Blizzard : World of WarCraft (WoW) : FAQ

What is World of Warcraft?

World of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG).

In World of Warcraft, thousands of players will have the opportunity to adventure together in an enormous, persistent game world, forming friendships, slaying monsters, and engaging in epic quests that can span days or weeks.

We have not yet announced a release date for World of Warcraft. MMORPGs are vast and complex; we want to make sure that we take the time necessary to develop a game that will meet the high standards that our developers and fans have come to expect from Blizzard games.

What are the game's system requirements?
We have not yet finalized the system requirements for World of Warcraft. As with our past games, our goal is to ensure that the game will run on a wide variety of 3D cards and at a wide range of processor speeds.

For what platforms will the game be available?
The game will initially be available for PCs.

How will World of Warcraft differ from other MMORPGs?
World of Warcraft will differ from other MMORPGs in many ways. One of our main goals is to ensure that players can enjoy World of Warcraft without having to invest huge amounts of playtime. Players will be able to complete quests and experience the world at their own pace-whether it be a few hours here and there, or week-long adventuring marathons. Additionally, our quest system will provide an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft will also feature a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents. We also plan to incorporate several unique features, which we'll disclose throughout the course of development.

Is Blizzard aware of some of the game play problems that have been prevalent in other MMORPGs?
Yes. Blizzard employees are gamers first and foremost, and we have played more than our fair share of existing Massively Multiplayer games. We tend to agree with MMORPG gamers on the strengths and weaknesses of the genre to date. We will strive to advance the genre by both building on its positives and improving its negatives.

Will World of Warcraft mix with Warcraft III? If there are new foes, do they include the Night Elves, Undead or Burning Legion?
World of Warcraft will be set in lands both familiar and new to long-time players of the series. It is difficult to discuss the World of Warcraft story without giving away the plot for Warcraft III. We can say that Azeroth will experience significant changes and be a very different world than Warcraft fans know today. And, while there will be plenty of recognizable characters and places to explore, we think that the balance between discovering what is known and what is different is something that players will really enjoy.

In regard to the inclusion of the Night Elves, Undead or Burning Legion, you will just have to wait and see...

Does the game require a 3D accelerator?
Yes, the game will require a 3D graphics card. Again, we will support a wide range of 3D cards.

Will the game be playable over a modem?
Yes.

Will there be monthly fee to play the game?
Yes; however, we are still investigating our business model and have not yet determined what the fee will be.

Why isn't World of Warcraft free?
World of Warcraft will require a fee to play. This fee will be used to support the costs associated with the high-quality levels of service, support, and ongoing content creation that we are planning for World of Warcraft.

How will the game be distributed or sold?
Gamers will be able to purchase World of Warcraft at retail outlets, online sites, or directly from Blizzard Entertainment. However, in order to play you will need to sign up for a monthly account.

Will there be Cinematic sequences in the game?
Yes. The Blizzard Film Department will create cinematic sequences for World of Warcraft. We do not anticipate, however, that the game will have as many as our previous games due to the nature of Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games. You can see the first cinematic for World of Warcraft on the movies page.

Will players have the opportunity to provide feedback about the development of the game?
Yes. Players will always be able to share their input via the Battle.net forums and beta testing. We also plan to devise additional methods for players to communicate with the developers.

Does Blizzard plan on addressing Kill Stealing and Item Farming?
Yes, and we will reveal more details on our plans at a later date.

Will you be able to randomly find items, and if so, will these items be classified as in Diablo II (Rare, Unique, etc.)?
Monsters will have treasure that characters can loot, but these will be drawn randomly from a specific item class for that monster type. We do not expect to have the same vast amount of random items as in the Diablo series, but we will have items that are rare and even some that could be truly unique by limiting them to only one per server.