World of Warcraft ( WoW ) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment . It is the fourth released game set in theWarcraft fantasy universe . [3] World of Warcraft takes place in the Warcraft world of Azeroth , Blizzard’s previous Warcraft release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne . [4] Blizzard Entertainment announced World of Warcraft on September 2, 2001. [5]The game was released on November 23, 2004, on the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise .
The first expansion of the game, The Burning Crusade , was released on January 16, 2007. [6] The second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King , was released on November 13, 2008. [7] The third expansion, Cataclysm , was The fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria , was released on September 25, 2012. [8] The fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor , was released on November 13, 2014. [9] The sixth expansion, Legion Posted on August 30, 2016. [10] The seventh expansion, announced on November 3, 2017, is Battle for Azeroth.
With a peak of 12 million subscriptions in October 2010 and Blizzard’s final report of 5.5 million subscriptions in October 2015, [11] World of Warcraft remains the world’s most-subscribed MMORPG , [7] [12] and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. [13] [14] [15] [16] In January 2014, Blizzard announced that more than 100 million accounts had been created over the game’s lifetime. [17]
At BlizzCon 2017 , Blizzard announced that it is developing a classic server that offers a way to experience the game before any of its expansions. [18]
gameplay
Starting a character or play session
As with other MMORPGs, players control a character avatar within a game world in third – or first-person view, exploring the landscape, fighting various monsters, completing quests, and interacting with non-player characters(NPCs) or other players. Also similar to other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft requires the player to pay for a subscription by using a credit or debit card, using prepaid Blizzard game cards using a WoW gold in-game token you purchased. Players without a subscription can not be used in this game. [19]
To enter the game, the player must select a server , referred to in-game as a realm. Each realm acts as an individual copy of the game world and falls into one of four categories. Available realms types are:
- Normal – a player versus environment (PvE) realm where the gameplay is more focused on defeating monsters and completing quests , player-versus-player, fights must be consensual, and any roleplay is optional.
- PvP ( player versus player ) – an environment where, in addition to defeating monsters and completing quests, open PvP combat is allowed a player can be attacked by the opposing faction’s players at any time.
- RP ( roleplay ) – a variant of PvE, where players roleplay in-character.
- RP-PvP – roleplay-PvP – a variant of PvP, where players are in-character and cross-faction combat is allowed.
Realms are also categorized by language, with in-game support in the language available. [20]
Can can Players. Players…………………… [21]
To create a new character, in keeping with the storyline of previous Warcraft games, players must choose entre les Opposing factions of the Alliance or the Horde; Pandarens, added in Mists of Pandaria , do not commit to a faction until after the starting zone is completed. Characters from the opposing factions can perform easy communication (most often just “emotes”), but only members of the same faction can speak, mail, group and join guilds. The player selects the new character’s race , such as orcs or trolls for the Horde, or humans or dwarves for the Alliance. [22] Players must select the class for the character, with choices such as mages, warriors, and priests available. [23] Most classes are limited to particular races.
Ongoing gameplay
As they become more developed, they gain various talents and skills, requiring the player to further define the abilities of that character.[24] Characters can choose two primary professions that can focus on producing items, such as tailoring, blacksmithing or jewelcrafting or on gathering from resource nodes, such as skinning or mining. Characters can learn all four secondary skills: archeology, cooking, fishing and first aid.[25][26] Characters may form and join guilds, allowing characters within the guild access to the guild’s chat channel, the guild name and optionally allowing other features, including a guild tabard, guild bank, guild repairs, and dues.[27]
Much of World of Warcraft play involves the completion of quests . These quests are usually available from NPCs. [28] Quests usually reward the player with some combination of experience points, items, and in-game money. Quests allow characters to gain access to new skills and abilities, and to explore new areas. [29] It’s all about the game’s story, both through the text and through scripted NPC actions. [30] Quests are linked by a common theme, with each consecutive quest triggered by the completion of the previous, forming a quest chain. Q: Uncommonly, a number of resources, a finding of a number of different types of resources, experience and treasures.
