World of Warcraftis one of the longest-running and most popular games out there. The game has been out since 2004 and still has an active dedicated fan base. What makes this achievement even more special is the fact thatWorld of Warcraftis an MMO game. These games tend to die outquickly,and need constant support, engaging new content, and enough enjoyability in their fundamental mechanics that players keep coming back to them.
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World of Warcrafthas been a massive figurehead of the MMO scene. While there have been dozens of new games in the genre adding new unique features with more ‘modern’ fundamentals and flashy graphics,World of Warcraftstill stands strong. This is mainly because the game does so much right, and more importantly, the game does certain things necessary for a game’s success better than most titles out there today. Seen as the grandfather of the genre, here are thingsWorld of Warcraftstill does better than other MMOs.
5Raid Content
World of Warcrafthas been out for a long time. It’s important to remember that as it means most players have technically run through the whole game over a decade ago, so how does the game maintain a loyal player base? It does it through its amazing PvE and raid content. The game is constantly updated with new PvE and raid content. This usually features hordes of enemies in new diverse areas, difficult bosses, and of course, tons of amazing loot.
Raids inWoWmake players work together to fight their way through them. These are always different and unique from each other, often have tons of challenging gameplay, and are massive in scale, with around 10 to 30 players fighting together totake down the big badbringing out a certain sense of camaraderie which has players returning for more.
4Expansions
World of Warcrafthas had nine major expansions. These are what make this game so popular, and why it’s still the gold standard for other MMOs to follow. From theBurning Crusadein 2007all the way toDragonflightin 2022, each of these expansionsis essentially a game within a game, with tons of new gear and loot, new bosses, and enemy types. And most importantly, each expansion focuses on storylines and develops them.
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Another important factor in the success of these expansions is the fact that Blizzard game often makes older expansions free for all players as newer ones are released. This is an extremely popular practice, as it helps reward fans and adds to thecontent available to newer players.
3Lore
World of Warcrafthas some surprisingly solid lore. The game’s story picks up from theWarcraftgames and turns it up a notch. There is a ton of attention to detail. Each minor character has their own entire backstory. The game goes deep into the relationships between different factions of humans, elves, orcs, and whatnot.
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Each new expansion or additional content adds a ton of new story elements, some centered around specific areas, and some focused on a set character. The prime example of this is the saga surrounding the rise and fall of the stalwart Arthas Menelith and the expansion,Wrath of the Lich King, orthe coming of age of Anduin. The wayWoWhas been able to deliver satisfying gameplay gift-wrapped in some really impressive story elements is one of the biggest advantages it has over modern MMOs.
2Visuals
This game is almost twenty years old, so it’s a given that modern MMOs, built on fancy new engines with the best technology available to them, have better graphical quality. Despite this, there’s a certain charm attached toWoWthat most MMOs these days have failed to capture.
Be it the vibrant visuals, solid color palettes, the way the environments are all developed to pop out, or the dated, yet endearing character models,WoW’svisuals are to this date extremely impressive. The game looks good, even if it shows clear signs of age.
1The Community
MMOs live and die by their player base, which might sound simplistic, but it’s as true as it gets. No matter how good an MMO is, if there simply aren’t any players, it won’t last long enough to be one of the more successful MMOs out there. That has never been a major concern forWorld of Warcraft, as the game has a massive, loyal, and eager community.
WoWhasone of the best fan communitiesout there, be it content creators, streamers, or just everyday people playing the game with their friends. Something aboutWoWjust brings together hundreds of thousands of players. The credit goes in part to Blizzard Games for how well the community is treated with updates, expansions, and constant dedicated support. But also, the fans themselves have been a driving force in this game for years.WoWis one of the biggest games ever made, and it’s been fueled by one of the best communities one can find.
