The history of the Warcraft series. History of World of Warcraft. Prehistoric times, distant past

Each world keeps its secrets and traditions. Legend of the world Warcraft from Blizzard for ten years from a simple tale of the invasion of green-skinned invaders has turned into a huge epic world with its heroes, memorable places, dates and ancient history.

Now we take Azeroth for granted, for granted. Well, who does not know that the local gnomes are undersized, elves eared, tauren moo, and the undead smell bad. But if you think about it - where did these Lordaeron, Kalimdor, Khaz-Modan come from? What are the roots and origins of past and present wars? And how did Azeroth end up with such a life (non-life)?

To understand the present, you need to know the past. It is necessary to look into the depths of the centuries, where the answers to all questions have lurked. It is necessary to uncover and read the history of Azeroth.

Titans and the formation of the universe

Nobody knows exactly how it all started. All the witnesses, no matter how many there were, will not tell anyone. Recently, the Big Boom theory has been popular in Azeroth - not otherwise, at the suggestion of goblin scientists. Eared professors claim that at first everything was Very Empty and Dark, but suddenly there was a deafening explosion, the worlds scattered like billiard balls - and everything started spinning. “However, perhaps the One Goblin created us all,” they immediately modestly add.

For a long time, the worlds spun with Christmas tree decorations in the void, and the roar of the explosion echoed among them. It seemed that everything was ready to settle down, but then giant creatures came out of the noise from nowhere. Shining stars reflected on their metal bodies. They were robots, although in those days they preferred to call themselves titans.

With a grunt, they swept the asteroids into a heap, tidied up among the planets, fashioned mountains and seas on them, breathed an atmosphere - sometimes oxygen, and sometimes methane.

The universe has become noticeably cleaner. But the second law of thermodynamics cannot be fooled. The creatures from the world of entropy and chaos, nicknamed by the titans the Distorted Nether, threatened to nullify all the efforts of the iron-skinned. Demons from the Downworld more than anything else did not like cleanliness and order, striving to inherit and spoil wherever possible: “I hate good deeds! And I will see dark deeds! "

But the Titans are a hard-working people. Such is their titanic share. The annoying creatures everywhere got a good shake.

Sargeras and his betrayal

Demons cannot be expelled for good - they will always find a gap in the fence in order to be back where they were not invited. Very soon the pesky critters brought the Titans to their feet. And then the iron pantheon gathered, thundering with hinges, and began to look for the extreme.

The last one was found quickly - the titans pushed out of their ranks a simple bronze robot named Sargeras.

Here you will be responsible for the demons. Sign, get a broom and go.

Why me? - the bronze guy was indignant.

Because it should be so. Because the demons got everyone worse than cockroaches, and you are the strongest among us. Because the party gave the order. What should I say?

Glory to the robots ... - Sargeras mumbled without enthusiasm and set to work alone.

For thousands of years, Sargeras hunted demons and swept them into the Netherworld. It was easy, but very boring and pointless work. The demons did not diminish. Most of all, the bronze giant was worried by a gang of eredar sorcerers, which inhabited the worlds, pigs there, turned all the inhabitants into demons and went into the sunset. Seeing the heaps of cigarette butts, broken bottles and syringes left after the eredar, Sargeras now and then fell into a deep depression.

Another armed group, calling itself "nathrezim", amused themselves by sowing stupid, evil, fleeting in all the worlds that came to hand. And the population of the planets under the bad influence suddenly all of a sudden began to swing swords and dashingly go into cavalry attacks against each other. When Sargeras saw these ugly fratricidal wars, he suffered a nervous breakdown: he ran in circles for a long time, grabbed his bronze head, shouted obscene words and complained to the whole world about the injustice of the Titans:

It's just not fair! With my impressionable nature, with my fine mental organization, I should have been born a poet. And who did you become? Cleaner! Modest. No one needs it! Nobody's favorite cleaner. Sargeras is a janitor!

But there was no one to listen to the complaints of the bronze warrior - all the titans had just gone to watch the robot-guitarist competitions.

Who needs this order anyway? To break is not to build. Heat death is still waiting for the universe, which means that my work is simply not needed by anyone! Well, nothing. Until now, you knew me well. Now you get to know me from the bad side!

With these historic words, Sargeras deserted. Finding the abandoned broom, the Titans shrugged and struck the bronze one off the payroll. For a long time the rebel wandered through the distant corners of the Universe and continued to boil, heating more and more. Soon he no longer looked like a bronze robot, but like a walking open-hearth furnace. "What is this star wandering there, in the distance?" - the careless titans asked each other, not yet knowing how much headache the robot cleaner would give them.

And Sargeras shook the eredar with nathrezim out of the garbage bag and lined the demons in front of him in an uneven square. At first, the creatures, stunned by such treatment, did not even recognize the former cleaner in the blazing melt titanium.

Be equal! Attention! From now on, I am your commander-in-chief! - the titan immediately took the bull by the horns. He paused at the Moscow Art Theater and continued:

Comrades demons! As it is, I will make a real army out of you. If you will be the best army in this universe - just not to shame it - that's it, that's it! As it is, one cannot resist without the other. I must, then, go - that's the whole story, such is my commanding hand.

With a sharp eye, the robot examined the ranks of demons and found the most decent-looking one:

Keel-Jaeden, nicknamed the Deceiver, Comrade Chief, the demon replied lazily.

You will go and recruit my armies. If you cheat, I'll pull the horns over the tail.

Hand in hand, comrade boss.

What's your name, you little smelly creature?

Archimonde the Dirty, sir! Yes, sir!

Lead my troops into battle. With a commander like you, they will not get lost - it is enough to follow the smell.

Sir yes sir!

Demons settled in the barracks. Training began. Sargeras, who completely got used to the role of the Dark Lord, mercilessly drove them around the planets, forcing them to sing a battle song in chorus: “We will defeat the titans! And we will inherit everywhere! "

Keel-Jaeden had been sternly warned against any attempts to trick Sargeras. The political work yielded results: the demon did not cheat, but really brought vampires from the distant frontiers, the masters of horror, ready to go into the service of the new dark ruler. Overjoyed, Sargeras created a secret intelligence service from vampires to search for primitive worlds and prepare them for invasion. The "Fifth Vampire Column" worked like a clock, and the bloodthirsty Tichondrius the Dark turned out to be the best Stirlitz among the newcomers.

Distinguished and filthy Archimonde, gladly taking on the role of the commander of the countless army of Darkness. But he did not rely on the vampire special services, and secretly created his own security service under the leadership of the simple and rude Mannoroth the Destroyer.

Soon, Sargeras had a huge, well-trained and trained demonic army under arms. In the universal void, horned creatures huddled together and burned bonfires at a halt, puffing pipes (so they awkwardly imitated the fiery appearance of their leader). Considering the endless rows of bonfires, stretching for many parsecs around, the bronze robot thought for a long time. And finally he barked:

You will be my Burning Legion!

The next morning, the Legion set out on the first campaign.

The Old Gods and the Creation of Azeroth

While the distant worlds one after another bowed before the power of Sargeras, the titans who did not know the telegraph continued to enthusiastically sculpt Easter cakes from the planets. Azeroth was one of the planetoids they came across at the time.

One, two - they took it!

Looking closely, the surprised robots discovered that the seemingly uninhabited planet was inhabited by elemental spirits, who did not like to look at the iron faces flickering in the sky. The spirits already had their good old gods of the elements. This fact did not bother the titans in the least:

We do not care about it - it is sealed. Actually, the plan to restructure the planet has been hanging in our institution for two hundred years, and you had time to appeal.

The program is a program, the five-year plan is sacred. The new planet must be sterilized - and the robots quickly arranged for the old gods to ragnarek, sprinkling the planet with insecticide. Everyone got it - the fiery Ragnaros, the stone Terazane, the airy Al-Akir and the sea Neptulon. They all raised their legs up, obeying brute force and space bulldozers.

That's the same, - the titans said edifyingly, they thrust the old gods into the stain, dryer, straightener and pushed young Azeroth deep into the ground. The deified world was ready for a global cleaning and settlement according to plan.

From the revived stone, the robots created the Earth race, sprinkled the entire population with mothballs and laid them in a distant cave, instructing the sea giants to look after the warehouse. While the giants delved into the essence of the order, the robots took up the manufacture of fjords, plains and mountain ranges of a single continent. In order not to go far for precious energy, robots, without further ado, dug the Well of Eternity and filled it with high-quality high-octane magic.

We don't know exactly what happened next. Maybe the titans left the well in Azeroth on purpose, maybe they just forgot to bury it, leaving for other worlds. But the fact remains - the land saturated with magic quickly filled with fauna and flora.

The Titans left the converted world at night, when the darkness that came from the east once again descended on their creation. And like real romantics, they called the continent "the land of eternal starlight."

In our opinion - Kalimdor.

Dragons in the service of good

But, leaving Azeroth, the robots did not leave him unattended. The tame battle dragons remained on the planet as a limited contingent of progressors, representing centralized authority, authority, and so on in Kalimdor.

Huge, powerful and very evil, they patrolled Kalimdor, tracking and sniffing out sedition. And they made five Great Dragons commanders over the dragon army. Well done, wonderful heroes, one more beautiful than the other.

The scales of Nozdormu, a house dragon that once belonged to the main titan Aman-Tulu, was cast in bronze. Nozdormu did not do the little things. He guarded the fate of the world and time itself, which earned him the nickname "Ever Late".

Dragoness Alexstrasza preferred red to all colors, resembled a flying Ferrari from a distance and was responsible for the life of all creatures on Azeroth. She rescued the chicks that fell from the nest, removed the cats from the trees, and in gratitude was the only one among the dragons to receive the royal title (which, however, did not mean anything significant).

Green Ysera worked on the plant side. But in the skies of Azeroth, she was never seen - and all because Ysera loved to ask a snore and did not crawl out of her cave, managing to follow the rainforests right in her sleep. Of course, she was nicknamed "Sonya" and nothing else.

The fourth colored dragon was Malygos, a magician - he was always recognized by his characteristic cyanotic blue. He did not do anything special - he flew, let firecrackers and firecrackers out of nothing to do and guarded magical secrets. Nelfarion, a stylish black dragon who had been made responsible for the earth, was also idle.

So far, there were no people who wanted to take away the whole Kalimdor, so Nelfarion, along with Malygos, always disappeared in the taverns. Ysera slept, Alexstrasza rushed from nest to nest, and Nozdromu guarded every second, although no one attempted to kill for a while.

The Burning Legion's invasion was only a few centuries away.

The Waking World and the Well of Eternity

Abandoned by the Titans, the Well of Eternity not only became the source of life for all of Kalimdor - it irresistibly attracted flocks of small mammals. It soon became clear that he was acting on them in exactly the same way as Clark's Black Obelisk. The animals quickly descended from the trees, stood on their hind legs and turned into humanoids - wild, but cute. Rapid evolution was not in vain for them, atavisms made themselves felt, and the ears of the first intelligent race (not counting those stored in the Earthly caves) remained pointed. But in all other respects the savages turned out to be simply handsome - tall, immortal, well tailored, cleverly molded.

The night elves (and you guessed it, they were) for some unknown reason fell in love with the stars and called themselves Kaldorei, "children of the stars." The elves quickly realized what the power was. All of the life energy was fed from the Well, and at first the elves built their first cities only around it. The first religion of the new race likened the mirror surface of the Well to the moon in heaven, and the priests taught the simple elves that the goddess Elune herself took a break from night walks in the sky during the day. The elves believed in and continued to explore the magical properties of the inexhaustible source of life.

Spreading rapidly across Kalimdor, the elves soon stumbled upon dragons, which surprised them a lot. Only Ysera ignored the big-eared Livingstones - she was asleep, and she didn't care about anything. The rest of the dragons gathered and decided for the time being to consider the elves harmless eccentrics.

By the way, the night elves did not immediately begin to honor trees and all vegetation in general. Addiction to trees, bushes and grass appeared in them only after meeting with the centaur demigod, nicknamed "Silver Hoof" Cenarius. He had long guarded the rainforests alone and now decided to use the elves as helpers. No one wanted to quarrel with him, so the eared creatures patiently sat at the ecological lectures of Cenarius and quietly took notes. This benefited the forests - they were not cut down even when the night elves settled throughout the continent.

But the elven queen Azshara, taking advantage of her official position, rebuilt her residence right on the shores of the Well. Puffed up, she bathed in the well and in luxury, forgot about the aspirations of the common eared people and even called herself and her entourage High Elves. The people were silent - then the dark elves were not fond of revolutions, although no one liked the insolence and conceit of the Above.

Meanwhile, fundamental research into the Well of Eternity continued. Scientists took samples, performed physical analyzes, tried to find out the composition and nature of the energetic substance, and even submerged deep-sea vehicles into the Well several times. Gradually, successes came, and with them - dizziness. The elves managed to subdue the free magical energy, which Azshara and her courtiers quickly learned. Rampant exploitation of the Well began. Old Cenarius shook his head in vain - the volume of consumed magical energy grew exponentially every day.

Unlimited power has corrupted the High Elves once and for all. The well was used solely by Azshara and a few of her closest priests. The queen haughtily answered all the questions: “Why! At least I'm greedy, but from a pure heart. " The rulers of the elves became terribly far from the people.

But who cares? Perhaps the young, promising scientist-druid Malfurion Stormrage, who more and more often said: “Be in trouble! Oh, to be in trouble! My heart feels that it will not end well ”.

War of the Ancients

The elves did not even suspect that the more they used the Well of Eternity, the more noticeable Azeroth became among other planets. By the time it came to megaton spells, the planet was glowing in the radio range no worse than any other neutron star.

Sargeras was just trying on titles and was wondering if “Destroyer of Worlds, Great Enemy of Existence, Dark God of the Nameless Void, resting his feet on the Universe” sounded good when he felt indignation in the great Force. Turning on the receiver, he quickly caught the elven transmissions and immediately rushed to the intelligence department, where he made a terrible headwash for the vampires who had overlooked a promising planet.

You can't charge anything! - he yelled at Tichondrius. - You have to do everything yourself!

The terrified vampires prepared an operational briefing on Azeroth for the warchief in twenty-four hours. As it turned out, the source of the indignation is the huge supply of free magic in the Well left by the titans.

It was just magic and energy that the Dark Lord lacked, who was interrupted by dynamos and portable generators. He personally led an army of a million demon thugs and delivered an incendiary speech to them. Archimonde and Mannoroth saluted and gave the command to perform.

Sargeras' plan was devilishly cunning indeed. He got in touch just at the moment when Queen Azshara and all her entourage were lying under a magical high. The dialogue between the bronze robot and the dull Azshara looked something like this:

Who's there? the queen whispered.

I am part of the power that always wants evil and always does good.

Wow, a whole god! Come on in, of course. I'll open the portal now. ”Azshara perked up noticeably.

I can't get through, I'm too big. First, I'll let my retinue pass, okay?

No problem. For a true god, we organize everything according to the first category.

Azshara gathered in the throne room everyone who could get distracted from looking at the pink elephants, explained to them that God was coming (no one was surprised). Then she explained once again that it was a god, and not another vision - and together with the courtiers, she opened a portal right in the Well of Eternity, so as not to pull the power cord far.

They're not frightened idiots, ”Archimonde muttered quietly, looking at the opening window to Azeroth.

Certainly, Sargeras sighed. - It's time to scare. Well, this is your finest hour. Start your blitzkrieg.

Archimonde took the radio and gave a short order. The first mobile assault columns entered the gleaming portal. (In some ten thousand years, the orc hordes from Draenor will enter Azeroth in the same way).

The leading assault troops instantly captured the queen's palace without encountering any resistance. The demons went through the portal in an endless stream, immediately deployed into battle formations and began to implement the plans of the command and personally of comrade Sargeras.

Hell fell upon the sleeping elven cities. Summoned by the sorcerers, the demons of hell, the infernal desatniks fell from heaven to earth like fiery meteors. The hellish guards marched through the fields and forests of Kalimdor, thundering with otherworldly chains. Flocks of horned magic bloodhounds rushed into defenseless villages. In several places, the warriors, who were alerted in time, desperately defended their positions. But the forces were unequal, and the elves retreated step by step.

Awakened by the noise and distant cannonade, Malfurion Storomrage put on his glasses, looked out the window and immediately realized that they had played out. He had long suspected that something was wrong, seeing how his brother Illidan, who fell into the ranks of the High Elves, slowly but surely addicted to the magical high from the Eternal Well.

But this time, the terrified Illidan really did get through.

Remember what all this magical nonsense leads to! Malfurion hissed. “You and I must immediately go in search of Cenarius, if anyone can help the elves, it’s him. But you will have to tie.

Of course of course! Illidan muttered. - I'm tying it completely!

Look at me. Let's take Tyrande with us to the forests, it's not safe here.

Tyrande was the name of the young priest, for whom both brothers were dry - at least until Illidan was addicted to magic so much that all amorous affairs became to him a bulb.

The three elves walked for a long time along the partisan paths to Lunnaya Polyana. Illidan was visibly sick - he was perspiring and constantly freezing, even near the fire. When the elf was finally found by Cenarius, he was succinct:

Think? What to think? Draping is necessary! Only dragons can do something with this horde, and even then ... If the demons still escaped from the portal, frankly, it's damn hard to push them back. Dragons are our last hope.

In the early morning, a joyous cry echoed over the capital of Kalimdor: "Dragons are flying!"

All five dragons flew as a battle link to fight the demons - even Ysera woke up to save Kalimdor. The flight commander was Alexstrasza, her gleaming red scales terrifying even the demons accustomed to everything.

Cenarius, having caused an air strike, wasted no time - he awakened his faithful Forest Brothers from hibernation. The military doctrine suggested using them in partisan raids on enemy rear lines - it is difficult to think of a better use for a crowd of walking trees. But this time it was necessary to go all-in to build on the success on earth, if the dragons ever achieved it. Whole forests, supported by small groves, moved to the capital.

The remnants of the elven armies also went into a psychic attack on the detachments of demons guarding the Well. And what was the queen doing at that time? She, alive and well, looked forward to meeting a god and was preparing to expand the portal in the Well so that Sargeras himself could pass through it. To do this, it was necessary to bring together the magical powers of all the High Elves. Portal specialists ran all over the palace, catching the nets. But I didn't have enough strength yet.

The shadow of the dragon's wings fell on the palace. And five winged guards fell upon the demons.

The decoding of the dragons' negotiations will help to restore the subsequent events:

Attention, I'm red. Cover up, I dive, then go out to the combat turn.

Understood, red. Black, lights out.

How many of them are there!

Heavy anti-aircraft fire. Maneuvers, maneuvers!

They go through the Well.

Left, left! [inaudible] Blue, throw up a light!

I'm going to the third turn. Red, you have a demon on your tail.

I can't shake it off!

Stand over the target.

He's on my tail!

Stay over the target!

Great spit, green ...

Black, where, where? Keep building!

Nelfarion, what are you doing ?!

Red, be careful! [unintelligible screams on air] ... ah, get it!

Fire, fire!

Black, you're out of your mind! Nelfarion!

- You don't know the full power of the Dark Side !!! I am no longer Nelfarion. I am the Black Cloak!

The black dragon Detving, Deathwing, the former Nelfarion, attacked the other dragons without warning and forced them to retreat with a few well-aimed spits of fire. A sudden betrayal morally crippled the colored team. All of them as one decided that the game was not worth the candle, and, in fact, they had no need to protect Azeroth - health is more expensive.

Malfurion saw firsthand the outcome of the battle in heaven. He managed to jump into the trench and go to the rear before the demons, inspired by an unexpected ally, finally took over the battlefield.

"Light! Light! They are crawling into the light! The well must be closed. Otherwise, everyone's a cap, ”the young scientist whispered to Cenarius and Tyrande. “We need to break into Azshara's palace at any cost and destroy the portal itself! By the way, where is Illidan? He was just here "...

To be continued.

Nobody knows exactly how the universe was created. Some believe that a catastrophic cosmic explosion sent worlds into endless rotation in the Great Dark - worlds that would one day bring an unprecedented and enormous variety of life forms of unprecedented and terrible variety. Others believe that the entire universe was created by one omnipotent entity. And although the exact origin of the chaotic universe remains a mystery, one thing is clear that a race of powerful creatures arose that brought stability and order to different worlds and provided a safe future for those who would follow them.

Titans, colossal beings, metal-skinned gods from the far reaches of space, explored the newborn universe and set to work on the worlds they encountered. They cut worlds, lifting mighty mountains and clearing vast seas. They breathed heaven and raging atmospheres into everything. It was part of their unfathomable, visionary plan to create order out of chaos. They even endowed the primitive races with attraction to their creation and the maintenance of the integrity of their worlds. Ruled by an elite group known as the Pantheon, the Titans brought order to a hundred million worlds scattered in the Great Dark during the early centuries of their creation.

