10 Things You Should Never Say To A World Of Warcraft Fan

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World of Warcraft has been around for over two decades. With more than ten expansions under its belt and an immeasurable number of changes to its design, structure, and balance in that time, most misconceptions about the game have been dispelled by now. Some, however, remain as strong as ever. Whether you’re a new player learning the lay of the land through new expansion Midnight or a veteran who’s been in the trenches for too long, it’s important to keep some phrases in mind that you shouldn’t be saying to other players.

“Horde or Alliance?”

Back in the day, choosing between the Horde and Alliance, the two main factions in World of Warcraft, was more than a personality test. It meant having easier access to different areas of Azeroth, being locked into taking part in a myriad of activities with people in your selected faction, and getting different storylines. Over the years, however, developer Activision Blizzard has significantly eroded this friction to the point where factions don’t have the same looming rivalry anymore. (The correct answer, however, is the Horde.)

“You can just fly”

There was a time when obtaining a flying mount was a tantalizing goal, requiring a considerable amount of gold, time, and effort. Now, especially after the Dragonflight expansion and the changes it brought with it, soaring through the skies is much more common. While convenient, and thankfully not as harmful as private jets, it also dims the excitement of actually exploring regions on foot or using a ground mount. Azeroth is a lush world that is gorgeous to fly over. But it’s important to take in the scenery from a closer perspective now and then, too—especially if it’s your first time in a specific area.

“It’s a game for no-lifers”

As someone who played World of Warcraft for exactly 333 hours during one summer of yore, the stereotype of users being unable to do anything but log on with their favorite characters was relatable. At the same time, I was a teenager who had nothing better to do. Returning to the game sporadically over the years, World of Warcraft has become an easier beast to tame, one that doesn’t punish you for not dedicating all of your free time to it. But hey, if you want to spend large chunks of time playing, why not? At the very least, it’ll surely beat doomscrolling social media. You can just find out about the latest worldwide catastrophe through general chat instead.

“Taurens have lower speed”

Repeat after me: all races have the same movement speed. Gnomes might seem to walk faster than orcs, and Taurens might look more sluggish than Blood Elves, but this is all due to both the model’s size and the way animations are made to create the illusion of scale and weight in one direction or the other. Next time you fall into this illusion, ask yourself if that second edible was really necessary.

“Molten Core was made in a week”

No, the emblematic raid wasn’t built in a week. The layout for Molten Core was designed in a week, but that doesn’t mean the entire raid, including the bosses themselves, was made in such a short time. This, however, isn’t stopping YouTubers with a Factor sponsorship from saying otherwise.

“Seeding raids and dungeons is a thing”

As annoying as RNG can be, seeding raids and dungeons is not a thing. According to this belief, whoever is the first to enter an instance creates a global ID for the entire group. So, if said person has a “bad” seed, this negatively affects the loot drops for everyone. This has been a myth for the longest time, and basically revolves around having someone to blame because someone didn’t get the gear they were looking for. That being said, as someone who has held a grudge against a (now ex) friend who cast a roll for a shield he already had that I really wanted for 16 years and counting…I get it.

“Have you beaten it yet?”

In World of Warcraft, endings are superficial and highly personal. For some players, it’s enough to level up a single character to the current cap. Others might spend months of their life dedicating themselves to a profession, chasing achievements, or decorating their homes with the newly added housing feature. Every player has a different definition of an ending, depending on their goal in mind. But if you really want a way to bother a player, this phrase hasn’t gotten old and likely never will.

“Red quests give more XP”

If you’re only discovering this, I am sorry to be the bearer of news. In World of Warcraft, quests will be displayed in different colors—gray, green, yellow, and red, with yellow and red indicating that the quest may be more approachable when you hit a higher level, and gray indicating that you’re overleveled for that quest. There is this narrative that red quests provide more XP for being the hardest, but in actuality, green, yellow, and red quests all grant the same fixed XP. Gray quests do grant reduced XP, however, with the amount diminishing further depending on how much you outlevel the quest. But if you see green and yellow quests, there’s no reason not to tackle them. If someone tells you so, they’re either oblivious or just more interested in fishing rather than questing. And if it’s the latter, who can blame them?

“PvP is balanced, actually”

Like many other online games, there is no way of balancing PvP in World of Warcraft such that no class feels at a disadvantage once they join a skirmish. As many tweaks as Blizzard has made over the years, this will likely remain true until they eventually pull the plug on the game altogether. My advice is to just try and have fun, even when getting constantly stun-locked by paladins, and to focus your outrage on the long-ass queue times instead.

“World of Warcraft is a dead game”

The phrase “dead game” has been overused for a long time now. Any multiplayer game that doesn’t have half a million concurrent players at all times is deemed a disaster. In the case of World of Warcraft, there’s some truth to the arguments that it is not as novel as it once was, that it no longer rules the roost the way it did in the days of, say, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. In recent years, the likes of Final Fantasy XIV have definitely taken more of a starring role in the MMO space. Yet it still has millions of players, and Blizzard continues to support it with big new expansions and exciting features. A “dead game” this is not. That being said, if you do want to try Final Fantasy XIV, have you heard about the expanded free trial that lets you play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning…