The worst thing about being in the golden years of something, is that you only know they were the golden years after.

dang it carbot, i came here to laugh not to cry

90% of the magic has faded away, but there are kids out there doing exactly what we did but in different games. Making lifelong friendships through the video games that we play, and these years will be the golden years for *them* .

It hurts. So unbelievably accurate. No game has impacted my life more than this one

16 years ago during vanilla, I met this little tauren druid leveling near crossroads on the server Vashj-EU, he asked me if I could help him kill some quillboars for this one quest. I said sure, and we became friends. 16 years later and we're still best friends and have met up several times irl since he is luckily from Sweden and myself from Denmark.

It’s amazing how the same music that made it feel extra happy in the beginning made it feel extra sad near the end.

When you pug a dungeon, it's rare anyone even says "hi" or "thank you" at the end. It's just run thru as quickly as possible and leave group as fast as humanly possible.

Having that box in your hand along with the time card is a feeling that I’ve long forgotten. It was just different kind of emotion that I will probably never experience in my life again. Now I know I’m not the only one with this type of nostalgia.

This hurt... so much more than I expected it to.

-Father.. is it.. over?.. -At long last, no game rules forever my son. -I see only monetization before me...

Don't cry because it's over - smile because it happened.

I'm late but, this made me cry. I miss this time so much, 14 years of my life that will never happen again in another game. So many friends come and gone. Thanks for the memories ❤

So depressing. So accurate. Sincerely, a decade-long guild leader, now standing alone.

Man, this hit way too close to home...

I was playing retail one day and saw a group of low levels running through Elwyn Forrest I joined their party and they where talking up a storm in party chat asking me questions and seemed amazed by some of the things I was saying. They started playing the game for the first time about 2 days prior and they said the game was amazing and that they’ve been having a blast. Everytime they got some item that wasn’t actually worth a damn they would be stellar about it. Anytime they saw someone fly by on a store mount they were in aw. New zones got them hyped. And it brought a since of peace and acceptance to my mind. Ya the magic is gone for us who have been playing for 8+ years but there are still new players who come and get to experience the magic for the first time and that made me really happy kinda like a mentor passing the torch to their apprentice. It’s not the same magic but it instills the same feeling we all had way back when. I hope that group is still going strong it’s been about a month since I saw them.

I feel like after watching this, that this characterizes "it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all" better than anything else. It's so sad what this game has become, but I'm so glad I was there from the beginning

This video does not feel like it's just three minutes long.

Bravo. Fucking bravo. You've hit the nail on the heat, and done so with beauty.

the feels.... I miss my friends.. I wonder where they all are right now.

Hits the feels.. 2004-2008 my life was world of warcraft.. dived in and didn't look back. Great times.

a piece of my soul is still wandering in those lands ... it will never be forgotten

With how much stuff you have done in support of blizzard and together with them I’m surprised you could create such a critically damning video of them. That takes a lot of balls.

To the guy I met 15 years ago in Stranglethorn Vale, we leveled up together from 40 to 70 during Burning Crusade. I MISS YOU

I found this video today and it just really hit me in the feels. I still remember all of the fun I had in Vanilla, BC and WoTLK - all of the lifelong friends I made (and lost). My best friend - met in-game in Vanilla to originally raid Molten Core together. I went to a board game night over the weekend with two people, both of whom I met in WoW. WoW had a huge impact on my life (both good and bad). Just remember all of the hours on Vent just talking to people as we played. And then Cataclysm came and that was honestly the beginning of the end - stopped raiding hardcore (WoTLK I was raiding ~5 nights a week and just burned out). MoP happened and I still played regularly but it was more like 30 minutes - hour a night. WoD came out and the new games and I just was like "this isn't the game I signed up for" and stopped playing. My life revolved around WoW for probably 6 years or so. I still miss those times but now my life has changed and I have new interests and people in it because of this game.

This is the most critical of Blizzard that I’ve ever seen Carbot be.

When the friends slowly disappeared. I felt that :(

And the truth shall set you free...2005 24/7 player who quit mid Cata. Came back for classic. I was literally addicted and the way I found my way out was downloading the sound tracks from the games on my ipod and went for walks listening to them. Escape was easy afterwards.

Omg I actually cried during this . Over an effing game. But up to BFA the stories and the people got me through one of the toughest times of my life. I’ll always be grateful for that. Sounds so over the top but I feel like I’m probably not the only one. ❤

This doesn't just hits close to home. This is more like break and entry.

