Murlocs are among the most well-known enemies in World of Warcraft – and not just because they can be found almost everywhere. Their behavior and especially their strange gurgling have caused memes since Vanilla. MeinMMO explains where the sound comes from, which still takes your breath away in Classic.
Update: It has now been clarified that the Murloc sound, despite several reports, does not come from Bob Fitch but from Tracy Bush. There was a joke at Blizzard that “Bob did everything” – and that is not true.
What kind of sound is that?
- Murlocs are a fish-like species that somewhat resemble (more or less) upright-running frogs. These creatures are so known and beloved, that they even have their own world in Dragonflight.
- They communicate in a language called “Nerglish”, which consists of guttural gurgling sounds.
- Their most famous call can be heard when you attack a Murloc and goes: “Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!”, with the correct spelling being sought by players for years.
That’s why the sound causes fear: Murlocs are known to attack in large groups. You usually cannot pull just one Murloc; as soon as you attack one, you have the whole village on your heels. And if not, friends and relatives will join as soon as the Murloc flees, and you can’t kill it in time.
They are considered the deadliest enemies, especially in early levels, at least in WoW Classic. Especially in hardcore mode, where every death is permanent, players are extremely cautious when they have to kill Murlocs.
At least every player who played before Cataclysm and doesn’t know exactly what happens when a Murloc attacks him will flee as soon as he hears the gurgling.
The most dangerous enemy in WoW was probably a plague that nearly wiped out all players:
“That was this man, as he gargles yogurt”
Fans have been speculating for some time about where the famous sound of the Murlocs actually comes from. Allegedly this was already explained in the Making Of Vanilla WoW almost 20 years ago, but we cannot verify that.
Former Blizzard employee Jason T. Hall has now dug up the origin again. In his stream, he explains: the developer Bob Fitch is responsible for the sound of the Murlocs (via YouTube).
Fitch has been with Blizzard since 1992 and has worked on Warcraft 1-3, StarCraft, and Diablo among others. The Murloc call is said to have originated by Fitch gargling into a microphone with his mouth full of yogurt.
Whether this is actually true is hard to confirm. Other fans have spread this statement years ago. We have also inquired with Blizzard, but are currently still waiting for a response.
However, Jason T. Hall is considered a fairly reliable source when it comes to Blizzard matters. He worked for 6 years and 6 months at Blizzard, mainly in the security field. For some time, he has been drawing attention with his own company Pirate Software and with his Twitch stream, where he has explained among other things, that a horse brought Blizzard more revenue than all of StarCraft 2.