The merciful Pantheon, which sought to keep these ordered worlds safe, was vigilant against the threat of attack from the cruel otherworldly entities of the Twisted Nether. Space is an ethereal dimension of chaotic magic that connected countless worlds of the universe, was a refuge for an infinite number of harmful, demonic creatures who were looking only for ways to destroy life and devour the energy of all living things in the universe. Unable to rid themselves of evil or depravity in any form, the Titans struggled to find a way to end the constant threat of demons.

Sargeras and Betrayal

Over time, demons made their way to the Titan worlds from Twisted Space, and the Pantheon chose its greatest warrior, Sargeras, to act as the first line of defense. A noble giant of cast bronze, Sargeras performed his duties for countless millennia, seeking and destroying these demons wherever he could find them. Over the eras, Sargeras faced two powerful demonic races, both obsessed with gaining power and dominion over the entire universe. Eredar (Eredar) - an insidious struggle of devilish wizards, using their dark knowledge to invade and enslave the worlds. The local races of the worlds they conquered were altered by the evil power of the Eredar and transformed into demonic guises. Although Sargeras' almost unlimited powers were more than enough to defeat the vile Eredar, he was deeply concerned about the corruption of the creatures and their all-consuming evil.

Unable to understand such depravity, the Titan began to fall into brooding depression. Despite his growing awkwardness, Sargeras continued to rid the universe of sorcerers by luring them into traps in the nooks and crannies of Twisted Space.

As his confusion and misery deepened, Sargeras was forced to fight another race, the destroyers of the Titan order: the Nathrezim. This dark race of demons, also known as the DreadLords, have conquered many inhabited worlds, taking possession of their native inhabitants and bending them into darkness. The dastardly, intriguing Dreadlords pitted entire nations against each other, ruling them in frivolous hatred and mistrust. Sargeras defeated the Nathrezim easily, but their detrimental influence greatly affected him.

As doubt and despair prevailed over Sargeras 'feelings, he lost all faith, not only in his mission, but also in the Titans' designs to order the universe. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that the concept of order itself was insane and only chaos and depravity were the only constant within the dark, lonely universe. His fellow Titans tried to convince Sargas of his mistake and calm his raging emotions, but he regarded their more optimistic beliefs as a self-serving delusion. Departing from their ranks forever, Sargeras set off in search of his own place in the universe. Though the Pantheon was saddened by his departure, the Titans could never have foreseen how much their lost brother would fall.

Over time, Sargeras' madness consumed the last remnants of his courageous spirit and he began to think that the Titans themselves were responsible for the failure of their creation. Finally deciding to turn their work in the entire universe to nothing, he decided to create an invincible army that would plunge the universe into flames.

Even Sargeras' appearance has been distorted by the corruption that poisoned his once noble heart. His eyes, hair, and beard turned into flames, his bronze skin split to reveal an endless furnace burning with hatred.

In his rage, Sargeras destroyed the dungeons of the Eredar and Nathrezim and freed the hideous demons. These cunning creatures bowed down to the Dark Titan's fury and offered their service to him, in any malevolent way they could. From the ranks of the Eredar, Sargeras selected two of the most powerful to command the demonic army of destruction. Kil'jaeden the Deceiver was chosen to seek out the darkest race in the universe and recruit them into the ranks of the dark army. The second champion, Archimonde Defiler, was chosen to lead the vast armies of Sargeras against those who dare to resist the Titan's wishes.

Kil'jaeden's first move was to enslave the Dread Lords to his terrible power. The Lords of Dread served as his personal agents throughout the universe, and they delighted in finding primitive races to corrupt and submit to their master. The first among the Dreadlords was Tichondrius Darkener. Ticondrius served Kil'jaeden as a perfect soldier and agreed to bring the flames of Sargeras to all the dark corners of the universe.

The powerful Archimonde also empowered his own agents. Summoning the evil Pit Lords and their brutal leader Mannoroth Destructor, Archimonde hoped to create a fighting elite that would destroy all life.

As soon as Sargeras saw that his armies were full and ready to carry out his every command, he unleashed his furious forces into the vastness of the Great Darkness. He named his sprawling army the Burning Legion. It is still unknown how many worlds throughout the universe they consumed and incinerated during their Burning Crusade.

The Old Gods and the Creation of Azeroth

The Titans, unaware of Sargeras' plan to reverse their work, continued to move from world to world, shaping and ordering planets as they saw fit. During their advance, they discovered a small world, which its inhabitants would later call Azeroth. After changing the original form of the world, the Titans faced many hostile elemental creatures. These Elementals who worshiped a race of evil and incomprehensible beings known only as the Old Gods, who swore an oath to exorcise the Titans and keep their world intact with the touch of metal invaders.

The Pantheon, stopped by the Old Gods' penchant for evil, began a war with the Elementals and their dark masters. The armies of the Old Gods were led by the most powerful Elementals: Ragnaros Firelord, Therazane Stonemother, Al'Akir Windlord, and Neptulon Tidehunter. Their chaotic forces raged on the surface of the world and collided with the Titans. Although the Elementals' power was beyond mortal comprehension, their combined powers were unable to stop the mighty Titans. One by one, the Elemental Lords fell and their powers dissipated.

The Pantheon destroyed the citadels of the Old Gods and forged five Gods far beyond the world. Without the support of a raging spirit by the power of the Old Gods to bind them to the world, the Elementals were sent to the deep plains, where they fought each other for all eternity. With the departure of the Elementals, nature calmed down and the world was brought into peaceful harmony. The Titans saw that the threat was gone and went to work.

The Titans empowered many races to help them transform the world. To aid in the creation of bottomless caverns underground, the Titans created a thundering race from magical, living stone. To help them create the seas and raise the earth from the bottom of the sea, the Titans created huge, but docile and docile sea giants. For centuries, the Titans moved and shaped the earth, until finally one perfect continent remained. In the center of the continent, the Titans created a lake of brilliant energy. The lake, which they named the Well of Eternity, was supposed to be the source of life for this world. Its powerful energies nurtured the bones of the world and created life to take root in the rich soil of the earth. Over time, plants, trees, monsters, and creatures of various kinds began to thrive on the primordial continent. As dusk fell on the final day of their work, the Titans named the continent Kalimdor, meaning "land of eternal starlight."

Rule of Dragons

Satisfied that the small world had been brought into order and that their work had been done, the Titans prepared to leave Azeroth. However, before they left, they endowed the world's greatest creatures with the mission of overseeing Kalimdor so that no power would threaten the world's perfect tranquility. At the time, there were many Dragonflights. And yet there were five Dragons who were superior to their brothers. These were the five Dragons the Titans chose to watch over the budding world. The greatest members of the Pantheon imbued each of the Dragon leaders with some of their strength. These Majestic Dragons (listed below) became known as the Great Aspects, or Dragon Aspects.

Aman'Thul, Great Father of the Pantheon, donated some of his cosmic power to the huge bronze dragon, Nozdormu. The Great Father endowed Nozdorma with the power to keep time itself and regulate the ever-rotating paths of predestination and destiny. The stoic, noble Nozdormu became known as the Timeless One.

Titan Eonar, Patroness of all living things, gave part of her powers to the Red Dragon, Alexstrasza. From then on, Alexstrasza would be known as the Life-Binder, and she guarded all living beings within the world. Due to her supreme wisdom and boundless compassion for all living things, Alexstrasza was crowned Dragon Queen and dominated her species.

Eonar also blessed Alexstrasza's younger sister, the lithe Green Dragon Ysera, with some natural strength. Ysera plunged into an eternal trance leading to the eternal Sleep of Creation. Known as the Dreamer, she followed the growing wilds of the world from her green realm, the Emerald Dream.

Norgannon, the keeper of lore and magician master of the Titans, provided the blue dragon, Malygos, with some of his vast knowledge. From then on, Malygos would have been known as the Spell-Weaver, the keeper of magical lore and hidden secrets.

Khaz'goroth, the Titan creator and blacksmith of the world, bestowed some of his power on the mighty Black Serpent, Neltharion. The great-hearted Neltharion, later known as the Earth-Warder, was endowed with power over the earth and the bowels of the world. He embodied the power of the world and served Alexstrasza with great support.

Thus, endowed with special gifts, the Five Aspects served as the protection of the world during the absence of the Titans. With dragons ready to guard the creation, the Titans left Azeroth forever. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before Sargeras found out about the existence of the newborn world….

World Awakening and the Well of Eternity

Ten thousand years before the orcs and humans clashed in their First War, there was only one massive continent in the world of Azeroth, surrounded by the sea. This land, known as Kalimdor, was home to a host of unequal races and creatures fighting to survive amid the savage elements of the awakening world. In the dark center of the continent, there was a mysterious lake of brilliant energy. The lake, which was later named the Well of Eternity, was the true heart of world magic and natural forces. Drawing endless energy from the Great Darkness outside the world, the Well acted as a mystical source, sending its powerful energies around the world to cherish life in all its unseen forms.

Over time, a primitive tribe of nocturnal humanoids cautiously approached the shores of the enchanted lake. Wild, nomadic humanoids, attracted by the Well's strange energies, have built rough houses on its tranquil shores. Over time, the power of the Well influenced the tribe, making them strong, wise, and practically immortal. The tribe gave itself the name Kaldorie, which meant "children of the stars" in their native language. To celebrate their budding society, they built large buildings and temples around the lake.

The Kaldorei, or night elves as they were later called, worshiped the moon goddess, Elune, and believed that she slept in the shimmering depths of the Well during the daytime hours. In the early night, the priests and seers of the elves studied the Well with eager curiosity, in order to learn its untold secrets and powers. As their society grew, the night elves explored the vastness of Kalimdor and encountered other inhabitants of it. The only creatures that stopped them were the ancient and powerful Dragons. Huge snake-like animals were reclusive, but they did much to protect known lands from possible threats. The night elves learned that dragons considered themselves to be the protectors of the world - and agreed that it was best to leave the Dragons and their secrets alone.

The night elves' curiosity led them to meet and befriend a multitude of powerful creatures, not least of which was Cenarius, the mighty demigod of the ancestral forest lands. The magnanimous Cenarius fell in love with the inquisitive night elves and spent much of his time teaching them the nature of the world. The tranquil Kaldorei developed a strong bond with the living forests of Kalimdor and enjoyed a harmonious natural balance.

As endless centuries passed, the civilization of the night elves expanded both territorially and culturally. Their temples, roads, and living quarters stretched in every direction of the dark continent. Azshara, a beautiful and gifted night elf queen, has built a huge, unprecedented palace on the banks of the Well, which has become the home of her beloved servants within its jeweled halls. Her servants, those whom she called Quel'dorei or Highborne, who loved their queen to madness, ready to execute any of her commands and believed that they were higher than the rest of their brothers. Although Queen Azshara was loved equally by all of her people, the Highborne secretly envied and disliked the rest of the night elves.

Sharing the priests' curiosity about the Well of Eternity, Azshara ordered the Highborne to scout out the secrets and uncover his true purpose in the world. The Highborne devoted themselves entirely to the work and studied the Well incessantly. Over time, they developed the ability to manipulate and manipulate the energies of the Well. As their experiments progressed, the Highborne realized that they could use their newfound powers to create or destroy as they wished. The reckless Highborne stumbled upon primitive magic and decided to devote themselves to studying it. Though they realized that this magic was dangerous in inept hands, Azshara and her Highborne began to practice their magical craft with reckless energy. Cenarius and many of the cleverest night elves have warned that only calamity awaits those foolishly playing with the shifting arts of magic. Despite this, Azshara and her followers stubbornly continued to expand their growing powers.

As their powers grew, there was a clear change with Azshara and the Highborne. The haughty, aloof upper class became increasingly callous and cruel to their fellow night elves. A dark, brooding, veiled veil covered Azshara - once of exquisite beauty. She began to drift away from her loved ones and refused to interact with anyone other than her trusted Highborne.

A young scholar named Malfurion Stormrage, who spent most of his time studying the primitive arts of Druidry, began to suspect that terrible power was corrupting the Highborne and its beloved queen. Although he did not know about the evil that was about to come, he knew that the life of the night elves would soon be changed forever….

War of the Ancients

10,000 years before Warcraft I

The Highborne's reckless use of magic sent waves of magical energy from the pulsing Well of Eternity into the Great Darkness. The streaming waves of energy were sensitive to horrible alien minds. Sargeras - the Great Enemy of all living things, the Destroyer of Worlds - felt powerful currents of energy and was drawn to their distant point of origin. As he watched the primordial world of Azeroth and sensed the infinite energy of the Well of Eternity, Sargeras was consumed by an insatiable hunger. The great dark god of the Nameless Void decided to destroy the young world and absorb its energy as his own.

Sargeras rallied his vast Burning Legion and led him to the threat-unaware world of Azeroth. The Legion consisted of a million screaming demons plucked from the distant corners of the universe, and these demons craved conquest. Sargeras' aides, Archimonde the Defiler and Mannoroth the Destroyer, prepared their infernal minions to strike.

Queen Azshara, consumed by the terrible ecstasy of her magic, fell victim to the undeniable superiority of Sargeras' power and agreed to grant him entrance to her world. Even her Highborne servants betrayed themselves to the inevitable corruption of magic and began to worship Sargeras as their god. To show their loyalty to the Legion, the Highborne assisted their queen in opening a huge, revolving portal to the depths of the Well of Eternity.

Once all his preparations were made, Sargeras began his invasion of Azeroth. Demon warriors from the Burning Legion burst into the world through a portal in the Well of Eternity and laid siege to the sleeping cities of the night elves. Led by Archimonde and Mannoroth, the Legion filled the lands of Kalimdor, leaving only ash and sorrow in its wake. Demon warlocks summoned burning Infernals, which crashed like hellish meteors into the graceful spiers of Kalimdor's temples. Burning squads of bloody assassins known as the Doomguard marched through the lands of Kalimdor, killing everyone in their path. Flocks of wild, demonic Felhounds swept across the country unopposed. Though the brave Caldorean warriors rushed to defend their ancient homeland, they were forced to retreat inch by inch, in the face of the Legion's fury.

It was up to Malfurion Stormrage to find help for his besieged people. Stormrage, whose own brother, Illidan, dabbled in Highborne magic, was angered by the growing corruption among the upper class. After convincing Illidan to abandon his dangerous obsession, Malfurion set out to find Cenariusai and gather the forces of resistance. A beautiful young priestess, Tyrande, agreed to accompany the brothers on behalf of Elune. Although Malfurion and Ilidan both loved the priestess, Tyrande's heart belonged only to Malfurion.

Illidan, who grew dependent on the power of magical energy, struggled to maintain control over his almost defeated hunger for magic from the Well, once and for all. However, with Tyrande's patient support, he was able to restrain himself and help his brother in his search for the reclusive demigod, Cenarius. Cenarius, who lived within the sacred Moonglades of the remote Mount Hyjal, agreed to help the night elves, as well as finding and enlisting the help of the ancient Dragons. The dragons, led by the huge Red Dragon, Alexstrasza, agreed to lead their powerful army to attack the demons and their infernal masters.

Cenarius, turned to the spirits of the enchanted forest, rallied an army of ancient Ents and led them against the Legion in a daring attack. As the night elf allies converged on the Temple of Azshara and the Well of Eternity, a debilitating war ensued. Despite the strength of their new allies, Malfurion and his companions realized that the Legion could not be defeated by military force alone.

A colossal battle raged around the capital of Azshara, and the maddened queen waited for Sargeras to appear. The Legion's ruler was preparing to pass through the Well of Eternity and enter a ravaged world. As his immense shadow approached the Well's raging surface, Azshara rallied the most powerful of her Highborne followers. Only by combining your magic together in one concentrated spell would it be possible to create a passage large enough for Sargeras.

As the battle raged across the burning plains of Kalimdor, a terrible turn of events took place. The details of what happened have been lost since time, but it is known that Neltharion, the Guardian Dragon of the Earth, went insane during an important attack on the forces of the Burning Legion. It began to disintegrate apart like a flame and anger burst from its dark surface. Renaming itself Deathwing, the burning dragon turned its brotherhood around and led the Five Dragons off the battlefield.

Deathwing's sudden betrayal was so devastating that the Five Dragons never recovered from this betrayal. Wounded and shocked, Alexstrasza and the other noble dragons were forced to abandon their mortal allies. Malfurion and his companions, now hopelessly outnumbered, barely survived the next attack.

Malfurion, convinced that the Well of Eternity was the link between demons and the physical world, insisted that it be destroyed. His friends, knowing that the Well was the source of their immortality and strength, were terrified of their rash decision. Yet Tyrande saw wisdom in Malfurion's decision and convinced Cenarius and his friends to storm Azshara's temple and find a way to close the Well for good.

Break of the World

Knowing that destroying the Well would prevent him from ever mastering magic again, Illidan selfishly left the party and went to warn the Highborne of Malfurion's plan. Due to the madness brought on by his addiction and stinging resentment for his brother's love with Tyrande, Illidan felt no remorse for betraying Malfurion and joining Azshara and her kind. For above all, Illidan swore to protect the Well's power by any means necessary.

Heartbroken by his brother's departure, Malfurion led his comrades into the heart of Azshara's temple. Even as they burst into the main chamber, they found the Highborne in the midst of the end of their dark sorcery. The general spell created a fickle whirlwind of power in the stormy depths of the Well. As soon as the ominous shadow of Sargeras appeared closer than ever to the surface, Malfurion and his allies rushed to the attack.

Azshara, having received Illidan's warning, was more than ready for their arrival. Nearly all of Malfurion's followers fell before the forces of the mad queen. Tyrande, attempting to attack Azshara from behind, was caught off guard by the Queen's Highborne Guards. Although she defeated the Guardsmen, Tyrande suffered severe wounds at their hands. When Malfurion saw his beloved fall, he grew murderous and decided to end Azshara's life.

As the battle raged inside and outside the temple, Illidan emerged from the shadows near the shores of the great Well. After creating a set of specially crafted vials, Illidan knelt down and filled each with the Well's shimmering water. Convinced that the demons would crush the night elf civilization, he planned to steal the sacred water and save its energy for himself.

The ensuing skirmish between Malfurion and Azshara sent a carefully crafted Highborne spell into chaos. An unstable vortex deep within the Well exploded and ignited a catastrophic chain of events that could destroy the world forever. A massive explosion shook the temple to its foundations and sent huge earthquakes to the tortured earth. Terrifying battles between the Legion and the allies of the night elves raged across the entire ruined capital, the surface of the agitated Well of Eternity bowed into itself and an explosion occurred.

The resulting catastrophic explosion shattered the earth and tightened the heavens.

As the blows from the Well's explosion shattered the bones of the world, the seas rushed in and filled the gaping wound that had appeared in the ground. Nearly eighty percent of Kalimdor was torn apart, leaving only a handful of individual continents surrounding a new, raging sea. In the center of the new sea, where the Well of Eternity once was, there was a noisy storm of ebb and flow of furious and chaotic energies. This terrible scar, known as the Maelstorm, never stopped its furious spin. It remained a constant reminder of a terrible catastrophe ... and a utopian era that was lost forever.

Despite everything, Queen Azshara and her Highborne managed to survive the cataclysm. Tortured and haggard by the force they unleashed, Azshara and her followers were buried by the blast of the Well at the bottom of the raging sea. The damned - transformed - they took on new forms and became a hateful serpentine people calling themselves the Naga. Azshara herself was filled with hatred and anger, became a huge monster, reflecting the evil and malice that always lurked within her shell.

There, at the base of the Maelstrom, the Nagas have built a new city for themselves, Nazjatar, within which they will regain their power and strength. Only after ten thousand years the Nagas will show their existence to the world.

Mount Hyjal and the Gift of Illidan

Several night elves, those who survived the horrific blast, set out on crudely made rafts and slowly moved towards the only land in sight. Thanks to Elune's indulgence, Malfurion, Tyrande, and Cenarius survived the Great Sundering. The weary heroes agreed to lead their surviving comrades and establish a new home for their people. They traveled in silence, bumping into the wreckage of their world and realized that it was their passions that caused the destruction of everything around them. Although Sargeras and his Legion were cut off from the world by the destruction of the Well, Malfurion and his friends were left to ponder the horrific cost of their victory.

There were many Highborne who survived the cataclysm unharmed. They made their way to the shores of the new lands along with other night elves. Although Malfurion did not trust the Highborne's motives, he was satisfied that they could not do any harm without the Well Energy.