While a character can be played on its own Most end-game challenges are designed in a way that they can only be overcome while in a group. In this way, character classes are used in specific roles within a group. [28] [31] World of Warcraft uses a “rested bonus” system, increasing the rate that a character can gain experience points after the player has taken time away from the game. [24] When a character dies, it becomes a ghost-or wisp for Night Elf characters-at a nearby graveyard. [29]Characters can be resurrected by other characters that have the ability to self-resurrect by moving from the graveyard to the place where they died. If a character is in the process of being degraded, it is necessary to provide the services of the NPC to repair them. Items that have become heavily unusable until they are repaired. If the location of the body is unreachable, they can use a special “spirit healer” NPC to resurrect at the graveyard. When the spirit healer revives a character, these items are further degraded, and the character is significantly weakened by what is in-game called “resurrection sickness” for up to ten minutes, depending on the character’s level. This “[32] [33]
World of Warcraft contains a variety of mechanisms for player versus player (PvP) play. Players on player versus environment (PvE) servers can opt to “flag” themselves, making themselves attackable to players of the opposite faction. [34]Depending on the mode of the realm, PvP can be played in the game of the world, the PvP “flag” must be enabled by the player wishing to fight against players of the opposite faction. PvE (called normal or RP) servers, by contrast, allow a player to choose to engage in combat against other players. There are special areas of the world where free-for-all combat is permitted. Battlegrounds, for example, are similar to a single battleground, but additional copies of the battleground can be made to accommodate additional players. [35]Each battleground has a set objective, such as capturing a flag or defeating an opposing general, which must be completed to win the battleground. Competing in battlegrounds rewards the character with tokens and honor points that can be used to buy armor, weapons, and other general items that can help a player in many areas of the game. Winning a battleground awards more honor and tokens than losing. In addition, players also earn honor when they kill teammates in a battleground. [34]
Setting
World of Warcraft is set in the same universe as the Warcraft series of real-time strategy games and has a similar art direction. [19] World of Warcraft contains elements from fantasy , steampunk , and science fiction: such as gryphons, dragons, and elves; steam-powered automata; zombies, werewolves, and other horror monsters; as well as space travel , spaceships, and alien worlds.
World of Warcraft takes place in a 3D representation of the Warcraft universe that players can interact with through their characters. The game world premiere of the two continents in Azeroth: Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Four separate expansions later added to the game’s playable area of the Outland and Draenor realms and the continents of Northrend and Pandaria. As a player explores new locations, different routes and means of transportation become available. Players can access “flight masters” in newly discovered locations of the world. [36]Players can also use boats, zeppelins, or portals to move from one continent to another. ALTHOUGH the game world remains Relatively similar from day to day, seasonal events Reflecting real world events, Such As Halloween, [37] Christmas, Children’s Week, [34] Easter and Midsummer-have-been Represented in the game world. Rentals also have variable weather, among other things, rain, snow, and dust storms. [36]
A number of facilities are available for cities while in towns and cities. In each major city, characters can access a bank to deposit items, such as treasure or crafted items. Each character has access to personal storage with the option to purchase additional storage space using in-game gold. [38] Additionally, guild banks are available by the guild leader. [39] Auction houses are available for sale online at eBay . [40]Players can use mailboxes, which can be found in almost every town. Mailboxes are used to collect items at auction, and to send messages, items, and in-game money to other characters. [24]
Some of the challenges in the world of warcraft These usually take place in dungeons-also known as “instances” -that a group of characters can enter together. The term “instance” comes from each group or party having a separate copy, or instance, of the dungeon, complete with their own enemies to defeat and their own treasure or rewards. [41] This allows a group to explore areas and complete quests without others interfering. Dungeons are spread over the game world and are designed for characters of varying progress. A typical dungeon will allow you to join the group. Some dungeons require more players to group together and form a “raid”[42] As well as dungeon-based raid challenges, several creatures exist in the normal game environment that are designed for raids to attack. [37] [43]
subscription
World of Warcraft requires a subscription to allow continued play, with options to pay in one-month, three-month, or six-month blocks, and time cards of varying lengths from retailers, or purchasing a “WoW Token” in-game . [44] [45] Expansion packs are available online and from retailers. As the game is the same regardless of the version of World of Warcraft the user owns, the option to purchase expansions. World of Warcraftis also available as a free Starter Edition, which is free to play for an unlimited amount of time. Starter Edition are unable to gain experience, and there are other restrictions in effect for Starter Edition accounts, including the inability to trade, use of mail Auction House, use public chat channels, join guilds or amass more than ten gold. [46]
In January 2015, what did you do with subscriptions, which would not be a player? are still in that guild. [47]
In April 2015, an alternative way to cover the subscription was introduced. A player may spend real money ($ 20 in North America and differing amounts in other regions) on WoW Token, which is sold on the auction house for in-game play. [45]At the launch of the feature in NA, we are willing to spend money and supply. Subsequently, the amount that an NA token sells for more than 30,000 gold and the other Battle.net regions are well above that value. Once a player buys a token on the house, it is an account bound and can not be resold. In February 2017, the Token WoW can also be exchanged for $ 15 in Battle.net which can be used as the most expensive game for Destiny 2 . [48]
Parental controls
The company offers parenting controls [49] that allow various limits to be set on playing time. It is possible to set a daily limit, to a weekly limit, or to specify an allowed playing schedule. In order to control these settings, it is necessary to log in with different credentials than are used just to enter the game. It is also possible to receive statistics on the time spent playing. Apart from controlling children, parents sometimes use parental controls on themselves. [50] The company supports this type of protection as otherwise the players or their supervisors may choose to uninstall or block the game permanently.
