World of Warcraft merchandise
Towards the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, a genre emerged among the various types of computer and video games that is now practically indispensable. We are, of course, talking about the so-called MMORPGs ("Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games"). Numerous players from all over the world log into the respective online role-playing game via the Internet and create their game character in a fantasy universe in the classic pen-and-paper style. They then use this character to head out into virtual worlds alongside many other players to experience thrilling adventures.
At the beginning of 2005, a game was finally released that would not only change the MMORPG genre, but even revolutionize it for the future. An online RPG called " World of Warcraft ". The action takes place in the Warcraft universe, and the story follows on from the events of the predecessor "Warcraft 3 - The Frozen Throne". The predecessor, however, is not an online role-playing game, but the third part of a series of real-time strategy games. In general, World of Warcraft does not differ significantly from other representatives of the genre - at least as far as the basic game mechanics are concerned. The player creates a character at the beginning, where he can initially choose between two factions. In the early days of the game, the player had four playable races to choose from for each faction. After choosing the faction and race, the player then has to decide on a class. Finally, select the character's appearance (according to personal preference), and the adventure in the game world of "Azeroth" can begin.
As already explained, WoW does not differ much from other MMORPGs at first glance. The processes and game principles are generally the same, but there are still a few reasons why World of Warcraft has become such a hit among online role-playing games like no other game of its kind before.
Before the release of WoW, there weren't too many representatives of the genre. Games like "Ultima Online," "Lineage," or "Everquest" were the names that people associated with MMOs in the past. Back then, however, this type of game usually served a much smaller target group than would be the case today. Online role-playing games were mostly only popular with die-hard role-players. People whose main focus when it came to computer games was already RPGs and the like. In addition, these games were not particularly beginner-friendly. There were hardly any tutorials, and help in the form of articles or videos from the Internet was almost non-existent. With MMORPGs, you never had the feeling that you were really being taken by the hand as a newbie. The gameplay itself was mostly characterized by extensive "grinding" - that is, mindlessly killing one enemy after the other over a longer period of time.
But in February 2005, World of Warcraft , an online role-playing game, was released that not only introduced newcomers to the MMORPG genre for the first time, but also set new standards on many other levels. The game is not entirely free of grinding, but the amount of grinding is significantly lower than in previously released online RPGs. World of Warcraft also gives newcomers a good hand with the first quests in the game. They explain the processes of the tasks to be completed (quests) to the player and show each player in a very accessible way how the character develops during the game. Apart from that, the relatively well-known "Warcraft" brand also played a key role in WoW being able to stand out from other representatives of the genre at the time.
As is usual in this genre, every player can create their own character during character creation, with whom they would like to travel through the world of Azeroth. When World of Warcraft was released, there were a total of nine classes and eight races (divided into two factions) to choose from.
One faction is the so-called "Alliance". This is an alliance of humans, dwarves, gnomes and night elves.
The other faction is called the "Horde." Another alliance between different races such as orcs, trolls, tauren and undead.
In general, the Alliance is referred to as the "good" faction, although it is not possible to make a general distinction between "good" and "evil" in the respective factions. As soon as the player chooses a character from the Alliance faction, all other players or characters from this faction are friendly or not hostile to the player. The same applies to the other faction, of course.
After choosing the race, the player can choose between a handful of playable classes. These sometimes differ significantly from one another in the way they are played. For example, it is almost impossible for a warrior or rogue to fight from a distance. In contrast, there are classes such as mages or warlocks, where anything other than ranged combat doesn't make much sense. When the game was released, there were a total of nine classes to choose from in World of Warcraft : warrior, rogue, mage, warlock, priest, paladin (only playable on the Alliance side), shaman (only playable on the Horde side), druid (only playable as a night elf or tauren) or hunter.
However, not every class can be played with every race. For example, the rogue class is not playable as a Taurean. Nor is the mage class playable for night elves.
If you want to show your loyalty to your faction in real life, a cap with a proud "Alliance" symbol might be just the thing for you. Or a T-shirt that clearly shows the well-known motto "For the Horde!" so that everyone in real life can see which faction your heart beats for. You can find these and other interesting fan articles related to World of Warcraft in our extensive online shop.
Are you an enthusiastic World of Warcraft player and can't get enough of Azeroth? Then take a look at our online shop. Here you will not only find all kinds of merchandise and fan articles from the popular role-playing game, but also a large number of other things that will make the WoW heart beat faster.
In the Yvolve Shop - a real paradise for all kinds of gamers, nerds and geeks - you will find a large selection of fan articles for WoW and many other games. Merchandise for films, series and manga is also waiting to be discovered by you in our shop. Our merchandise range consists largely of T-shirts, caps, mugs, posters, figures, notebooks, lamps, bags, various types of clothing, decorations, accessories, gifts and other accessories for gaming.