As soon as the weary night elves landed on the shores of the new land, they saw that the holy mountain, Hyjal, had survived the catastrophe. Desiring to create a new home for themselves, Malfurion and the night elves climbed the slopes of Hyjal and reached the summit unprotected from the wind. While descending into the wooded thickets that grew between the peaks of huge mountains, they found a small, calm lake. To their horror, they saw that the waters of the lake were filled with magic.

Illidan, having survived the Rift, reached the peak of Hyjal long before Malfurion and the night elves. In his mad desire to keep the magic flowing in the world, Illidan poured his vials containing the precious waters of the Well of Eternity into a small lake on the mountain. The powerful energies of the Well's waters quickly merged into the new Well of Eternity. A jubilant Illidan, believing that the new Well was a real gift for future generations, was shocked when Malfurion met him. Malfurion explained to his brother that magic was inherently chaotic and that its use would inevitably lead to general decay and controversy. However, Illidan refused to give up his magical powers.

Knowing full well where Illidan's ruthless plans would lead, Malfurion decided to deal with his brother's insanity once and for all. With Cenarius' help, Malfurion imprisoned Illidan inside a huge underground prison, where he would remain chained and powerless until the end of time. To be sure of his brother's imprisonment, Malfurion commissioned a young caretaker, Maiev Shadowsong, to be Illidan's personal jailer.

Concerned that the destruction of the new Well might cause even greater disaster, the night elves decided to leave it alone. However, Malfurion announced that they would never practice the arts of magic again. Under Cenarius' watchful eye, they began to study the ancient arts of Druidry that would enable them to heal the crippled land and restore their beloved forests at the foot of Hyjal.

The World Tree and the Emerald Dream

9,000 years before Warcraft I

For many years, the night elves have worked tirelessly to restore what they could recover from the remains of their ancient homeland. Leaving their ruined temples and roads overgrown with grass and trees, they built new homes for themselves among the green groves and shaded hills at the base of Hyjal. Over time, the Dragons who were able to survive the Great Rift emerged from their secret abodes.

Alexstrasza the Red, Ysera Green, and Nozdormu the Bronze descended into the quiet clearing of the druids and watched the fruits of the night elves' work. Malfurion, who became an arch-druid of immense power, welcomed the powerful Dragons and told them about the creation of the new Well of Eternity. The Great Dragons were dismayed when they heard this dark news and speculated that as long as the Well exists, the Legion could return and attack this world again. Malfurion and the three Dragons made a pact to keep the Well safe and ensure that agents of the Burning Legion never find their way to this world.

Alexstrasza, the Life Binder, placed an enchanted acorn within the heart of the Well of Eternity. The acorn, feeding on powerful, magical waters, was reborn as a colossal tree. The roots of a mighty tree grew from the Well's waters, and its green crown seemed to hold the roof of the sky together. The enormous tree was an eternal symbol of the night elves' connection with nature, and its life-giving energies were extended to heal the wounds of the rest of the world over time. The night elves gave their World Tree a new name, Nordrassil, which meant "crown of heaven" in their native tongue.

Nozdormu, the Timeless One, cast a spell on the World Tree, which gave the night elves immortality and protection from disease as long as the Tree stood.

Ysera the Sleeper also cast a spell on the World Tree, linking it to her own realm, the etheric dimension known as the Emerald Dream. The Emerald Dream, a huge one that changes the entire spirit world, existed outside the boundaries of the physical world. Through the Dream, Ysera regulated the ebb and flow of natural energy and the development of the world itself. The night elf druids, including Malfurion himself, were associated with the Dream through the World Tree. And as part of a mystical pact, the druids agreed to sleep for endless centuries at the same time so that their souls could roam the endless Dreamways of Ysera. And although the druids were saddened by the prospect of losing such a huge period of their lives, spending it in inaction, they selflessly agreed to maintain the pact with Ysera.

Exile of the High Elves

7,300 years before Warcraft I

As the centuries passed, a new society of night elves grew strong and expanded throughout the growing forest, which they called Ashenvale or Ashenwald Forest. Many of the creatures and species that innumerable innumerable here before the Great Rift have reappeared and flourished on earth. Ruled by benevolent druids, the night elves enjoyed an era of unexpected peace and tranquility under the stars.

However, many of the Highborne survivors lost their minds. Like Illidan before, they fell prey to the hunger that came from losing their coveted magic. They wanted to know the energy of the Well of Eternity and get joy in using it. Dath'Remar, the brash, prominent leader of the Highborne, began publicly denouncing the Druids, calling them cowards for refusing to use magic that was rightfully theirs. Malfurion and the druids refuted Dath'Remar's arguments and warned the Highborne that any use of magic would be punishable by death. In a brazen and ill-fated attempt to persuade the Druids to revoke their law, Dath'Remara and his followers unleashed a terrible magical war against Ashenval Forest.

The Druids could not bring themselves to destroy so many of their blood brothers and decided to exile the reckless Highborne from their country. Dat'Remar and his followers were content to get rid of their conservative cousins ​​and finally embarked on dozens of purpose-built ships and set out on the high seas. Although none of them knew what lay beyond the waters of the raging Maelstrom, they strove to build their own homeland where they could practice the magic they desired with impunity. The Highborne, or Quel'dorei, as Azshara called them in ancient times, eventually landed in the eastern lands later called Lordaeron by the humans. They planned to build their own magical kingdom, Quel'Thalas, and abandon the dictates of nightlife and moon worship. From then on, they embraced the sun and became known as the high elves.

Guardians and Long Service

With the departure of their wayward cousins, the night elves turned their attention to the safety of their charming homeland. The druids, sensing that their hibernation time was approaching, prepared for sleep and left their loved ones and family. Tyrande, who became the High Priestess of Elune, asked her beloved, Malfurion, not to leave her for the sake of Ysera's Emerald Dream. But Malfurion, bound by honor to enter the volatile Dreamways, bade the priestess goodbye and vowed that nothing could separate them as long as they kept their love.

Left alone to defend Kalimdor from the dangers of the new world, Tyrande rallied a powerful force among his night elf sisters. The fearless, highly trained female warriors who committed themselves to the Defense of Kalimdor became known as the Guardians. They preferred to patrol the dark Ashenwald forests on their own, although they had many allies to call upon when needed.

The demigod Cenarius remained close by in the Moongroves of Hyjal. His sons, known as the Keepers of the Grove, watched over the night elves and assisted the Guardians in maintaining peace on earth. Even Cenarius' shy daughters, the dryads, appeared more and more in the open.

Ashenval's guards occupied Tyrande constantly, but without Malfurion on their side, she knew no joy. The centuries passed, and while the druids slept, her fears of a second demonic invasion grew. She couldn't shake off the agitated feeling that the Burning Legion might still be out there outside the Great Dark, plotting their revenge on the night elves and the world of Azeroth.

We are like gods for the creatures of the field, my jiggit.
We know the hour of their birth and the hour of death.
In between, we have responsibilities to them.
.

Online game World of warcraft at one time literally flew into the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular MMORPG on the planet. The universe of Azeroth, where WOW takes place, is known today to millions of users better than the geographic details of their own countries. The game has already brought up several generations, becoming for many one of the best memories of youth.

Long ago Warcraft is much more than just entertainment. This is a philosophy, a lifestyle and a way of self-realization. And damn me if I don't think World of Warcraft is one of the most successful games of our time!

Where did World of Warcraft come from?

What do you know about the company Blizzard? I'm sure a lot: it is these talented guys who own such platinum hits as Diablo and Starcraft... And, of course, World of Warcraft. Agree, it is difficult to explain such a championship line-up by luck alone. For millions of sales and tens of millions of subscribers, there is a tremendous amount of work and a selfless love for games.

And it was this love that pushed a group of developers at the then unknown Blizzard in 1994 to create an RTS on a fantasy theme. Moreover, the ideological inspirer of such a step was the once incredibly popular, and now completely sunk into oblivion Dune 2... With a little twisting of the code in their hands and learning some basic principles, the Blizzard programmers firmly decided that they could do just as well.

And now, after a very short time, the "great-uncle" of World of Warcraft appears on the arena - the game Orcs and Humans... Of course, a modern gamer would be shocked by the appearance of the game, but for gamers of that time it was a breakthrough and ideal of beauty. Yes, a lot was still buggy and did not want to behave correctly, but the playability was already at its best. The main thing that interests us in the game is that it laid the initial foundation for a special game world of Warcraft, which today has turned into a huge universe with its own history.

With just a little time, already in 1995, a real hit of the end of the 20th century appeared - the game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness... All the same orcs and people who were present in the first part continued to conduct their usual showdown. But now it was happening much more meaningful and more convenient for the player. And the appearance of the game has changed significantly. And although the second part of Warcraft was written under MS-DOS, it worked fine on Windows 95. In addition, there was also a special version for Macintosh.

I can say the following about the popularity of the game: in 1996, there were already more than 1 million copies of the game officially sold. In Russia, it was also incredibly popular, but I'm not sure that even a hundred official versions would be available throughout the country. The current rampant piracy is nothing compared to what it was before. However, this is already the lyrics.

And so, the next stop is 1999, when Blizzard releases the version WarCraft II: Battle.net Edition.

You are absolutely right, in this version it was already possible to play via LAN and. It became clear that, having tasted success, the company would not stop. The gaming world was haunted by the most incredible rumors. Something was expected that the gaming community had not yet seen. And then came 2003 ...

The emergence of World of Warcraft

In 2003, the long-awaited third part of Warcraft is released - The frozen throne... It was a triumph! The popularity of the game has become simply incredible: fresh copies were sold out in hundreds of thousands. It would seem that it's time to calm down: write addons and. But Blizzard is not the type to settle for half-measures. In early 2004, Battle.net opened in Europe, and then, in November 2004, the long-awaited premiere - World of Warcraft - was released. with amazing features and excellent functionality.

The accounts of that time indicate that tens of thousands of players signed up for the game every day, thereby once again proving the correctness of the company's path. Gradually, Blizzard is patching gaps, fixing bugs and conducting a massive PR campaign, attracting more and more adherents to the game.

Recognition of WOW

In 2007, the Guinness Book staff announce their verdict: MMORPG World of Warcraft gains more than 8 million subscribers and becomes the most popular online game in the world. By 2010, the number of fans of the game has grown to 10 million. And that's just the beginning: according to the official data of the company, at the beginning of 2014, the total number of WOW players is estimated at an insane figure - 100 million people. There is nowhere more serious.

In the period from 2004 to 2014, several add-ons were released at once, which became the main source of game traffic. It was noticed that as soon as the company announced a new addition, the number of subscribers immediately increased. What can I say, Blizzard knows the game market very well and is well-versed in how to attract its audience.

And gra became so popular that full-fledged works of art were written based on its motives, and it was even announced that in the future, a full-fledged feature film was planned for this already well-promoted franchise. In addition to selling services on its gaming rooms, the company makes colossal amounts of money selling souvenirs and paraphernalia based on the game. There is even a separate board game for the WOW world.

And a little bit of tar ...

What else can I say in the end? Perhaps it should be remembered that any medal has two sides. Likewise, World of Warcraft is not going smoothly from the point of view of the moral component. The facts of death of gamers from exhaustion and overwork after a long-term gaming "marathon" are already known. A consistent pattern was revealed: after the appearance of new add-ons for the game, the number of suicides on the basis of the game (especially in the younger age group) increases significantly. Some community organizations are sounding the alarm at all, equating adherence to World of Warcraft with drug addiction.

And yet I will not allow myself to condemn the creators of the game: it is not their fault that they love their work so much that they created such a crazy drive game. They did their job and, I must admit, they did it excellently. Good luck, WOW!

Whether you play World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, or have not heard anything about the legendary universe at all (which will be very strange), sometimes even ardent fans of the series find it difficult to figure out who is who, from whom and what they are fighting for. In this article I will try to briefly tell you the history of the world of Warcraft. it will be extremely difficult to tell with all the details about this game - the universe is really huge.

War of the Gods and Titans

How did it all begin? Azeroth, the planet on which all the action of World of Warcraft takes place, is only one single planet in the universe, where there are other inhabited planets with other civilizations. Initially, Azeroth was inhabited for a long time by bloodthirsty elementals who worshiped their old gods. Well, the current story began with the appearance of the titans - gods whose power is even greater. These same Titans travel the universe from planet to planet, cover with vegetation, create rivers, seas, mountains and leave settlers, in general, benefactors.

Azeroth is no exception to the rule. A long battle ensued, as a result of which the Titans sent the elementals to confinement, and went about their usual business - to sow reasonable, good, eternal. Soon the continent of Kalimdor was created, on which the first races settled without hesitation. And dragons - powerful creatures and demigods - were assigned to the guard.

Each of the dragons had its own sphere of activity and its own responsibilities: for example, Alexstrasza was in charge of life.

However, it was not possible to create an ideal world as usual. As soon as the Titans left Azeroth, the population began to be in great trouble and trouble. One of the dragons thought and decided to betray the Titans, and then go over to the side of evil. It was the dragon Neltharion (the same Deathwing from World of Warcraft and Hearthstone). Also, out of nowhere, he changed his mind about being a good guy and Sargeras is the most powerful of the Titans.

Sargeras began his conquest of Azeroth by enslaving the elves (a young race skilled in magic). The attack was repulsed, but the price of victory was high - Kalimdor split into 2 continents, and the elves themselves divided into 2 large camps and settled in different continents. Later, trolls, humans and dwarves were also added to the population of Azeroth.

Where did the Orcs come from?

Those who are familiar with the game World of Warcraft were lucky to see the homeworld of the orcs - Draenor. Well, those who have recently encountered Warcraft most often think that the orcs are such strong, evil barbarians, who do not feed them with bread - let them fight. However, over time, it becomes clear that behind the rudeness lies courage, nobility and honor, and with close acquaintance with the orcs, it turns out that the comrades of the orcs are much more peaceful than most of the inhabitants of Azeroth.

Indeed, on their home planet, the orcs manage to quietly get along with the draenei, a powerful and advanced race. Initially, the Orcs preferred a nomadic lifestyle, worshiped spirits and hunted peacefully. Well, then it happened that the orc race attracted the attention of Sargeras, who decided to hold a series of events with the orcs and make them reliable allies.

One of Sargeras' henchmen, a certain magician Kil'jaeden, during the implementation of this insidious plan, managed to take possession of the mind Gul'dana, a young and extremely capable orcish shaman. Having received unprecedented power in his hands, Gul'dan organizes the Council of Shadows. Having joined the ranks of this sect, ordinary peace-loving hunters in the past, at the instruction of Gul'dan, began to drink the blood of demons and turn into vicious and cruel warriors with only one desire - to kill.

In the Orcish Horde, the Warsong clan stood out, led by Grommash Hellscream. However, the insidious Gul'dan was not happy with the immense authority of the leader and, through intrigue, managed to transfer the post to Blackhand, under whose leadership the orcs easily defeated the draenei, with whom they had recently been friends. Well, the deposed Grommash was in the forefront among those who began to drink the blood of the demon Mannoroth, and despite this, his life will end in a mortal battle with this very Mannoroth, in which he will be able to defeat the demon, die, but save his people from a terrible curse.

After defeating all the draenei, the orc horde began preparations to attack Azeroth. The means of transportation to the new planet was the Dark Portal. On the other side of this portal, the Horde was awaited by a human magician recruited by Sargeras - Medivh. The overthrow plan worked and the Horde began their invasion of Azeroth. However, not everyone in the ranks of the orcs was happy with the changes in their race. Durotan, the chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, suddenly stood up against Gul'dan, despite the fact that the forces were clearly unequal. But Gul'dan could not just take and kill Durotan, because he had great authority and respect. It was simply necessary to exile Durotan and his loyal allies to the distant edge of Azeroth.

The war between the Orcish Horde and humans has become the largest in the history of Azeroth. At some point, the orcs even managed to capture and destroy Stormwind, the capital of the people, but the betrayal of Gul'dan (he unexpectedly left the horde) did not allow them to win a complete victory. Having lost their leader, the Horde retreated until they returned to Draenor. Of course, the okri didn't calm down just like that and built several more portals, but the magical ritual that was required to implement the plan did not work this time at all, and the orc planet disintegrated into separate parts. Those orcs who managed to get over to Azeroth were sent to special camps, they managed to recover and became much less dangerous.

Thrall and the New Horde

And at this stage the history of the orc began Thralla who was the son of Durotan and grew up among humans. Thrall was raised in the family of a highly respected knight, where he learned many important things, such as swordsmanship, combat tactics, and even reading books. Growing up, Thrall left home and went in search of his tribe, who lived in Azeroth. Thrall did a lot to create peace between humans and orcs, he became friends with one of the most powerful and respected mages of the entire alliance - Jaina.

Thrall again led the orcs against the people, but this time for freedom. Under his leadership, the orcs raided the camps and liberated their fellow tribesmen from slavery. Thrall was distinguished by the fact that he could not tolerate senseless, excessive cruelty and it was this that made it possible to create a new Horde, find allies among the trolls, undead and tauren, and after some time sign a peace with the Alliance (orcs and people united against the Lich King and his army, which began to threaten all of Azeroth).

Latest events

All of the events described above are well covered directly in the Warcraft strategy series. And in the online game World of Warcraft, the theme of the first war between orcs and humans was touched upon only once (in The Burning Crusade, where players will be sent to one of the fragments of the former world of orcs).

World of Warcraft's story ends when the new leader of the Horde, Garrosh Hellscream (directly the son of Grommash) again attempts to take over Azeroth, but is defeated. After the final battle, Garrosh manages to escape into the past.

Well, in the Warlords of Draenor add-on, Garrosh will go to Draenor, at a time when the orcs were not yet enslaved by Gul'dan, he convinces his father not to drink the blood of demons, after which the orcs create the same Horde and the Dark Portal, but in order to attack to modern Azeroth. Players will also be sent in pursuit of Garrosh to Draenor, they will need to strike at the Horde on its own territory.

A Brief History of World of Warcraft was last modified: November 16th, 2014 by admin

Dicklamer:
This article sets out the history of the MMO game World of Warcraft.
You can find the history of the Warcraft universe, or rather, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd volumes of the "Chronicle of Warcraft".
A very brief history of the world has been described.

Several years ago, on the Gamasutra website, game developers compiled the top 10 best games of the first decade of the 21st century. World of Warcraft took the first place in this ranking.

The rationale for the decision was not only the polished design and gameplay, elements of which were borrowed from almost all game genres. The game became a breakthrough in the MMO genre itself, opening it to the general public. The game set the standard for MMO projects and became a reference point for developers trying to replicate its success. And offline games on the PC platform got a boost and became more popular. Its impact on the industry, gamers, and even non-gaming culture has been great, albeit ambiguous. It is played not only by ordinary gamers, but also by politicians, cultural figures, sports stars and the pop scene. People meet in Azeroth and get married in the real world. Players paint pictures, edit machinima, write fanfiction and cosplay, maintain resources and blogs. For several million people, this game has become more than a game.

World of Warcraft celebrates its tenth anniversary. This is a lot for a game project. Some MMO projects that were considered "killers of WoW" have already collapsed. Despite the fact that the subscriber base has slowly dried up over the past four years, after the release of Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard reported having 10 million subscribers. That is, the population of Azeroth is now comparable to the population of a small European country. More than thirty million people have gone through World of Warcraft.

What were these fourteen years like? Below is a brief history of the game, which combines edited posts from the "WoW - Story in Patch" series, as well as my other materials from my blog and texts on the game that were published on other resources.

Check out the video below why Legion has become one of the best add-ons to the game.

So let's go.

Development stage, 1999-2004

When exactly the development of the game began, we are unlikely to know. Although this screen shows that the development was carried out already in 1999.

Let me remind you that in 1999, one of the pillars of the MMO genre, Everquest, was released. Like Ultima Online, eka was aimed at hardcore nerds, but the up-and-coming genre certainly caught the eye of Blizzard.

The game was announced on September 2, 2001. Big boss from Blizzard, Bill Ropper flew to London for ECTS, including to make an announcement of the company's new project. By that time, Blizzard had already become a major league player, a hit company. RTS Warcraft, Diablo1 / 2, Starcraft - these games became cornerstones in their genres and the company was looked upon as the industry leader. In London, many were waiting for the announcement of Starcraft II (naive, right?). When Ropper said that the company was developing an MMO, the reaction was mixed. At the time, MMOs were a niche genre. Some have wondered if the developers understand what they are getting themselves into? Judging by the first months after the launch of the game, they did not understand well. Nevertheless, we got involved. This is how WoW appeared before the eyes of a slightly dumbfounded audience.