Plot
Intent on settling in Durotar, Thrall’s Horde expanded its ranks by inviting the undead Forsaken to join orcs, tauren, and trolls. Meanwhile, dwarves, gnomes, and the ancient night elves pledged their loyalties to the Covenant, guided by the human kingdom of Stormwind. After Stormwind’s King, Varian Wrynn, Mysteriously Disappeared, Highlord Bolvar Fordragon Served as Regent But his service was affected by the mind control of the black dragon Onyxia, who ruled in disguise as a human noblewoman. As heroes investigated Onyxia’s manipulations, the ancient elemental Lord Ragnaros resurfaced to endanger both the Horde and Alliance. [51] The heroes of the Horde and Alliance defeated Onyxia and sent Ragnaros back to the Elemental Plane.
Assault on Blackwing Lair
Deep within Blackrock Mountain, the black dragon Nefarian conducted with dragonflights. He is recruiting the remaining Dark Horde, a rogue army that embraced the demonic bloodlust of the old Horde. These corrupt orcs, trolls, and other races battled against Ragnaros and the Dark Iron dwarves for control of the mountain. Azeroth and continues the legacy of his infamous father, Deathwing the Destroyer. Nefarian was vanquished by the heroes of the Horde and the Alliance.
Rise of the Blood God
Years ago, in the ruined temple of Atal’Hakkar, loyal priests of the Blood God Hakkar the Soulflayer. But his followers, the Atal’ai priesthood, discovered that the Soulflayer could only be summed up within the Gurubashi tribe’s ancient capital, Zul’Gurub. Newly reborn in this jungle fortress, Hakkar took control of the Gurubashi tribe and mortal champions of the trolls’ mighty animal gods. The Soulflayer’s dark influence was halted when the Zandalari tribe recruited heroes and invaded Zul’Gurub.
The Gates of Ahn’Qiraj
The great desert fortress of Ahn’Qiraj, long sealed behind the Scarab Wall, was home to the Qiraji insectoid, a savage race that had been mounted in the devastated continent of Kalimdor. But something far more sinister lurked behind Ahn’Qiraj’s walls: the Old God C’Thun, an ancient entity whose pervasive evil had suffused Azeroth since time immemorial. As C’Thun Incited the Qiraji to Frenzy, both the Alliance and Horde prepared for a massive war effort. A mixed force of Alliance and Horde soldiers, dubbed the Might of Kalimdor, opened the gates of Ahn’Qiraj under the command of Varok Saurfang. The heroes ugly lie to the ruins and temples of Ahn’Qiraj and vanquished C’Thun.
Shadow of the Necropolis
In the Lich King’s haste to spread the plague of undeath over Azeroth, he gifted one of his greatest servants, the lich Kel’Thuzad, with the flying citadel of Naxxramas, as a base of operations for the Scourge. Consistent attacks from the Scarlet Crusade and Silver Dawn factions weakened the defenses of the floating fortress, enabling an incursion from the heroes that led to Kel’Thuzad’s defeat. However, a traitor among the ranks of the Knightly Order of the Silver Dawn ran away with Kel’Thuzad’s cursed remains to Northrend, where the fallen lich could be reanimated.
