World of Warcraft: Battlechest (includes WoW, Burning Crusade, and more!) Includes World of Warcraft Base Pack, Burning Crusade Expansion Pack, Official Battle Chest Strategy Guides: One for Burning Crusade and One for World of Warcraft, Game manuals, WOW guest pass (14-day trial), and a Blizzard catalog.

The World Of Warcraft

Have you ever played Warcraft?

Ever played an RP (Roleplay) game?

If you’ve never experienced these then explaining the World of Warcraft will be difficult.

But let me try.

Close your eyes and imagine your in Middle-earth.

You do know Middle-earth, right?

OK, now the trick is you're not just there as an observer but as a participant.

This is your HOME.

And it's up to you to protect it.

You'll live, eat, sleep and dream here.

You'll swim, fight, and possibly even die here.

It's up to you and the decisions you make here.

You become part of the World and believe me it will soon become part of you.

Some people have been playing the game for years with the same character.

World Of Warcraft is what is known as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)and the Worl you'll explore is the World of Azeroth.

WOW is one of the most successful games in history, with over 10 million subscribers and counting.

World of Warcraft is a living, breathing online adventure world with thousands of mighty heroes, barbarians, sorcerers, elves, dwarfs and such like in an online world of myth, magic, and limitless adventure.

It is half-game/half-community in which thousands of players cooperate and compete in the same virtual world and has turned the genre on its head by capturing such a massive audience.

Blizzard, the games developers, are probably one of the few companies who could have coped with such a massive game on a global basis because they already had years of experience with releasing and operating online games around the world.

In comparison most other online games are lucky to attract mere thousands or at best tens of thousands of users.

Whereas Blizzard has been used to dealing with hundreds of thousands of users on a regular basis and this experience isn’t easy to duplicate and cannot be underestimated. WoW did not come out of nowhere but as a result of this experience.

In some ways, however, its success will probably also be its downfall as it has devastated the competition and encouraged copycats and little in the way of alternative games.

This has meant that few companies have been willing to risk the necessary millions of dollars to develop and research new games that will have little chance of getting the exposure they require to succeed.

Hacking World of Warcraft $22.06 Get crafty! Veteran WoW player and creator of the most popular World of Warcraft add-on (Atlas) Dan Gilbert guides you through making your stay in the world of Azeroth more exciting. Whether you're human, dwarf, elf, or orc, you'll feast on numerous unique hacks such as combat, artwork and model, map, interface, loot, chat, raid, PvP, and more. You'll also learn to create and use skins and themes, write your own macros, create add-ons, and work with frames and XML so that you can improve your experience with the hottest online game on the planet--planet Earth, that is.

What Makes Warcraft Different?

The big appeal of World of Warcraft is that at its heart, it's a game.

That’s it.

No more, no less.

No airs or graces, no pretences.

It doesn't pretend to be an "online experience" or a "virtual" anything.

It's a place where you can come to experience fun and interesting things for as much time, or as little time, as you have spare.

Technically and game wise the World of Warcraft is no different to many of the other games that preceded it.

Players create a virtual avatar, choose their race, class, and appearance and which side of the global conflict between the Horde and the Alliance they'd like to fight on.

Some people play purely for fun and escapism, others take the game very seriously and others get completely immersed in it, which is very easy as it becomes very addictive and I’ve often played for hours, even days on end without even realizing the time that has gone by.

And this is Blizzard’s other huge advantage over other games. They have a massive subscription base so no matter when or where you play that are likely to be thousands of other players online at any given time.

And this is of course the heart of the game, its what makes it unique and fun.

It this that provides the escapism and realism.

Shadowing any other company’s attempts.

One of the most important features of the game is leveling up. As you gain “Experience” and rewards your character receives a “promotion” to the next level gaining greater abilities, weapons and skills.

There are 70 levels in total and so great is the demand for the “leveling up” of characters that there are even “farming” companies, particularly in China, that will login to your Account and play the game for you 24/7 in order to level you up.

These companies also specialize in “collecting” gold and rare artifacts that can be found in the game to “resale” later. This practice is commonly known as “farming”.

This is a very lucrative business and hundreds of $’s can exchange hands for certain spells, artifacts, or weapons.

Don’t believe me?

Check it out on Ebay.

Of course selling skills and weapons online is frowned upon and banned by Blizzard Entertainment, the games developer, and they have threatened to take legal action against individuals 'who engage in this inappropriate activity'.

Happy adventures and travel well my friend.

Maybe we'll meet online one day.

World of Warcraft Dungeon Companion, Volume 2 BradyGames World of Warcraft Dungeon Companion features masterful strategy compiled from a crew of some of the most experienced players in the game, where their tried and successful tactics are sure to guide players through even the darkest pits of Azeroth. BradyGames

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