Time passed, the blizzards threw in screenshots and videos, promised when it is done, and quietly did the job. In April 2002, the team joined the ranks of the hardcore players from Everquest. Rob Pardo, Alex Afrasiabi, Jeff Kaplan are all experienced MMO players. The move was correct and laid the foundation for the success of the game in the initial period. In principle, we can talk a lot and for a long time about this time (and maybe we will return to this topic), but perhaps it is better to quote from an interview with Rob Pardo, which he gave five years ago.

“… It was early 2004, February somewhere. There was already an atmosphere in the game, it had its own style and concept of the gameplay focused on completing tasks, but the character could only reach 15th level. By that time, most of the play areas already existed, but those that were designed for a level above the 15th were empty.

How much we have done in 9 months!

During this time, a huge amount of work has been done. For example, not all classes were present in the game yet: there were no hunters and druids, and robbers were heavily overworked. Consider three classes had to be created from scratch. In addition, not all major game systems were ready: although the combat system was present, it had to be completely redesigned in the last 9 months. The game mechanics and work of characteristics have been completely changed. Much of what creates the spirit of the game - the work of dodging and parrying - has been changed.

There was a system of guilds and chats, but that was the end of all the ways to communicate with other players. There was no auction house, no post office, no talent, no battlegrounds, no honor points. When I came to the department, it was supposed to develop the PvP system, but we quickly realized that this would have to wait. Based on feedback from players who participated in the internal alpha and beta testing, there was a lack of character customization options. Some have complained, for example, that their warrior is no different from any other. And it was not so much about the external differences, so much about the identical gameplay for all: the experience of passing was the same for all ... "

World of warcraft

World of Warcraft release

The game was released on November 21, 2004 in the United States. The game took several months to reach European users, and only in February 2005 the first European servers were opened.

So what was WoW 1.1.x like? Two continents, Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. The maximum level is 60. Stratholme was designed for 10 people and the main part of the 5ppl Old World instances were ready to receive guests. Two raid instances, Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair ... It's probably easier to say what was not in the release, what is now taken for granted. There were no summoning stones near the instances, they got to the entrances on foot. Moreover, even the search channel for the group was absent. There were only auction houses in Ironforge and Ogre. There were no guild banks. The griffins flew only to the nearest station, where the player dismounted and chose the desired point on the route. And so over and over again. Personal flying mounts were only dreamed of. There were no battlegrounds and Arena, PvP was reduced to spontaneous skirmishes in open locations. There were no instances like Maraudon and Dire Maul. There were no shamans from the Alliance and no paladins from the Horde. There were no daily quests.

The list will be long, but I think that you got a rough idea of ​​the "vanilla", which you started to play almost ten years ago. What happened next?

Patch 1.2.0 Mysterious of Maraudon

Release (US): December 14, 2004
The first "vanilla" content patch to add a 5ppl Maradona instance in the Wasteland to the game. Here, in massive caves, Princess Teredras and the first son of Cenarius, Zayetar, dwell in massive caves, who deviated from the path of the Keeper of the Grove and succumbed to the vicious influence of the elements of the earth associated with the Old Gods. They gave rise to the genus of centaurs and for many centuries ruled the caves of Maradona.

Designed for players level 40-49, Maradona was typical of those times - massive, with a lot of trash and a decent number of bosses. Even in a nerfed form, it took three hours to complete it. True, we should pay tribute to the developers - the instance turned out to be great.

Patch 1.3.0 Ruins of Dire Maul

Release (US): March 7, 2005
The second content patch of WoW, introduced another "classic" instance - Dire Maul (Dire Maul) in Feralas. Before it was inhabited by satyrs and ogres, the city in the center of Feralas was called Eldre'Thalas. The Night Elves dwelt in it. Built centuries ago, the city of Eldre'Thalas reliably protected the secrets of Queen Azshara. The city was destroyed during the Great Schism, but even its ruins are amazing. Its three wings are inhabited by many different kinds of creatures, including Highborne ghosts, satyrs, and ogres. Remnants of the Night Elves, members of the Shen'dralar sect, have also survived. The instance was designed for players of levels 55-60.

Other major innovations:

• the first outdoor bosses, the killing of which required the efforts of a large group of players. Thus, Azuregos appeared in Azshara, and Lord Kazzak in the Blasted Lands;
• Meeting Stone, which were supposed to help players find suitable group members; with their help, it is not yet possible to summon (summon to an instance) other members of the group;
• for instances, we introduced a limit on the number of players:

1. Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair - 40 people;
2. Black Mountain Peak - 15 people;
3. Forgotten City - 5 people;
4. The rest of the instances - 10 people;

Patch 1.4.0. Call to War

Release (US): April 8, 2005
The main innovation of the patch is the change in the PvP system in terms of the introduction of ranks. Depending on the player's PvP activity, he could receive different ranks for killing other players.

Patch 1.5.0. Battlegrounds

Another excerpt from an interview with Tom Chilton:

"- Last question. You have been working on this game for 6 years now. What is your most memorable moment?
- It is difficult to single out one such moment. What comes to mind first, of course, is the release of new games. World of Warcraft, Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King released. As for the updates, I remember the appearance of the battlegrounds - I still remember the first day of their existence. Before that, PvP battles were completely ill-conceived and haphazard, almost meaningless: no awards for victories and no sense of satisfaction, except moral: they say, ha, how am I! .. And compare with the first battle in Alterac Valley or Warsong Gulch, when you you fight for real, and then you see the feedback from other players ... "

The first battlegrounds (Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley) appeared in patch 1.5.

Patch 1.6.0. Assult of Balckwing Lair

The content patch brought new raids in Blackrock Mountain. Advanced players who had already farmed Ragnaros were offered eight bosses with Nefarian, Deathwing's son, as their final opponent. In Blackrock Mountain, another boss has appeared, equal in scale to Ragnaros and is in constant war with him.

In addition, patch 1.6.0 brought the Dark Moon Fair and battlemasters into the game, which made it possible to queue up on the battlefield in any city, and not run to the portal that leads there.

This is how vanilla WoW was in the first months of its existence in terms of content. Not bad, let's put it this way. There was a lot of content, pumping was slow. The average casual player has been crawling to cap for several months. For hardcore players, raids on forty bodies were another challenge, and two items from the boss also did not contribute much to quick dressing, so the shouts of "give more content !!! 11" were not heard so often.

But from an organizational point of view, the game slipped in all respects. As already mentioned above, the Blizzards did not understand very well what they were getting themselves into. The demand for boxes with the game in the first months was, let's face it, excitement. The delivery times of these boxes even had to be cut, because in addition to boxes, servers are also needed. As the developers later admitted that they did not expect this.

September 2005. WoW was approaching its first anniversary. The players mastered the content, the developers looked at the players and also learned. Another excerpt from an interview with one of the leading developers, Tom Chilton, about those days.

“… - We had little idea what the so-called“ casual ”wants to get at the advanced levels of the game.
- Then in online games and did not hear about "casual".
- That's it.
- And when did this approach take shape?
- I think during the time of Zul'Gurub. Then we began to understand that not everyone can organize 40 people, let alone lead them to success. At that time, there were many small guilds that also wanted to master the final content, so they endlessly passed the Upper Black Mountain and could not advance anywhere else - they were ordered to develop further. Then we began to divide the updates into those in which new dungeons for small guilds will open, and those in which there will be a raid zone for hardcore players ... ”.

Patch 1.7.0 Rise of the Blood God

The content patch is based on Zul'Gurub, the first 20-man raid instance in WoW. Instance was the first blizzard move towards casuals, filling the gap between UBRS (Upper Black Mountain), Scholomance, Stratholme and the massive 40 Molten Core. Zul'Gurub was a relatively small raid - six required and four optional bosses. In it, novice raiders not only dressed, but also gained raiding experience. True, veterans say that the "intermediate link" did not work out, the instance remained difficult for players without raid training.

In patch 4.1, this raid was creatively reworked into a five-person instance.

Other innovations:

• Warsong Gulch and Alterac are adding another battleground, the Arathi Basin. For the Gorge and Arathi, brackets are introduced at the following levels - 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60;
• A weekly Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Challenge opens for peace lovers;
• now, before buying a thing, you can see how it will look on the character.

Patch 1.8.0 Dragons of Nightmare

Release (US): October 10, 2005
Emerald Dream. He was first mentioned in Warcraft III. After the War of the Ancients, Malfurion retired there along with the druids and Tyrande summoned him back in order to resist the invasion of the Burning Legion.

He does not know much in this space. The Emerald Dream is the "reference" version of Azeroth created by the Titans. Primordial, untouched by intelligent activity, wars and disasters. This is how the world was at the dawn of centuries. Then came the trolls, tauren, elves and other races. Sargeras decided to crush the planet for himself and after the battle with the Burning Legion, a single Kalimdor split into several parts. Then other sentient beings appeared, including aliens from other planets - orcs and draenei. The Emerald Dream has remained unchanged throughout the history of Azeroth.

There is an interesting phrase in Wikipedia. Malfurion says that the Dream is multi-layered and has levels - unfinished parts of the world. The Titans made some sketches that did not go into business, but it was a pity to throw them in the trash. Isn't the Emerald Dream some kind of digital copy of Azeroth, but "unfinished versions" that have not reached the status of approved project documentation, on which the world was built - working files of the program written by the Titans.

During the development of the original game, it was planned that the Emerald Dream would become an endgame in vanilla. Back in 2003, Tigol said that this is a really cool place.

At the end of 2005, the developers kept plans for the Emerald Dream. In any case, the appearance of four Dragons from Ysera's flock was considered as a prologue to the storyline of the Emerald Dream. Crazy and aggressive towards all living things, Dragons appeared near the Trees, with portals to the Emerald Dream. Before the release of the first expansion, we thought that this would be the main theme. Moreover, especially curious players found a way to get into the Emerald Dream, which was contained in the game files. Only by the release of the Cataclysm and the novel by Richard Knaak "Malfurion", it became clear that the Emerald Dream of Metzen associates put a fat end to the end.

However, Metzen still has one more epic theme - the Old Gods and Titans, where he unleashed his fantasy to the fullest already in patch 1.9.

Patch 1.9.0 "The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj"

After the War of the Ancients, one of the opponents of the Titans, the Old God K'Thun, was thrown into Silithus, where he remained in a coma for thousands of years, gathering strength and preparing to return to the surface. As the conductors of his will, he chose the primitive creatures, the Silithids, from which he brought the Kiraja race, endowing them with reason and will. The Qiraji built a fortress in the south of Silithus and began to prepare for the conquest of Kalimdor and the coming of their master K'Tun. The Qiraj raided the lands of Kalimdor, causing a lot of trouble for the elves, who eventually erected the Scarab Wall to protect the rest of the world from the Qiraj. In the last War of the Shifting Sands, the Elves and Dragons drove the Qiraj back to their city and sealed the Gate. For all their wisdom, they did not know that by doing so they made it easier for K'Tun - now he could calmly prepare for the next war with the peoples of Azeroth.

Centuries passed and the heroes of Azeroth decided to print the Gate and give battle to the invaders ...

The highlight of the 1.9.0 patch was the massive raid zone, the entrance to which was located in the south of Silithus. Rather, there were two raids. The first, Ruins of An'Qiraj, continued to "casualize" the raid content and accommodated 20 people. The second was developed for those who have already gone through fire, water and Molten Core and BWL copper pipes. Temple of An'Qiraj, another 40-person raid. The final boss of the last raid was the Old God K'thun. The bosses in An'Qirazh were more difficult than in previous instances.

But in order to get into the raid zone, it was necessary not only to be equipped according to the latest fashion. The opening of the Gate of An'Qiraj was preceded by the large-scale The War Effort - a global event, during which players had to collect and donate resources. Lots of resources. To open the gate, it was necessary to complete a difficult quest to restore the Scepter of Shifting Sands. The quest could only be completed by the top raid guilds. For example, one of the tasks required not only to defeat Nefarian from the BWL, but also to do it within 5 hours after the raiders talked to Valeastraz.

Neither before nor after in the game there was such an event as the Opening of the An'Qirazh Gate. Is this good or bad? Such events are sorely lacking in the game. Yes, the Battle of the Wrathgate was well organized, but it is much more interesting to take part in a large-scale event yourself.

Patch 1.9 introduced significant changes to the game's economic system. The auction houses of the factions are tied into a single is. A neutral "black" goblin market appeared, where factions can trade among themselves. The trading system has taken on the form that we know now.

For PvP fans, it became possible to queue up for all three battlefields at once.

The raid instance resets calendar has undergone a major overhaul. Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, and Temple of An'Qiraj were updated once a week. Ruins of An'Qiraj, Zul'Gurub and Onyxia's Lair every three days.

Patch 1.10.0 Stroms of Azeroth

Release (US): March 28, 2006
This patch did not bring more end-game content, but it nevertheless introduced some very noteworthy features to the game. First, weather has finally arrived in the world of Azeroth. It would seem a trifle, but still important and creating a certain atmosphere in the game.

Another change concerned flights. Previously, in order to move from point A to point D, it was necessary to fly from A to B, dismount, again sit down on the griffin and choose point C, at point C it was dropped from the griffin and we finally chose point D. Now imagine how much then toiled so that get from Tanaris to Winterspring. In patch 1.10.0, the flight from A to D was non-stop.

For 60s, a useful thing was provided in the patch. Now the experience that they received for completing quests did not disappear, but was converted into gold.

Raid content has increased, but apparently not many people have seen it. Obviously, in order to make life easier for the freshly baked 60-kam bliz, they improved the loot in instances by 5-10 people and introduced a new Dungeon Sets 2. The second set was an upgrade in relation to the first and could be obtained by completing quests in instances.

Patch 1.11.0 "Shadow of the Necropolis"

He was one of the members of the Supreme Council of Mages of the Kirin Tor, a powerful order of mages and wizards. His colleagues did not share his fascination with the mysteries of necromancy, and he wanted to know more. The Lich King, then still composed of only Ner'zhul, recognized a perspective shot in the mighty magician. Ultimately, Kel'Thuzad ended up in Northrend, where he served the King. Later, Kel'Thuzad was killed by Artas when he found out what happened to the residents of the town of Brill. When Arthas himself switched to "the dark side of power" Kel'Thuzad, he resurrected him, forever desecrating the waters of Silvermoon City. The place of his dwelling (as well as of the undead subordinates to him) was the former nerubian necropolis - Naxxramas, extracted from the underground by the magic of the Lich King.

Half a year has passed since the introduction of An'Qiraj, and Blizzard delighted hardcore gamers with another furious raid. The pyramid of Naxxramas appeared in the sky above blazing Stratholme. The Original Naxxramas, or Nax-40, was the hardest-to-find instance of the Vanilla era. To complete it, players in Tier 2-2.5, raid sets from Blackwing Lair and An'Qiraj were required. Of course, not everyone should be dressed like that.

It's no wonder that Nax-40 turned out to be content that a scanty number of guilds could go through to the end. According to some estimates, about one percent of all players were able to overcome it. Even during The Burning Crusade, the raid required 25-30 well-equipped players, and the Four Horsemen of Nax-40 was considered the most difficult encounter in the game.

However, then not only Naxxramas appeared in Azeroth, but other necropolises as well. During this World Event, fortresses flew around Azeroth and spawned the undead that players were fighting.

Patch 1.12.0 Drums of War

The main innovation of this patch is the introduction of cross-real battlegrounds. Players from different servers gathered on BG and, of course, much faster than it was when the groups were formed from the players of the same server.

Let's summarize. For two years, the game developers have added a lot of content, and changed a number of game mechanics, improved the interface, and introduced convenient innovations. The success of the game in the first two years of its existence was phenomenal - in early 2007, before the release of The Burning Crusade, the audience exceeded 8 million people. Despite the fact that the endgame was made for hardcore players, and leveling up to 60 took a long time.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

The first expansion to WoW was announced at Blizzcon 2005. The fact that the Burning Legion theme would be central was not a surprise, although the Emerald Dream was also set. In the files, players found both Outland and the Emerald Dream. We settled on Outland and the Burning Legion. RTS Wacraft 3, a shock game from the Blizzard series, was dedicated to exactly this confrontation between the peoples of Azeroth and the army of Sargeras. It was 2007 and many of those who played in Warcraft III Reign of Chaos, as well as in the sequel to The Frozen Throne, remembered these stories. So from a marketing point of view, the move was correct.

What did The Burning Crusade bring to the gaming universe? Outland is the wreckage of a world once called Draenor and destroyed by the magic of Ner'zhul, an orc shaman who became a conduit for Sargeras' will. The world, home to the orcs and the exiled draenei, has become a patchwork quilt of unknown territories straying together. New zones and instances have appeared in the Old World. Medivh Tower, one of the most mysterious places in Azeroth, has become a raid instance.

The mysterious Caverns of Time opened in Tanaris, giving access to a whole group of 5ppl. In one instance, we had to help Medivh, and in the other - Thrall. The caves have really become a great find for designers.

Lore TVS was experimental and somewhat provocative. Yes, in the Old World, the mysterious Medivh Tower became available for everyone to visit, but still this piece of content remained traditional fantasy. But take the draenei. Humanoids with horns and hooves are associated with devils, evil creatures and running the affairs of the underworld. Here, the horned-hoofed race took the side of the conditionally positive Alliance. True, for this, Metzen had to rewrite a fair chunk of the history of the world. The draenei were originally eredar, a sinister race that was first defeated by Sargeras, but then served him after his fall. In the new version of the history of the world, the eredar were at first good guys, and it was Sargeras who spoiled them. Of the three leaders of the eredar, Archimonde, Kil'jaeden, and Velen, two became his main henchmen. Velen did not succumb to the promises of Sargeras and took part of the people literally into outer space. They left their home planet and ... became draenei. The "cosmic" lore of TVS did not end there, but the "technocratic fantasy" of WoW deserves a separate discussion.

The matter was not limited to content. The level cap has grown to level 70. Two new races have appeared in the game, in addition to the already mentioned draenei, blood elves have joined the ranks of the Horde. They did this because a significant part of the players refused to play Horde characters due to aesthetic considerations. At that time, the Horde did not have many cute races. Orcs, tauren, Forsaken, trolls looked warlike, yes, but they clearly had more fangs and horns than the Alliance. And the girl characters were not much different from the boy characters.

Aside from purely aesthetic goals, this innovation gave the Alliance shamans and the Horde paladins. While developing the addon, Blizzard made Outland without seams and glitches, therefore, flying mounts finally appeared. Sockets for precious stones have now appeared in things, which in turn had to be made by someone - this is how jewelers appeared in Azeroth.

The concept of endgame has changed dramatically. Raids on 40 people are a thing of the past. Only large guilds could organize them, and hardcore guilds could lead to success. Raids were introduced in two formats - for 10 and 25 people. True, the system was not yet what it became in WotLK. The raids on ten people were Karazhan and Zul'Aman, who was introduced much later. Everything else was intended for more severe guys, who are used to walking in a large company. But this was one more step towards meeting casuals.

Second, there are “heroic” versions of instances for five people. They went to the 70th and, as veterans say, they were more difficult than the "heroics" of all the other add-ons. By the way, the 5ppl themselves became shorter and many of them were built according to the "wings" scheme - that is, geographically, the instance was located in one place, but was split into several separate parts.

In the release, TVS opened raids such as Karazhan, Lair of Gruul and Magtheridon, Serpent's Sanctuary, Tempest Keep and Hyjal. Moreover, in order to get into the raid, not only equipment was required, but also the key that was given for completing the quest chain. Some quests could only be completed in a group. So, for example, to access Karazhan, the player went through the Dark Labyrinth, the Arcatraz, the Steam Dungeon, and also something in the Caverns of Time. Further more fun - they were not allowed into the Serpentine Sanctuary without completed quests in the heroic version of the Prison, as well as in Gruul's Lair and Karazhan. And in order to get into the heroic versions of the dungeons, you had to have a certain level of reputation with the factions. In general, it was difficult to get into the instance from the street just like that, even into the heroic 5ppl.

And now a little more detail about what happened in the period from January 2007 to November 2008. The January release was preceded by patches 2.0.1 and 2.0.3, which were not add-ons, but introduced changes to game mechanics and classes.

Patch 2.0.1 "Before the storm" (Before Strom)

• new branches of talents and, accordingly, new talents;
• the group search interface has been changed;
• there was a new PvP parameter in items - "resilence", which reduced the chance of "hitting" the enemy's critical hit and the amount of damage received.; The honor system for PvP activities was radically changed. It was simply reset to zero. As a consolation, the players were given the opportunity to wear the highest title over the head of the avatar, which was obtained in the course of the bullshit, honor farm;
• Arena. A new format of PvP battles has been introduced, in which players have the opportunity to choose teams 2? 2, 3? 3 and 5? 5.

Later, in November 2009, Rob Pardo admitted that the introduction of the Arena was a mistake.

