Not too long ago, against my better judgement, I got into an argument with a couple people online about the amount of story and lore in World of Warcraft. The user You_2 wrote that WoW lacks a "progressive" story. To be more specific he said:

"Plot and backstory are two completely different things. Sure if you're obsessed about something you can prob find a whole book on it somewhere. And I'm not saying that WoW has no plot whatsoever. If you read my previous comment I stated that it lacks a "progressive" storyline. I've played through both the Warcraft games (which did have a progressive story) and WoW, and WoW really lacked the "progressive" side that a good plot requires to pull you in. You shouldn't have to read thousands of pages of lore. A good developer incorporates an enthralling plot seamlessly into a game."

Now the user named morgonstjarnan went on to say:

"And the fact the you say World of Warcraft has the best story EVAR tells me you are, also, "either A:Illiterate, B:Ignorant, or C:Never played video games at all." Seriously, WoW is an enormous success, but because people have great time playing with their friends, not because it tugs at your heartstrings reading the lines of text about how you need to collect more candles by rekilling respawning kobolds. Compared to Planescape, Uncharted, or Mass Effect, only a 12 year old could think the story of WoW is "the best", bad guy named "Deathwing" included. Lolz, really?"

Ok now I am going to give both of you people and anyonereading a little tidbit of info. Direct your browser to the World of Warcraft website. Find the section where the Lore is. Read it. When you are done reading ALL OF IT, come back here and continue to read this.

Finished reading? Now let me remind you that what you just read is everything that happened in the World of Warcraft prior to the game even launching. Ok, let me address You_2. First you tell me that plot and backstory are two different things. I will not link another definition from websters but let me just say that a BACKSTORY is PART OF THE PLOT. Without backstory there CAN BE NO PLOT. Now as for that magic word "progressive", lets define it shall we? Websters.com says this:

1pro·gres·sive adj \prə-ˈgre-siv

Definition of PROGRESSIVE

1a: of, relating to, or characterized by progress

Now we will need to define "progress".1prog·ress noun \ˈprä-grəs, -ˌgres, US also & British usually ˈprō-ˌgres\Definition of PROGRESS1a (1): a royal journey marked by pomp and pageant (2): a state procession b: a tour or circuit made by an official (as a judge) c: an expedition, journey, or march through a region 2: a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal) 3: gradual betterment; especially: the progressive development of humankind

Now since the first meaning clearly doesn't fit let us assume you are referring to 2 and 3. World of Warcraft has no forward moving story you say? Really? Let me give you a very brief rundown of plot changes since WoW launched. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt even and start with just Burning Crusade.

Burning Crusade: The Burning Legion returns. Illidan is finally killed, after years of struggle. Kil Jaeden is almost brought to Azeroth. These all seem to be evolving huh?

Wrath of the Lich King: Seeking to finally put and end to the Lich King and the Scourge, the Alliance and Horde leaders, along with the help of the Kirin Tor, take on Icecrown Citadel. After a highly climactic battle, Arthas is finally killed. But guess what? We find out that there has to be a Lich King or all hell will break loose. So as to not ruin the story for anyone who hasn't see it I won't spoil the surprise, but lets just say someone else takes the throne. Seems like an evolution to me...

Cataclysm: Deathwing returns to Azeroth. The world is shattered. What is left is an Azeroth on the brink of chaos. Really sounds like an evolution to me.

These are the most BASIC summaries I can give, and the actual plot changes with each expansion are enormous. Anyone who can't see that is really truly stupid. If you people would actually read the quest text instead of just accepting and following Quest Helper everywhere, you would know these plot details. So to You_2 and morgonstjarnan thank you for showing us how smart you really are! Oh and btw You_2 there were more than 2 other Warcraft games. Really you are a smart cookie though.