100% nailed it. Been here since 2005 and you summarized the shifts in community, interactions, and gameplay perfectly. I feel like a big thing WoW originally had going for it at the start was how the internet was still a bit of a novelty but now there's so much competition and it's oversaturated and it doesn't feel as magical. Oh well. Great cartoon tho CB

This hit me really hard, man. That first minute into the video is some of the happiest moments of my life.

We all have our definitive golden years of World of Warcraft. Mine were 2006-2010. I was there to see the BC portal open, made friends that have come and gone. I am left with irreplaceable memories, thank you, WoW players.

This is beautiful. I started in november 2004. My dad had always been a gamer since i can remember him playing warcraft 1 and diablo, he got me WoW for me as a year 12 graduation present, i was 18. He soon became hooked. He made a guild and they raided from vanilla through to Lich King. Those nights of him raiding and the excitment he had made me feel so happy. I miss you dad. I miss wow during its glory days. I have a family of my own now but my kids dont even know what wow is. Feels like a life time ago. Ill never forget those years.

This is so cute and depressing. Fuck.

I come back every now and then to re-watch this. Just to relive the nostalgia. It hurts every time, I just want to go back.

Played from the very beginning. And this video hit it on the head. My guild had one steadfast rule - in order to join, you had to know at least one person in the guild in real life. So we had a tightly-knit crew. We even travelled to meet up outside the game for huge party/gathering/picnic/ etc. about once a year, which was awesome. And yes, they did start to fade away eventually. Cataclysm had to be the most aptly named expansion ever, because that's where it all started to fade. I still dabble, but almost all of those people are now grayed out names on a guild roster that haven't logged on in years. I miss it, but I'm glad to at least have been part of it.

I'm not even a WoW player but this was damn sad...

This is visual depression hidden with nostalgia.

I've played since TBC, and I'm not ashamed to say this hit so close to home I actually teared up. This is the most accurate and poetic representation of what I, and I assume my fellow old heads have been feeling for quite some time. Thank you.

This is the world for an old man. You watch everything change around you and all your allies fade away. May the light be with you.

I had a NE hunter in a PvP realm and once saw someone with the rare echeyakee white lion pet. The moment I saw it I wanted it so bad. I heard I had to run to barrens to get it. After an epic journey on foot I finally got to the spawn location and only then realized after reading more details online it could only be spawned by a horde quest. I was so disappointed. It just so happened an undead player was running past me and instead of him attacking me, and me attacking him, I jumped up and down and /pointed to the area where echeyakee spawned. He /nodded to me, then told me to /wait. He ran off...and after 15 minutes of almost giving up, he came back, spawned echeyakee and I tamed him! I will never meet this player or know who he/she was, but memories like these stick with you forever and anyone who never played WoW could ever understand the impact these moments have on us.

When leveling my first character I had a feral druid guild member who would always do dungeons and their quests with me. Back then this was quite the hassle as you often had to finish long quest chains to grab them, assemble a decent party, walk to the dungeon and be able to finish it. Not that I am complaining, it felt awesome. I did not have much knowledge about the game, and one day asked my guild chat if rogues could have pets. They knew of our leveling bond and jokingly said Kioshiro, the druid, was my pet as he would follow me around prowling like a pet would. We ended up being close ingame, but after some time life had forced me to leave World of Warcraft and I lost contact. When I came back he no longer played. This silly interaction is one of my warmest memories in World of Warcraft.

Its sad to see something you loved so much slowly get its soul sucked out of until the only thing that is left is the empty husk of what was, RIP WOW

I have never played WoW until the last few weeks. My girlfriend lives half way across the world from me atm and she suggested we play it, having been in it from the start. We are playing classic together. I have never experienced something like this tbh, it's amazing. And i am just very thankful that I can share it with her.

When the party members started fading away, I felt that.

This is literally the most depressing thing Carbot has ever animated. And I saw the last episode of StarCrafts.

Exactly how it felt, the awe of going into the world, passing into the dark portal, seeing the lich king, then slowly start seeing people fade away. Well done. Almost brought a tear to my eye.

This will never be forgotten

This got more views and likes than WoW's latest patch trailer.

Dude, you got my highest respects for posting this video while knowing that Blizzard endorse your videos (used them at Blizzcon etc). This was spot-on and almost made me shed a tear. The original WoW without any expansions was one of the best experiences a gamer could have had.

