The latest wow. A Brief History of World of Warcraft. And finally, a brief history

It's been many years since Blizzard launched their most profitable project yet. Over the years, WoW has changed dramatically, and those who played it in the first months will hardly recognize the modern version of the project. Unless part of the character models and the general style of visual design look the same, although they are now available in a new quality. Sometimes it is not easy to figure out how the so-called add-ons differ from each other. World of Warcraft. After all, in order to fully appreciate the game, you will have to not only start account, but also put her upgrades to latest version- Cataclysm.

Add-on release sequence:

1. Classic World of Warcraft. Basic account, 60 character levels, Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms continents. On the slang "vanilla", "classic". With the advent of the Cataclysm, some of the classic content has become inaccessible, the game worlds have been completely modified, and the modern "classic" is, in fact, a heavily reworked version of the game.

2. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade. The first addition to WoW, 70 character levels, the new continent Outland. On the slang "BK". Two new races have been added to the game: blood elves and draenei, you can only create characters of these races if your account includes Burning Crusade. All the main actions of this add-on take place on the territory of Outland, they practically did not touch the two main continents.

3. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The second addition to WoW, 80 character levels, the new continent Northrend. On the slang "Lich", "VotLK". The first heroic class has been added to the game: Death Knights. All major activities have moved from Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, and Outland to Northrend.

4. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. The third addition to WoW, 85 character levels, two new races - goblins and worgen. All continents of Azeroth have been reworked, i.e. Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Northrend. The mechanics of classes have been partially changed, improved models have been added, a special graphics mode has been introduced, available at the request of the user.

Upg raid account is carried out according to the principle of matryoshka. To start any player will have enough of the classic WoW. But, if you want to create a blood elf or draenei, you will have to immediately upgrade your account to BC. If you want to create a goblin or worgen, you will have to upgrade the entry to Cataclysm.

Gradually, with the development of the character, you will have to "buy more" additions, so it makes sense to purchase everything at once. There is no savings in the gradual acquisition of improvements. You can only get the maximum level if you upgraded the record to the latest expansion, that is, in this case, to Cataclysm.

In addition to traditional add-ons, Blizzard releases patches. They do not need to be purchased separately and are distributed completely free of charge. As a rule, patches are installed on Wednesdays, their weight and significance are determined individually, but serious updates do not come out often. As part of patches, developers make cosmetic changes or reveal a new storyline, which would allow max-level players to have fun. It's very rare for newbies to be seriously affected by patches, and the only tangible effect for them is that they have to load another piece of the game on the night of Wednesday to Thursday. Without a patch installed, the game will not start, because Blizzard often replaces models, sound and graphic files, as well as updates the protection system.

Conventionally, the entire game in WoW in a specific period of time can be divided into high level content and everything else. "Everything else" for a significant part of the players is a passing element, especially for PvP guilds. The most interesting and dynamic happens at the maximum level. That's why, no matter what, people keep buying upgrades. In addition to an interesting plot, new quests, new dungeons, each update gives them a reason to reunite in interest groups and move away from the routine daily quests. If you want to play the "real" WoW, buy all the add-ons at once and remember that the most interesting is waiting for you at the end. This does not mean, however, that you will not be able to have fun during character development. The world of Azeroth is friendly enough that you'll never have to focus on killing monsters to level up. Complete quests, go with friends to low-level instance zones, and very soon you will understand what is more interesting for you. And after that, prioritize the last, 85, level.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003) - and now a pinch of RPGs... oops!

Each race in the addon for the third part was given as much as one new unit, but the heroes ... Now, in addition to pumping, they could stock up on fashionable gear in stores, there were more skills, the role of heroes in each mission became almost a key one.

There were also neutral heroes that could be hired additionally. And the orc campaign was generally more RPG than RTS. What can we say, if it is in the form of a mod to Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and the already legendary Defense of the Ancients (aka Dota) appeared, which in general was a completely new genre of MOBA at that time. It was the "Ice Throne" that completed both the plot and gameplay transition from the first slaughter of people and orcs to the bomb that exploded the very next year after the release of the addon.

World of Warcraft (2004) - Creation of the world ... Warcraft

Now it's hard to say whether the gradual addition of RPG elements to the games of the Warcraft series was just following the trends or still part of a grand plan. Only one thing is known for certain - in 2004, Metelitsa released one of the best MMORPGs of all time, which brings the company a billion dollars a year and beats all possible online records and the number of awards.

Paradoxically, it was the release of WoW that most likely put an end to the history of Warcraft as a series of real-time strategy games. It simply doesn't make sense for the company to release Warcraft 4 - yes, millions of WoW players will buy it. They will buy and begin to pass, having left the servers for this time. So, in the future, Metelitsa will lose more than it will gain. Therefore, within the framework of the franchise, any games will continue to be released for any platforms (such as Hearthstone or Heroes of the Storm) - but not RTS on PC. Warcraft is dead, long live World of Warcraft!

Hello dear readers!

Recently released the long-awaited patch 6.2, which, according to the developers, is the last major update in WOD. Perhaps patches 6.2.X will still be released with small portions of new content, but on this moment there is no exact information about it. Despite all this, there are already heated conversations on the Internet about the next addition to WoW.
This is clearly facilitated by information from Comic Con about the movie about Warcraft. Of course, many players associate the theme of the future add-on with the film. They argue that people who are not familiar with the universe, after watching the film, are likely to want to plunge into the atmosphere of Azeroth. And what can help with this better than a game? And this is a logical marketing ploy. If I'm not mistaken, then "Lego. The movie" increased the profit from sales of designers from Denmark that way by 2-3 times. It is difficult to compete with such conclusions, but there is one point that makes me consider a different scenario. I think you will agree with me that our friends from Metelitsa often do things that are not expected of them. And vice versa: they do not do what is expected of them. It is these thoughts that became the foundation for today's reasoning. Let's get started!)

An upcoming addition to WoW.

Each player, of course, has his own favorite theme that he would like to see in the game. I have it too, of course. I will talk about it below. But first, let's remember the addons that players would like to see live. And also think about why this or that addition may or may not come true. In words, we can do anything, so let's imagine that the next addition will not be related to the film. Let's fantasize!

Emerald Dream.