Development
World of Warcraft was first announced by Blizzard at the ECTS trade show in September 2001. [52] Released in 2004, development of the game took roughly 4-5 years, including extensive testing. The 3D graphics in World Warcraft uses elements of the proprietary graphics engine originally used in Warcraft III . [52] The game was designed to be an open environment where players are allowed to do what they please. [53] Quests are optional and Were designed to help guide players, allow character development, and to spread characters across different zones to try to Avoid what developers called Expired player collision . [54]The game interface allows players to customize their operations, and to install add-ons and other modifications. [55]
World of Warcraft runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Boxed copies of the game uses a hybrid CD to install the game, eliminating the need for separate Mac and Windows retail products. The game allows everyone to play together, regardless of their operating system . ALTHOUGH there is no official release for Any Other platform, stand for World of Warcraft is present in Windows API implementations Wine and CrossOver Allowing the game to be played under Linux and FreeBSD . [56] In addition, the Windows client allows for directOpenGL rendering in Wine, making performance on Unix-like platforms comparable to the native performance on Windows. [57]While a native Linux client is not released by Blizzard, in January 2011 IT journalist Michael Larabel indicated in a Phoronix article that an internal Linux client might exist but is not released due to the lack of standardization of the Linux distro ecosystem . [58]
Regional variations
In the United States, Canada, and Europe, Blizzard distributes World of Warcraft via retail software packages. [59] The software package includes 30 days of gameplay for no additional cost. To continue playing after the initial 30 days, additional play time must be purchased with a credit card or prepaid game card. The minimum gameplay is a credit card, or 60 using a prepaid game card. A player also has the option of purchasing three or six months of gameplay at a 6-15% discount. [60] In Australia, the United States, and many European countries, video game blinds commonly stock the trial version of World of Warcraftin DVD form, which includes the game and 20 levels [61] of gameplay, after which the player would have to upgrade to a retail account by supplying a valid credit card, or purchasing a game card as well as a retail copy of the game .
In Brazil, World of Warcraft was released on December 6, 2011 via BattleNet. The first three expansions are currently available, fully translated, including voice acting, into Brazilian Portuguese . [62]
In South Korea, there is no software package or CD key requirement to activate the account. However, to play the game, players must purchase time credit online. There are two kinds of time available: one where the player is based on the number of minutes that will be available, and one where the player can play the game for a number of days. In the train, it can be purchased in multiples of 5 hours or 30 hours, and in the latter, can be purchased in multiples of 7 days, 1 month, or 3 months. [63] As software packages are not required, the expansion pack is available to all players on launch day.
In China, because of the fact that they do not own the computer they use to play games (eg Internet cafes ), the CD keys required to create an account can be purchased independently from the software package. To play the game, players must also buy prepaid game cards that can be played for 66 hours and 40 minutes. [64] A monthly fee model is not available to players of this region. The Chinese government and NetEase , the licensee for the World of Warcraft in China, has imposed a change on the Chinese version of the game which places flesh on bare-boned skeletons and dead bodies. These changes have been imposed by the Chinese government in an attempt to “promote a healthyharmonious online game environment “in World of Warcraft . [65] [66] The Chinese government HAS delayed the release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, due to what it feels is objectionable happy. [67]NetEase Took over licensing of World of Warcraft from The9 in June 2009 following the expiration of The9’s contract, [68] and was able to secure a launch for the Lich King on August 31, 2010, nearly two years after its Western release.
Post-launch development
The World of Warcraft Launcher (Referred to in press releases and the bar menu as the “Blizzard Launcher”) is a program designed to act as a starting spot for World of Warcraft players. It provides a way to launch World of Warcraft and starts the Blizzard updater. It was first included with the 1.8.3 patch version. The 2.1.0 patch is for an option to bypass the use of the launcher. Features of the launcher include news and updates for World of Warcraft players, access to World of Warcraft ‘ s media website, access to the trial version of World of Warcraft When it is available to test upcoming patches, updates to Warden , [69]and updates to the updater itself. The 3.0.8 patch redesigned the launcher and added the ability to change the game from the launcher itself. The launcher update from patch 4.0.1 also allows people to play the game while non-crucial pieces of the game are downloaded. This requires a high-speed broadband internet connection.
Patch 1.9.3 added native support for Intel-powered Macs , making World of Warcraft a universal application . As a result of this, the minimum supported Mac OS X version has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X. [70] PowerPC architecture Macs are no longer supported since version 4.0.1. [71]
When new content is added to the game, official system requirements may change. In version 1.12.0 The requirements for Windows are 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM. Official Windows 98 technical support was dropped, but the game continued to run until version 2.2.3. [72] Before Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft will officially drop support for Windows 2000 . [73]
Starting with 4.3, [74] players could try out an experimental 64-bit version of the client, which requires manual downloading and copying files into the installation folder. Since 5.0, the 64-bit client is automatically installed, and used by default.
