World of Warcraft looks and performs very well on Mac. It’s a standout option for gamers frustrated that few other big-name games come to macOS.
Blizzard’s perennially popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game offers constantly evolving content so you won’t get bored. And you don’t need a PC to play.
Use your Mac to pay a visit to World of Warcraft
The game is set in the fantasy world of Azeroth, which is populated by various races: humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls, among others. Players create a character from one of these races then choose to be a warrior, mage, rogue, etc.
Then your character goes out to complete quests, explore the world and battle monsters and other players. And it’s not all fighting — crafting and trading are also part of the game.
None of that’s going to be fun if the game doesn’t play well, but a wide range of Mac users report generally positive experiences with WoW, not just me. Blizzard made a native Apple Silicon version of the game, and Apple’s M-series chips are powerful, with speedy GPU cores built into them.
Of course, the new and more advanced the processor, the better the performance. But that’s always true for every platform — games always push the limits of computer power.
Generally, the worst that happens is the number of frames-per-second temporarily slows down when there’s more going on than the processor can handle, or the amount of detail shown gets momentarily reduced.
Photo: Blizzard
WoW on Mac recommended system requirements
OS: macOS 11 or later
Processor: Intel i7 or Apple M1 Max or better
Video: AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8 GB or Apple M1 Max or better
Video Resolution: 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
Memory: 8GB RAM
Storage: 100GB available space
Internet: Broadband
Input: Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel
Blizzard keeps it fresh
While the game uses a standard fantasy RPG formula, it’s a very popular one. World of Warcraft launched twenty years ago and there are still roughly 130 million active players.
Part of the reason people stick with it is because Blizzard keeps releasing new expansion packs that add fresh content such as areas to explore, monsters to conquer and storylines to follow. There are often new races, classes, and gameplay mechanics, keeping the game fresh and engaging.
There’s no better example than Dragonflight from 2022. This expansion pack sends players to the Dragon Isles where you become a dragonrider. Before that was Shadowlands, in which characters travel to the realm of the dead. And these are only a couple of the packs.
Get a group together
Among the most important features of WoW is its social aspect. Players can form parties and guilds to tackle challenges together, and the game encourages cooperation and teamwork, particularly in more difficult content like dungeons and raids.
Ideally, you and group of friends can play together, each on your own computer. It’s an easy way to socialize because no one has to leave home.
Consider WoW boosting
As play progresses, characters gain experience points and new abilities, equipment and areas to explore. That’s standard … it’s a big part of what makes World of Warcraft an RPG.
Whether progressing upward through the game takes too long depends on who you ask. Some people complain there’s too much grinding — wandering around and around looking for monsters to fight to level up.
Fortunately, WoW boosting is always an option. You can buy boosts to your level, powerful equipment, etc. It’s not cheating — Blizzard sells boosters itself.
World of Warcraft subscription cost
World of Warcraft is free to play until your character reaches level 20. After that, the only way to play is via a subscription. It’s $12.99 per month or $155.88 a year, though special deals are available at various times. Expansion packs vary in price but generally run about $50.
A subscription system is a vastly better option than Blizzard making the game “free.” The company released Diablo Immortal as a free game and it’s swamped with in-app purchases.
The other advantage of a subscription payment system is you can load WoW on your Mac for a month, confirm it performs well and decide whether you like it before you have to pay anything. You don’t have to buy the whole game just to find that out.
And you don’t need a gaming PC. You can play World of Warcraft on the Mac you already own.
Download from: Blizzard
Price: Free to try; or $12.99 a month or $155.88 a year.