World of Warcraft

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World of Warcraft (commonly known as WoW) is a fantasy-set pay-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment that is one of the most popularly played online games by furries and non-furries alike.

World of Warcraft and furry[edit]

The game, while focused on a few main main plots, such as the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance and the demonic Burning Legion that wishes to eradicate all life or the Old Gods legions, features several races and characters of furry interest.

Playable Races[edit]

Four main playable races feature anthropomorphic features:

  • Pandaren, a race of chubby anthropomophic pandas. Unique feature is the option of chosing which faction join.

Faction leaders of both side maintain a relatively moderate attitude to the faction conflicts.

  • Worgen, werewolves with the ability to (and the option to not) transform between their wolf and human forms. Players can stay in their chosen form for as long as they wish. Alliance race, their backhistory centered on the fallen human realm of Gilneas: among the Alliance, the Worgen leadership (King Genn Greymane) it is fiercely hostile to the Horde.
  • Draenei, a race of alien beings that feature several animal traits, such as digitigrade legs, hooves, horns, and tails. Alliance race, many players pick Paladin or Priest as class because of the connection with the sacred Light.
  • Tauren, anthropomorphic cattle that greatly resemble Minotaurs. These Tauren hold a lot of totem spiritualism that is similar to some furry spirituality. Horde race, the largest and physically strongest playable race, despite providing a solid presence in all Horde campaigns, the leadership of chief Baine Bloodhoof aim for a diplomatic solution with the Alliance and join together against common foes.

Additionally two new anthropomorphic races are introduced after Legion expansion as "Allied races": they can be unlocked after completing quests with an existing character:

  • Vulpera, a race of diminutive foxes introduced in the Battle for Azeroth expansion. To unlock the race, it is required another character. They joined the ranks of the Horde after positive interactions in Vol'dun. Resourceful nomads of desert with no fixed home, some unalligned Vulpera dedicated themselves to sea piracy.
  • Lightforged Draenei, as their normal cousins but with pale skin, golden light eyes and tattoos, joining the ranks of the Alliance.

Players of different factions cannot directly communicate with the rival races. All races come with both male and female designs (no gender has benefits or disadvantages over the other), themed voice taunts and emotes, for example /silly will make the character say a randomly selected joke. As a worgen player you have the chance to say "Are you into...furries?".

The anthropomorphic versions of the Druid 'cat form' ability in World of Warcraft.

Playable Classes[edit]

Druid[edit]

The Tauren, Night Elves, Worgen and Trolls may choose Druid as their character class. As a Druid, a character learns the ability to morph into several different animal forms (anthropomophic or non-anthropomorphic):

  • Bear (non-anthropomorphic), which imitates the Warrior class by using Rage instead of Mana to power abilities.
  • Sea lion / Orca (non-anthropomorphic), which allows the Druid the travel to travel swiftly and breathe underwater (called Aquatic Form in game)
  • Cat (anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic), one of the "Big Cat" species (Lion, Tiger, Panther), which imitates the Rogue class by using Energy instead of mana, as well as combo points and stealth. The cat form is non-anthropomorphic by default, but the player may choose to change to a anthropomorphic form (called 'Claws of Shirvallah' in game).
  • Stag / Cheetah (non-anthropomorphic), which increases the Druid's movement speed but limiting the player's actions (called Travel Form in game)
  • Raven (non-anthropomorphic), which allows the druid to fly (called Flight Form in game)

Players can stay in these shapeshift forms for as long as they wish.

The new Allied Race introduced in Battle for Azeroth, the Zandalari Trolls, use unique Druid trolls akin to dinosaurs.

Additionally, Druids who choose to specialize in balance are able to transform into a Moonkin, an anthropomophic owl-bear-stag hybrid, until canceled. Druids who specialize restoration are able to transform into a treant (anthropomorphic tree, called Tree of Life Form in game).

All forms except aquatic form vary in appearance depending on the character's race. Additionally, some forms vary in fur color depending on the character's hair/fur color when in their normal (non-shapeshifted humanoid) form. In bear form, Night elves retain their long elf ears, while Tauren still have their horns. In moonkin form, the differences are basically the same as bear form, except Tauen receive horns instead of antlers. The differences for cat form are more extreme: Taurens become lions with horns, Trolls become tigers, and Night Elves become panthers with their long elf ears. For flight form, Night Elves are black while Tauren are brown.

Screenshot of the 2 forms of the Shaman 'Ghost wolf' in World of Warcraft

Shaman[edit]

Shamans within the game (a playable class) hold a spiritual bond with wolves (especially the orcs), and players who choose to be the Shaman class acquire the spell Ghost Wolf, which, as the name implies, transforms the character into a spectral wolf until canceled, increasing their movement speed but limiting the actions the character can perform, almost exactly like travel form for Druids.

Pets and Animal Companions[edit]

Combat Pets[edit]

The Hunter, (a playable class), has the ability to take one or more of many of the beasts in the game as a combat pet (but the Hunter may only have one pet out at a time). Among the hundreds of beasts who can be charmed and trained in this manner are bears, felines, and wolves. Hunters have the option to name and rename their pet as they wish. The hunter can choose to feed their pet in order to heal it, and the food the pet will eat depends on its species, although meat is a common diet among most pets.

Battle Pets[edit]

Additionally, all players (of any class) can collect, keep, and summon 600+ types of "battle pets", which act as non-combatant companions. Pets can be named and renamed at will. Each player can only summon one battle pet at a time. Battle pets can battle each other with a Pokemon-style gameplay mechanic, but cannot partake in world combat.

Anthropomorphism in World of Warcraft[edit]

In terms of non-playable races, the game actually holds a surprising amount of anthropomorphics:

Other non-anthropomorphic races of interest:

The game also contains many species of non-fantasy, non-anthropomorphic animals.

Reverse fursona[edit]

The red dragon Korialstrasz from the Warcraft lore and his persona Krasus, a high elf mage.

On an interesting note, mature and powerful dragons in World of Warcraft often assume a humanoid form, that being their persona. The dragons do this while mingling among the mortals in order to avoid attention. Like fursonas, the persona of each dragon is unique and personal, going beyond being just a simple disguise.

Examples of dragons and their personas are:

  • Korialstrasz - Krasus (high elf)
  • Kalecgos - Kalec (half-elf)
  • Mordenaku - Mordenai (blood elf)
  • Nefarian - Lord Victor Nefarius (human)
  • Onyxia - Lady Katrana Prestor (human)
  • Vaelastrasz - Vaelan (human)
  • Deathwing - (Undead)
  • Malygos - (high-elf)

Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman[edit]

Some other noteworthy anthropomorphic uses in World of Warcraft are a few select bosses in the raid dungeons of Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman. In Zul'Gurub, a few bosses will invoke their Primal God during the encounter, transforming the boss into an anthropomorphic version of the animal that their respective Primal God represents. Zul'Aman is similar, but the bosses are always in the anthropomorphic form.

Hakkar the Soulflayer, wind serpent blood god and final boss of Zul'Gurub.

The bosses and the animals they represent are the following:

Furry or furry-friendly guilds[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

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