we relocated to Laughing Skull and abandoned the characters we had been leveling on day 1 just so we could play the game. At the time the only thing I remember that impressed me was the graphics.
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My first day playing WoW was at 3 fps.
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I couldnt figure out how to train spells on my mage so I remade a warrior, I neded up raiding as a mt in tbc with that warrior lol. I eventually figured out how to train mage spells though but I still remember it because of ho dumb I was.
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A May afternoon. My husband was on his first deployment of our marriage. I had Firefly going on the TV. Temps were already cresting 90 degrees. I was living alone in Idaho and all my family & support group of friends were half a country away. I started my first character, a night elf hunter. I fell in love with Teldrassil and was floored going into Darnassus about 2 weeks later. I soon started leveling a druid. I would trade off every 5 levels and work on them both.
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was absolutely jaw dropping amazement in total awe, I had very little online gaming experience or even using a computer for that matter, probably stayed on 20+ hours my first day, my brother set me up.
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I still enjoy the game with other people who started at the same time. Its been great
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my first real WoW memory was being in Goldshire, and seeing a warlock riding a fancy horsie with flaming feet.
i’m like “when i get high enough level, i want THAT horse!” … then get told i can’t have that horsie because i’m not a warlock.
…then i see someone riding the Palomino, and decided I was going to get that one instead.
…only to be told that I can’t have that one either, because it isn’t available any more.
it didn’t break me.
i’m still here.
(and i did create a warlock a little while later, just so i could get the fire-footed horsie)
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Female Tauren warrior and fell immediately in love with how big and interactive the world felt.
I remember killing Ghosthowl in front of another player who was amazed that I did it and asked to be safely escorted to Thunderbluff.
If there is one thing I’m sad we lost in this game it’s moments like that.
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I came in from Everquest, going where my friends had gone.
My first toon was a forsaken warlock. I still play her.
I spent a LOT of time in the Undercity, not having a clue on how to get out. Tried for a long time before asking a friend at long last how to leave the place.
She had to point out the elevators. Seems every time I went to them, they were closed and looked like every other flat wall decoration, so I had no clue. 
Made quite the impression on me.
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I remember wishing Id played at release (WotLK).
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