Since the World IPv6 Day , the client and most of the servers are supporting IPv6 . [75]
expansions
| title | Release Date | Level Cap |
|---|---|---|
| The Burning Crusade | January 2007 | 70 |
| Wrath of the Lich King | November 2008 | 80 |
| Cataclysm | December 2010 | 85 |
| Mists of Pandaria | September 2012 | 90 |
| Warlords of Draenor | November 2014 | 100 |
| Legion | August 2016 | 110 |
| Battle for Azeroth | TBD | 120 |
Six expansion -have-been released: The Burning Crusade , released in January 2007, Wrath of the Lich King , released in November 2008, Cataclysm , released in December 2010, Mists of Pandaria , released in September 2012, Warlords of Draenor , released in November 2014 , and Legion , released in August 2016. These are not available until they are so far.
Blizzard routinely applies older expansions to all accounts as new expansions are released. On June 28, 2011, The Burning Crusade Expansion was automatically applied to all previous Warcraft accounts at no cost. On September 19, 2012, the same thing was done with the Wrath of the Lich King Expansion, [76] and on October 15, 2013 the Cataclysm expansion was also applied. [77] Most recently, on October 15, 2014, Mists of Pandaria was applied to all accounts following the release of Warlords. [78] On May 17, 2016,Warlords of Draenor was applied to all accounts to coincide with the release of the Warcraft movie that gives a 30-day trial of the game.[79] All The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor content is now effectively part of the original game, with all new Warcraft accounts automatically including these expansions upon creation.[76]
The fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor , was announced on BlizzCon 2013 on November 8, 2013, [80] [81] and on the debut on June 27, 2014. [82] Warlords of Draenor was released on November 13, 2014. [9] ] On August 6, 2015, Blizzard annoncé the sixth expansion, Legion , at Gamescom 2015 . [83] In November 2015, the Legion’s alpha testing started in April 2016 the beta test started; The latest expansion was released on August 30, 2016.
Music
The soundtrack for World of Warcraft was composed by Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush, Derek Duke, and Glenn Stafford and conducted by Eímear Noone . It was released on November 23, 2004, together with the collector’s edition of the game. It is sold separately on one CD in the MP3 format.
On January 12, 2011, Alfred Publishing produced an internationally licensed sheet music series for vocalists, pianists, stringers, and other instruments, World of Warcraft Sheet Music Anthology in Solo and accompaniment formats with CD. These works include four pages of collectible artwork.
Professional competition
In early 2012 Blizzard Entertainment started its own series of tournaments for World of Warcraft and Starcraft II , culminating in the 2012 Battle.net World Championship Global Finals.
Reception
World of Warcraft received very positive reviews upon release, [85] following a period of high anticipation before launch. [91] Although the game follows a similar model, it has been noted that the genre is one of a kind, [19] [86] the new approaches to reducing pauses between games. [30] A common example was the approach to character death. In some previous MMORPGs, a player would have a high penalty for character death; in World of Warcraft , a player is able to recover and start playing fast. [19]Fighting was another area where “downtime”, or breaks between play, was reduced. By allowing all types to recover from damage, players can return to fight quickly. [30] Reviewers felt that these changes would make the genre more accessible to casual players-those who play for short periods of time- [30] while still having “deep” gameplay that would attract players of all levels of interest. [29] The concept of a “rested bonus”, or increasing the rate at which a player’s character gains experience, was also welcomed as a way for players to quickly catch up with their friends in progress. [19]
Questing has been described as an integral part of the game, often being used to continue to storyline or lead the player through the game. [30] The high number of quests in each location was popular, and the rewards for completing them. [19] It was felt that the range of quests removed the need for a player to “grind”, or carry out repetitive tasks, to advance their character. [29] Quests also require players to explore every aspect of the game. [30]Quests that required the player to collect items from the bodies of creatures they had also been unpopular; the low “drop rate”, or chance of finding the items, makes them feel astonishing. [29] A large number of new players in a particular field of creatures who have not been created to kill, [30] or that players would have to wait and take turns to kill a particular creature to complete a quest. [19] Some critics mentioned that the lack of quests that the players have been designed for the game. [88]Others complained that some dungeon or instanced group quests were not friendly to new players, and could take several hours to complete. [29] Upon release, a small number of quests HAD software bugs That Made Them not to full. [19]