“You also asked about the most serious mistake ... if we talk about mistakes in game design, it is important to note that in fact, we never developed WoW as a platform for esports, but there was a desire to improve this part of the game, and consumer demand did not lag behind. That is why we decided to create the Arena. Now I am no longer sure that such a move was reasonable and correct.

We designed the game and classes without considering the need for serious balance. We were just adding something new, so it's really difficult to work on the balance right now. It's impossible to even say for sure if WoW is a co-op pve game or if it focuses on PvP content. The team of balancers is constantly changing something in the game system, the game in general is constantly changing, and the crowd of players who prefer pve looks at it all and can not understand why the class they preferred from time to time becomes different. We didn't foresee how much work would have to be put into making the gameplay even a little more balanced. If I managed to get into a time when no one even heard about WoW, I would change the rules of the game so that it is less dependent on the influence of esports, and if I did not, I would at least try to declare that this influence it does not matter. Now WoW is a very complicated game and we are constantly trying to figure out what we have done ourselves. "

Nevertheless, Arena has become popular and this component of WoW has become a standalone game with its own tournaments, stars and prize pools.

Patch 2.0.3 The Burning Crusade

Another pre-TVS patch that fixed some bugs and started the event dedicated to the opening of the Dark Portal. Hordes of monsters poured out of the gates, and Lord Kazaak, who instilled fear in Blasted Lands, went to the other side, to Draenor, leaving his deputy Kruul.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Release

The add-on officially launched on January 16, 2007. Dry numbers say that 2.4 million copies of the game were sold in the first day. In the first month - 3.5. The excitement that accompanied the start of sales was high. People were queuing up in the evening, waiting for stores to open at midnight to run home at breakneck speed, install the add-on and go through the Dark Portal and find themselves ... in a crowded and lagging starting area. However, this did not bother true fans.

Patch 2.1 Black Temple

The add-on animation cutscene unequivocally hinted that Illidan would be the main villain of the add-on. Another good guy who has gone over to the dark side of the force. The story of Malfurion's twin brother is familiar to those who played Warcraft III Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Thorne expansion. A sibling, moreover, Malfurion's twin brother, who could not stand the test of power and ultimately became a demon.

In TVS, he took a fancy to the Black Temple, which was once Karabor, the temple of the draenei. The massive complex, which was both a fortress and a temple, passed from hand to hand several times. The orcs of Gul'dan drove the draenei out into the Black Temple, but they were driven out by the Burning Legion. Ultimately, these were driven out by Illidan.

The instance was positioned as the final one in the TBC raid content chain and contained nine bosses, including Illidan. In fact, prior to patch 2.4.0, when the Sunwell appeared, killing Illidan was the high point of a raider's career in those days. True, given the complexity of the TVS content, few have reached it. According to the statistics of www.guildprogress.com, Illidan was able to kill ~ 15% of the guilds, and this is taking into account the nerf in the 3.0.2 patch.

However, this raid is still interesting, because this is where the legendary blades of Azinoth fall. Now the instance can solo any 100 in half an hour. So if you have a character capable of carrying this weapon - try it, try your luck. The weapon is very beautiful.

In addition, patch 2.1.0 introduced the following into the game:

• Druids received a budget option for air travel - a "flying form" that could be learned by completing quests in the Settec Halls;
• the first dragon in the game, the Nether Dragon, has become available to players. Now, after completing the quest chain, you could start farming your reputation in order to finally get one of the most beautiful flying mounts in the game. Even now, in spite of the fact that the number of flying dragons has increased, non-serdrakes are still popular among collectors;
• a new arena was introduced for the pvpesher - in the ruins of Lordaeron.

It is interesting to compare the structure and order of the endgame content in TBC and WotLK. In WotLK and subsequent expansions, the shooting ranges were introduced sequentially, one by one. Each new patch is a new tier of raids. TVS was launched with two shooting ranges (T4 and T5), and six months later T6 was introduced. Six months after the start of the add-on, the endgame existed in the game in full range.

Was this the right strategy? Perhaps for that time, yes, because the raids were more difficult and the speed of development was far from the same as it is now. Even the "heroics" of Outland were quite complex content, more demanding than the "heroics" of other add-ons. Is that the cataclysmic "fives" were given a light in the first month after the release.

In fact, raid bosses then existed only in the hardmod format. The statistics of guildprogress.com, said that the content of T4 (Lair of Gruul and Magtheridon) was mastered by no more than a third of the players. Someone by the time the Black Temple came out was ready to go there, and someone else had not passed Karazhan. The previously introduced raids remained relevant until the release of the new add-on precisely because they were difficult and, in fact, it was possible to dress only in them. Such intermediate options as, for example, the "Zandalariki" of patch 4.1 or "Trial of the Champion", with an attachment equal in level to the "ten" of Ulduar did not exist then. Only in the most recent patch 2.4.0, badges were used to buy things equal in level to the raid kit.

On the other hand, the change in the system led to the fact that in later additions we had a situation where previous raids were "killed" by new ones. So, luxurious Ulduar was ruined by the gray "Trial of the Crusader". Throne of Thunder was more fortunate, but the Bliz could have launched a Siege in November and October, and I think that by then the Throne would have continued to delight.

Perhaps it was precisely because the content was difficult in the fall of 2007 that the developers released Zul'Aman, a tier 4 raid. A bit illogical, but nonetheless. Obviously, a lot of small guilds were stuck in Karazhan and they also needed to be given some kind of entertainment. However, more on that later, let's go in order.

Patch 2.2.0. Voice Chat

Release date: September 25, 2007
The patch introduced voice communication capabilities to the game, as well as some changes in the balance of classes. The benefits of real-time voice communication, especially in raiding or arena fights, are not worth describing. However, personally, I have never used the voice chat function from Blizzards. As far as I remember it was always either TeamSpeak or the more popular in Russian-speaking latitudes Ventrillo or Raidcall.

Patch 2.3.0 "Gods of Zul'Aman"

"Trolls" is a topic in World of Warcraft that deserves a separate discussion. A very colorful race, "built" by the developers "based on" the Mayan civilizations and voodoo beliefs. Trolls have always held a special place in Azeroth's history. Take the legend that the night elves descended from trolls who mutated after living near the Well of Eternity. Troll cities, most of which are instanced zones, have always been picturesque as well.

Patch 2.3.0 introduced another troll city, Zul'Aman, which, like Zul'Gurub during the "vanilla" period, served as an intermediate link between Karazhan and higher tier raids.

Instance contained six bosses and did not require attune, which made life easier for casual players. However, it cannot be said that the instance was passable. Even for groups in T5, the final bosses were challenging. The instance is also interesting because it was the first to try out a hard mod that rewarded players with special loot. Veterans remember what and why. The Amani War Bear was in the fourth bonus chest. But to get it it was necessary to keep within the timer. The task was quite difficult and not everyone could complete it. Before the release of WotLK, the bear was removed from the loot table. So if you see a player on such a mount, then you should know - he was an excellent raider already in the days of TVS. Or a very rich player. At one time, there was an article on Vovinsider about the buyer, which laid out twenty thousand for parabooting.

The instance was also interesting in terms of lore. The final boss was the leader of the forest trolls, Zul'jin, whose tribe took part in the Second War on the side of the Horde. At the end of the war, he was captured, tortured and gouged out. Then he managed to escape, and for this he had to cut off his hand. Outraged that the Horde had accepted his sworn enemies, the elves, into their ranks, he and his tribe left the Horde. Hiding in Zul'Aman, Zul'jin created a new army of trolls to deal with the Blood Elves.

What else is so special about patch 2.3.0? First, it was this patch that introduced guild banks into the game. Secondly, pumping was nerfed. On the one hand, we have reduced the amount of experience required for leveling between 20 and 60 levels, on the other hand, we have increased the amount of experience for quests between 30 and 60 levels. Instance quests now provide more experience and reputation points. The third interesting point is that the difficulty of elite mobs was reduced, now some of them could be felled alone. It was one of the first global content nerfs.

In summary, patch 2.3.0 was a big step forward for casual gamers.

Patch 2.4.0 Fury of Sunwell

Spring 2008. The next expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was over half a year away. Hardcore guilds have been farming the Black Temple for more than a month and are already starting to get bored. In response to the expectations of the most advanced part of the gaming community, Bliz is releasing a furious instance for 25 people - "The Sunwell Plateau".

The Sunwell was founded by the High Elves using water they took from the very first Well of Eternity. This happened before the world fell to pieces for the first time (Great Rift). Silvermoon City was built around it. After Arthas used the Well to resurrect Kel'Thuzad, its waters were desecrated. At the same time, the well continued to feed the High Elves with its already tainted energy.

As for the raid itself, it was imprisoned under a group of fighters in T6. Interestingly, this is where the developers first applied the content “gating” system. Since the release, there were only three bosses available, then the gates opened to the next. The first gate opened on the 8th April, the second on the 29th, and the third on the 20th. In this way, the Blizzards artificially reduced the rate of development of the instance. The main villain, Kil'Jaden, was pushed back into the Well by the SK-Gaming guild on May 25. True, it is believed that the most difficult boss of the instance was not KL, but Muru, nicknamed Guildbreaker. Before the nerf, he was killed by a few guilds.

Patch 2.4.0 pleased not only hardcore players. Group content and solos were also enough. In the north of the Eastern Kingdoms, an entire island arose - Qel'Danas, on which the faction of the Shattered Sun, the alliance of the Aldor and Seers, led the siege of the Sunwell. Players were invited to take part in this event by completing new daily quests, the number of which increased to 25. Phasing technology was tested for the first time on Qel'Danas. As the daily players were completed, new vendors opened up who sold all sorts of goodies for badges that were farming in heroics.

In addition to the raid instance, a 5pp instance was opened - the Terrace of the Masters. It was remarkable not only for the plot and the new mount that fell from the last boss. Notable was the boss himself - Prince Kael'Tas, whom the players had already killed in Tempest Keep.

Patch 2.4.0 was the last content patch before the new addition, Wrath of the Lich King. The last of the 2.4.x patches was 2.4.3, in which another nerf took place - mounts became cheaper and, most interestingly, became available from level 30, not 40. Now I remember this news with a smile. I received the 40th and two weeks before the patch and bought my first ram at the old prices. And here - such a decrease in prices and the required level.

What else is remarkable about the summer of 2008? Of course, the localization of World of Warcraft in Russian.

A bit of prehistory. Russian-speaking players of WoW fell in love with it. And so much so that in the Euro-segment, the "Russians" occupied three servers - Stonemaul, Warsong and Molten Core. The zaletny burg, who unknowingly created a Persian in such a realm, saw Russian speech on the channels and exclaimed “WTF ??? Speak English! ”, After which he was sent unchecked along the sexy walking route. In addition, a large number of "Russians" were found on Shadowmoon, not to mention the fact that a lot of people played on "clean" English-speaking servers. Bliz turned a blind eye to this, but in the end they decided to do localization for the "Russians". Mike Morheim announced this decision in December 2007, which caused not only jubilation, but also very heated discussions about whether to play the localized version or not. In July 2008, the Russian WoW test began, and the localization release took place on August 6, 2008. Then the "big Russian transfer" began.

At the beginning, three servers were opened - Pirateskaya Bay, Azuregos and Ash Forest. The transfer was accompanied by queues, glitches and similar troubles. It immediately became clear that three servers would not be enough. Within a few weeks, several more north were introduced. They moved en masse, in whole guilds. Despite all the controversy, it became clear even to the most stubborn that "fresh blood", new recruits could be obtained only on "Russian" servers. As a result, the previously occupied Stonemaul, Warsong, Molten Core and Shadowmoon were completely empty. For those few foreigners who played there, they opened a free transfer to other Euroservers. In the end, after the "Russians" left, the servers were closed. This was the first and last time in the history of the game.

However, this did not end there. In September, the Blies offered a freebie - when converting the euro-account into a ru-account, a month of free play was given. The subscription fee on the ru-servers was lower. The people fell for free. The catch was that after the conversion, the player could no longer create characters on the Euroserver. Thus, the notorious "Russian ghetto" was formed. Our players were not able to transfer and create characters on Euroservers.

Finally, it is worth remembering some numbers. The Burning Crusade expansion, without exaggeration, continued the success of the game and led to the fact that the population of Azeroth increased to the size of a small real country. By the fall of 2008, the number of subscribers increased to 11 million and a half. It cannot be called anything other than success. Maybe that's why many people call this addition the most successful.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Before the release of the Wrath of the Lich King add-on, an interesting article was published in one of the English-language blogs. It talked about different generations of players depending on when they started playing. At that time there was a generation of "vanilla" and TVS. The author talked about the difference between them, and also talked about the "children of Wrath", which originally sounded like "children of Wrath".

Technically, I started playing six months before the release of WotLK. But in those days, pumping was harder and I got to the endgame exactly two weeks before the release. I never found out what endgame is in TVS. Why, I didn't even complete all the quests in Outland. So I consider myself to be the "children of the Lich". Why am I writing about this? Then, so that you will forgive me some bias, because WotLK for me is the best WoW add-on.

Let's move on to the events of that time.

Summer 2008. Hardcore players master Sunwell, casuals bang their heads against Zul'Aman. Both are waiting for the same thing - the release of the second add-on to the game - Wrath of the Lich King. The beta test is in full swing, the network is filled with screenshots of Northrend, more and more information about the innovations in the game appears from official sources.

Perhaps the most discussed topic of that period was the achievement system that the developers were going to introduce into the game. Yes, now the phrase "link achiev" is something self-evident. And then, six years ago, the concept of "complete the task - get ten points" caused in most cases the reaction "Whoa is that all?" Well, as the bliz would say, we will also give titles and mounts. "And the epics?" - asked the community. No, go to raids for epics, bliz answered. “Ok,” said the community, and froze in anticipation.

For the raiders, the fate of Naxxramas was a hot topic of discussion. One of the most difficult raids of "vanilla" in actual time was attended by a meager number of players. Even in the days of TVS, an instance required knowledge of tactics. And they continued to go there, not least for the legendary staff of Medivh - Atiesh. The developers made a decision, which caused another wave of bewilderment - to remake Nax into formats that are relevant for WotLK. So Nax-40 became Nax-10/25. Atiesh and the T3 raid set were cut out of the game forever. Having flown from the Plaguelands to Northrend, Nax-40 has turned from an impassable raid into a sandbox for beginner casuals.

Patch 3.0.2 Echoes of Doom

Release date: October 14, 2008
WotLK prepatch, which was released a month before the release of the add-on. The main buns that were contained included:

• system of achievements;
• new profession - tracing;
• a barber shop where you could change your hairstyles;
• talent tree with the number of points increased to 51;
• the stat system has undergone an easy upgrade.

Speaking of content, it is worth mentioning the completion of the construction of the port in Stormwind, from which the route to Northrend for the Alliance opened, as well as Naxxramas that flew north. Dalaran followed Nax to Northrend. He was destined for a neutral capital for the next two years.

For hardcore raiders, Patch 3.0.2 remains in memory for another reason as well. In it, all TBC raid encounters underwent a global nerf. They seriously (by 30%) cut not only their health, but also the amount of damage they dealt. Some difficulty buffs saw this as bad news, considering that the patch killed PvE in TBC. The bosses weren't the only ones who got it. The quest to access Onyxia's Lair has been removed. Those who were far from the endgame and rocked their characters were also given relief. The amount of experience required to reach new levels has been reduced by 20%.

The user interface has undergone changes. First, there was a guild calendar. Secondly, mounts and pets stopped taking up space in bags and bank slots. A special tab was made for them in the character's menu. Like the keys, there is also a separate tab.

What else do you remember about 3.0.2? Of course, the invasion of zombies. Braiiiinnnnzzzz !!! This world event was similar to what was already in patch 1.11 when Naxxramas came out, and it consisted in the fact that flying necropolises appeared on Azeroth and hordes of undead attacked. Zombie Invasion 2.0 was quite funny. Zombies could and should have been killed, and for the shards that fell out of them, you could buy all sorts of useful things, including low-level epics. But the most interesting thing was that the Scourge again brought with them an infection that afflicted the players and the NPCs. If you have been infected, then within ten minutes you should have found a healer (a nepisy or a player who could disperse the infection). If this failed, the player turned into a zombie and acquired interesting abilities - the ability to infect other players and NPCs, as well as explode. For the next couple of weeks, the capitals of the cities from time to time turned into cemeteries - those who like to play pranks became kamikaze and blew themselves up in crowded places, preventing them from trading on auk, buying from vendors and taking and taking quests. All in all, it was fun.

Shadows also appeared in Azeroth.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of The Lich King released

Release date: 13 November 2008
Bearing in mind the lags at the start of TBC, when both factions were pounding through the narrow throat of the Dark Portal to the Peninsula, the blizzards made four entry points to Northrend, two per faction.

Northrend amazed with landscapes, grandiose structures and the northern lights. We must pay tribute to the work of the designers - they did their best. WotLK has done a lot of solo content. Much more than was needed to level the character in the range of 68-80. I remember that I got the 80th, and all the quests of Gundrak, Icecrown and Storm Peaks were never mastered. And it was good, it is obvious that the developers took into account the fact that many gamers have not one, but at least a couple of characters and pumping in the same places will not please such players too much.

It was interesting to introduce the so-called hereditary things that could be sent to your characters. Their characteristics were tied to the character's level, and some also gave bonuses to experience. A very good solution for those who loved to download Twinks and Violas.

The format of instances for five people continued the tradition of TVS - short, linear with 3-4, maximum 5 bosses, united in hubs. Is that the Old Kingdom had some kind of nonlinearity and scale. In general, it's okay, it took an average of an hour for 80 to complete such an instance in patch 3.0.x. Another step towards casuals. But the most interesting surprise awaited the players in the endgame.

Three days after the release of the add-on, the TwentyFifthofNovember guild, formed by the merger of SK-Gaming and Nihilum, cleaned out all the starting raid content of WotLK. At the time of the start of WotLK, there was one long Naxxramas and three short raids - Crypt of Arkavon, Eye of Eternity and Obsidian Sanctuary. The developers did not hide the fact that the first tier of WotLK raids would be simple, but hardcore raiders hardly expected such a simplification. Indeed, at one time, only the Four Horsemen in the original Naxxramas were overwhelmed for several weeks. And then three days, and still had to pump the characters to the maximum level.

Some personal memories. Naxxramas was my first "actual" raid. I got there quite late, after the release of 3.1, but then, with the old emblem system, passing Naks was an obligatory step in the process of dressing a character for Ulduar. Our guild was more than casual, and we made the top ten without any problems. I won't say that it was quite simple, but after 5-6 fights, the boss's mechanics became clear, as well as what to do. "Twenty" turned out to be more difficult, however, the composition of our raid constantly fluctuated and the clearing was not always uniform. Sometimes they reached Thaddius, sometimes they didn't crawl over Razuvia. It seems to me that Nax-10 has become a good training ground for beginner and casual raiders for newbie raiders. It was there that you could get the experience of playing in a large group and with more difficult bosses than in 5ppl "heroics". From the point of view of bringing raiding to the masses, the Blizzards, in principle, did the right thing.

But hardcore fans expected something completely different. And this other came in April with patch 3.1.

Patch 3.1 Mysteries of Ulduar

This patch has been awaited by many raiders who have farmed both versions of Naks. Based on the PTR, Ulduar promised to be more complex and interesting than Naxxramas. But first, a few words about what Patch 3.1 brought to the bulk of the gaming community.

Dual specialization. By paying 1000 gold, a player from level 40 was able to switch between two talent layouts without running to the coach every time.

This was especially convenient for hybrid classes that needed to change the layout quite often. The built-in outfitter was also very handy for this innovation, which made it possible to quickly change the character's body kit. The mounts began to float. And not only horses and rams, but even engineering motorcycles. Previously, if the depth of the water barrier did not allow to run over it, the mounts hurried the rider. After 3.1, this annoying moment was removed.

In the far north, away from Icecrown Citadel, the Argent Crusade opened the Argent Tournament, in which both Horde and Alliance warriors could measure their strength without death. Either the builders pumped up, or the supply, but at the time of the opening of the Tournament, the main structure of the Ristalische was not ready. Those who then carried out the daily quests of the Tournament brought a lot of stones and wood to the two goblins-foremen to finish the construction. At the Tournament, it became possible to fight without getting off the mounts (albeit specific ones, not yours, relatives). Plus a bunch of daily buns and buns like level 200 epics, again mounts and pets, which the most adventurous began to trade. Trading in petas of the opposite faction was especially profitable through the use of a neutral auction. However, this place was supposed to become the center of life a little later, in August 2009. Ulduar was, of course, the highlight of the program.

