World of Warcraft was almost universally praised by critics[51] upon release, following a period of high anticipation before launch.[54] Although the game follows a similar model to others in the genre[14] and was noted for having many familiar concepts from roleplaying games,[53] the new approaches to reduce pauses between game encounters was well liked.[22] A common example was the new approach to character death; in previous MMORPGs a player would suffer a high penalty for character death, while in WoW a player would be able to recover and start playing quickly.[14] Combat was another area where “downtime” or pauses between play were reduced. By allowing all character types to recover from damage taken, players could return to combat quickly.[22] It was felt that these changes in pacing would make the genre more accessible to casual players, who would be able to play for short periods and still achieve something,[22] while still having a depth of game that would attract players at all levels of interest in the genre.[24] The concept of a “rested bonus”, or increasing the rate at which a player’s character gains experience was also welcomed as a way for players to quickly catch up with their friends[14]
Questing was described as an integral part, often being used to continue a storyline or lead the player through the game.[22] The high number of quests in each location was popular, as well as the rewards for completing them.[14] It was felt that the range of quests removed the need for a player to “grind” or carry out repetitive tasks in order to advance their character.[24] Quests also seemed to require players to explore every section of the game world, potentially causing problems for social gamers or roleplayers seeking somewhere quiet.[22] Quests that required the player to collect items from the corpses of creatures they had killed were also unpopular, with a low “drop rate” or chance of finding the items required making them feel repetitive as a high number of creatures would need to be killed in order to complete the quest.[24] Some critics mentioned a lack of quests that required players to group up made the game feel as if it was designed for solo play,[56] while others complained that some dungeon or instance-based group quests were not friendly to new players and could take several hours to complete.[24] Upon release, a small number of quests had errors or bugs that would make them impossible to complete,[14] while the large number of new players in a particular area meant that there were often no creatures to kill,[22] or that players would have to wait and take turns to kill a particular creature in order to complete a quest.[14]
Characters were felt to be implemented well, with each class option appearing “viable and interesting”, having unique and different mechanisms,[56] and each of the races having a distinct look and feel.[14] Character development was also liked, with the talent mechanism offering choice to players[53] and profession options being praised.[14] Character customization options were felt to be low,[24] but the detail of character models was praised.[54]
The appearance of the game world was praised by critics. Most popular was the feature that a player could run from one end of the continent to the other without having to pause at a “loading screen” while part of the game is retrieved from storage.[54] The environment was described as “breathtaking”, with players finding it difficult to become lost and each area in the game world having a distinct look that blends from one to the next.[22] Critics described the environment as “a careful blend of cartoon, fantasy art, and realism”.[53] The game was found to run smoothly on a range of systems,[14] although some described it as basic[22] and mentioned that the bloom graphics effect can blur things.[24] Having said that, one reviewer described being able to fly over long stretches of scenery as “very atmospheric”.[56] The user interface was liked, being described as “simple”, with tooltips helping to get the player started.[14]
The audio was well received, particularly the background music. By assigning music to different areas of the game world, reviewers felt that the fantasy style added to immersion[53] and that the replay value was increased.[24] The sounds and voices used by characters and NPCs, as well as the overall sound effects were felt to add a “personality” to the game.[53]
World of Warcraft won several awards from critics upon release, including Editor’s Choice awards.[24][14] In addition, it won several annual awards from the media, being described as the best game in the RPG and MMORPG class.[59] The graphics and audio were also praised in the annual awards, with the cartoonish style[60] and overall sound makeup[61] being noted. The game was also awarded Best Mac OS X Entertainment Product at the 2005 Apple Design Awards.[62] Finally, World of Warcraft was recognised at the 2005 Spike TV Video Game Awards, where it won Best PC Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best RPG and Most Addictive Game.[63] In 2008, World of Warcraft was honoured (along with Neverwinter Nights and EverQuest) at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the art form of MMORPG games.[64]
World of Warcraft was the best-selling PC game of 2005 and 2006.[65] As of January 22, 2008, World of Warcraft has surpassed 10 million subscribers worldwide, with more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and about 5.5 million in Asia.[66