Hello, my name is Linnar and I am your host on this blog. I am a Night Elf hunter from the city of Darnassus, situated in the boughs of Teldrassil, off the coast of the Kalimdor continent. As of this writing, I’m level 37. Unfortunately, my player has been busy with her library school classes, so I’ve been languishing in this level for months now…most of my quests are either green (not good) or gray (worse!). I don’t know how she expects a girl like me to get to the end-game Black Temple at this rate.
If you find yourself in the Sen’jin realm, I’m the one with a black bear combat pet named OrsusII (level 36…he’s not getting much play either).
To get to know me a little bit more, please visit my profile from The Armory.
Kiting Through Kalimdor 
Hi!
When I hover over your Profile link, the SnapShot pops right up but for some reason the link (no matter the wait or the pounding of the enter key) refuses to fully load. Is there something I’m doing wrong?
Chris
Hi Chris,
I think it could just be Blizzard being down perhaps? Sometimes I can’t access The Armory for this self same reason. I tried using the link from work and had to wait around for a bit before I was taken to the profile. I’ll also investigate further, just in case the issue is not from Blizzard’s end. Thanks for being my first commentor!
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
I like your blog and your character Linnar. I’ve never entered World Warcraft, so level 37 sounds good to me.
Hi Linnar,
Is the bear beside you walking on fog your spirit guide?
Renee
Hi Renee,
Thanks for the comments! OrsusII (the bear behind Linnar) is actually a combat pet. He fights baddies alongside her and saves her behind quite often. Currently, there are 70 levels in the game for people who have installed the Burning Crusade expansion pack. But real life (RL) responsibilities must come first, so Linnar just needs to be patient.
Melissa
Hi Linnar,
Can you recommend a website or two for someone new to WOW to learn about this world? Thanks!
Hello Catherine,
Thank you for stopping by. My next post will provide some links to WoW sites that will help introduce MMORPG gaming and the WoW universe to those new to them. Stay tuned!
Melissa (a.k.a. Linnar)
Your blog is beautiful – my boyfriend likes it even better than I do (big WOW fan himself). I’ve warned him to keep an eye out for you and your bear.
Hello Rachel,
Thank you for the compliment! I always like running into people I know in-game.
Melissa
Greetings Linnar.
I myself have just flown in from the ice-kingdom of Mandosuu…boy, are my wings tired! All kidding aside, Hrothgar the Impatient sends his regards, and bids you Godspeed to the Festival of Ngair next week.
😉
(The blog looks great!)
Greetings Marc…errr, Hrothgar the Impatient! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. Incidentally, WoW has in-game holidays and festivals. Starting June 21st, the whole of Azeroth will be celebrating the Midsummer Fire Festival all week (that is, till July 5th).
Hi Melissa,
Just poking about to see what people are doing with their blogs. Sounds like you (Linnar?) are really into WOW. I’m curious. Our library system is marketing the program to ages 12-18. I briefly wandered into your WOW links (thanks for the info) and immediately observe a lot of weapons, women in revealing battle gear, violent images, etc. I initially thought WOW was a role playing game (meaning acting, physically playing a part in a scripted program) but now see that it is an online video game where players assume identities and fight one another. Certainly I know some 16 year old boys who would eat this right up but I’m wondering if you think this appeals to the, let’s say, gentle female readers of the middle school crowd. Specifically, my daughter, age 12? I’m a Gregor the Overlander fan and appreciate a good Hogwarts battle but I get nervous about Eragon-like hack em slash em gore. Also, I’m stiil not sure how Dance Dance Revolution (dancing on a square to music) relates to Warcraft III (a video game tournament). When I have more time, I’ll explore your BB links further (Guitar Hero is an old song, is that the music teens dance to as well?) but right now I’m still full of questions. I have folks in the community asking me about this stuff at the reference desk and short of inviting them to the library event, I can’t say more. At least now I know where to go for information: thanks so much! I’d love to hear more about how you selected/designed your own character : )
Chris
Hello Chris,
One of the great things about WoW is that it offers different types of gameplay that appeals to a wide range of players. There are two broad categories of gaming available: PvE (player vs. environment) and PvP (player vs. player). PvE is more about questing and roleplaying, while PvP involves fighting other players.
Fighting among players often involve running up against the “enemy” faction. In WoW, there are 2 warring factions: the Alliance (composed of humans, night elves, dwarves, gnomes, and draenei) and the Horde (composed of orcs, trolls, the undead Forsaken, tauren, and blood elves). Much like in the real world, the factions have a long history of broken alligences, betrayals, and prejudice, and plain misunderstandings. The lore of the game is rather rich and I’ve gotten lost in it as I had with some fantasy serial novels (they do have novel tie-ins available as well).
Another interesting feature of WoW is cooperative gameplay. The higher up in the levels you go, the harder it is to complete quests on your own (in gamer lingo, going it alone is called “soloing”). Playing with other players and joining guilds become more important if you are interested in moving up the ranks and solving quests and getting the better quality weapons and gear. Linnar, for instance, is a member of the Mga Hari ng WoW guild, which is a guild started by some Filipino gamers in the Philippines (I’m Filipino, but located in SoCal; the guild name is in Filipino and it means “The Kings of WoW”).
A note about the violence in the game. Yes, it is inherent. Is it graphic? Well, I suppose it depends on individual sensibilities. However, there is no pooling blood or exposed guts and dismembered body parts. There is plenty of hacking and slaying and fighting. The sound does add to the graphic-ness, so that’s something to note beforehand. Dying in-game takes some getting used to, only because the saving is done by the server instead of the gamer and you basically move on and live with the consequences of any miscalculations (instead of having the option of do-overs). But these aren’t so bad, since it’s mostly losing 10% of gear durability and time lost from traveling. But it does cost a character a pretty penny to repair gear and armor, so dying is a nuisance you would want to avoid.
After 4 months of watching me play, my 10 year old daughter wanted to give it a try. She is normally a very reserved, shy, inwardly focused type of girl, an avid reader of fantasy fiction as well. After getting used to the game environment and controlling her character (and several talks on how to deal with personal questions from other gamers), we often spar over computer time! She has been playing since April and has gained some expertise and taught me a thing or two about strategy and using the game interface.
One other note: WoW is a subscription-based game. This means you have to pay a monthly fee in order to play on top of purchasing the client software (the basic game currently costs about $20, while the expansion pack costs about $40; a monthly subscription is about $15 a month). The cost of playing can quickly add up (yes, my daughter has her own account because we failed at sharing one), so this is an important thing to consider. Fortunately, Blizzard, the creator of WoW, offers free-for-10-days trials, to see if you like it.
About Dance-Dance Revolution (DDR), Guitar Hero, Warcraft III, and WoW: DDR and Guitar Hero involve a different type of gameplay all together, where players get to move around and physically do something. The only thing that relates them to Blizzard’s Warcraft franchise is probably popularity and that tournaments have been created around DDR. Warcraft III is related to WoW in that WIII is a precursor of WoW in the Warcraft universe. In fact, WoW can be considered Warcraft IV in the Warcraft timeline. WIII tournaments are still held. The first WoW tournament (Blizzard sponsored) will be held this August in Anaheim during the BlizzCon 2007 event. Wish I could go, but tickets are already sold out!