Ulduar. An instance that has been long awaited and that has lived up to these expectations. In it, Blizzard first fully implemented the concept of hard modes (difficult modes). Let me remind you that the first hard mod was implemented in the Obsidian Sanctuary, where three mini-bosses came to Sartharion's aid (if you did not kill them before the fight with the brss). For those who “just wanted to watch the content”, the normal modes were left, for those who like wipes of difficulties, more difficult battles were envisaged, for victories in which, of course, more serious rewards were given. The climax of the hard mods was the fight with Mimiron and Yogg-Saron, the final boss (without the help of the Guardians) and the fight with Algalon the Observer. The Naxom story did not repeat itself. Ensidia (the same TwentyFifthofNovember) was able to kill Algalon in the top ten only at the beginning of June 2009.

The raid content culminated in the hard mod, in which players fought Yogg-Saron without the help of the Guardians. Experts on the forums have calculated that in the current body kit, this boss is not mathematically killable. Despite this, at the end of June 2009, the gaming community spread the news that Exodus from the Ysondre-US server mastered this mode. True, a bug helped them to win and the "exodus" were banned for three days. However, ten days later, the Chinese from Stars made the impossible possible.

The design of the instance was solid five. There was everything from the green gardens of Freya and the subway to Mimiron's workshop to huge open spaces with hundreds of hostile mobs. The lor of Ulduar deserves a separate article and, according to some, is much more interesting than Icecrown Citadel. Encounters were also pleasing. Even a year after the release of the instance, the T10-clad raid wiped on Yogg-Saron with one Guardian, if he didn't know the tactics. Zerking in the overgear did not work.

Ulduar was a success from every point of view. In an amicable way, this should be the last WotLK raid. Still, if you understand this, then the Ancient God of Death Yogg-Saron is not some kind of Lich King. The figure is larger. But Wrath of The Lich King is still the story of the Lich King and no matter how great the Ancient God was, his storyline still turned out to be secondary.

And in early June, the developer announced a new raid instance, which was supposed to become the basis of the 3.2 content patch. The Trial of the Crusader was destined to play a fatal role in the fate of Ulduar.

The fact that "WoW is not a cake" started talking after the release of the first expansion, The Burning Crusade. This topic is a classic holivar of all thematic forums. Players of different generations argue hoarsely about when the grass was greener. Some say that WotLK was an add-on where the blizzards took a big step in the direction of casuals and thus began to "kill the game." Despite the relative simplicity of the updated Naks, the first half of WotLK was not casual, if only because of the far from simple hard mods of Ulduar.

The watershed was patch 3.2.

Prior to this patch, the concept of endgame in WoW basically retained the features that were in "vanilla". Raid content was mastered progressively. The player who reached the level cap had to go through all the steps without fail. For example, for "vanilla" such a sequence was 5ppl 55-60 levels - Upper part of Black Mountain - Zul'Gurub / Molten Core / Onyxia's Lair - Lair of the Black Wing - An'Qirazh 40 - t; Naxxramas (original version). The player who got the 60th today could hardly count on getting into the Blackwing Lair even after a month. The same situation persisted throughout almost the entire fuel assembly.

Until 3.2, the newly minted 80-k had to first be like heroics, then in Nax, and only then could count on a raid in Ulduar. A radical change in the emblem system in patch 3.2 led to the fact that any player could dress in the last raid shooting range, and for this it was not at all necessary to go through all the stages of raid content. On the one hand, this was the right decision, suitable for beginners who have just come to the game or for an alto driver swinging a third or fourth Persian.

On the other hand, 3.2 became the gravedigger of the content that was released before it. And if Naxxramas was no longer a pity, then Ulduar is just the opposite. Such an instance could remain relevant for at least nine to ten months. Fourteen bosses, interesting hard mods, impressive design, powerful storyline. In 3.2 players got ... However, read the details below.

Patch 3.2.0 Call of Crusade

Release date: 09/04/2009

For fans of PvP, the patch brought a new battleground - the Island of Conquest, where wall to wall with forty bodies on each side, players could take part in get-togethers. Still, the main innovations were in the PvE aspect of the game.

One of the bombs that detonated the community in June was the news of a price cut and the level required to buy riding skills. Now they promised to sell the first mount for mere pennies already at the 20th level. The budget epic flyer was given on the 60th and his speed increased to 150%, whereas before he was taken on the 70th and the speed was 60%. Life has been made easier for the players once again.

Even more impressive was the news of the change in the emblem system. Now from every boss, starting with 5ppl "heroics" and ending with Ulduar-25, Emblems of Conquest dropped, for which vendors in Dalaran sold equipment of level 226 (equivalent to Tier 8.5). Moreover, for completing the daily quest in "heroic", the player received two Emblems of Triumph, for which the entire Tier 9 starter set was bought. Naturally, all this caused a serious vine.

Two more points that relate to PvE have changed dramatically. The first is the ability to extend the retention period for a copy of an instance for a week. For many guilds, this was a great solution. Especially for casual and semi-hardcore guilds, which in one or two evenings managed to reach the Guardians and, perhaps, kill one of them. Now, instead of annoyingly cleaning what they saw for weeks, the CD was extended and other bosses could be spent.

The last major change concerned such a delicate item as loot. The ability to transfer items within two hours between raid members to each other was a great innovation, especially if mistakes were made during the "distribution of elephants". At the same time, this change gave impetus to such a segment in the WoW economy as the GDKP, where enterprising GMs sold loot from bosses for "very extra" money.

The construction in the area of ​​the Tournament was completed and now in the middle of the Stadium the building of the Vanguard Colosseum stood proudly. In terms of interior design, the Colosseum is the most primitive and dull not only in WotLK, but in all of WoW. A large round room with a very modest decoration and a couple of legendary inscriptions in the parterre. Two instances were placed in the Colosseum at once - 5ppl and a raid for 10 and 25 persons, two difficulty levels for each. However, the action took place in the same round room. Three bosses in 5pp and five in a raid. No trash, other than the equestrian combat in Trial of the Champion. The loot that fell in the normal version of the IC was equivalent to that that fell in the old "heroics", in the "heroic" - the drop in Ulduar-10. In the raid instance, the loot was higher in level than in the hard mods of Ulduar.

The Colosseum has become a farm zone for players of all levels. Characters who have just upgraded from the 80th are guaranteed and quickly put on the new 5ppl and, running around the old "heroics", collect badges. The naked eye could see that they were dragging the maximum number of players under the final raid instance - Icecrown Citadel.

Patch 3.2.2 Return of Onyxia

Release date: 04 October 2009
Onyxia's Lair, a forty-man raid instance, was one of the first to enter the game together. The disc from the TVS Collector's Edition contains a lecture by Tigol about how they developed this boss. At the end of the FA, the raid began to be carried out in groups of 5-6 people. After the release of WotLK, Onyxia was killed solo and not even 80s.

Obviously, the developers got tired of such a mockery of the legendary encounter and they remade the raid for the realities of WotLK. Two versions for 10 and 25 people, slightly changed combat mechanics, new loot, among which only helmet models remained old. A couple of weeks after the patch, Onyxia was killed by scares. Instance became a good addition to the farm zone of the IR - the loot in them was the same. And from Onyxia, a mount fell with a scanty chance.

The very fact that blizzards are reanimating old content was perceived by some as an outrage against the classics, others as a significant fact. Demands to update the raids of the Old World were heard long before the announcement of the Cataclysm. All the same, these places were empty, and were of interest to lovers of antiquity, achievements and legendary items. Be that as it may, the experiment was successful.

Patch 3.3.0 Fall of the Lich King

The Lich King, formerly Prince Arthas, is certainly one of the central figures in the lore of the Warcraft setting. It is tied to the plot of Warcraft: Reign of Chaos and the sequel to The Frozen Throne. For many players, the second expansion was a logical continuation of the main plot of the RTS Warcraft series. As some players said after - for them, WoW ended in WotLK. If the first half of "Cataclysm" was still an attempt to harmoniously continue the old storylines, then after patch 4.3 Metzen associates do not cease to "amaze" with their delights. Let's move on to the details.

New content is good. All the more so with the final raid of the add-on. However, there are things that have a more serious impact on the game.

The cross-server 5ppl and automatic group assembly system has become one of the most significant innovations. Prior to 3.3.0, putting a company of five people into low and mid-tier instances was a challenge. Especially on servers with medium and low population density. We got together for an hour or two, then we got to the instance for another twenty minutes, then someone dropped out of the group and everyone sat smoking bamboo, trying to find a replacement. In general, it was a dreary business. After 3.3.0 the situation changed dramatically. Now there was no need to spam in the trade or hang out in the LFG to form a group. All that remained was to select an instance and click a button. The system assembled the group itself and, moreover, dropped everyone there automatically. And threw back after the instance was passed.

As with any major innovation, the players perceived it ambiguously. Of course, many were glad that now there was no need to spend a lot of time searching and gathering a group. On the other hand, sometimes the system "packed" groups in which there were both strong players and frankly weak ones. All this gave rise to a lot of vines on the forums.

As for the new content, not only the long-awaited Citadel came out in 3.3, but also the Ice Halls, as many as three 5ppl instances, each of which had two or three bosses and which significantly differed in complexity from the "old" 5ppl, released in 3.0 -3.2. In them, the playing audience again remembered what it means to wipe on trash. The battles turned out to be original, especially with the Lich King. This was the first boss, the fight with which was to run away from him, not kill. Loot in the Halls was equal in quality to what dropped in the top ten of the Trials of the Crusader.

As for the Citadel itself, the instance has become, let's say, a completely logical embodiment of the concept of "raiding to the masses". As in the IR blizzard, we saw two levels of difficulty - "normal" and "heroic", and the second one opened only after defeating the Lich King in the normal version. In principle, the normal level of difficulty turned out to be within the power of many casual guilds, players who did not have much raid experience (especially after the successive introduction of the buff). Sindragosa and the Lich King himself were considered really serious bosses, especially in the "heroic" version. The wings of the Citadel opened in sequence. Until January, only the first wing with four bosses was available. Then the pace was accelerated and hardcore musicians came out to Leach himself in early February.

A scandal in which the top guild Ensidia was seriously damaged is also associated with the kill of the Lich King. Let me remind you that the first in the top ten, Arthas was killed by Blood Legion. They killed cleanly, for which they received a well-deserved achievement. Kungen with the company was the first in the "twenty", but a day later Ensidia was banned. They used a saronite bomb cheat. Ban for three days, selected loot and canceled achievement.

In this race of progress, our guild "Exorsus" was also noted. They were the first to kill Abomination, Lana'tel and Sindragoza in CLK10hm and completed Glory to the Icecrown Raider.

Some time after the discovery of hardmodes and the killing of the Lich King in the "heroic" version, a zone buff was introduced, which increased the damage and health inflicted by players. Each month was understood at five percent and by the summer the buff was 30%. In other words, the CLK was nerfed into the trash. The Finnish team Paragon made the first first kill Leach in "heroic". True, they did it after the first 5% buff. Later, after farming Arthas in full, they still killed him without a buff.

Patch 3.3.5 Defending the Ruby Sanctum

Release date: June 22, 2010
It's not for you to tell me what it means to farm one raid for more than six months. For the raiders of the WotLK era, the CLK has become something similar to the current OO. In order to slightly dispel bored raiders, the developers have released a "raid filler" - Ruby Sanctuary. Three mini-bosses and the dragon Halion were called upon to scare the raiders a little. What can I say, one boss is like that, master it for one cd, and then farm until it drops. Actually, patch 3.3.5 was significant not only for this.

It was in this patch that the Blizzards introduced Real ID, a feature that allowed you to communicate via battle.net with your friends who are playing other Blizzard games. As the name suggests - "real identifier" - your real name was visible to your friends. It doesn't matter under what alt you crawled into the game, your Real ID friends saw that it was you.

Well, okay, that's all right. But when the developers announced that it would be possible to write on the forum only by logging into the Real ID, perhaps the largest vine in the history of the game rose. One of the bliz decided to prove that everything is fine, it's not scary, to enter the network under his own name. A couple of hours later, he was bombarded with pizza ordered by good players at his home, after his address, as well as all his personal details, were figured out. After that, Blizzard refused to de-anonymize players and closed the issue.

So WotLK ended. The expansion that hit the peak of World of Warcraft's popularity. December 2010 was approaching and the release of the add-on, which turned out to be a truly cataclysm in every respect.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Cataclysm was the most anticipated addition to the game. In August 2009, at Blizzcon, a lot was said about him. And about the fact that the Old World will be changed and it will finally be possible to fly over it. And about the new system of character development on the level cap, proudly called "The Way of the Titans." And about archeology, as something with which you can develop the path of the Titans. And, of course, about a lot of raid and other content. We will talk about what we got as a result later. In the meantime - about what preceded the most destructive catastrophe in Azeroth. Destructive in every sense.

Patch 4.0.1

Release date: 12 October 2010
The prepatch, released in mid-October 2010, brought fundamental changes to the class mechanics. For example, the brains of the hunters were taken away and mana was replaced with concentration. The rotation had to be mastered anew. The rest also got it. The evening after the release was remembered for a cheerful chat, in which grateful inhabitants of Azeroth sent rays of goodness to the developers and threatened to cancel their subscription.

To these troubles were added minor inconveniences - plaster began to fall from the ceilings. The tremors were felt in all cities. In early November, it became clear what was what. The elemental invasion of Azeroth has begun, awakened by Deathwing. It all started out quite cheerfully, but somehow it was quickly blown away. It all came down to chaotic running through the streets of the capitals and the execution of a simple chain. Those who took part in the event before the release of WotLK noted that it was "ok" then, but now "none". Players are accustomed to the new class mechanics, they received a "great feat" for closing portals. Everyone was waiting for the release.

Patch 4.0.3

Release date: November 16, 2010
The patch loaded all the new Cataclysm content that was supposed to be available after the December release.

Patch 4.0.3a "The Shattering"

Release date: 23 November 2010
It was this patch that changed the Old World of Azeroth forever. Many locations in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor have been extensively changed. For example, the Barrens used to be one location, the Wastelands fully corresponded to their name without any oases in the middle, Thousand Needles were not flooded, Azshara was deserted, and Pirate Bay was safe and sound. Many quests have been removed and hundreds of new ones have appeared. Also, new combinations of races and classes became available, for example, tauren paladins.

World of Wacraft: Cataclysm Release

Thunder struck on the night of December 6-7. The servers went offline at midnight European time. For the inhabitants of densely populated servers, the chances of breaking through back were nil. Nevertheless, those who managed to do this already in the morning "pleased" the public with server-farts. The first 85 hatched in less than six hours. By the evening, a bunch of 85 people were already running on the top servers, looking for a group in "heroics".

And this is where "pain and suffering" began. The fastbajrans, which the fearless heroes were used to in the second half of WotLK, did not roll. In the "heroics" of "Cataclysm" required control, careful disassembly of packs, knowledge of tactics and class. A serious wine has begun on the forums.

The raids were also tough. The tough fighters, who knocked out the Citadel bosses with a half-kick, faced problems. And the heat was set not only by the flippers. Many simply did not reach them, stumbling over the blind dragon Atrameda and the Council of the Ascended. Some managed to wipe on Magmar for a month. Yes, the hardcore players were happy, but the rest of the audience did not enjoy these difficulties.

The problem was further complicated by the fact that little content was made for leveling to level 80-85. Sagging on bent ones, any casual could be pumped to a cap in a couple of weeks. Personally, it took me a month, but then I played a lot on the auke and spent half of the playing time at the auction. There were practically no other alternatives. Either heavy raids or PvP.

The content for 1-60 levels, which was staked on during the marketing campaign, did not meet the expectations of the developers. Yes, it passed, lovers of lore savored the new quests, critics complained that Outland is now generally incomprehensible in what direction, but did not shoot. Because with the inheritance and guild bonuses, pumping turned into an easy walk.

As a result, by March-April, disappointment resulted in a massive exodus of players. For the first time since the release, there has been a negative trend in terms of the number of subscribers.

Patch 4.1 Rise of Zandalari

The announcement of this patch caused a mixed reaction, which was mostly negative against the background of the mass exodus. Traditionally, content patches have included full-fledged raids. 4.1 was one of the first patches to have no raids, only 5ppl instances. Moreover, these were “creatively revised” TVS raids - Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman. Yes, these raids on twenty people have long attracted only lovers of antiquity. This mainly concerned Zul'Gurub, where the bosses dropped mounts - lizard and panther. Therefore, reformatting was received with hostility.

After the release of the patch, cries about the excessive complexity of new instances were added to Vine about laziness. Yes, that's exactly what it was. Firstly, even in the cut-down form of the bosses, it was too much for 5ppl. Over the past couple of expansions, players have become accustomed to compact instances. Added to this was the complexity of the Zuls. In the first cd, it took a group with an average level of play two hours to complete. The groups assembled in the LFD sometimes could not go to the end at all, falling apart on intermediate bosses. Jin'do, the last boss of Zul''Gurub, has even been hitting the guild groups. On the one hand, it was liked by the lovers of difficulties, who saw in this the correctness of the chosen course. On the other hand, the silent majority continued to leave the game.

Plot 4.1 was out of tune. The return of Desving, the invasion of the elementals, the cult of the Twilight's Hammer. It all started very epic. The people were waiting for the continuation of the banquet in the form of a continuation of the story with the kidnapped Neptulon, further outrages of Desving and his henchmen, and then some Zandalari. No, no one belittles the importance of this tribe in the history of Azeroth, but it all looked like a kind of local conflict that was sewn into the main plot, simply because it was necessary to revive the old raids.

Patch 4.1 is controversial. The Zuls turned out to be too difficult for the 5ppl format, but they weren't up to the traditional raids.
Summarize. The first months of "Cataclysm" pleased with the novelty, but in the spring, problems loomed ahead - people began to leave the game. The reworked Old World was not appreciated. Cataclysm's launch raids proved too difficult for the general public, accustomed to the nerfed CLK. The developers did not provide alternative entertainment in the endgame. Archeology rightfully received the title of the most boring profession, which, moreover, did not give any tangible profit. The result was a massive churn of players. It was in the summer of 2011 that they started talking about the fact that the project began to lose popularity.

The first months of the add-on were interesting, but by the summer it became clear that "there will be no kinetic". Moreover, this became clear not only to the players, but also to the Blizzards. The game in the literal sense of the word had to be saved. RIFT released in the spring, the first AAA project since Warhammer (fall 2008), which claimed the audience for WoW, threw logs into the fire. It is worth saying that RIFT at that time managed to draw off a decent part of the subscribers from WoW. It was necessary to do something, because in December another WoW competitor was expected - Star Wars the Old Republic. So the situation was awful.

Patch 4.2.0 Rage of Firelands

The first "final" boss in WoW at one time was the Lord of Fire, Ragnaros. In patch 4.2, the second coming of the Fire Lord awaited us, because as it turned out, those forty heroes who stormed Black Mountain did not defeat him, but only shoved him back into ... these very Firelands. Now our task was to finally put an end to Ragnaros, who became Desving's ally. The raid itself turned out to be, shall we say, contradictory. The vast wasteland of fiery blacks, over which six bosses and Ragnaros' reception room were distributed, made me personally longing. Some generally did not tolerate this bright gamut of colors. As for the mechanics of the bosses themselves, in my opinion, only Ragnaros himself was interesting in the normal. All the rest were boring and expressionless.

The Fiery Frontline has become a separate topic of patch 4.2. Realizing that not all players are fond of raids, the blizzards sawed down an epic quest location called the Fiery Frontline. The main trick here was that the location was phased and opened sequentially after the delivery of the badges to the main signatures, which were farmed only through the daily. Along with the new phases, the player got access to new locations and vendors with all sorts of goodies such as weapons and recipes. The idea, of course, was good, like here's the content, in which everything depends on your actions. But it turned out Ristalische-2 with daily dailies, which got stuck in the teeth already in the third week. In short, the content turned out to be "second fresh", because there were already such quest hubs, and they even had phasing.

What else is so special about patch 4.2? Of course, the legendary staff for the caster. The chain for obtaining the staff turned out to be long and in order to get hold of the staff, it took a long time to farm. The easiest way, of course, was for those who farm OP25hm - the first staff was collected by the hardcore players in early August.

As already mentioned in the last posting about this add-on, "Cataclysm" lived up to its name and not only in terms of Azerothian lore. The total outcome of the players by the summer was about 900 thousand people (compared to the pre-release state). The situation had to be saved. And urgently save. Probably, the decision on how to do this was made even before the release of Firelands, because the raid turned out to be surprisingly small. Seven bosses are not enough. Yes, there was a Colosseum in WotLK with five, but before it there was Ulduar with 14, and after that there was a TsLK with 13. That the topic was merging became clear after the announcement of patch 4.3. Even before the release of the add-on promised a raid on such a theme as "War of the Ancients" and a raid on the naval theme. After all, what Ozumat did with Neptulon, we never found out. So we expected this too. But it didn't turn out that way.