It's simple: read the book "World of Warcraft Stormrage". Addon, which many have been waiting for, was not in the game, but in the book. I’ll briefly add that it’s a shame when such an interesting topic is left without implementation and disclosure in the game itself. But then we have pandas)))

Sargeras. Planet of the Burning Legion.

I hope that everyone understands, Sargeras is the local Lucifer / universal evil / the main trump card of Blizzard. If it is not in the latest addon, then it will definitely be in some grand addition with the goal of resurrecting WoW. Let's say if the number of subscribers drops to 4-5 million people. Then the trump card will go into action. Like a nuclear bomb. "Cities will be filled with rivers of boiling water of joyful players." And after the murder of Sargeras, Blizzards will delicately return the trump card back to the sleeve, saying that they say we didn’t kill him completely or that another Sargeras was found in the parallel universe. We know how they do it) And one more thing. For those who for some reason expected to see the Dark Titan as the final boss of Hellfire Citadel, I inform you that at the time the orcs took the fel curse, the physical form of Sargeras was destroyed by Aegwyn, and the spirit of the titan controlled her son Medivh. I understand that this is an alternate timeline, but only the history of Draenor has been changed here. For now.

Now let's talk about the central world of the Burning Legion. Many believe that this is Argus. This is not true. Argus is possibly the base of the Legion. I repeat: POSSIBLE. Argus is the home of the Eredar. There, Sargeras seduced Kil'jaeden and Archimonde with the promise of power, and the two agreed. But their third brother, Velen, realized that there would be no good for his race from the demonic filth, so he left Argus with a group of like-minded people. Those eredar who joined Velen became known as draenei. And the Eredar who joined the Legion are Man'ari. Another thing is that the lore was repeatedly rewritten. At first it was said that the eredar were simply creatures gifted with magic, now I increasingly find articles that say that the eredar were originally mostly warlocks, and allegedly it was because of their greed and thirst for power that they devastated their planet. But this version seems strange to me, because in the game itself, the draenei in the dialogue do not mention the warlocks on Argus or the devastation of the planet. Maybe they are ashamed, or maybe those responsible for the ENT messed up something. Not the point. The main thing here is that Argus is possibly the base for the Legion, because. the commanders (Archimonde and Kil'Jaeden) resided on this planet. But this is just a version. At the moment, we can only say with certainty that the home of the eredar is engulfed in fel flames, like many other worlds. Regarding my opinion: I believe that the home of demons is the Twisting Nether.

Nagas.

In Cataclysm, the naga should have been given more time, but as some of you probably know, Ragnaros demanded a lot of attention from the developers for his raid. I had to sacrifice nagas for this. As for Queen Azshara, she is in the game. Yes. Truth. But she suffered from the Dungeon Finder. Leveling in the game today boils down to the fact that you swing up to level 15 on quests, and then hammer instas until you lose your pulse, bypassing the quest zones. Even if you do quests, I don't think that you are attracted to such a location as Darkshore. But it is there that there is a quest chain that is connected with the nagas and with Azshara. I would not call it epic, but if anyone is interested, then visit the night elves.

That is why I believe that in the near future we will not hear about the scaly inhabitants of the deep. Making a new addon entirely about nagas and Old Gods? Thematically, it will be the same Cataclysm, only instead of Deathwing it will be Azshara. Most likely, the nagas will appear in some addon about Azeroth with a new continent, where they will play a secondary role, like the botani in Draenor or the yaungols in Pandaria. Yes, a threat, but a local one. Long quest chain in location and inst at the end. But not more. Maybe I'm wrong. But you must admit that nagas have always met before the game as part of something. In BC they were part of Illidan's army, in Cataclysm they were part of Deathwing's army. What will they be a part of next?

Old Gods.

The list of guys worshiped by the bugs and the Twilight's Hammer cult is constantly growing. At first they said that there were only 3 of them. Now I read that there are about 5 Old Gods, and some of them are even at enmity with each other. If the addon is dedicated to them, then the players are clearly waiting for us to finally be shown N'Zoth and Nyalotha. But the following fact confuses me. Cataclysm is an expansion about Deathwing and the Old Gods. But do you remember the Old Gods there? Yes, we learned about N'Zoth, but that's just a name. We did not really know about him, nor his location, nor his features. We have only seen his minions, who are no different from the minions of Yogg-Saron. Of course, we were shown that N'Zoth borrowed ideas from the zerg and transported troops using the Nidus network, but then what? In fact, this addon is about the servants of the Old Gods, but not about them. And here the problem of the fact that a lot of things were cut out of the Cataclysm makes itself felt. Perhaps there were interesting ideas that would show us not only Deathwing, but also his masters, but unfortunately this did not reach the public.

I believe that Blizzard will not repeat their experience with the Old Gods as the theme of an entire expansion at this point. I don’t know why, but they are now better at doing small plots than big stories. That is why they will most likely give the Old Gods some kind of patch, but not an addon. These creatures are shrouded in mystery, so interest in them remains only when we receive information in small portions.

Zandalari. South Seas. Pirates.

I often notice that people like to talk more than they listen. Probably, for our nature it is normal. That is why we especially appreciate those who know how to listen. But why am I? And to the fact that after the Cataclysm, the home of the trolls from the Zandalari tribe was covered with a copper basin. This is reported to you by Loremaster Cho in Pandaria. Therefore, there can be no addon about the island of Zandalar. So Blizzard delicately washed away the players' hopes for an add-on about trolls.

Addition about pirates South Seas and uncharted islands also often pops up in discussions. I will not dissemble: this topic for the addition does not particularly attract me. But we will not be silent about it. Let us briefly say that the theme of the islands and sea ​​voyages at the moment, it is weakly drawn in terms of the scale of the whole addition. There are no noteworthy figures among the pirates. The quest chains associated with them, which remained in WoW, obviously no one went through (search for dungeons). Therefore, if such an addon comes out, it is clearly with the aim of extending the life of WoW with at least some content. But, I will be glad if in the comments someone will suggest an interesting plot for such an add-on. Interesting villain. New features tied to ships and the sea. Little desire. Get creative. Think about how based nautical theme you can implement interesting gameplay. If you have such an idea in your head, then execute it.

Alternate Azeroth.