As arthas father sed: "no king rules forever".

The emotion in this is... incredible. Almost teary. So true.

You know it's serious when he doesn't put any of his usually goofy stuff in, like the car horn at the beginning, or his channel plug.

Years of joy, memories, and disappointment captured in one tear-jerking slideshow

It was truly magical indeed

So many memories... So so many. Thank you old school well for all the great things you've done. You will be missed. Thanks carbot. You encapsulated it perfectly.

This is such an emotional roller-coaster video

i remember playing a troll warrior back in 2004-2005 questing in eastern plaguelands, i was minding my own business killing mobs when this other warrior came out of nowhere and were battling for straight 2-3mins and this undead priest joined the fray and whispered me "keep fighting, i got your back" we were victorius, we started to talk to each other and we become friends trough tbc and wotlk, he quit in ToGC patch. We had so many adventures together! if you are reading this bloodlife - Emerald Dream know that your friend shrekfriend still remember you!

This is such a brilliant way to convey your message. Thank you. Made me cry a little.

I legitimately started weeping as the friends started disappearing and haven't stopped since. It's been 3 years.

Carbot: "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed."

New players: let me guess. Your home ? Old players: it was. And it was beautiful

im not crying, your crying

Song choice really nails home the feels

This video really hits home, especially as expansions went on and friends became less and less. The sweetest and most amazing person I ever met got lost somewhere in time and space and I miss her dearly, Shadlina. A Night Elf Druid, we used to play on Bloodhoof, and I myself a Night Elf Rogue at the time. She had a stroke at a young age and I remember our guild did everything it could to make sure she would be there doing the end game content with us no matter what. I can't believe the memories we hold so deeply buried within from the people we've met along the way. I miss you Shadlina, wherever you may be. Know that I never forgot about you.

Someone needs to hijack the next blizzcon and play this on the big screen.

This is beautiful, and sad. Thank you for putting together this truly meaningful tribute to the game.

Brings a tear to my eyes. WoW changed my life. I love Carbot Animations! /hug all

I cancelled my sub 3 days ago. I was born and raised in Istanbul. When I was a kid my dream was to work for Blizzard. I am 31 one now, made all the right moves for my life goals and now I live in Long Beach and work in Orange county. My work is 20 minutes away from Blizzard HQ but I have never been so far away from the place where I wanted to be the most.

We met in Thousand Needles in 2005, he died in 2013. I miss you so much. RIP Chameleon.

I started in 2004 of November. Watching this made me big sad! I was only a Sophomore in high school and I lived and breathed this game. All the amazing people I met throughout the years. Sadly my journey ended in MoP in Throne of Thunder. My guild…after so many years together finally ran its course and we slowly dropped one by one until there was basically a hand full of us and then now just me… I miss those days so much, I would give anything to feel that “feeling” again, to hear those voices I’ve grown to care for and loved for many years. You new gamers will never understand how this game and many others at the time changed the world for us boomers.

I started with cata but joined classic as it released. Iam from germany and met some guy from africa. we leveled into bc launch together and kept leveling most of the time until 6-7am (my timezone). we lost each other but damn this was such a magical time. I hope he's doing alright.

This legit made me cry. I never got to play like the veterans did in Vanilla because I started in Cataclysm, but, I had A LOT of friends in Cata I'd always group up with and figure stuff out with. I desperately miss the days of actual companionship and friends amongst the community... Now it's just so lifeless and boring and even the Roleplay servers seem dead despite being one of the more populated types of servers.

This is a 2 minutes and 48 seconds video that represents millions of players. CarbonAnimations, you just nailed it every piece of frame.

holy shit the video is incredibly sad. My best memory was farming gold in Burning Crusade for the Flight Instructor. Eventually the guild put half together for me. Something like that is completely surreal today if you add the inflation of gold.

this is me in 2023, started playing classic era again and I am having the time of my life again

Remember when everyone used to spam ''WoW KILLER'' when a new mmo was being released? WoW killed itself, the irony ...

