My First Blog Post

This is my first attempt at writing a blog. I am a really big fan of World of Warcraft and have been enjoying the blogs of Big Red Kitty, Mania's Arcania and WoW Insider. So I decided I would give it a shot and what better subject then my favorite game, World of Warcraft! I thought I'd start by giving a little bit of a background of how I got into WoW and MMO's in general.

I was first introduced to MMORPGs back in 2000 by my friend from Law School, Tommy. He had been playing a little game called Everquest and finally convinced me to give it a try. I had always been a big fan of RPG computer games (e.g., Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Bard's Tale) and the thought of playing an RPG online with my friend sounded like a no brainer. The only problem was at the time, there was no DSL or Cable Modem available where I lived, so I had to play over the telephone line. Anyway, I was instantly hooked! My first character was a half-elf ranger. What I loved most about the game was character development. Gaining levels and new abilities became very addictive. I played with my friend whenever I could, but I found that I enjoyed playing solo as well. Unfortunately, Everquest was a game that became very difficult to advance at higher levels as a solo player. I do not miss the horrible experience grinds that took place after level 50, death penalties or heinous corpse runs that became common place in EQ. I was able to get my Ranger to level 58 and then my friend stopped playing due to real life issues. After he left the game, it became extremely difficult to level my Ranger. I would classify myself as a casual gamer. I am able to play maybe 3 or 4 nights a week and for only a few hours each night. As a result, I have never felt comfortable with Guilds, raids, dungeons, etc., as I just don't have the time to make the commitment. As I mentioned earlier, once you hit your late 50's in Everquest, you really need to group to advance. As a result, I pretty much stopped playing my Ranger and started new characters with different classes. It gave the game new life for me! It was fun to experience the strengths and weaknesses of each class. Some of my favorites in EQ were Ranger, Shadowknight, Monk and Rogue. I played Everquest on and off until about 2003, when Star Wars Galaxies came out.

I am a huge Star Wars fan. So when SWG came out, I had to give it a try. The game was amazing in the beginning! Just playing in the Star Wars universe had me hooked. Again, the favorite part of SWG for me was character development. SWG was especially cool in this regard due to the fact that you could customize your character's template any way you wanted. You could also try any profession you wanted! Experience and money was never a problem because you could do delivery and destroy missions on all the different planets. PvP had a very cool twist since you could be part of either the Rebel Alliance or the Imperial Forces. I tried a number of professions during my time with SWG: Bounty Hunter, Commando, Teras Kasi Artist, Rifleman & Swordsman. Then SOE started messing with the game. The first major change, the Combat Upgrade, wasn't so bad. My final template during that time was Teras Kasi Master/Master Swordsman. However, SOE decided to make another huge change and switch to a class based character system, instead of the customized one that existed. That pretty much ended it for me. It was disappointing to see what SOE did to the game, but the best part of playing SWG was meeting my good friend and gaming buddy Jim. We have been playing MMO's together ever since!

Jim & I tried Everquest 2 when it came out. It was ok, but it just didn't keep our interest. We kept on getting sucked back into SWG with the Jump to Light Speed & Rage of the Wookies expansions. I have also played Guild Wars on and off since the original game was released. Guild Wars is an awesome game, but it plays like a classic RPG in that the original game and each expansion has a definite story arc. You can actually finish the game. In addition, the level cap of 20 really puts a damper on character development, which is my favorite part of MMO's. As a result, I tend to loose interest with GW. When a new expansion comes out, I play it and love it, but once I finish it, I pretty much stop playing GW until the next expansion comes out.

It was around September of 2005 that I started my adventures in WoW. Jim and I were still playing SWG, but I knew that the huge class change upgrade was coming and I just had the urge to play a fantasy based MMORPG again. I had been reading all the great reviews for WoW and decided to finally give it a try. The only reason I had hesitated up until that point was that I wan't too happy with the graphics of the game. Not that the graphics were bad, just style wise, I thought they were a bit too cartoonish. However, from the moment I created my Night Elf Hunter, I was hooked. WoW is the best MMO I have ever played and I have played quite a few (EQ, EQ2, SWG, GW, Matrix Online, LOTR Online & Vanguard). My favorites aspects of the game are the awesome character classes, quest based leveling, detailed, but manageable professions and the fact that it is extremely approachable for the solo or small group player. I also love the lore of WoW. I think I have read all books and really enjoy reading the quest descriptions. By the time I hit Darkshore with my Hunter, I was convinced that this was the game Jim and I should be playing. I was able to convince Jim to give WoW a try and we havn't looked back since!

I am now on the verge of getting my 3rd Character to level 70! I pretty much only play with Jim or solo when he isn't on. I really don't do any instances and none of my characters belong to a guild. I have nothing against high-end content or raiding, its just as I mentioned before, I don't have the time to commit to it. I just love leveling my characters to 70 and experiencing what each class has to offer. My ultimate goal is to have a character of each class reach level 70! It's almost 3 down and 6 to go! The primary purpose of this blog will be to monitor the progress of this epic undertaking. The name of this blog comes from the fact that I still consider my main and favorite character to be my Hunter and all of my alts are his pack. Over my next several posts, I will begin to introduce my characters and my thoughts on their particular class. I also plan to provide updates on each character's progress and from time to time just post general thoughts that I have about WoW and gaming in general. Let the adventure begin!