And this is already an addition that many expect, because it intersects with the film. We don't know where Gul'dan went. Maybe he died, maybe he fell into the clutches of demons, or just hovering somewhere in the great void, but after Pandaria, we cannot deny that the ending of this expansion can be bridged to the next one. Based on this, players are predicting an invasion of an alternative Azeroth. But how does this fit into the movie? There is a story about the period of the First War and the invasion of orcs. Are we going to invade or Gul'dan? If you connect the movie and the game, then it would be logical to release Draenor along with the movie. Then there would be two different plot, but with one starting point. People would watch a movie about orcs invading our world. And in the game, they would look at the situation from the other side: people would feel like aliens on Draenor. But this scenario can no longer be played out. Based on the foregoing, the question of the connection between the film and the game still remains open.
On the one hand, in the footage from Comic Con, Gul'dan looked exactly like in the game. Most likely, other things from the film will also be close to game realities. This is good, because after watching the movie, people will go into the game and many of the characters will be familiar to them, even though this is an alternative Azeroth.
On the other hand, for many players, the very process of games is important, and not lore and plot intricacies. They will watch a cool movie (hopefully), find out that they can play as the same brutal orc as on the screen, and immediately run to the store for a game so they can start swinging an ax as soon as possible.

Of course, this opportunity should not be missed, and some product should still be timed to coincide with the release of the film, but does it really have to be WoW? In part, they are making this movie for fans who played the very first Warcraft back in the 90s. No wonder they chose a fundamental moment in the history of Azeroth. And therefore, it seems to me, it would be better to make a new Warcraft film based on the film. More precisely, an updated Warcraft or a re-release of parts 1 and 2 on the Starcraft II engine. I think that both old fans and new players would be happy about this. Because you just sit down and play. In WoW, one way or another, you first need to pump the character. Players will not be able to immediately plunge into the new addition. Of course, if Blizzard does not increase the character boost from 90 to 100 levels. But do we need it? Question.

In conclusion, as promised, I will tell you about my thoughts about the next expansion. Before the introduction of Draenor, there were rumors on the internet about a Void-themed expansion. This news interested me much more than the alternate timelines. We know little about the demons of the abyss and the etherials. Even small handfuls of information would be interesting. Lord Prostranstvus, who conquered the world of the ethereals, we already know. Why, in the absence of Azeroth's heroes on Draenor, shouldn't the Void Lords invade our world? Of course, there are not enough significant villains, but in the community recent times There are rumors that the developers somehow want to bring Illidan and Kael'thas back into the game. Perhaps these are just rumors, but if true, then they could be tied to an add-on. Or the Void might not have invaded Azeroth, but Outland, where the Aetherials hide. In general, the plot could be associated with both new villains and the "frozen" ones. But to be honest, I have a feeling inside me that we are all going to be wrong. The introduction of each new addon was unexpected. So we can only hope that Blizzard will give us a break from complex plot confusion and return to our timeline. Wait and see.

2. Thoughts on Warlords of Draenor.

Here comes the final stage of the addition. We hope that it will not drag on for a year.
And perhaps the developers still add small portions of content.

In my previous article, I already considered the main controversial points on this addition. Now I want to express the thoughts that the addition caused in general:

Now let's take a look at these thoughts in more detail. Some of these problems are related. Due to the fact that Blizzard wants to release addons faster, they have to sacrifice something during development in order to meet the deadline. Accordingly, they need to somehow conveniently organize work for themselves in order to manage to make content in a short period of time. But convenience for the developer does not always mean convenience for the player. And here we are faced with the fact that a convenient mechanism for the developer causes players to negative feedback, and this is already a problem. But instead of solving the problem, the developers start to deal with the consequences or the players.

But enough empty talk. Let's move on to specific examples. What really annoys me about Draenor? The presence of bugs. Lots of bugs. I'm not talking about the start of the addon. There were a lot of people there, and at the beginning of the expansion you are more loyal to some technical errors. But then I would like to see their removal. To be honest, I rarely encountered bugs in WoW personally. I watched videos on YouTube about various mistakes, and in the old days I myself ran under Stormwind. But in Draenor, I got to know the bugs better. The garrison is pleased with the fact that the task table does not respond to the click the first time, as well as the boxes with orders. If earlier it was solved by relog, then the marina does not even take this. With my character, I could not send ships on a mission for three days, and what this was connected with is unknown. Another time, I decided to talk to an NPC near Auchindoun, and in response, he threw my character back to Shattrath City. Here we talked. It should also be mentioned about some broken quests or items that are required for the task, but which stubbornly refuse to be taken. And all this spoils the impression of the game. And you immediately ask yourself: why is this so? And here, unfortunately, again lies the money issue.

Developers have long cherished the idea of ​​faster content release. At first glance, this doesn't seem like a bad thing. After all, this is good for us players: we don’t have to wait long for new raids and quests. It's great for developers too. The faster the patches come out, the closer the new addon, and hence the new wave of profits. But in reality, everything is much more complicated. You can reduce the development time by increasing the staff, but this reduces the profit, because. part of it (perhaps a large one) will go to new employees. Another option is to increase the load. That is, with the same staff, you will have a lot of money, but not everyone can work in such conditions. Man is not a machine, and even with a strong desire to work 24 hours can not. Most likely Blizzards have come to a compromise here. Perhaps they increased the staff a bit and at the same time began to look for ways to make content quickly.

And then the good old copy-paste went into action. Cataclysm Raid Dragon Soul is only Deathwing letting us know that this is not a Lich raid. The dungeons leading to the raid were also skillfully copied from existing locations. Unless the Source of Eternity gave away something new, although there were many borrowings there too. I'm not saying it's completely bad. Developers add new mechanics.

Another thing is that they begin to abuse the use of old models and heroes.
I understand that it is difficult to write a new villain from one addon. Remember Garrosh. As many as 3 additions brought us to the fight with him. He appeared in Lich, where he annoyed everyone. Then, in Cataclysm, we were shown that he has qualities for which he should be respected. And in Pandaria, he became obsessed with his desire to make the Horde stronger, which led to his downfall. Recall cutscene 5.4, where Garrosh's words were breathtaking. He went a long way to being cut into epics. From this it is even more insulting that we defeated him, and handed him over to the Pandaren on trial, where he escaped. It was necessary to make an end to this story. Nice finish. But the developers had other plans. Instead of a dignified death in battle, Garrosh, helpless and unarmed, fell to Thrall's one-shot. Okay...

