by JR Cook - 11 years ago     show comments

Sure, you can play that winning card and step away from your match the glorious victor. But where is the fun unless you can also drop some lore knowledge on your opponent and add insult to injury? In this column, we don’t worry about card values or strategy – all we care about is that sweet, sweet lore.

Today, we are looking at Hogger, the famed World of Warcraft NPC who has made life miserable for new players in the human starting zone for almost a decade. Now he’s back in Hearthstone, unleashing his fury on unsuspecting newbies yet again.

Actually, it’s not quite that dire.

The neat thing about Hogger, not only is he a decent minion card, he’s also the very first “hero” you will face in the new player tutorial mode. And he is not a pushover! … Well, okay, he actually is. At ten health points, he’s very weak. His main purpose is to teach new players how attacking works, and as if by magic (alright, by intentional design) you draw just the right cards to deal him the proper devastating blows.

Good ol’ Hogger has a proud history of being the first gear check elite NPC for new players (if you never equipped new gear earned and ever updated your skill bar, he could be quite devastating), and an even prouder history as the first “raid boss” for numerous level 1 player raids.

He has an even prouder history of being the leader of the Riverpaw gnolls, who pose an ongoing threat to the humans living in Elwynn Forest. Gnolls are considered to be one of the younger races in Azeroth, and are strange looking hyena-like humanoid creatures. Although capable of some language, they are not smart enough to prevent constant infighting from getting in the way of becoming a more fearsome and more organized force.

Gnolls encountered by players are typically equipped with some rudimentary weapons and gear, occasionally encouraged to do their dirty deeds by an external force under the vague promise of food. They are rather primitive creatures who like to attack in packs and care very little beyond satisfying their most basic needs. Hogger seems to be an exception among the gnolls, given that he has asserted himself to a leadership position among his kind. After years of terrorizing the forest, Hogger and his Riverpaw gnolls have finally gotten the attention of the Stormwind guards.

Fittingly, he is a legendary quality minion in Hearthstone, with the ability to summon another gnoll. Just like in World of Warcraft, once you get past Hogger the real adventure awaits!