Every Now and Then, Something Brings Me Back to How it Began

After checking out Blizzard's upcoming charity auction, I've been hit with a huge sense of nostalgia. I'm pretty attached to my server for many reasons, so finding it on the giant list of servers and seeing what the original piece of hardware that it ran on looks like... well let's just say I couldn't help but smirk a little. The stories that thing would tell if only it could talk.

My entire WoW experience was fortunate and lucky. I spent the entire duration on a single server surrounded by friends, acquaintances, and guildmates. The server that I'm still apart of holds many memories, from raiding, farming, questing, alts, silly games and contests, and last but not least pet collecting! I can only hope that there will be many more fond memories (and tons of companions to add to my army) to be had in the years to come.

So, a couple questions: In all of the past expansions, which has been my favorite and most memorable in terms of pure aesthetics? That's a tough one and it's a close tie between BC and WotLK. When it comes down to it, though, I'm going to have to go with WotLK.

I remember being one of the first few to head into Storm Peaks while leveling to 80, and it was EPIC. Nevermind the lore or the loot; just the environment and terrain itself took my breath away. There weren't that many players in that area yet, so it felt like I had the entire zone to myself. Soaring above the snow-covered peaks, flying in and out of giant caves and tunnels... it's definitely hard to put the experience into words, much less recapture that feeling of absolutely amazement. It was like really seeing the game for what it was for the first time.

In all of the past expansions, which has been my favorite and most memorable in terms of pet collecting? This is a no-brainer for me! It would have to be Burning Crusade. It was a time period where my collecting obsession truly took form. I remember spending hours each day just grinding away at mobs until certain pets dropped.

The most memorable pet during that time period would have to be the Firefly. I'm sure I've shared this story countless times before. :P

At that time, the pet had flavor text that read "Still flying..." and as soon as I found out it was a small tip of the hat to the tv show of the same name, I had to have it no matter how long it took. (Yes, I'm a Firefly groupie :P)

I spent at least 3 to 4 days, 4 to 6 hours each sitting, killing the mobs in Zangarmarsh. It felt endless and almost hopeless, but I couldn't stop. Not after I had already put in so much effort into grinding out mob after mob. It got to the point where I figured that even if I did get it to drop, I would loathe it for being such a stubborn and difficult pet. Yet when it finally did appear in my inventory, I was absolutely overjoyed. All the hours spent of tirelessly hunting for it seemed to melt away as I excitedly began to take screenshots and run around like an idiot with my newest family member. Definitely one of the most memorable pet acquisitions.

Each expansion has given me a unique and unforgettable companion memory, though. Too many to list, and too many to name, but they're all there in my mind. If there's anything in game that could represent my WoW experience as a whole, it would be my pet collection. The gear, the loot, the misc things that I collect are all apart of my journey too, but my companions hold an especially large sentimental value to me. Spanning so many expansions, levels, zones, etc... it's a testament to my growth as an in-game character as well as a persion IRL.