But we digress. Like I said before, a villain needs time to mature. And so the choice of Draenor as an addon is successful from this point of view. There are already villains here, whose background is registered. Yes, they joked about Gromashsh as the main villain, but Archimonde? Seriously? Then Kil'jaeden would have been better, for he was the one who tempted the orcs. In general, if you want to know my opinion, then the main villain of Draenor should have been Gul'dan. We must not destroy Archimonde, but the green-skinned orc. If you look at the story, Gul'dan appears even more often than Hellscream. He is a real threat to Azeroth. Even Khadgar is more worried about Gul'dan's capture than he is about the threat from the Iron Horde. So why not only us, but also Khadgar is left unsatisfied in the game? Why is a really dangerous enemy running away again? Maybe in the next addition of Gul'dan Thrall oneshot again? (Sorry, not Thrall, but Go'el. This is not racism.) Something started to creep me out a little. But I hope that I conveyed to you the idea that Blizzards can make interesting villains, but for some reason they slip us old whipping toys instead.

Let me do more small digression. Regarding patch 6.2, I want to add that the situation is reminiscent of Pandaria. In cutscene 5.4, Garrosh is talking to the leader of the Shado-pan, who is on his knees. Garrosh vehemently describes to the pandaren that in his hands the unstoppable power that the pandaren tried to contain, did not use it, opposed it. After which the pandaren says that Chief Hellscream will not get away with this and he will answer for everything. Garrosh then corrupts the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. I think everyone remembers this.

And now let's move on to the patch 6.2 video. There is no longer a pandaren, but Thunder is on his knees, and Gul'dan has taken on the role of Garrosh and broadcasts about the fact that Thunder tried to contain, not use, resist the unthinkable power that Gul'dan serves. Afterwards, Grom declares that the warlock will answer for everything. And then Gul'dan desecrates the Tanaan Jungle. Does that remind you of anything?)

Now back to the developers' problems. They want to earn more. You can't blame them for this. Although the introduction of an in-game store already speaks of greed. But let's not count other people's money. Let's just focus on the fact that faster release of addons is tied to profit. It goes without saying that the appearance of bugs on live servers is due to the fact that Draenor is essentially not finalized. It is felt that they cut out a lot, but despite this, they still did not have time. And patch 6.2 is another call to the developers that it is worth reconsidering the idea of ​​accelerated content release. Quality suffers. Moreover, the gentlemen from Metelitsa do not inform the players about all the corrections. Over the past two weeks, I noticed that they increased the health of the mobs in the quest zones in Tanaan somewhere between 1.5-2 times. It's the same with bosses. Some numbers have been changed. And not just once. So maybe you shouldn't be in such a hurry with development? I think players are willing to wait for quality content. But not for a whole year, of course. Yes, and such a quick change of add-ons does not reveal the theme of the add-on. Alternate Draenor contained many possibilities in itself. The Ogre Empire is not limited to Nagrand. And the island of Farahlon, which today is just a handful of floating islands in Outland? All this disappeared due to lack of time and resources. We buy add-ons, pay a subscription and, judging by the mounts, the in-game store is also popular. Is it really necessary to accelerate the work on the content? How do you think? Or are you satisfied with the state of affairs?

We have sorted out thoughts related to the decrease in the quality of content and the fact that some solutions that are convenient for developers (for example, a raid built from recycled materials) are not always good for players. Let's move on to the last thought, which sounded like this: developers do not solve their problems. An example would be garrison resources. They came up with a new currency. OK. But it was in use only with the development of the garrison. When you have already built all the buildings, the resources lose their value. Yes, it was possible to buy items to redistribute the traits of comrades-in-arms, but this was done by those who cleared the gold farm chip with the help of the garrison. Scouting Missives could be bought to get additional Apexis, but those in turn were also of little value. And the resources of the players continued to accumulate. And how did the developers solve this problem? But no way. They just came up with a marina for the players, where you can drain tons of resources. I think you noticed that the tasks of the pier require different features from the ships (mines, whirlpools, icebreaker). Of course, everything is built in such a way that you equip your ships for resources (for a solid amount of resources), otherwise you will not be able to upgrade the ships or you will simply fail the task. But that's not all. The developers took into account that sooner or later you will pump your ships to the maximum, and you will also become less likely to upgrade them. And that means resources will accumulate again. Therefore, you need to make sure that the pumping does not end. The way out was found: the ships could be destroyed. That's all. Consequences in the form of accumulation of resources are eliminated. Well done! That's just from such a mini-game, players do not get pleasure, but irritation. And the question is, what is more from the game itself or from the fact that the developers resorted to a lazy solution to the problem?

In conclusion, I want to briefly collect all the thoughts in a heap. In the last article, I set myself the goal of looking at the problems of Draenor from different angles and trying to draw some kind of encouraging conclusion. I wanted to show that all is not lost, that developers just need to seriously consider their next steps. Right now, I'm somewhat cautious. At one of the past Blizzcons, the developers said that they have plans for WoW for 10 years ahead. And now we are in an alternate world. Many epic villains of Metelitsa have already been laid to rest by glorious heroes. And here's what worries me: are these long-term plans related to the fact that the developers will milk the alternative line of the Warcraft universe? For comparison, think about comics. There are often reboots and many universes, which allows the writers not to create a new one, but to somewhat rework the old. What if Blizzard now intends to do the same? Alternate history of Azeroth. Thousands of characters and events that can be slightly redrawn. Swap people's lives. For example, in alternate world Illidan became a druid, and Malfurion became obsessed with magic. Nothing needs to be invented. Just re-assemble all the parts together with minor adjustments. What do you think of it? Is it possible? And if so, would you be happy with such an outcome of events? Do you stand up for something new or do you want to see old heroes in new ways? Write your thoughts in the comments. I would be happy to learn the opinions of others.

Today we've been sorting through some questions about WoW expansions.
Stay healthy and enjoy the game!)

Indeed, the history of the Warcraft universe cannot simply be recounted, but it is not so difficult to understand how it is organized and from which side it is better to approach it. The following review will have a navigational function, and may be useful even for those who are in the subject, but would like to expand their knowledge. My goal in this answer will not be to retell the contents of numerous sources, but to give the most general outline of events and show what place each source occupies in this outline.

