I should probably make a blog post about this. Mostly because it is actually quite a significant achievement for me across multiple vectors. Also because I have severely neglected this 'blog' in recent years, so giving it some attention is a nice way to kill time.
I started playing Classic WoW last year like a lot of people, riding the nostalgia train and experiencing the best version of Blizzard's Azeroth once more. Of course I played a warrior, and of course I played Horde ... how could I not? What was different this time though is that instead of my goto Undead choice, I chose Orc, which had its ups and downs. Not having Cannibalize while leveling was significantly limiting. I probably regret this choice overall.
I leveled with a small group of friends and had a grand time on the journey to max level. We mostly ran a 'melee cleave' team through dungeons, though to be honest most of the cleaving was probably done by me. This was significant because I have NEVER had the opportunity to play WoW, in any of its expansions, with a group of people I know. It was a jolly time and fun was had by all, for the most part.
Eventually a few patches later, Blizzard historically released the Honor and Battleground system. I was excited for this because I was interested in doing the honor grind again in some manner. Unfortunately, queues for Horde were in excess of 30 mins, which not only killed that idea, but my interest in playing the game further. My group stopped playing it too.
I took a break from it for over 10 months, randomly coming back a couple of months ago. My objective this time was specifically two things:
- Achieve Rank 10, despite BG queue times
- Acquire [Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds] (my favourite weapon)
I achieved both of these in due time, but it was one hell of a time and energy commitment. Firstly I needed to not just raid, but I often needed to tank. Being a tank in WoW comes with the most responsibility and pressure of any role, and requires you to have ideal gear and knowledge for the job, lest you die and wipe the raid. Spamming Zulgurub, Molten Core and AQ20 runs for a month straight eventually led to Zin'rokh finally dropping. I was incredibly fortunate enough to win the roll against 2 other warriors and 2 hunters (wtf??). It was probably the most ecstatic I have been playing WoW, ever, and will probably be my most memorable moment playing the game, even after 15 years.
Armed with the Destroyer of Worlds, I decided that now was the best time to push towards Rank 10 in PvP. Back in the day I achieved Rank 11, Lieutenant General, on my Undead Warlock, probably my most memorable achievement in the game. I knew it was going to be an enormous grind, but that it would also be a fantastic opportunity to but Zin'rokh to great use and collect some ridiculous footage. I ran solo, lone-wolf, without a team, healer or any support, which I cannot recommend as a warrior.
After a solid month of PvP I hit Rank 10, being at a consistent ~50-100th standing on my server every week, while still doing full-time work. This is actually quite surprising, considering I did not have a premade team to PUG stomp with and was in competition against the horde premades for honor on my server. The old vanilla ranking system was more about competing against your own faction than the enemy.
The footage I collected was absolutely absurd. Even in my ok-ish blues and epics I would frequently 3 shot or even 2 shot opponents. I made a video and it has many of these moments in relatively quick succession. A month of recording results in a LOT of footage, after all.
The video also contains a couple of sections where I square off against other Warriors in much better gear than I using either [Dark Edge of Insanity] or [Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood], two of the best weapons in the game (at this time). These were special moments as even though Zin'rokh and my gear do not compare to these powerhouses, you can still take opponents down with enough skill and luck. It's times like these where vanilla WoW's PvP mechanics shine through, something modern day WoW severely lacks with its constant normalization.
The last 2 months have been probably some of the most fun and rewarding WoW experiences I have had. It's strange that I have basically done it solo, once again, like I have always done. Perhaps that says something about my character more than anything. I will finish this post by leaving my equipped gear listed. It's by far not in any way the best in the game, but for me it has definitely been the most memorable.