Three 5ppl instances were made from the War of the Ancients raid. The "sea" raid was cut from the plans. According to the announcement, the final raid was supposed to contain eight bosses, which was sad in itself and hinted that all forces were now thrown into the next expansion. However, bliz still prepared something tasty for the players.

Patch 4.3.0 Hour of Twilight

Patch 4.3 was released three weeks before the release of one of the main competitors of WoW at that time - SWTOR. The online universe based on Star Wars looked menacing. Created by an eminent studio based on a cult franchise, it's a killer combination. Time has shown that the budget and the popularity of the setting are not yet components of the success of an MMO project. However, the Blizzards have produced one of the most ambitious patches since the late TVS. The endgame part contained the Dragon Soul raid of eight bosses, and with Desving we had to fight in two battles. First on his back, forcing him to land in the Maelstrom, and then four times with his claws with them. Also in the package were three instances, in which players who were late for the holiday could quickly get dressed - the things that fell there were equal in ilvl to those that fell from the bosses in the Firelands.

In this component, it was not only depressing that there were only eight bosses. The raid itself was made from "old scenery". The action took place in Dragonblight, the Eye of Eternity, on the ships that once stormed the Lich King's Citadel. The naked eye could see that the blizzards were going according to the minimum program, saving resources. Instances for five persons were made, apparently, on the basis of what the Blies managed to finalize for the "War of the Ancients" raid. The disappointment was complemented by the fact that the plot was sucked from the finger - the search for the Dragon Soul in the distant past looked far-fetched. Personally, I was most jarred by the fact that such an epic theme as "War of the Ancients" was ineptly merged. Is Azshara a boss in a five-man instance? And not final. The battle of dragonflights with Desving could be an interesting encounter. Not to mention that the city of Zin-Azshari deserved a more ambitious embodiment. Something like Ulduar could be made.

The paucity of endgame was compensated by the introduction of several game systems. The first one is transmogrification, the ability to “apply” “skins” of other items to the armor. Such "cosmetics" have already existed in other games and have proven their popularity. The theme really shot well, becoming a serious hobby for some collectors. The transmogrification was in charge of the Epherials, which also opened up additional storage for items.

The second major innovation was the Raid Build System (LFR). Automatic raid assembly was promised at Blizzcon'e 2009, when the expansion was announced. Many were waiting for it after the release, but introduced it only in the second half of the addon. Now, anyone who wants to and has the appropriate body kit, by simply pressing a button, gets into the company of the same "adventurers".

The latest innovation is that Darkmoon Fair has moved to a separate island and expanded. There are new attractions, quests and badges with vendors. However, nothing particularly interesting appeared there. So, another quest zone that appears once a month for a week.

The last thing the patch brings is the legendary rogue chain. It was for them and only for them that a new quest chain was introduced, as a result of which the character received the legendary daggers - "Fangs of the Father". In the very same chain, a new character took an active part, who began to play a large role in Pandarian history - Wrathion, the son of Desving.

In general, patch 4.3 turned out to be quite voluminous and in some places radically changes the attitudes of the players. For example, transmogrification has become a popular activity, and many sites have appeared on the Internet on this very topic. And LFR opened access to raids for a mass of players who did not have the opportunity to play regularly in a permanent group.

That's all. In November, when patch 4.3 was released, it was already known what the next expansion would be about. The Mists of Pandaria caused a mixed reaction in the gaming community. Who knows, how many more subscribers the game would have lost if the Bliz did not come up with the "Annual Subscription". Paying for WoW a year in advance, the player automatically bought Diablo III and access to the Mists of Pandaria beta. The move was correct, because in "Cataclysm", in fact, there was nothing to do, but playing Diablo III and Mists of Pandaria was nothing.

And "Cataclysm" turned out to be an add-on that showed a simple thing - as soon as the developer relaxes, the player will immediately flee to another project. After a sharp outflow of players, the bliz tensed and issued an addition that was literally packed with innovations. But I'll talk about this next time.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

2011 was the most difficult year for developers. The rapid drop in the number of subscribers forced the fire brigade to reconsider plans and make unpopular decisions. With the naked eye, it was clear that close by threw all their forces on the new addition. Which?

In August, exactly after the announcement of the next losses, a rumor spread through the network. Bliz registered the rights to the name, literally vague - "Mists of Pandaria". The people scratched their turnips in bewilderment and decided to wait for Blizzcon'a. We waited for Blizzcon'a, and with it confirmation of the main theme of the addon. Then the playing audience was divided into two parts. The first was loudly outraged by the attempt to please the Chinese audience, the second said "wait and see." In order to somehow keep the audience and get a penny from it, the blies decided to take a bold step. The "Annual Subscription" promotion gave more than just the right to play WoW for a year. For the same money, the player received Diablo III, as well as access to the Mists of Pandaria beta.

I think that in a sense this saved the game from an even greater churn of players in the first half of 2012, which was very rich in new releases. SWTOR was still shining in the first half of the year, the controversial but anticipated The Secret World came out in the summer, and one of the most promising MMO projects, Guild Wars 2, was to be released in August. The game started early on August 24, 2012. Bliz, these old, grated rolls, who still knew how to beat the game to competitors, launched the Mists of Pandaria pre-patch.

Patch 5.0.4 Mists of Pandaria

Release date: 28 Aug 2012
Like all previous pre-release patches, this one made a number of dramatic changes to the game. The main changes were the following.

Another radical reworking of the class system. The tree system was abandoned once and for all, replacing it with the ability to choose one talent out of three every fifteen levels. The announcement of this at the convention caused another seething in the style of "sho, again? !!!", but in fact the new system was entirely justified. In the MoP Bliz were going to introduce scalable content in the form of test modes for 5ppl. The old system was of little use for this.

Cross-server locations. The first cross-server locations date back to the days of the original WoW. These were the battlefields. Much later, in patch 3.3, five-person instances became cross-north. Patch 4.3 made raids cross-server. The assembly of LFR-groups was carried out automatically from among the players of the same battle groups of servers, and the Battle Tag made it possible to collect groups of friends. And so, the technology got to the open world. Now players from servers could play together in open locations and cities, except for capitals.

This step has been a long time ago, since most of the locations in Old Azeroth, Northrend and Outland were deserts in terms of population. Swinging, the player could not meet a single player at all for several dozen levels. This was especially true for low and medium populated servers. I remember then I was playing with the old main Deckven on Nordrassill-EU, a server that was somewhere in the top 100 in terms of progress. So I did the achievements for killing Rarniks in Outland and Northrend without much difficulty, because the locations were completely empty. Some players said so - by the introduction of cross-server zones, the blouses are secretly conducting mergers of servers. However, the real merger was still far away.

Mounts and achievements have become the same for the entire account. This innovation was perhaps the most noticeable and delighted many players. Especially those who unsuccessfully followed Al'lar's Ashes for several years in a row, and then accidentally loot his viola in pugofanreid. Yes, owners of prestigious titles such as Death Conqueror could now choose them for violas. In short, the innovation was great and now mountodrochers could run after the dragon of Onyxia or Anzu with all available characters, and the "Messenger of the Titans" could be worn by a maine, although the title was earned by a specially created character.

All this was cool and correct, but with the Prerelease event, the blizzards pumped up this time. Instead of an action that stretched out over several weeks, as it was before the releases of other add-ons, we were given a short, twenty minutes script. The sad story that happened to Theramore replaced the event for us. Greg Crabovich Street then said that, they say, it is better to spend resources on making some long-playing feature than to make a one-time event. Everyone I knew disagreed with this.

Mists of Pandaria release

Once upon a time, the release of the add-on involved a server reboot. That is, after 00-00 server time, the game was buried, and then how lucky it is, because it is almost impossible to break through the authorization server simultaneously with thousands of others. This time the blizzards promised a smooth start without overloading the servers. And so it happened. After 00-00 server time, players automatically received a quest that sent them to the shores of Pandaria. On release, I played for the Alliance and upon arrival on the aircraft carrier of the faction, I saw the following picture.

This column of helicopter flying upward did not promise anything good, so I decided not to take the next quest, but immediately jumped off the ship into the water. Before that, I visited the beta and knew that completing the quest was not at all necessary. The decision turned out to be correct. The helicopter quest turned out to be a trap for many players, who, due to lags in the starting location, could not really complete and pass it. However, this did not bother me much, I headlong ran lags through the Jade Forest and only when I reached the Valley of the Four Winds I felt relief.

So what did Mists of Pandaria bring to the game in September 2012? In addition to the above benefits, the following has been added:

• new continent - Pandaria. The emergence of an island out of nowhere, wandering for almost ten thousand years, turned out to be slightly pulled by the ears, but we must pay tribute, everything else was invented by Bliz quite well;
• a new race - pandaren and, of course, a new starting location in the form of a giant turtle. The Pandaren were the first race in the game to be available to both factions;
• new class - monk. Depending on the type of beer drunk, he could become a tank, a healer, or a damaging one;
• the level cap has grown to level 90;
• seven new instances for five players, and three instances that were reworked versions of classic dungeons.
• for all dungeons Pandaria introduced a special format - a challenge mode. In this mode, all the characteristics of the body kit were brought to level 463, and the monsters became thicker and angrier;
• three raids - Mogu'shan Dungeons, Heart of Fear and Terrace of Eternal Spring. There were a total of fourteen bosses in these raids, which was quite a decent number for a starting shooting range;
• fighting pets. Pets that used to run after players with their tail could now be trained and pitted against each other. This game was to the liking of many, both collectors and lovers of turn-based games, as well as Azerothian hucksters who began to trade animals that quickly turned into a popular and rather expensive commodity;
• Black market. Among the pandaren were not only brewers, farmers, and brawler monks. The local mafia and one of its leaders, Madame Goya, managed to establish a trade in Azerothian antiques and scarcity. At the "point" in the area of ​​the Hidden Stairs, Madame Goya traded in rare mounts, pets, T3 pieces and even heroic body kit. At first, a certain category of players had a fierce butthrt about this, but then nothing, they got used to it;
• PvE scenarios. Bliz have always been famous for their ability to efficiently process other people's ideas. So, the developers of SWTOR created in the open world locations designed for the passage of several characters, and the passage was not tied to the tough classic scheme "tank-heal-several dd". H2-H4 zones were sometimes covered with pure dd-setups. The Blies adapted the idea and got some pretty good fun for three people, detached from the classic scheme;
• Farm Frenzy. After completing the quest chain, the local farmers' cooperative "The Farmers" allowed the player to stake out six hundred square meters in the Halfhill region. Now a brave soldier of the Light or a child of the Horde could swing not only a sword or a talisman, but also a hoe.

Despite the steep tilt to the oriental theme, Pandaria was generally received positively. True, some moments nevertheless caused gnashing of teeth.

Firstly, the reputation with the factions of Pandaria was pumped exclusively through quests, regular and daily. No fan-made T-shirts or heroic races, which was widely practiced in previous expansions. Secondly, to start building a reputation with the Shado-Pan and the Celestials, you first had to level up to exalted at the Golden Lotus. Thirdly, for daily quests they gave not only valor, but also small amulets of good luck. These amulets were exchanged for large amulets, which gave the possibility of an additional roll in raids. True, the exchange rate was 3:90, that is, three large amulets were given for ninety small ones. Therefore, even if you pumped up all the reputations, then later you had to make dailyiki exclusively for the sake of small amulets. And the last thing - the limit of twenty-five daily dailies has been lifted. Therefore, hardcore players made them until they turned blue, "every day, all the pandarea."

Patch 5.1 Landfall

Patch 5.1 was the first "with numbers" patch in many years to not include a raid. Instead, the Blizzards made quest content a highlight of patch 5.1, namely two campaigns for the Alliance and Horde. After the landing of the forward detachments of mercenaries, that is, us, the heads of the factions decided to send regular units to conquer new territories, which were to gain a foothold on a new bridgehead. The Alliance campaign was called Operation Barrier, and the Horde's Army of Conquerors. There were also two new factions with which you could pump your reputation. In general, "Landing" is considered the most successful implementation of such content when compared with the Ristaly and the Fiery Front. But the innovations of patch 5.1 did not end there.

In my memory, the PvE arena was talked about back in the early days of WotLK. Why not? Bliz know how to make bosses. And once again it will not be superfluous to practice. Here in patch 5.1 and introduced the "Fighting Guild", where in front of other players you fight against monsters that are controlled by a computer. In order to enter this arena, one had to receive a special invitation. He was either knocked out of the rarniks in the new quest zone or bought for a lot of money on the Black Market. At first, prices went off scale. In general, the people liked the new entertainment.

Upgrade items. Surplus badges sooner or later form even among the most casual players. Therefore, the Bliz decided to upgrade with Valor and Justice Points. The prices went off scale at first - for four additional levels for the epic, it was necessary to lay out 750 points of valor, but nevertheless, the people liked the innovation. Moreover, the progress of the raid was not going well for everyone.

The grindfest did not end there. Wrathion's legendary chain is just the apotheosis of the grind. At the first stage, it was necessary to collect ten Seals of Power and ten Seals of Power. In addition, it was necessary to bring the reputation with the Black Prince to respect. And yes, it was all just the beginning.

In general, Pandaria sample 5.0.4-5.0.5 was a success and the players had enough lessons. And the blies, promising to issue content patches more often, kept their word and at the end of November 2012 threw out patch 5.1 on the players.

Patch 5.2 Thunder King

At the beginning of the add-on, the developers promised to issue patches more and more often. And, oddly enough, they kept their word. Patch 5.2 was released just months after 5.1 and was outstanding in many ways.

The plot in patch 5.2 continued the main line smoothly. For those who have completed the Kun-Lai Summit quests in full, one episode will surely be remembered. It is about the resurrection of the legendary mogu king - Lei-Shen by the Zandalari trolls. This king was famous for the fact that once upon a time, he defeated all other mogu leaders and united his people. Moreover, he was able to gain the upper hand over the "curator" of the Titans, Ra-den and take possession of the technology of space aliens. And now, after thousands of years in another world, Lei-Shen returns to take revenge by defeating his former slaves, the pandaren. True, Lec-Shen and his mogu did not take into account one factor - now in Pandaria there are not only good-natured bears softened from drinking beer. The island is not only marching regular units of the Alliance and Horde, but also crowds of mercenaries who have passed fire, water and copper pipes. With them and will have to deal as well as I can, and their long-standing, even before the Sundering, allies in the person of the Zandalari trolls.

This plot unfolded both in the new play zone, Isle of Thunder, and in the raid, Throne of Thunder. Isle of Thunder was a phased location with a bunch of quests. The solution is as old as patch 2.4, because it was in it that this concept was first tried out. In addition to dailies, rare mobs were found on the island, which required the efforts of several players to defeat them. Another little thing that pleased this arcade zone is the Treasury of the Thunder King. Once a week, a key dropped from the mobs of the island, which opened access to a solo scenario in which you had to run through a location in which chests with all sorts of goodies were scattered. Money, valuable items, Large amulets for T14 raids. The experiment turned out to be successful, but, unfortunately, the developers in the MoP did not provide more of such content.

As mentioned above, the content of the island was phased, that is, it opened after players completed a certain number of tasks. In general, the place turned out to be atmospheric, but rather gloomy. One got the impression that the island is a giant cemetery, where someone decided to take up the resurrection of the dead.

Isle of Thunder was not the only one. Near the northern coast of Pandaria, out of nowhere (as usual - out of the fog), another island appeared - the Isle of Giants. It was inhabited by dinosaurs and large animals, and entirely elites. This mob was headed by Ondasta, a giant dinosaur, who required the efforts of an "old school" raid of forty men to win. Bones fell from dinosaurs, and all sorts of utility could be replaced on bones.

Now about the "highlight of the program" - the Throne of Thunder raid. Even at the stage of testing on the PTR, it was clear that the developers were preparing something large-scale. So it turned out as a result. Blizzard has managed to create a raid zone in its best tradition. Twelve bosses and one "secret" in "heroic" mode, many of which were distinguished by original mechanics, impressive interiors and a lot of trash, an interesting plot. I don’t know about you, but for me the Throne of Thunder is on a par with Ulduar and the Black Temple. After the rather dull in all respects raid content of the late Cataclysm, the developers showed that there is still gunpowder in the flasks. True, a couple of spoons with tar still got into this barrel of honey.

The disadvantages were yes. The first is the linearity of the instance. Why did the blizzards decide to make the PG like this - God knows. Many instances with a large number of bosses had a “quarterly” structure that allowed you to choose from the bosses that you wanted. Here the order was the same. This was aggravated by the fact that the difficulty of the bosses increased unevenly. So, after a checkpoint with a fairly simple Jin'rock, the raiders attacked Horridon. A typical trash fight, the essence of which was mainly fighting against adds, became a barrier through which some guilds could not pass for weeks. This was followed by the relatively simple Council of the Zandalari, and then followed by the most chaotic battle in the instance - Tortos. Further, again, relatively simple Megera and Tszi-kun. And then again the barrier in the form of Durumu. After going through all the vicissitudes of the first three quarters, the players got into the fourth. The first two bosses there were a classic "don't stay on fire" and only Lei-Shen was original there.

The impression was that different groups of designers made different quarters of the PG. Although this is not the point. The combination of straightforwardness and bosses - "barriers" led to another decrease in the number of raiders in the "normal / heroic" bracket.

Added to these delights is the fact that in 5.2 we were offered the continuation of the "legendary" chain. The Black Prince offered us to farm twenty plus twelve "badzhiks". The drop rate of these next orange things left much to be desired. Added to this was the solo script, which required straight arms, especially for those whose classes did not have self-healing.

However, the patch was a success. Everyone got it - solo players and hardcore raiders and achievers. The people were delighted and waited for the next portion of the content, which was not long in coming.

Patch 5.3 Escalation

Release date: May 21, 2013
The fact that Garrosh is Thrall's biggest personnel failure was clear back in the days of the Cataclysm. Killing Cairne alone is worth it. The further, the worse things got. In the end, a rebellion was raised against Garrosh, led by the leaders of the Horde. Of course, in order to conduct hostilities, you first need to organize the supply. What the leaders of the Horde did with the help of their troops and mercenaries (that is, the players).

This is the story behind patch 5.3. In order to implement this in the game, the developers borrowed the concept of "dynamic events" from ArenaNet. In the Barrens, high-level characters were deployed to guard the places where timber, oil and other useful things were mined. These places had to be plundered, and from time to time, a korovan appeared in the steppe, which had to be protected from raids by Garrosh's troops. In general, it turned out well, although this idea did not reach the dynamics of the original.

Another novelty of the patch is "heroic" scenarios. Since the usual ones have already been imposed on everyone in the teeth, and they were no longer satisfied in terms of awards, GS became the main source of "valor" and body kit for those late for the holiday. From the purple chests, which were given after completing the scenario, the epic of the 516th level fell with a fairly high chance, which was quite nothing.
And, of course, the Black Prince Wrathion once again delighted players with a new stage in the legendary chain.

Patch 5.4 Siege of Orgrimmar

Resources have been gathered, an attack has been prepared. The "moment of truth" came when Garrosh decided to topple the Black Heart of the Old God into the sacred springs of Pandaria. The head of the Shado-pan tried to remind Garrosh of his father's fate, then he tried to slap his face, but nothing helped. Currents of dark energy shattered Dol's charm, corrupting him forever. It's time to kick Garrosh in the teeth together.

In 2013, the developers did not slow down and kept their promise - to make updates more often and thicker. In terms of saturation, patch 5.4 was not inferior to patch 5.2, and in some ways even superior, because it made serious structural changes to the game. Let's start with the fact that an "experimental" location has appeared - the Timeless Isle. There were few quests there, for that there were a lot of rarniks that spawned quite often. In addition, all sorts of chests were scattered across the island. Small amulets of good luck, as well as "blanks" for epics of level 496 fell from mobs and chests. In the middle of the island was an arena where four Celestials were testing players for strength.

The developers stated that they wanted to make a location in which the players did not feel limited by completing dozens of daily calls. Such a "zone of freedom". Yes, indeed, for WoW, the Timeless Isle was an experiment, but about the "freedom of action" bliz got excited. There were quests, the murders of the rarniks were immediately put on stream, and now they came here for Small Amulets, and did not make the daily dailies that had stuck in their teeth. But, in fact, a farm zone was made for dressing alts, new players, as well as returning veterans. After putting on the freshly baked 90th in the 496th body kit, one could forget about the Island.