Conventionally, the history of the universe can be divided into three sources: strategies, MMORPG World of Warcraft, books and comics. It seems that there are also desktop card games, but I don’t know anything about them, and the data of the three layers of the universe will be more than enough for you.

The story involved in the strategies can be divided into three parts, according to the parts of the games.

Warcraft I She is the first war. A recently released film was made on this part. Tells about the invasion of the Horde into Azeroth, about Medivh, about the fall of Stormwind, about the death of King Llane.

Game: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans

Warcraft II, the second war. Events after the fall of Stormwind, the story of how Anduin Lothar, Turalyon and Daelin Proudmoore fought back the Horde. Then - the counteroffensive of the Alliance in the homeland of the orcs, Draenor, where Ner'zhul, since nothing happened with Azeroth, wants to open portals to other worlds.

Games: Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness; Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.

Warcraft III, the third war. The most intense and popular part of the game. The remaining orcs in Azeroth are kept in camps, and there is a short-term peace and tranquility in Lordaeron. However, not everything is so rosy, as on the northern continent of Azeroth, Northrend, Ner'zhul, imprisoned in ice throne, is gathering forces to unleash a third war.

Simultaneously with these events, the young slave Thrall begins to have strange dreams in which a stranger calls him to lead the orcs to Kalimdor, the western mainland of Azeroth. In this part of the strategy, we get acquainted with the most famous heroes of the universe, with whom Warcraft is now actually associated: Arthas, Illidan, Kael'thas.

Games: Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

The explanations that I give for each part are not even a retelling, but almost randomly selected facts, in order to only give an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat is happening in the series of games, and, of course, so as not to spoil.

The logical continuation of the history of strategies was the famous World of Warcraft, which is also divided, but not into parts, but into addons.

WoW Classic: The Forsaken (Undead that no longer obey Arthas) join the Horde, so we end up with two mutually unfriendly coalitions.
Alliance: Humans, Dwarves, Dwarves, Night Elves. Horde: Orcs, Trolls, Tauren, Forsaken. The main antagonists of this stage are the black dragons, the ancient gods and Kel'Thuzad, who again began to spread the plague across Azeroth on the orders of Arthas, now the Lich King.

WoW Burning Crusade: A new people appears in Azeroth, the Draenei, whom the Alliance accepts into its ranks. The blood elves, led by Lor "temar Theron, join the Horde. The Dark Portal through which the orcs entered Azeroth during the first war reopens. Antagonists of the add-on: Kael'thas, Illidan and the Burning Legion itself in the person of Kil'Jaeden.

WoW Wrath of the Lich King: Some death knights join the Alliance and Horde, who decide to fight the Lich King in his territory in this expansion. Players in this expansion will have to confront the Titans themselves, the creators of Azeroth, and the Lich King.

WoW Cataclysm: The distraught Aspect of the Earth, the black dragon Deathwing has awakened in the bowels of the Underdark and is determined to destroy all of Azeroth with the help of the cult of the black hammer. Recently, the Kezan goblins have found themselves with enemies in the Alliance ranks - several unexpectedly losing trades have forced some merchant magnates to abandon their comfortable position of neutrality. Old agreements with the Horde were renewed, and the Horde welcomed the goblins with open arms. Beyond the wall of Greymane, in the human city of Gilneas, meanwhile a strange frenzy has gripped the inhabitants. It turned people into bloodthirsty werewolves attacking everyone and everything. With this madness dealt with, the Gilneans began to call themselves Worgen, half-human, half-wolves, and found a home in the ranks of the Alliance.

WoW Mists of Pandaria: a new continent, Pandaria, was suddenly discovered in the southern part of Azeroth, previously hidden from view by a dense layer of mists. The Horde and the Alliance raced to this continent, unleashed a war on it, thereby awakening strange Sha creatures that personify our bad emotions and feelings. Some Pandaren decide to join the Horde and the Alliance. Garrosh Hellscream, who became the leader of the Horde in the era of Cataclysm, goes crazy and brings back the heart of the ancient god Y "Shaarj to life in order to strengthen his army and destroy the Alliance. Heroes of both factions must begin the siege of Orgrimmar, the main city of the Horde, in order to overthrow the tyrant.

WoW Warlords of Draenor: Garrosh escapes justice with the help of the bronze dragon Kairozdormu (the bronze dragons in the World of Warcraft have the ability to manipulate time). Garrosh travels back in time to a time before the orcs made their way to Azeroth. There, he finds his father, Grommash, and shares the technology Garrosh hoped to destroy the Alliance with. Grommash united all the disparate clans of the orcs of Draenor under his banner, making their leaders his warlords and began an invasion of Azeroth, but not in Azeroth during the first war, but in the time after the Pandarian campaign. Players become participants in the events of this most changed Draenor of the past.

And in August we are waiting for Legion, a new page in the history of Warcraft.

As you can see, the further the story of the game develops, the more confused and uninformative my retelling becomes. The reason for this is the complication of the story, the number of key characters increases several times. If for Warcraft I Garrona, Durotan and Lothar are important to us, then in Warcraft III Jaina, Arthas, Uther, Kel'Thuzad, Thrall, Medivh, Illidan, Mev and Kael'thas are equally important. Naturally, in order to adequately finish the stories of all these characters, the space of the game is completely insufficient. Therefore, the creators attract the third and last layer of sources - books.

At the moment, 22 books have been published, which are divided into three series.

I. Warcraft Series
Includes books that are not connected by a common plot:

1. By Blood and Honor - the very first novel in the Warcraft universe, written by Chris Metzen (father of the entire Warcraft universe). The story is about Tirion Fordring. Timeline, if I'm not mistaken, after the second war.
2. Day of the Dragon - tells about the events after the second war. Main character books - the mage Ronin saves the supreme aspect, Alexstrasza, from captivity of the Horde.
3. Lord of the Clans - tells the story of Thrall (the same little grub who makes GRRR at the end of the film), about how he began to revive the Horde, freeing the orcs from the camps of the Alliance.
4. The Last Guardian - narrates from Medivh the Guardian, with whom many are now also familiar thanks to the film.