Characters have been shown to be “viable and interesting,” having different distinct and different mechanisms, [88] and each of the races having a distinct look and feel. [19]Character development was also favored, with [86] and profession options being praised. [19] Character customization options were felt to be low, [29] but the detail of character models was praised. [91]
The appearance of the game world was praised by critics. Most popular was the fact that a player could not wait to get back to the game. [91] The environment was described as “breathtaking”. Players found it difficult to get lost, and each area in the game world had a distinct look that blended from one to the next. [30] Critics described the environment as “a careful blend of cartoon, fantasy art, and realism”. [86] The game was found to run smoothly we ranks of computer systems, [19] ALTHOUGH Some Described it as basic, [30] and MENTIONED que la bloomlight rendering effect can blur things. [29] One reviewer described the ability to fly over long stretches of scenery as “very atmospheric”. [88] The user interface was liked, being described as “simple”, with tooltips helping to get the player started. [19]
The game’s audio, the background music. By the world of the world of the world of gameplay, reviewers felt that the fantasy style was added to the player’s immersion, [86] and that the replay value was increased. [29] The sounds and voices used by characters and NPCs, as well as the overall sound effects, were felt to add a “personality” to the game. [86]
World of Warcraft won several awards from publishing, including Editor’s Choice awards. [19] [29] In addition, it has won several annual awards from the media, being described as the best game in the role-playing and MMORPG genres. [92] The graphics and audio were also praised in the annual awards, with the cartoonish style [93] and overall sound makeup being noted. [94] The game was also awarded Best Mac OS X Entertainment Product at the 2005 Apple Design Awards. [95] Computer Games Magazine named World of WarcraftThe best computer game of 2004, and Steve Bauman’s magazine described his “feeling that blizzard has been analyzed every moment of the game. It also won the magazine’s “Best Art Direction”, “Best Original Music” and “Best Interface” awards. [96]
World of Warcraft was recognized at the 2005 Spike TV Game Video Awards where it won Best PC Game , Best Multiplayer Game , Best RPG , and Most Addictive Game . [97] In 2008, World of Warcraft was honored-along with Neverwinter Nights and EverQuest -at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the art form of MMORPG games. [98] In 2009, Game Informer ranked World of Warcraft 11th on their list of “The Top 200 Games of All Time”. [99]In 2015, the game placed 3rd on USgamer ‘s The 15 Best Games Since 2000 list. [100]
World of Warcraft was the best-selling PC game of 2005 and 2006. [101] In the United States, it sold 1.4 million copies ($ 68.1 million) by August 2006. It was the country’s third best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. [102] On January 22, 2008, World of Warcraft had more than 10 million subscribers worldwide, with more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and about 5.5 million in Asia. [103] At its peak in October 2010 the game had 12 million subscribers. [104] As of November 2014 the game has over 10 million active subscribers. [105]On January 28, 2014 Blizzard announced that 100 million accounts have been created for the game. [106] On May 7, 2015, it was announced that there were 7.1 million active subscriptions. [107] [108] [109] [110] At the end of June 2015, subscriptions dropped to 5.6 million, the lowest since 2005. [111] By the end of September, subscribers were at 5.5 million. [112]
Less than two months after-Beginning operation of World of Warcraft in China on September 19, 2009, NetEase Was ordered to stop charging players time immediately and to cease accepting registrations. [113] [114] A press Indicated That estimate if World of Warcraft Were shut down in China, the loss of Subscribers Would Have Caused Activision Blizzard’s earnings to fall from 65 cents per share to 60 cents per share. [113] In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62 percent of the MMORPG subscription market. [115]
Security concerns
When players create World of Warcraft accounts, they are asked to choose a username and password. Afterward, whenever they play World of Warcraft , they are asked to supply the same username and password in full. This is also the case when using account management facilities online. This type of authentication is vulnerable to keystroke logging . While this is not unique to the world of warcraft and is common to many MMORPGs , the game has been directly targeted with trojans being specifically crafted to capture account login details. [116] Attacks have been reported as early as May 2006 and may extend as far back as July 30, 2005. [117]The game does, however, allow players to save their account to the program to allow the player to only their type of password. [118]
