Massively

World of Warcraft, like EverQuest before it and most other mainstream Western MMOs after it, is essentially a DikuMUD. Diku was a variant of the old text-based multi-user RPGs, and it defined many of the features we consider fundamental to the MMO genre as we know it today.

A class system with skills and spells acquired from trainers at specific levels along the way, autocombat with periodic special attack and spellcasting input, self-contained newbie zones that provide a cushioned training experience before sending players into the wild, scouring the world defeating the baddest monsters for gear once you've reached a level cap, and forming small player groups for shared experience from killing monsters repeteadly -- it's all Diku.

We could never list all the specific mechanics WoW borrows from Diku, but suffice it to say that original model forms the foundation for all of WoW's gameplay. 13/11/08