II. Warcraft Series: War of the Ancients Trilogy
It tells about the events after the Battle of Mount Hyjal (Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos) and at the same time about those events that took place several thousand years before the first war.

Books included: 1. Well of Eternity 2. Soul of a Demon 3. Schism

III. World of Warcraft series
Also includes books that are loosely connected by a common plot:

1. Circle of Hatred - events a year before WoW, that is, after the first war. Tells how Jaina Proudmoore and Thrall tried to keep the peace between the Horde and the Alliance.
2. Rise of the Horde - the book that everyone should read before going to the movies on Warcraft. It tells about who the orcs are, why they needed to attack Azeroth. And he also introduces us to the draenei people, these are the same blue-skinned dudes who were killed at the beginning of the film.
3. Dark Tides - tells about the events of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
4. On the other side of the dark portal - tells about the events of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.
5. Day of the Dragon - is in a sense a continuation of the "Night of the Dragon" and tells about the events between the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.
6. Arthas: Rise of the Lich King - Biography of Arthas, naturally.
7. Stormrage - The only book I can't localize in timeline is about what the Emerald Dream is and Malfurion Stormrage.
8. Schism: Prelude to Cataclysm - tells about the events between Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm.
9. Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects is a continuation of the previous book.
10. Wolfheart - tells about the events after Cataclysm, about how the leaders of the Alliance tried to protect Ashenvale from Garrosh, who was already starting to go crazy.
11. Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War - tells the story of Jaina Proudmoore, the events before Mists of Pandaria.
12. Dawn of the Aspects - tells about the events after Cataclysm, about what happened to the five Aspects after they abandoned their immortal power in the name of defeating Deathwing.
13. Vol "jin: Shadows of the Horde - captures the events of Mists of Pandaria, specifically update 5.1.0 tells us about Vol'jin, who at the end of this addon becomes the new leader of the Horde.
14. War Crimes - talks about the events after Mists of Pandaria, about what happened to Garrosh after the Siege of Orgrimmar.
15. Illidan - The book was released in 2016, and as far as I understand, is a biography of Illidan Stormrage.

As you can see, the devil will break his leg in these books, and there are also manga and comics, which I won’t even write about here.

Of course, the question arises: where to start studying this diversity? I would advise you to start with mastering the history of strategies. And then - choose books from the list, in accordance with which period / character is closer and more interesting to you. At the same time, it is absolutely not necessary to play them. Once upon a time, in 2006, on some site I came across a rather dry, but very accurate retelling of the events of all strategies. Now there is no site, but I still have the text of this retelling. Despite not best quality text and untranslated names, I believe that this text is the best for getting to know the universe. I give a link to download the text from my dropbox :)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xnzjx191uincnvv/WoW%20history.doc?dl=0

Hello dear readers. Many people are wondering how many parts are in WoW? Today I will tell a brief history of the game and answer this question.

So, let's begin.

1. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. Release date - November 1994.
2. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Release date - December 1995.
3. Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. Release date - April 1996.
4. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Release date - July 2002.
5. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Release date - July 2003.
6. Warcraft III: Reforged. Release date - 2019 (the game was not released).

Directly World of Warcraft:

1. World of Warcraft. Release date - November 2004.
1.1. Blackwing Lair Assault (Patch 1.6). Release date - July 2005.
1.2. Rebirth of the Blood God (update 1.7). Release date - September 2005.
1.3. Gates of An "Qiraj (update 1.9). Release date - January 2006.
1.4. Shadow of the Necropolis (update 1.11). Release date - June 2006.
2. The Burning Crusade. Release date - January 2007.
2.1. Black Temple (update 2.1). Release date - May 2007.
2.2. Gods of Zul'Aman (Update 2.3). Release date - November 2007.
2.3. Fury of the Sunwell (Patch 2.4). Release date - March 2008.
3. Wrath of the Lich King. Release date - November 2008.
3.1. Secrets of Ulduar (Patch 3.1). Release date - April 2009.
3.2. Summon Vanguard (Patch 3.2). Release date - August 2009.
3.3. Fall of the Lich King (Patch 3.3). December 2009
4. cataclysm. Release date - December 2010.
4.1. Rise of the Zandalari (Patch 4.1). Release date - April 2011.
4.2. Fury of Fire (Update 4.2). Release date - June 2011.
4.3. Time of Twilight (update 4.3). Release date - November 2011.
5. Mists of Pandaria. Release date - September 2012.
5.1. Landing (update 5.1). Release date - November 2012.
5.2. Lord of Thunder (update 5.2). Release date - March 2013.
5.3. Uprising (update 5.3). Release date - May 2013.
5.4. Siege of Orgrimmar (Patch 5.4). Release date - September 2013.
6. Warlords of Draenor. Release date - November 2014.
6.1 Fury of Hellfire (Patch 6.2). Release date - June 2015.
7.Legion. The release date is August 30, 2016.
7.1 Return to Karazhan (Patch 7.1) The release date is October 26, 2016.
7.2 Tomb of Sargeras (Patch 7.2). The release date is March 29, 2017.
7.3 Shadows of Argus (update 7.3). The release date is August 30, 2017.
8. Battle for Azeroth. The release date is August 14, 2018.
8.1 Waves of Vengeance (Patch 8.1). The release date is December 12, 2018.
8.2 Rise of Azshara (Patch 8.2). The release date is June 26, 2019.

Thus, there are 36 parts of Warcraft in total, of which World of Warcraft is 31, of which the main ones are 8 (only released ones are considered).

And finally, a brief history.

In 1994* Horde warriors through the Dark Portal - an interdimensional passage created with the help of the wizard Medivh and the warlock Gul "Dan - penetrate Azeroth and capture Stormwind. People are doomed ...

By December 1995 Knight Anduin Lothar arrives with the survivors in Lordaeron. Enlisting the support of people, elves, dwarves and dwarves, he creates an Alliance. Meanwhile, the Horde orcs, under the command of Orgrim Doomhammer, continue to take over the land and join the trolls and ogres. Orgrimm kills Lothar, who is replaced by Turalyon. The Alliance is crushing the Horde.

