In MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, millions of players gather. Few manage to make a name for themselves, and even fewer become legends. One of these legends is Angwe, an Orc rogue who became the scourge of the Alliance in Vanilla.
Who is the player? Angwe is an Orc rogue who played during Vanilla WoW. By that, we mean not the new WoW Classic, but actually the original WoW, back in 2005.
Unlike the legendary warrior Kungen, Angwe made a name for himself as a particularly nasty player. He is regarded as one of the greatest villains in World of Warcraft, aside from story antagonists like Arthas and Kil’jaeden.
YouTube was not as big as it is today, and Twitch didn’t even exist in that form. Consequently, there is little evidence of Angwe’s misdeeds.
Nevertheless, conversations about the nasty rogue frequently arise in the community, reminiscing about the old days or even praising his achievements. But who exactly is Angwe, after all?
“I just liked being Freddy Krueger”
What is Angwe known for? Angwe was one of the best PvP players at the time. As he explains in an AMA on reddit, he was ranked 1 or 2 on the PvP leaderboard on his server Dethecus every week.
Back then, it was still about honorable kills. Honor was only given if you defeated players at the same level in the open world. The Swamp of Sorrows was particularly notorious for huge PvP battles and ganks at that time.
However, Angwe settled in the harbor of Menethil. There, he slaughtered numerous Alliance members, both those at level 60 and absolute noobs who just wanted to level up. As he himself says, he spent 8 to 10 hours a day doing it.
“I just liked being Freddy Krueger […] I loved scaring people, making them look over their shoulders with every step. I love being the boogeyman,” Angwe reveals in an interview with PC Gamer in 2017.
Why this was particularly nasty: The harbor of Menethil was at that time the only reasonable way for Alliance players to get from the Eastern Kingdoms to Kalimdor. There was also Booty Bay, but that ship went straight to Durotar, a Horde area.
Ships from Menethil headed to Darkshore. So, if an Alliance player wanted to travel back and forth, they had to go through there. Particularly nasty: the harbor of Menethil is in an area for players level 20-30. There was always enough food for Angwe’s blades here.
Angwe often waited at the docks and slaughtered players who just wanted to get on the ship. At times, he even traveled a bit with them, killed people on the ship, and then swam back.
It got to the point where Alliance players feared going on the ships at all. They waited near the guards and only sprinted off when the boat arrived, hoping not to become Angwe’s target.
Angwe even founded his own guild called “Servants of Angwe.” Alliance players in this guild admitted to being cowards, but at least they were protected from the nasty Orc and were not his target.
“You live in your mother’s basement”
These were the reactions: Angwe created an Alliance character on a second account. On PvP servers, it was not possible to play both factions at that time. He used his character “Angwespy” to observe how his victims complained about him.
The best statements were preserved by the rogue as screenshots and uploaded them to a dedicated website. The original no longer exists, but some fan pages still showcase the chat messages and forum posts. Highlights include statements like:
- “Angwe is a mythical creature. Like Bigfoot. He’s hard to find. But when you do, you wish you were never born.”
- “I hate you so much, Angwe. You’re a damn nerd and have absolutely no life. Man, you probably live in your mother’s basement.”
- “Can’t we make some sort of agreement for you to stop killing me? Gold? Armor? XP? Anything?”
At least one guild even posted an “Anti-Angwe-Guide” in their own forum, intended to help players avoid the Orc. Angwe sneaked into the guild and trolled them from the inside out.
At the time, WoW had many more problems. See here the 5 funniest bugs in WoW’s history:
How did it end? This very Anti-Angwe guild is said to have gathered and waited for him. When he logged in one time, a true army awaited him, according to PC Gamer. He allegedly managed to take a few Alliance players to the grave before he was finally defeated. His last battle.
Shortly thereafter, Blizzard introduced battlegrounds with Patch 1.5. PvP enthusiasts could plan fights in instantiated areas, and open-world PvP became less relevant. Honor was earned in the battlegrounds.
Since players had to travel to the battlegrounds back then and could not simply teleport in, the mass of PvP players shifted toward Ashenvale and Alterac, away from Menethil.
Angwe was no longer the terror of the Alliance. He himself says that he realized that his way of playing was a waste of his life. Menethil and the Alliance were safe again.
Terrorizing entire servers – Not so easy anymore
The rogue explains that his drive came from Everquest, an older MMORPG. The tone there was much harsher, and what he did in WoW was nothing compared to the PvP in Everquest.
In the podcast with the developer of the largest German MMORPG, we talk exactly about what it’s like to be a bad player. Listen on Spotify or iTunes or tune in directly here:
WoW players were not used to such assassins, and they are still not today. Griefers are more often reported and avoided; it’s more about teamwork than annoying others. Blizzard itself even wants to promote a good atmosphere with a “social contract” and other ideas.
Also, the war between the Horde and Alliance has faded more and more into the background over the years. The factions have repeatedly allied against larger enemies, and with Patch 9.2.5, Horde and Alliance can even play together.
The days of players like Angwe are presumably numbered. This alone is due to the fact that most players today understand WoW and similar games much better. If someone were to stand somewhere, they would have someone sticking to them who is even better in no time.
We were all noobs back then, and Angwe was just a bit better. He himself says that today he would be properly owned. We have all gotten a lot better:
