The above picture is the first screenshot I ever took in World of Warcraft. It’s Darkbrew turning 80, and it was taken on December 7, 2008. I don’t know what made me decide at that moment to take a screenshot, but I did. I wasn’t blogging or podcasting yet, so it was not something I envisioned posting or sharing anywhere. It was just something I thought I should do.
I don’t know why it took fours year of playing WoW to make take a screenshot, but it did. You’d think that in four years of playing WoW I might have accidentally hit the print screen key, but no, this was my first screen shot.
It’s not a particularly interesting or creative screen shot, but there are many things I like about it.
At the time I was still using the default UI. My abilities were scattered across the bars in seemingly random order. Most of them don’t appear to be keybound, I suspect that I clicked on everything, even the ones that were.
There are a lot of old Hunter abilities that no longer exist. On the right is Eyes of the Beast. I see melee abilities like Raptor Strike and Wing Clip. I don’t think I actually used them, but I can’t say for sure. Look at all those Aspects! I’m using Dragonhawk in the picture.
There’s Serpent Sting, and the old Viper Sting. And look Volley and Gorilladin! Something I still miss today. There are mana potions, because we used mana back then. I see my goggles on the toolbar. I don’t remember what on-use function they had.
Misdirection is on there twice, no idea why. I see that my bags are getting full, in part due to having to carry the handful of mounts you seen on my bars. I have plenty of ammo for shooting things, with what looks like Hemet’s Trophy Gun. I also have a 2-handed weapon equipped. I know it’s a bit obscured, but 10 points to the one who guesses what weapon it is. Go!
Wrath of the Lich King was my favorite expansion by far. Not because of the content. I think the game has vastly improved since then. No, it’s my favorites because of the people I played with and the commitment I made to learning Hunter class. It was in Wrath that I fundamentally changed how I viewed and played the game.
When I look at this picture I see all the elements of how I used to play, with a hint of what’s to come. As I said, it may not be the most interesting screen shot, but it conveys a lot.
I wonder what emotions this screen shot will stir up in another ten years?
Ah gorilladin…
I still have ammo in my bank, for nostalgia.
Wrath was a lot of fun for me as well, for many of the same reasons you gave.