April 1996 The Alliance destroys the Dark Portal, the remnants of the Horde on Draenor are led by the shaman Ner "Zul. Through the remaining Dark Portal of Draenor, the Horde decides to capture the powerful artifacts of Azeroth, but the Alliance learns about these plans and begins an invasion of Draenor. To avoid death, the shaman opens many portals to new worlds The released energy splits Draenor apart, as a result, many of the heroes of the alliance are captured by the remnants of the planet known as Outland.

Up until 2002 the orcs who survived on Azeroth were held captive until they were freed by a former slave, the young shaman Thrall. The Horde flees west to Kalimdor to escape the burning Legion that has invaded Azeroth. Arthas Menethil, Prince of Lordaeron, defected to the Lich King. Orcs of the Horde unite with humans and night elves and defeat the Legion's demonic forces under the command of Archimonde on sacred mountain Hyjal.

By July 2003 Arthas becomes a death knight, recruits the Scourge, slaughters the population of the Eastern Kingdoms. Sylvanas Windrunner, who leads the Forsaken group of undead, rebels against the Scourge. The night elf Illidan lands on the northern continent of Northrend to destroy the Lich King. However, Illidan was defeated by Arthas and was banished to Outland. Arthas, finding himself with the source of the Scourge's power, merges with the spirit of the Lich King.

2004 - beginning of the world of Warcraft.
The Forsaken join Thrall's Horde, which already had orcs, tauren, and trolls. Dwarves, gnomes, and night elves swear allegiance to the Alliance under human leadership. King Varian Wrynn mysteriously disappears and Highlord Bolvar Fordragon becomes regent. But not everything is so simple - in fact, power is in the hands of the black dragon Onyxia. A new conspiracy is brewing, new dangerous ancient forces are awakening.
Main events
The black dragon Nefarian, son of Deathwing the Destroyer, creates many experimental dragons and other monsters to conquer Azeroth, but he himself is defeated and sent into oblivion.
The Zandalari tribe, with the help of the Alliance, strikes at the heart of Zul "Gurub, where the Soul Flayer, the god of Blood, was reborn.
The forces of the United Army of Kalimdor, under the command of the orc Varok Saurfang, break the gates of the great fortress of An "Qiraj to stop its inhabitants - the qiraji - maddened under the influence of the ancient god K" Thun.
Kel'Thuzad, a faithful minion of the Lich King, with the help of the flying citadel of the scourge - Naxxramas - is trying to infect the whole of Azeroth with a plague, starting from Northrend, where he is defeated. A traitor from the Order of the Argent Dawn hides in Northrend with the remains of a lich and tries to resurrect Kel'Thuzad.

2007
Doomlord Kazzak reopens the Dark Portal to Outland. The demons of the Burning Legion are sent to Azeroth. Alliance and Horde forces, joined by draenei and blood elves, are sent to Outland to eliminate the threat. Allied forces are becoming increasingly bogged down in the fight against the Legion and Illidan Stormrage.
Main events
Illidan the Betrayer is concentrating his forces inside the Black Temple. After the defeat of his associates, including the lord of the blood elves Kael'thas Sunstrider, Illidan's power was shaken. Akama, the elder of the mutant draenei, and the elf Maiev Shadowsong help the heroes end the Betrayer.
One of the commanders of the Horde, Zul'jin, retires to Zul'Aman, where he rebuilds his army. Enraged, Zul'jin declares war on both the Alliance and the Horde after joining the Blood Elf Horde without his knowledge.
After his defeat in Outland, Kael'thas Sunstrider returns to Silvermoon and, having betrayed his subjects, intends to use the Sunwell to summon the demon lord Kil'jaeden to Azeroth. The heroes of the Horde and the Alliance with great difficulty interfere with Kael'thas and Kil'jaeden, the draenei prophet Velen cleanses Sun Well from filth.

By 2008 the world is calm.
All of a sudden, the Scourge are on the offensive across Azeroth. Thrall sends Garrosh Hellscream to Northrend. Meanwhile, Varian Wrynn returns and takes his rightful place on the throne. To fight the Ich King, he puts up an army under the command of Bolvar Fordragon.
Main events
The main event is the discovery of Brann Bronzebeard in the city of giants Ulduar. With its help, the heroes fight Yogg-Saron, learn the secrets of the creation of the Dragon Soul, the murder of King Llane and the future of the Lich King.
Highlord Tirion Fordring arranges a tournament for Alns and the Horde to determine who are worthy to lead the attack on the forces of the Scourge, but the crypt lord Anub "arak intervenes in the course of events, who decides to destroy Fordring's squad.
With the help of Jaina Proudmoore and the Banshee Queen Sylvanas, the heroes storm Icecrown Citadel and deal with the Scourge. Arthas is defeated, the sinister truth about the Scourge is revealed to the heroes.

Victory, heroes return from Northrend by December 2010.
But then angry elementals fall upon Azeroth. The dragon aspect of Deathwing the Destroyer returns. After leaving his lair in the Elemental Realm, he brought destruction to Azeroth. In an effort to subjugate everything, Deathwing opens portals to the Elemental Realm, calling for help from the elementals and their masters. New forces seek to help Deathwing and the Twilight's Hammer cult bring the Time of Twilight closer and destroy all life.
Main events
The Zandalari trolls rebuild Zul "Gurub" and Zul "Aman" and raid them in an attempt to reclaim "their" lands. The trolls declare war on all the races of Azeroth. To stop the bloodshed, Vol "jin from the Darkspear tribe, who disagree with them, help the heroes get into the ancient cities.
Heroes of Azeroth chase Firelord Ragnaros and his minions off Mount Hyjal. Backed by the druids and Mulfharion Stormrage, the most powerful defenders launch an assault on Ragnaros' burning home of the Firelands.
The Dragon Aspects, guardians of Azeroth, guide heroes through the tide of time in search of the Dragon Soul, a relic that can stop Deathwing. The returning heroes hand over the found relic to Thrall, who moves the battle to the Maelstrom, the center of the world. The combined powers of the aspects and allies stop Deathwing's madness.