In September 2006, reports Emerged spoof of World of Warcraft game That advice websites contained malware . Vulnerable computers would be infected through their web browsers , downloading a program that would then relay back account information. Blizzard’s account support team experienced high demand during this episode, which has been affected. Claims were also made that were closed for the first time by the volume of calls and resulting in queues. [119] In April 2007, further exploits involving animated cursors, with multiple websites being used. [120] [121] Security researcher group Symantecreleased a report stating that a compromised World of Warcraft account was worth US $ 10 on the black market , compared to US $ 6 to US $ 12 for a compromised computer (correct as of March 2007). [122] In February 2008, phishing emails were distributed requesting that users validate their account information using a version of the World Warcraft Account Management pages. [123] In June 2008, Blizzard announced the Blizzard Authenticator , available as a hardware security token or mobile application [124] that provides two-factor security. The token generaone-time password based code that the player supplies when logging on. The password, used in the user’s own password, is only valid for a couple of minutes, thus providing extra security against malware keylogging . [125]
Blizzard Makes use of a system Known As Warden on the Windows version of the game to detect third-party programs, Such As botting software, Allowing World of Warcraft to be played unattended. There has been some controversy as to the legality of Warden. Warden uses techniques similar to anti-virus software to analyze other running software on PCs, as well as the file system . HOWEVER, MOST Unlike antivirus software, it Sends a portion of this information back to Blizzard, qui Caused privacy advocates to accuse it of being white spyware . [126]One example of the information Warden collects WoW is running.[127] On the other hand, many gamers responded positively to the development, stating that they supported the technology if it resulted in fewer cases of cheating. Blizzard’s use of Warden was stated in the Terms of Agreement (TOA).[128]
The Warden’s existence was acknowledged in March 2008, during the legal proceedings against MDY Industries. [129] The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Arizona , and also listed Michael Donnelly as a defendant. Donnelly was included in the game as the creator of MMO Glider , software that can automatically play many tasks in the game. Blizzard the software is an infringement of its copyright and software license agreement, stating that “Gliding is used for playing games, playing games, playing games and games, and undermining the in-game economy.” Donnelly claims to have 100,000 copies of the $ 25 software. [130]
Real ID
On July 6, 2010, Blizzard Entertainment announced that it’s for forums for all games, users’ accounts would display the real names tied to their accounts. [131] Blizzard Blizzard en ligne en Facebook en ligne en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en ligne Blizzard en ligne en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en Facebook en français Blizzard has created over the years. [132]
In response to the questions, Blizzard released on the news on July 9, 2010, announcing that the Real ID integration with the official forums has been canceled. [133] [134]
Community and study of interaction player
In addition to playing the game and conversing Itself one discussion forums provided by Blizzard, World of Warcraft players Often Participate in the virtual community in creative ways, Including fan artwork [135] and comic strip style storytelling. [136]
Blizzard garnered criticism for its decision in January 2006 to ban guilds from advertising sexual orientation preferences. The incident occurred after several players were cited for “harassment” after advocating a group that was a gay-straight alliance. [137] [138] Blizzard LGBT -friendly guilds.
On October 7, 2010 World of Warcraft reached a subscriber base of over 12 million players. [139] Since May 2011, the number of players has decreased by 10% from 11.4 million to 10.3 million. Blizzard’s CEO Mike Morhaime said that the reason was probably a drop-off in the Eastern markets. [140] In 2012, senior producer John Lagrave Told Eurogamer que la subscriptions drop in May-have beens aussi Attributed To the recent release of BioWare ‘s Star Wars: The Old Republic . [141]
Real world
As with other MMORPGs , companies have been offering services. The practice of amassing gold and in-game items for profit is often referred to as gold farming .
After Blizzard started offering free trial gameplay accounts, players noticed an increase in spam from bots advertising these services. [142] One study shows that this problem is particularly prevalent on the European realms, with their European counterparts. [143]
In patch 2.1, Blizzard responded to this by adding additional anti-spam mechanics and whisper throttling. Additional, trial accounts are prevented from speaking in the public chat channels, and with the Auction House and the mail, participating in in-game trades feature, among other limitations.
