Playing WoW when it was released was great ! Probably better than multi-boxing heroics now. I had very little experience of MMOs, I had tried EverQuest and EverQuest2, but I never go sucked into it. WoW was a revelation. An MMO that's not trying to look realistic but "moves" well, with a great world and amazing lore. I took a 6 months subscription after less than a week.

What WoW had then that it will never have anymore, is complete novelty. I am part of these people who actually find it a pleasure to read quests, have to understand and think about where to go, look for things, etc ... It was great to be surprised every couple minutes.

Some snapshots of moments I remember :

- Bumping into a Gnome for the first time (I was playing a Night Elfe) : OMG, it's tiny.
- Realizing at level 8 or something, that gear can be repared, no need to replace it.
- Seeing for the first time a character on a mount : Sweeeeeeeet, want one ...
- Bumping into a horde player and wondering why I could not talk to him (I was PVE until RP-PVP server were introduced).
- Looking up on the net that a mount is 100g : OMG, I will NEVER have enough gold, EVER ...
- Applying to Azerothian Trade Union, and being accepted to what is still the nicest online gaming community I know.
- Getting my first blue drop !

Getting to level 60 was hard and long, demanded efforts. People would give a "party" in Ironforge to celebrate their level 60, bying beers to other characters, shoting fireworks, etc ...

It was just good. WoW is still a great game, but honestly, not quite as good as it was back then.

Of course, I never saw the end-game because it was just not possible without being in an active raiding guild, in that sense I enjoy myself much more now.

Bha, I like levelling anyway. I cannot wait for Cataclysm and 5 more long unseen levels !