year 2012. Deathwing is defeated.
But Garrosh Hellscream decides to expand the Horde's hold on Kalimdor. Under his onslaught, the city of Theramore is destroyed. The confrontation flares up with renewed vigor. After a major naval battle the remnants of the Horde and Alliance fleets find themselves on a mysterious continent not marked on the maps of the world - the misty shores of Pandaria, where they meet noble pandaren who make an alliance with both sides in the hope of defeating the evil sha.
Main events
Before they land on the ground, the Horde and the Alliance begin the battle again. Garrosh Hellscream takes possession of the mighty mogu artifact, the Divine Bell, but Prince Anduin Wrynn and SI:7 agents atop Mount Kun-Lai destroy the great artifact.
Meanwhile, the mogu survivors are trying to rebuild their realm. To achieve their goal, they team up with the Zandalari trolls and resurrect the Mogu emperor Lei Shen - Lord of Thunder. To eliminate the threat, the Shado-Pan warriors create a special squad - the Onslaught of the Shado-Pan. At the same time, Jaina Proudmoore, at the head of the Kirin Tor army, is trying to find the source of the power of the mogu, and Lor "Temar Theron, with the help of the forces of the Sunreavers, is trying to free himself from the oppression of Garrosh Hellscream.
Garrosh Hellscream excavates the Vale of Eternal Blossoms in search of some artifact, falling out of favor with the Shado-Pan as a result. The trolls of the Black Tribe and their leader Vol "jin are declared traitors and become the target of the hunt for Hellscream's personal guard. The former leader Thrall provides them with support, an agreement is concluded with the Alliance.
Orgrimmar, the capital of the Horde, is in mutiny because of Garrosh Hellscream, who brought the heart of the ancient god I "Shaarj back to life, defiling the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. To avoid defeat, Garrosh absorbs the energy of the ancient god. However, this does not save him - he appears before the court of the August celestials of Pandaria.

Garrosh escapes justice with the help of the bronze dragon Kairozdormu and in 2014 travels back in time to ancient Draenor before the Horde invaded Azeroth.
Garrosh gives his father the technology to create the perfect army of conquest - the Iron Horde. Grommash Hellscream, his father, unites the disparate clans of the orcs of Draenor, captures a number of key areas of Draenor, builds large military facilities like the foundry of the Blackrock clan. Having captured Draenor, the Iron Horde orcs invade Azeroth through the Dark Portal. In response, Archmage Khadgar gathers Alliance and Horde heroes and leads them through the portal to Draenor to stop the Iron Horde. Thrall defeats Garrosh, the heroes of Azeroth destroy most of the warlords. A crushing blow has been dealt to the Iron Horde, a split has ripened in the ranks of the followers of Grommash, which allowed the warlock Gul "Dan to seize power in the Iron Horde and summon the demons of the Burning Legion to Draenor. Gul" Dan persuades the surviving leaders to join the Legion, which they do in the hope of turning the tide battles. However, Grommash Hellscream does not give in to persuasion, for which he is imprisoned. The Warlock captures Hellfire Citadel, making it the starting point for the Burning Legion. His next step is to summon the demon Archimonde. After a terrifying battle with the creatures in the citadel that nearly destroyed Draenor, the heroes slay Archimonde, who throws Gul'Dan into the portal before dying.

2016 Last days summer. And maybe Azeroth...
The Tomb of Sargeras is reopened, and the demons of the Burning Legion are pouring into the world.
All their awesome power is aimed at summoning the dark titan to Azeroth, and they have already managed to find the key to his return.
The forces of the Horde and the Alliance are seriously undermined. But it's too early to lose heart: with the help of legendary artifacts, you need to explore the ancient Broken Isles in search of relics of the titans and challenge the Legion while Azeroth still has hope.
Main events
After the battle for Draenor Ghul, under the influence of the demonic lord Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, he opened the tomb of Sargeras, and with it the gate through which the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth. He conquered the Broken Isles, including the ancient nightborne city of Suramar, and bent their leader to his will. The Alliance and Horde stormed the Broken Shore in the hope of stopping Gul'dan and preventing the Legion's invasion, but their efforts were in vain and cost the lives of King Varian Wrynn and Chieftain Vol'jin. Then Archmage Khadgar made a desperate attempt to unite the shattered factions, which led to the restoration of the Pillars of Creation - the only tool capable of resealing the tomb. The inhabitants of the Broken Isles have freed themselves from the influence of the Legion, and the forces of the Alliance and the Horde have approached Gul'dan's base, the Nighthold, in the hope of putting an end to the sinister ambitions of the warlock once and for all ...

End of 2016. The Burning Legion throws its forces towards Karazhan.
In the former abode of Medivh, they are trying to find something that will allow them to maintain an advantage in the war. But several heroes, led by Khadgar, manage to thwart the demons, giving Azeroth's army a chance to strike. An uprising began against the ruler of the ancient city of Suramar, and after his release, the heroes headed to the Night Citadel, where, with the help of Aman'tul's eye and their strength, they would try to close the tomb of Sargeras.

Spring 2017. Gul'dan is defeated in the Nighthold, and the Alliance and Horde gain new allies.
However, the war is far from over. The Burning Legion have bolstered their defenses in the Broken Isles in hopes of destroying all life on Azeroth with the power hidden in the Tomb of Sargeras. Kil'jaeden the Deceiver almost reached his goal when the heroes burst into the tomb. Hoping to win, the Deceiver sent the heroes to Argus, but he himself became a victim of Khadgar, Velen and other defenders of Azeroth. With the help of the Sargerite key, Illidan opened the portal to Argus and now the heroes Azeroth has no choice but to deal a crushing blow to Argus, or the demons will destroy everyone...

At the end of the summer of 2017, the heroes of Azeroth go to Argus.
There they united with the Army of the Light, which, having reorganized their forces, went to storm the stronghold of the Legion - Antorus, the Burning Throne. As a result of the most intense battles, the heroes of Azeroth defeated the soul of Argus and freed the titans, who imprisoned Sargeras in captivity for his atrocities, and appointed Illidan Stormrage as his jailer. In a final act of defiance, the dark titan pierced Azeroth with his sword and inflicted a deadly wound on the world...

2018 summer. The wounds of Azeroth are healing, but the broken trust between the Horde and the Alliance is now unlikely to be restored...

To be continued...

* Years of expansions and game updates are listed, not actual Warcraft events.
Here is my unofficial version of the short history of the game; based on add-on descriptions.

That's all for today. Leave comments on our forum, share the link with your friends.
Mikasik.