World of Warcraft (WoW)

Basic Information and Demographics 

World Of Warcraft or also known as WoW is based off of the Warcraft franchise which originally was a game of conquest, and build. You could only choose from two races Orcs and Humans. ("World of Warcraft - Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia") WoW is an MMORPG a fantasy world developed by Blizzard Entertainment, release February 11, 2005 which can be played on both Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X Platform. The average age of the WoW plater is 28.3 with woman being significantly older. 84% of WoW players are male and the other 16% are female. (Yee) The favored races to play are Human and Night-elf and the favored classes to play are Hunter and Rouge.   

Storyline 

Azeroth

World of Warcraft takes place in the world of Azeroth on the two continents Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom. ("The Story So Far...World of Warcraft")  The current story takes place after the newest expansion Cataclysm the Litch King reign of terror is over and now Azeroth looks toward to a brighter future, but things do not stay peaceful for long the Arch-druid Malfurion Stormrage was freed by the Emerald Nightmare. Azeroth soon became struck with erratic natural disasters, the Twilight's Hammer cult surface in both alliance and horde cities speaking of an impeding apocalypse. Violent quakes tore through the earth, mountains of fire, and colossal tidal waves obliterated coastlines all along Azeroth...the Cataclysm had begun. ("The Story So Far...World of Warcraft") 

In Game Information 

CLASS & RACE 

Character Creation
(Class & Race Selection)  

A class determines several things about a character. It alters the players adventures by determining things such as weapons and abilities as well as powers and skills. Your choice of class however is constrained by which race you choose. The original classes are Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior and Death-Knight. ("Class") Obviously there are many character combinations to choose from because aside from these many races to choose from there are many classes within each race.  From that there are ten races found in World of Warcraft. On the Alliance side there are; Draenei, Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night-Elf and on the Horde side there are Orc, Tauren, Troll, Blood Elf, and Undead/Foresaken. (SunyFB "Part 1") With the new expansion Worgens have been added to the Alliance side, and Goblins to the Horde.

                                                                                                                         REALMS 

PVP Realm

Normal realm- You can choose from a few different realms in the game to choose your path in the game. In the normal realm, you can collect materials and do quests without being worried about being attacked by other players. Horde or alliance characters can be created in this realm. You also do not gain or lose territory in this realm.

Player vs. Player (PVP)- This realm is similar to the normal realm however there are a few differences. First you can only create a horde or alliance, but you cannot create both. In this realm it is much more dangerous. A horde may attack an alliance at any time creating a sense of danger that requires the player to always be prepared to be attacked. 

Role playing- This is a realm for more experienced World of Warcraft players. You start by creating a character with a story. You must stay in character the whole time, Even when speaking to other players. This is recommended for creative types. (SunyFB "Part 1")

LEVELING AND REPUTATION

Character Leveling

Once you have picked your character with race and class you start trying to accomplish goals and gain experience points. You attain these points by killing monsters, mobs, and beasts. You must complete quests which are essentially objectives your character needs you to complete. You gain reputation points as you do favors for people in the land you are in as well as through quests. Having a good reputation is important because it gives you the ability to buy exclusive items. (SunyFB "Part 1")

                                         CURRENCY/PROFESSION

The currency in World of Warcraft is Gold. Gold is important to have to buy you better gear, clothing and transportation. You can earn gold by killing creatures however they usually carry very little and gaining currency this way is not efficient. Also doing quests will give you small amounts of gold but this too in inefficient. You should sell excess gear to merchants and keep expensive gear for the auction house.  (SunyFB "Part 1") Another way to earn gold is by having a profession. No character can have more than two primary professions at a time. The primary professions are Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Engineering, Herbalism, Leather working, Mining, Jewel crafting, Tailoring, and Skinning. There are also three secondary professions which are Cooking, First aid and Fishing. This is the best way to earn gold for better gear to improve your character for quests. (SunyFB "Part 2")