Mists of Pandaria and the resurgence of WoW

[Doobjanka]

I've been playing WoW since release. Doobjanka has over 500 days played on her. I've done almost everything there is to do in the game, except PvP, and at the end of Cata I was bored. I found myself logging in less and less. I got a job that required me to stop raiding because I would have to go at a moments notice. My raid friends, some I've known since Vanilla, some I'd met later, stopped playing all together. It got to the point that when I did log in, I didn't know anyone in my guild. My server was dead to begin with, but this was like logging in to a brand new server where you didn't know anyone.

I was, quite honestly, bored with WoW. It was the first time since I started to play that I wanted to quit the game.

And then the MoP beta came out.

I was in the first wave of invites because I'm awesome, so I downloaded it, copied Doob over and went looking at the pet battles. They weren't implemented yet, so I ground out Archaeology to 600 and called it a day. League of Legends kept me playing with some of the friends that quit WoW, and Diablo III was a nice distraction, but I kept coming back to the beta every new build hoping for something to redeem WoW for me.

When pet battles finally came up they were super buggy, so they removed them for a bit. I amused myself by flying around the zones and looking for possible wild pets and listing them with the help of other site users and Quintessence. When pet battles finally made it live I didn't spend much time on it, but my interest was piqued.

Blizzcon 2011, Breanni and I had talked about making a WarcraftPets guild for members of the site and pet collectors in general. With an actual MoP release date announced, and my old guild a shadow of what it was, I decided to take the plunge. I bought a different level 25 guild, since it wasn't fair to the old guildies that still played to rob them of the benefits they had worked so hard for, and transferred Doobjanka and the new guild to Madoran. Only recruiting through the website, the guild slowly filled up with other people who loved pets just as much as me.

With it being a casual guild, I didn't need to worry about raiding or certain times I had to be on. Nothing forces me to grind out dailies or do anything in the game whatsoever, but Mists of Pandaria brought back the magic of WoW to me. Good guildies to talk to, fun things to do and no responsibilities. The only tough decision I have to make now is who to give my spare pets to (Answer: Whoever responds first!).

So thank you to the new friends I've met since MoP launched, the WoW developers who brought back the wonder to WoW and WarcraftPets in general. This is my niche in the game. I'll never be a world first raider or a PvP master but I can always collect pets, share my love of them with others and enjoy WoW for what it is, a game and hobby.

[Lysi]

I started playing a few months before WotLK, and it was a completely new experience for me as I'd never played anything like WoW before. I started making more toons almost immediately--I like trying out new classes, races and professions. I used to round robin through them, play each until the xp bar became purple and then move on to the next. When pets became spells, collecting these adorable little guys became a big motivation for me to play! I eventually realized I'd have to concentrate on a few toons, and quit cycling through them all, if I wanted to get to top level. I got my original dwarf pally and a troll dk to 80.

But it took me a long time to get into Cataclysm. I didn't play at all the first couple months, and when I did start playing, I tried leveling my lowbie shammy in the new "improved" Stranglethorn and I just didn't like it. Eventually I did come to like Cataclysm, particularly Uldum, and I love the new Darkmoon Faire that came out. I got 6 of my gals to 85, and even did a little end game.

I collect teddy bears, so the idea of playing a panda really appealed to me! I did something with MoP I'd never done before, logged on the first day of the expansion. With the preloaded patch Blizzard made it easy, no lag, it was great. I picked up some cheap greens that were all over the auction house, so my hunter could rock the starting area, even took down a few of the numerous elites. I already have 3 pandas, and I plan to make one more eventually, lol. The artwork in Pandaria and the Wandering Isle just blows me away. It's like walking through a painting. People have come back to the game! And I think we'll get another little surge with Christmas, from people receiving MoP as a gift.

I really appreciate the WarcraftPets guild. I've never been in a level 25 guild before, so the perks are nice. I love that I can just have a few toons there and play them when I want, even though I'm mostly busy on other servers. And with the new faster guild rep, and my monk panda's built in leveling bonuses, I'm almost to exalted just from doing dailies once and a while. So I'll be able to get Lil' Tarecgosa soon. Thanks so much for making the guild, Doob!

I think Warcraft has a bright future. I recommend the game to anyone now, even non-gamers, they've added a lot for the casual player over the years. I don't like everything about the game, but at least they do listen to some of the feedback. They never would have made it this far if they didn't. But I'm glad they ignored all the yahoos who dissed "kung fu panda" and said it would be the end of WoW.

[Wamonge]

I really appreciate the WarcraftPets guild.

[Aingealwroth]

I am thrilled with MoP and how many (old and new) players it has pulled in! So many choices, and all of them good ones, just makes it great.

Also just made an alt on Madoran for the WcP guild, enjoying it so far =)