WOW Wins My Heart!

Hello! And welcome to my review of World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Litch King, and in broader terms, and the game as a whole.

My character is a dwarven rogue named Nessan. My adventures with Nessan have taken approximately two years! He’s been around since the Burning Crusade expansion, and is currently level 80.

Even though it has taken such a long period of time for me to reach that level, due to changes within the game to make it a much more approachable and easier to play game, a well seasoned player can reach this level within a month.

For those whom are just starting to play World of Warcraft you’ll find that in this particular stage of the game, you’ll be able to easily reach level eighty without too much trouble and acquire gear much more easily along the way.

However, this level of difficulty may be a little too easy for some, but, still now is the time for enjoyable, quick, easy and exciting level progression within the world of Warcraft!

So, you may be asking yourself “Why play World of Warcraft now? What’s so special about Wrath of the Litch King? What’s there to do and see?” Well I can answer those questions and more!

First thing about this expansion, is Northrend. This world strikes terror, intrigue and interest in the hearts of all fans of WoW. Northrend is the newly available continent in the world of Azeroth which is the icy (mostly) home of the Litch King, Arthas.

Besides from breathtaking locales, views, and a wonderfully composed soundtrack, there is also the lure of adventure, new and exciting quests, new weapons, mountains of gold, and an immersive storyline which ultimately takes you to the doorstep of the Litch King himself.

In other words, there are plenty of quests, items, gold, titles, and new and exciting features available in Northrend.

Why bother walking when you can fly?

Take your flying mount around Northrend in style and comfort, as that tedious walking and running around becomes a thing of the past. As well, all professions in the game have a higher end-game boost in which exciting items, spells, and crafts can be made. Not including a spiffy new robotic butler for the engineers!

Among the main things you shall be doing in this expansion, and the game, is fighting. Loads and loads of fighting will take place within the game. Your character, depending on the class, will utilize a variety of weapons to suit your combat and group needs!

As a warrior, you may be inclined to grab a sword and shield, acting as the “tank” for your party, soaking up damage and “aggression” as the rest of your friends finish off the helpless critter.

As a rogue, you’ll also utilize many weapons, including daggers, maces, and swords to slice and stab at your enemies from behind. Some classes are limited in their weapon choices, to balance out the game for Player verse Player.

However, when in game, it’s always good to research what types of weapons you can wield and use, as you may be called upon to wield different weapon combinations in the future.

As I mentioned before as well, there is quite a few Player verse Player interactions involved. Many of these battles will take place between the Horde and the Alliance.

Often, these battles will be held in Battlegrounds where you can earn honour from killing enemies, experience to help you level, and tokens to help acquire special gear. However, these battlegrounds sometimes have special goals, and there are many different types of battlegrounds.
Teamwork, knowledge of your class, and helpful attitudes are necessary to achieving victory for your team.

In some battlegrounds, you will be called to use siege weaponry such as Glaive Throwers, Steam tanks, and even flying airships! To my knowledge, there are only two types of “Siege” based battlegrounds. Wintergrasp is one such place. Wintergrasp is a PvP zone within Northrend, which utilizes flag capturing, siege weapons, and daily quests.

As a bonus for those seeking something extra, in battlegrounds such as Alterac Valley and Wintergrasp, looting your dead opponents may result in some interesting misc. items. However, to find out what those are, you’ll have to just go and discover them yourself.

Among most of the chief things in Warcraft, traveling with companions and friends is some of the most rewarding and fun parts of World of Warcraft.

My own travels as Nessan have seen many journeys and shenanigans across Azeroth. Often, I am accompanied by my loyal and ( sometimes ) drunken friend Arkos. When Arkos and my own character, Nessan, aren’t guzzling down brews at the Inns, we are out fighting critters, creeps, and the odd dragon.

Arkos is a paladin, and thus acts as both a healer and a tank for our little group! Paladins boast both healing, dps ( Damage Per Second ), and tanking abilities.

So, fortunately for me, we combine to make a great team. Often, especially in Northrend, we are found doing daily quests together to gather gold for our flying mounts and new equipment. As well we often get together to go through dungeons to find exciting new gear, weapons, items, achievements, and other exciting things!

Also, I occasionally find myself in the company of my friend Endelos. Endelos, being a long-time friend of mine, is also a warrior. Warriors, like I have probably described somewhat earlier on, take on the roles of a tank and sometimes dps. However, when really getting down to the point, it doesn’t matter who you take.

Having fun is the real goal, and enjoying the company of your friends is too.

Another aspect of the social scene in Warcraft are Guilds.

Guilds are vital and important to the Warcraft experience for a wide variety of reasons. Reason one; you can easily make friends by joining a guild! The easiest way to make friends in game is to join a guild.

Guilds are most likely to contain higher level, and knowledgeable people who are more then happy to help you. Reason two; you can gain access to reliable and trustworthy groups for raiding and dungeon running.

Grouping with random players can be risking at times, but, in a guild your chances of finding a ‘rotten apple among the bunch’ is reduced.

Grouping with your guild mates is often the best way to find easy, relaxed, and helpful dungeon groups.

Reason three: Guilds can help you find people who are interested in what you are looking for in the game. Many, many different guilds exist in many different servers of world of Warcraft; you are almost assured to find one to suit your needs.

Whether its questing, socializing, dungeon running, or raiding, you almost guaranteed to find the right group for you! So, with this information in mind, the concept of joining a guild is probably pretty temping, especially with the release of so many new dungeons and raids available in Northrend.

By now, your probably also thinking about “Damn! I wonder what kind of epic secrets and discoveries I can make?” Well, let me help you discover a few “hidden” gems within World of Warcraft.

For Alliance characters, in Westfall there are an abundance of chickens. Ever wonder what would happen if you clucked repeatedly at them, until, perhaps something happened? Perhaps if you fed him the right kind feed, it might just let you keep him.

As well, for both Alliance and Horde ( if you’re truly wanting this quest ) there is a hidden quest among the murlocs of Westfall. It is rumoured that they hold a treasure map, which will lead you to the treasure of Captain Sanders.

However, who knows how many murlocs you’ll have to kill to find the map? For those who are simply looking to find a few “obvious references” there are many pop culture and Blizzard references within the game.

Gahzrilla, for one, is a giant thunder lizard within a dungeon located in Tanaris. For you Starcraft fans as well, the ‘grave’ of Nova is rumoured to be located somewhere within Netherstorm. Who knows, though? You will just have to sift through these rumours and hints, looking for chickens and giant lizards!

So, as I come to a close with this review I look back on my own experiences on Wrath of the Litch King. I had some goods times, frustrating times, and fun times alike.

I enjoyed Blizzard’s new slew of critters and creep for me to slay and the new dungeons to rumble and rampage through. Flying across the frozen ( and sometimes tropical! ) land of Northrend was also a blast!

The quests were amazing, often engaging and buried with interesting rewards, stories, and challenging creatures.

As an Engineer, I also loved being able to be a valuable part of the raiding and dungeons groups, being able to construct my own vendor.

All in all, if I had to rate Wrath of the Litch King for its entertainment, I’d have to rate it an eight out of nine. Why eight? Because, even though I enjoyed the game throughout, I still had my own personal issues with the storyline at the end.

Too much has changed for myself to truly enjoy it to the full, but don’t let that keep you from the game!

World of Warcraft is still one of the more engaging games out there, with limitless possibilities and things to do. To even scratch the surface of Warcraft’s amazing crafting levels, amazing achievement lists, and even more exciting features of Warcraft, I’d be writing for days on end. I would encourage all to go to the website itself and try out the free trial available there! So, what are you waiting for?!

I’ll see you all in the cold wastes of Northrend!