In May 2007, Blizzard filed a lawsuit against in Dollar Game LLC (trading as peons4hire) in US federal court. In February 2008, the party filed a consent decree in qui in Game Dollar Agreed to chorus from using Any World of Warcraft chat or communication to advertise or sell Any Any business services Relating to World of Warcraft . [144] In June 2007, Antonio Hernandez’s World of Warcraft player filed a lawsuit against IGE for interfering with the game. [145]
As characters progress in the world of warcraft and take on some of the toughest challenges, many of the rewards received are bound to that character and can not be traded, generating a market for the trading of accounts with well-equipped characters. The highest noted World of Warcraft trade for 5000 ($ 7000, US $ 9,900) in early September 2007. The high price was earned at the end of the day. players, due to the difficulty in acquiring them. However, Blizzard banned the account after the purchase. [146]
The practice of buying or selling gold in World Warcraft has generated significant controversy. [147] On February 21, 2008, Blizzard released a statement concerning the consequences of buying gold. Blizzard reported that an “alarmingly high” proportion of all haired originates from “hacked” accounts. The article also stated that customers who had paid for their services had their accounts compromised. The article noted that leveling service companies often used “disruptive hacks … which can cause realm performance and stability issues”. [148]In April 2015, introduced to the game in real money. A player may spend $ 20 on a one-month “game time token” that can be sold in-game gold on the auction house. [45]
In December 2015, Blizzard sold an in-game battle named Brightpaw for $ 10 with the Make-A-Wish Foundation . [149] This resulted in a new Blizzard record donation of over $ 1.7 million to Make-A-Wish. [150] In December 2016, Blizzard again sold a battle named Mischief for $ 10; it’s more than 2.5 million for Make-A-Wish. [151] In September 2017, Blizzard sold a battle named Shadow the fox for $ 10, with proceeds going to the Red Cross to help with dis relief. [152]
Corrupted Blood Plague Incident
The Corrupted Blood Plague Incident was one of the first events to affect entire servers. Patch 1.7 saw the opening of Zul’Gurub, the game’s first 20-player raid dungeon where players faced off against a tribe of trolls. Upon engaging the final boss, players were stricken by a debuff called “Corrupted Blood” which would periodically sap their life. The disease has been passed on by other players simply by being infected. Originally this malady was confined within the Zul’Gurub instance, but it made its way into the world by way of hunter pets or warlock minions that contracted the disease.
Within hours, Corrupted Blood had completely infected major concentrations because of their high concentration. Low-level players have been killed by the high-damage disease. Eventually, Blizzard fixed the issue that could not exist outside Zul’Gurub.
The Corrupted Blood is closely related to the outbreak of real-world epidemics that are currently being investigated by MMORPGs or other massively distributed systems. The reaction of players in the field of predictability has already been shown to be difficult to predict. [153]
In other media
World of Warcraft has got to know the art of satirize. One example is the Emmy Award-winning South Park episode ” Make Love, Not Warcraft “. [154] [155]
The game has been used to advertise unrelated products, such as Toyota trucks. [156]
In late 2007, Mr. T , William Shatner , and Verne Troyer discuss the virtues of the character classes in the game. [157] A Spanish commercial featuring Guillermo Toledo , and a commercial French featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme , were also televised. [158] Two more were shown in November 2008, featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Steve Van Zandt . [159] Another commercial in the series, which featured in November 2011, featured Chuck Norrisand played on the Internet phenomenon of ” Chuck Norris facts “. [160]
World of Warcraft HAS inspired two board games: World of Warcraft: The Board Game (Including Shadow of War and The Burning Crusade expansion) [161] and World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game , [162] [163] produced by Fantasy Flight Games . There is also a trading card game , [164] and a collectible game [165] on the market, both formally produced by Upper Deck Entertainment , now produced by Cryptozoic Entertainment. Cryptozoic released an “Archive” set which contains foil reproductions of older cards produced by Upper Deck. In August 2012, Megabloks launched a world of warcraft ‘building block’ toys based on the game scenes, scenarios and characters. [166] In March 2014, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft was released, which is a free-to-play digital card game based on the Warcraft universe, using classes similar to World of Warcraft. [167]
In November 2007, DC Comics published the first issue of the World of Warcraft comic under their Wildstorm imprint . [168]
Crossover promotions
To mark the release of Hearthstone , Blizzard released the Hearthsteed mount for World of Warcraft players. The mount is awarded through winning three games in Arena Gold Play mode. [169] Widely advertised on various World of Warcraft websites, this promotion encourages World of Warcraft players to try Hearthstone and marked the first significant crossover implemented between Blizzard games.
Players who purchase Warlords of Draenor Collector ‘s or Digital Deluxe Edition receive an Orc themed card back in Hearthstone . [170] Heroes of the Storm players who reach level 20 receive the Grave Golem battle in World of Warcraft and reach reaching level 100 in World of Warcraft receive an Ironside Tell Wolf mount in Heroes of the Storm . [171] Starting on March 11, 2016, who has a character to 20 in WoW , which can be completed with the free starter edition, earn the alternate Paladin hero Lady Liadrin in Hearthstone . [172]
Purchasing Overwatch Origins or Collectors Edition gives WoW players with the Baby Winston battle pet.