Still crying while watching this 8 months later. That's all. Thank you Carbot. 2 years later, not playing anymore and still cryin' ...

im glad i get to experience somewhat of this feeling in classic since i never played classic, the player interactions really make it to something special

It made me so nostalgic and sad. Sad to know that I will never find anywhere the sensations of the beginning of wow. The Internet has changed, the games have changed, I have changed. But damn, only good memories

My friend from my hometown and I had a small guild that we formed during Mists of Pandaria when a whole bunch of the old group decided to start playing again - not sure why we started again, but it remains my favourite expansion. Almost everyone stopped except my friend and I, who used it as a way to catch up since we couldn't travel and visit each other. We kept playing, mostly just chatting while exploring old content and unlocking random achievements - I maxed out every class and unlocked Loremaster while playing with him. Even though he got married and had kids to look after, we'd still find time to play every so often. Then, finally, BFA came out. I bought it, leveled my toon to max, realised I wasn't enjoying the game as much, but figured that it was mostly that my friend wasn't playing with me. He'd made it to level 114, which made sense, as his time was more limited than my own. I leveled a second character to match him so we could play together when he had the time. He never logged back on. I messaged him after I hadn't seen him online for a bit, and he said that he just wasn't finding it enjoyable any more, and with his limited available free time he had decided to spend his time doing things he enjoyed. We told each other we'd meet up again at some point soon IRL - we didn't - and that was it. The game felt emptier without him in it, and the last thing that was keeping me from realising that I wasn't enjoying the game any more was gone. I disliked the microtransactions, the lack of community, the clunky PVP, and the mechanics designed around getting you to play every three days felt like a chore, and made me anxious... Before the anxiety curdled into resentment at Blizzard for introducing increasingly obvious gambling/FOMO mechanics in place of trusting in the quality of their game. I stopped playing before the various scandals hit, but the scandals solidfied my decsion. I eventually uninstalled Battle.net (or whatever its called nowadays), and it's only videos like this that reminds me that when I was ten years old I'd pretend to be sick so I could play more Warcraft 2. Thanks for the nostalgia.

Every time I watch this video I cry. Such a good representation of a journey so many of us will never experience again.

Was really hoping this wouldn't be your last wow-related video, but I guess that's what it ended up being. Well, thank you for your amazing animations and all the laughs, and best of luck in your future endeavours. You're an awesome cartoonist keep up the good work :D

*sobs emotionally* I'm not crying... You're crying!

We used to create our own memories and adventures in this game. Now we just pay for a single player experience.

this was next level, based on Carbot standards which is already very high.

Took me over 30 hours straight to finish the installation process. Good freaking times.

This is video is so on point that i have a huge wave of nostalgia and cant control my emotions rn

That's what I love about Carbot he's so honest even if Blizzard can see this and they may dislike it xd

The ending so perfectly sums it up. “You can keep playing a bit longer if you want.” “ No... just- just end it now.”

really interesting to watch!! i have been playing wow since my dad first let me play in kindergarten. i grew up with him playing this game and we talk about it sometimes. i occasionally log on and will ask my dad to play, but it’s always the same answer. he doesn’t understand how to play anymore which is upsetting to me, but i’m glad he enjoyed his time playing back then and will share his stories with me and explain quests if he remembers them!!

Its good i was in those golden times and had friends and moments that wont forget. It is also sad that to see those brillint time no longer there. Touchy and sorrow. Great video.

"No King rules forever, my son."

Remember every year when there was going to be a new "WoW Killer" but in the end WoW was it's own demise.

Sometimes all you can do is let yourself feel the good times you loved. You can never go back, but who knows what will be great for us next. It could be as unassuming as the old cardboard containers that still hold these discs in my closet.

This made me so sad and nostalgic, well done. I started in Vanilla and have played off and on since then. The "anybody want to party" message really got me

Don't be sad because it's gone, be happy because it happened.

The moment that first dwarf hunter faded away my heart just broke

Last thing I ever did on my OG tauren warrior tank was fly back to Thunder Bluff, then ride back to Bloodhoof Village, go to the warrior's circle, and sit down on one of the mats. He'd gotten me through Zul'Gurub, Molten Core, Onyxia...then BE pally tanks came around in WotLK and warrior tanks weren't popular anymore. I'd spent more time on my rogue, but then no one wanted rogues in raids anymore. I tried doing PvP but that ended up becoming a repetitive parody. I handed off my guildmaster position to my friend, went to Bloodhoof Village, had my tauren sit on an empty mat in the warrior circle, and actually felt empty inside as I signed off for the last time, a month before Cataclysm was released. Istvarrh, tauren warrior, guildmaster of The Grownup Guild on Suramar server. I won't forget those years.

This made me cry because i remember playing world of warcraft lich king with my friends