Witch Doctor

One fateful morning in February 2007, my little troll shaman walked her first steps in Azeroth. It was the very first time I played World of Warcraft, and she was my very first character. Learning how to walk and jump was easy enough and pretty soon I was happily tossing lightning bolts in all directions. The camera controls took a little longer to master, so my first few screenshots look disappointingly boring.

Truth to be told, it was never my intention to continue playing. The idea was that I would play for two weeks, enough time to satisfy my curiosity about the game, and then let the trial period expire.

Fast forward a couple of months. My trial period did indeed expire, I turned it into a paid account, and today I’m still playing. I take comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in falling for this cleverly laid-out trap. Damn you, Blizzard.

What’s more, my main character is still the same little troll. Except that she’s not so little anymore, I dang 70 with her four weeks ago. (The correct usage of the verb “to ding”: I ding, I dang, I have dung. Don’t tell yourself otherwise.)

I think now is a good time to look back and write down the lessons I have learned over the past couple of months. Enjoy your stay.