The next two innovations were related to the changes in the raid system. A new format was introduced - a "flexible" raid. If earlier the number of people in a group was either 10 or 25 people, now their number could fluctuate within these limits. This was perhaps the most rewarding structural change in the entire MPA. First, it made it possible for small guilds to take everyone into the raid. Secondly, the difficulty of such a raid was higher than that of the LFR, but at the same time lower than in the normal. This somewhat lowered the bar and made it possible to play for those who did not quite match the class in normal, but did not want to play with LFR-buttons.

The second most important structural change was Connected Realms - "united servers". This was a continuation of the ideology started back in patch 3.3, when for the first time players from different servers could play 5ppl together. Then there was LFR, cross-realm zones in the "open" world and battle tag. True, the merger of servers has gone hard - they are still being merged.

Another interesting innovation was the Challenge Arena. It was a solo scenario, a kind of "training ground" where players could test their skills in dealing damage, healing and tanking. Those who previously performed one role could practice in another. The need for such a "simulator" has been around for a long time, since it is better to practice "on cats" than to do it in instances.

Wrathion's "legendary" chain has been completed. As a reward, players received a legendary cloak. The reward is not that dubious, but the cloak has become the most massive Legendary item in WoW. To obtain it, it was not even required to go through the normal raid modes, it could be limited to LFR.

And finally, the final raid of the addon - Siege of Orgrimmar. The raid was controversial. On the one hand, fourteen bosses are no joke. Few raids in WoW boast so many encounters, many of which have interesting mechanics. On the other hand, it was clear that the blies were sculpting OO "from what was." The Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Orgrimmar served as the backdrop for the first and second quarters. With the new models of bosses, too, no one was particularly tormented. The third point was more about Horde players. The patch did not make any changes to the capital itself. That is, Garrosh stood still, the auction worked, vendors and trainers were selling services. And after you received an invite, you ended up in the version of the capital that is under siege. In short, cognitive dissonance.

Why this happened, I think, is obvious. As in Cataclysm, the blizzards followed the path of least resistance, using pre-existing sets and models. By the way, according to rumors from insiders, the first quarter is part of a completely different raid, which they decided not to complete, but included in the Siege. This is why we launch our attack on Ogrimmar with a large detour across the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.

As already mentioned, the patch turned out to be rich and interesting. But ... after it, the developers didn't just slow down, they just stopped doing something new. For they have not released a single major content patch. OO will be the raid that sets the record for "longevity" - fourteen months. That's two months longer than Icecrown Citadel stood.

Let's summarize. Overall, the Mists of Pandaria expansion worked well. Compared to Cataclysm, the developers have introduced a lot of new entertainments for players on the cap - pet battles, challenge modes, Brawler's Guild, Trials Arena. Raid content did not disappoint. It was made not only more than in "Cataclysm", but it turned out to be of high quality in the best traditions of Blizzard. Despite all the skepticism, the lore and atmosphere of the addon also worked well. Some say that Pandaria is too homely, they say “family, friends, food, and the rest does not matter,” but if you look at the quest chains, you can find a lot of dramatic moments and the notorious “epic” in them.

At the same time, the addition turned out to be uneven in terms of issuing content patches. I would even say the most uneven. More than a year without updates is too much. Especially after the developers at the beginning of the MoP assured that the content would be delivered more often. Actually, the first year it was. And then something went wrong. Yes, Blizzard did not originally plan for Warlords of Draenor to be released in November 2014. And recent interviews suggest that they delayed the release of WoD by six months. The excuses do not sound very convincing; rather, some kind of discord has occurred at the very top of the development team. The departure of Greg Street in the fall of 2013 and the recent dismissal of Rob Pardo most likely testify to this.

World of Wacraft: Warlords of Draenor

Let's start a little from afar. November 2013, Blizzcon, Metzen portrays an orc, audience roars with delight - expansion presentation. Of course, Warlords of Draenor was the highlight of that convention. The plot caused surprise, indignation and controversy, which continued for more than one week. Most intrigued by the garrisons. What was voiced by the Blizzards aroused genuine interest and a timid hope that they would finally be able to move at least a little from the concept of the game, laid down in vanilla. Garrisons were presented as another system that would allow character development on a cap. Various combinations of structures with various bonuses are just what you need. Add to this a bunch of followers, whom you can also download and, voila, almost the Way of the Titans.

On the other hand, what was shown at the convention left the feeling that the game was damp. And that the team's promises to release content more often and more are somehow too optimistic. The people hoped that WoD will be released in the spring, well, in the extreme summer. Well, Blizzy can't torture people with a final raid for a whole year, they can't. How long can you step on this rake? Nevertheless, it turned out that Siege broke all previous records, becoming a relevant raid for more than fourteen months, surpassing Icecrown Citadel and Dragon Soul. However, before the release there was a pre-patch, with which we will begin our story.

Patch 6.0.2 The Iron Tide

According to the good old tradition, before the release of the add-on, there was a pre-patch with an event and all sorts of changes in the mechanics of the game. The event consisted in the fact that from the suddenly reddened Dark Portal, orcs with weapons, hitherto unseen, again begin to shove. The Iron Horde is trying to gain a foothold on the borders, but we will not let them go beyond the Blasted Lands. All of this was more interesting than the Terramoric scenario, but did not even reach the pre-catalism events, not to mention the fact that the zombie festival before WotLK did not manage to be surpassed.

In addition to the changes to the class mechanics, there have been major adjustments to the raid system. Heroic difficulty became mythical, the size of which was designed for 20 people. Normal began to be called heroic, and flex - normal. It was the final nerf of the Siege of Orgrimmar raid, and over the last few weeks the people were farming the Iron Scorpion hard.

Warlords of Draenor release

The release took place on November 13, exactly six years after the release of the Wrath of the Lich King add-on. So what was so interesting about the addition? Let's start with the plot.

... Garrosh Hellscream makes a daring prison break. One of the dragons of the Flight of Infinity helps him get into an alternate reality, and thirty years ago before the events. Garrosh finds his father Thunder in the alternate Draenor. As a result of propaganda work, Thunder and the other leaders of the Old Horde refuse to drink Mannoroth's cocktail. As a result of a fight between the family of Hellscreams and Mannoroth, the latter dies, and Gul'dan is relegated to the background. Thunder informs ordinary clan members that they will not be slaves, but conquerors. With the technology that Garrosh stole from his reality, the leaders of Draenor create the Iron Horde and build a portal ... to Azeroth, which they want to conquer. Our goal is to sneak into an alternate reality and prevent another Horde invasion of Azeroth.

So, the place of action of the new addition is an alternative Draenor. For those who are not familiar with the intricacies of lore, Outland is what was left of Draenor after Ner'zhul's unsuccessful experiments with fel magic. Therefore, in the alternative Draenor, the mass of locations correlates with the locations of Outland, but in general they are very different. In short, a pristine, wild and untouched land awaited us. Traditional new content with locations, quests, 5ppl and more. The only difference from the continents in previous expansions was that one of the locations - Tanaan Jungle - was closed to players. There passed only the starting chain of quests, and after that we immediately found ourselves in the garrison, which was located quite far from the jungle.

The level cap, as expected, increased to a round figure of 100. In addition, it became possible to upgrade one character to the 90th, and for a certain amount of others. This caused a slight butthrt on the forums, but, in general, was swallowed by the community as a fact that cannot be avoided.

Another innovation that was marketed as a big step forward is the new character models. Models added polygons and made new animation. True, not everyone, for example, blood elves, were not included in the list. Goblins, worgen and pandas were also left unchanged, since the models were relatively recent.

The mechanics of the game were greatly simplified - sockets were removed from armor and weapons, the number of chanting scrolls was greatly reduced and reforging was eliminated. The game "Dress up the Masha doll" has become even easier.

The main innovation was the garrison - the personal fortress of the conqueror of Draenor. The concept was, in principle, not bad. A set of buildings that can be upgraded and that gave bonuses for crafting and combat. Thus, it became possible to customize the character on the cap. I built this building - I got this bonus, I built another one - this bun. Having a personal squad of followers gave us weight and also created a kind of field of opportunity for diversity. In addition, the garrison had a significant impact on the economy of the game. Take, for example, the fact that there was grass and a mine in the garrison, and most importantly, you didn't need to be a miner or herbalist to extract them. And the buildings associated with crafting made it possible to produce a significant amount of spare parts with a daily CD.

All in all, if we close our eyes to the story cobbled together on the knee, Warlords of Draenor seemed like a pretty good addition. The prospects were pleasing. What were the realities?

It's no exaggeration to say that the release of WoD was the worst start in WoW history. It is said that perhaps the first months of vanilla were similar to what happened after the release of WoD. Characters got stuck in textures, hung in the air. In the dressing room in front of the garrison there were crowds that could not get into it. The people were afraid to get into the garrison itself, because there was a risk of staying in it for a long time. In the chat, indignant cries about the rolled back quests slipped by. The more adventurous offered paid services for extracting characters from textures at a low cost. In the open world, the crossserver made a trick and non-quest givers turned into ghosts. It lagged terribly. When trying to log out and then re-enter the game, there was a risk of stumbling upon the message "Character not found". All this trash lasted for several days. The worst of the bliz was probably only the start of Diablo III.

Then everything was repaired and a full-fledged game began.

What can I say, Blizzard can do leveled content. Despite the tension of the plot, the quest chains in the locations turned out to be interesting as always. Brutal orcs, harsh winter landscapes, iron and fire - all this contrasted with what players encountered in Pandaria. Yes, there was also brutality, but in general, the island of fog turned out to be much more peaceful than Draenor. The continent itself came out great. Snow-capped mountains, scorched valleys, wild jungle. What was Shadowmoon Valley worth? Not only were the locations varied and interesting, but also the cities turned out to be, perhaps, the largest of all that is already in the game. Shattrath City was enormous. It turned out that there was only one small area left of it in the TVS.

However, the pros ended there. Crafting has been greatly simplified. He was strongly tied to the garrison, tied to buildings, which hit hard on those who had workshops of low-level crafting alts. Those who had gathering professions on the Mains also suffered. Now everyone could swing a pickaxe in the garrison and provide themselves with the right amount of materials on their own. Further, for the manufacture of Draenic items, it was not necessary to pump the skill up to 600. This practically killed the market of reagents for pumping. All this led to the simplification of crafting and the slow dying of the market. Engaging in crafts and trade has become elementary uninteresting.

But the role of the garrison in the player's life has become prevalent. In fact, they were daily, which are not called daily. Run through the mine and the garden, collect junk from buildings, give new craft tasks, puzzle followers. And so every day, and if you have several characters - several times. Many quest chains and the entire economy were tied to the garrison.

At the same time, it soon became clear that there are not so many effective building setups, and some buildings are not needed at all. There was also a slight mess with the followers. It took several weeks to assemble, pump and dress. Forming a group for a mission did not require much brain use, especially with the appropriate add-ons. So a month after reaching the cap of the followers, it was possible to put on and put on shoes and that was the end of it. In other words, hopes that the garrison will become an alternative plane of development remained hopes. Players received veiled daily quests and overwhelming game mechanics with a very limited set of options.

Legendary item. Even before the release, blizy said something about the fact that they took into account the mistakes of the MoP and that there would be a "budget" legendary and something for hardcore comrades. The budget legendary turned out to be rather faded. Firstly, it was a ring, that is, it did not affect the appearance of the character. Secondly, you could get it by farming a bunch of stuff in the raid, that is, the process was not original.

Traditionally, the raid portion of the content remained strong. The starting raid - the capital of the ogres, Highmaul - turned out to be pretty and challenging enough. True, the number of bosses (only seven), as well as the absence of tokens in the loot table, seemed to hint that this raid will not be relevant for long. And yet, yes, Highmaul was a checkpoint and delighted the players for only two and a half months. Already in early February, the second raid T17, the Blackrock Foundry, was opened. Ten bosses, the last of which was one of Draenor's warlords, Blackhand. Everything was more interesting here. True, some tightness was embarrassing. Narrow corridors, relatively small spaces, dark corners, equipment, conveyor lines. Highmaul was small overall, but there was more headroom.

The release of the new raid, as always, breathed a little into the gaming life, but, as you know, not only raiders play in WoW. After going through all the story content with several characters, pumping an army of followers several times and kissing all the Draenic squirrels, the players became bored. And already at the end of February, the blizzards rolled out a new patch number 6.1 to the servers.

Patch 6.1 Garrison Update

This was one of the content patches that did not introduce a new raid. In some ways, 6.1 continued the tradition of the MoP patches, which went through one without raids, making changes to the game mechanics. Although, technically, 6.1 is still more associated with the period of the LPHKG than with the start of WoD. So what's new with this content patch? First, about the "small innovations":

The biggest changes were in the garrisons:

• Every day, visitors began to visit the garrison, who gave quests. Among the visitors were such famous personalities as Garrison Jones. Quests were associated with both open locations and raid bosses;
• the level of followers' items could be increased up to 675;
• Added new missions for followers related to professions, including archeology, as well as new raid missions for followers associated with the Blackrock Foundry;
• the interface of the followers' missions has been changed;
• a new vendor that sold retraining books for users;
• Another vendor spawns randomly in the garrison. We are talking about a merchant associated with a certain type of craft. This comrade not only sold new recipes, but also exchanged raw materials for the Primitive Spirit. This slightly botched the economy of the game and made the game on the market more interesting;
• the changes also affected the buildings of the garrison;
• Added a new difficulty level for the invasion of the garrison - platinum;
• music box - if you wish, you could get a device that would play you the melodies found in Draenor.
• the legendary quest chain was continued and as an intermediate reward we were given a truly legendary follower - Garona (especially the players remember the final quest in this chain).

Actually, that's all. If we summarize all the innovations, then we have two main aspects to which the patch was directed. The first is to diversify the garrison. It was clear to the naked eye that this mechanic had exhausted itself a couple of months after the release. It was necessary to give players new opportunities and subtract what prevented them from playing. Secondly, there was an attempt to fix the craft, which was, without exaggeration, killed, but it should have been brought up to fit the realities of the LCHKG.

In general, in the first six months everything was quite good, especially since it was thought that this addition would not last long. In particular, this was indicated by the fact that only two raid shooting galleries were promised. There has not yet been a single expansion in which there were only two shooting tiers. In addition, it was still believed that blizzards would keep their promise and provide content more often, and make global add-ons faster.

Patch 6.2 Fury of Hellfire

The patch turned out to be large and, traditionally, designed for all categories of players. The focus of activity has shifted to Tanaan Jungle, an area that has been closed since release, with the exception of a small questline at the start. Tanaan Jungle was essentially a full-fledged location, comparable in size to other locations in Draenor. In addition to the dayliks, a lot of rare creatures settled here, under the bushes one could find all sorts of treasures, and in the very center there was a fortress, where the forces of evil were hidden.

It also houses the two strongholds of the Horde and the Alliance, from which players raided the surrounding area in order to undermine the power of the Iron Horde. True, this power had already been undermined by the order - Gul'dan and Killrog survived from the leaders, and Grommash was overthrown and captured. The Burning Legion was now in complete control of the Iron Horde and was preparing for an all-out invasion of Azeroth. The main focus of the forces of the Legion and Horde has become the Hellfire Citadel. In the citadel, players were waiting for a battle with thirteen bosses, among which were Killrog, Theron Gorefiend, Mannoroth and, of course, Archimonde. What else did patch 6.2 bring?

The garrison received additional buildings - the harbor and ships became available to players. We build a ship, equip it and send it on a campaign. Unlike garrison missions, sailors had to be paid not with the resources of the garrison, but with a new currency - oil. In general, the essence was the same, except that the ships could be sunk by the enemy during the mission and then they had to be built and pumped again. The addition turned out to be pleasant, but cosmetic.

More dramatic changes were made to the format of the five-person instances. Patch 6.2 introduced two new types - Mythic dungeons for WoD instances and Timewalking for 5ppl old content. Mythic instances have increased the difficulty and level of loot dropped from bosses. 685 items fell from ordinary items, and 700 items fell from flippers with some chance. Timewalkers were old instances of previous expansions, in which the character's level and attachment were scaled down to the level of the instance. Timewalking became an event when, say, from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, instances were opened in some of the weeks. The very idea of ​​travel was announced a long time ago and, in principle, turned out to be quite successful. The dungeons were as fun as they once were when they were relevant.

Bonus events. Bonus events awaited players every week, which gave a significant increase to the crystals of apexis and other in-game currency received for completing tasks.

Legendary chain. In patch 6.2, the legendary chain continued. As a reward for completing, players received a level 735 ring, which could be upgraded further. In order to do this, a certain contraption was knocked out of Archimonde in normal or heroic mode, which, when used, increased the level of the item by several points.

Flying over Draenor. The topic, without exaggeration, was scandalous. At first, the developers said there would be flights. Then they said that there would be no flights. There was a noise. Flights were still announced, but in order to get up into the air, it was necessary to complete a bunch of all sorts of achievements. The list of good deeds for the achievement "Trailblazer of Draenor" was: open all locations of the continent, find 100 treasures, pump reputation with three factions to reverence, complete all quests for "Loremaster of Draenor" and a rather long list of daily actions. In general, it was necessary to sweat.

In general, the patch turned out to be quite good and quite voluminous, with good innovations such as the new 5ppl formats. Everything would be fine, but again the old problem played its role - the pace of the release of patches. Why such a tradition has developed is difficult to say, one can only guess, but for the fourth addition, the last content patch has been on live servers for more than a year. Yes, of course, there were some changes, for example, for the murder of Archimonde they began to give an elk mount, and things can again be upgraded for valor. But the tradition remained unshakable. The first half of the new addition is characterized by a rather cheerful release of patches, then the last one comes and the situation freezes for a year.

Actually, if we talk about patch 6.2, that's all. Now let's take a similar result.

Warlords of Draenor: summary

Let's start with dry numbers. In early August 2015, Blizzard released its Q2 report. It announced the number of active subscribers to WoW at the end of the period - 5.6 million people. Thus, Warlords of Draenor set a record for the rate of decline in the number of subscribers. No supplement has had such a sharp decline. Probably upset, Blizzard said they would no longer publish subscriber numbers as they have other ways to measure performance. The motivation is clear - why demoralize the audience once again? In addition, as the experience of other MMO projects shows, even having several hundred thousand subscribers, they provide an acceptable level of income.

Why did it happen the way it did? I have already written about this more than once, but it will not be superfluous to repeat it. The main problem with World of Warcraft is that conceptually the project has not changed for many years. This applies to both the character development system and the main content formats. From year to year, players complete quests, go through dungeons and then farm raids or grind for titles, mounts and pets until they turn blue. Whistles-fakes like battle pets do not bring dramatic changes to this scheme, they can distract players for a while, but they do not affect the main thing - the character development system and the realization of his potential in the game world.

What else has played negatively? In my opinion, the following:

• garrison as an attempt to create a new plane of character development on the cap failed. First, the garrison and followers were pumped in a couple of months. Secondly, the variety of garrison layouts was very modest. All this led to the fact that the interest in pumping was exhausted pretty quickly.
• simplification of character characteristics. The decision to remove the refitting, sockets from the body kit and minimize the chances of chanting was fundamentally wrong. Yes, probably, for some players, the “knock out the clothes, put them on, run on” approach is quite acceptable. But the game "dress the doll Masha" has always been one of the cornerstones of WoW. Returning with loot from the raid, we played a mini-game, combining various items and changing their characteristics. It was interesting and made me tense up a little.
• almost completely killed such an aspect of the game as crafts. This was partly due to changes in the characteristics of the character, in part - due to changes in the craft itself. This aspect of the game was interesting even at the end of the add-ons, not to mention the periods after the release. In WoD, craft was again simplified to a disgrace, reducing interest to a minimum. It's easier to farm several raids with three highlevels than to produce something. I generally keep quiet about the collective profs - the garrison has eliminated the need to have them on the character.
• Grinding and farming are still the mainstay. We look at the same "time travel". Again badges, and again things for these badges. Do you want to add a hundredth konyak to your collection? 5000 Badzhiks and your horse, farm for health.

Actually, this is quite enough to accept a simple fact: Warlords of Draenor turned out to be another disastrous expansion. Mists of Pandaria innovations were able to seriously slow down the drop in the number of subscribers. Warlords of Draenor with its crooked concepts, simplification of everything and everyone, awkward attempt to play on nostalgia has led to the current state of affairs.

Two months later, a new chapter opens in the history of the game and the entire franchise - the Burning Legion wants to destroy Azeroth again, and we don't want that again. World of Warcraft: Legion is a joker that Blizzard has decided to play in light of a severe decline in popularity. A game of nostalgia again? About the further fate of the game and the entire franchise - in the next posting.