If you’ve spent time fighting other players in World of Warcraft’s player-versus-player modes, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the word ‘Twink,’ and probably not in a good way. If you aren’t sure what it means or just want to learn more about the topic, this guide will tell you everything you need to know about Twinks in WoW.
What is a WoW Twink?
A WoW Twink is a character that dominates in PvP. It’s a character with amazing gear and weapons, the best enchantments, and the power to take out almost any other player. But what’s so unusual about a very powerful PvP player?
What makes Twinks special is that, unlike regular PvP players, they purposely stop leveling, usually at a low level. They do this so they can dominate battles against other ill-equipped low-level players.
That’s not all. Twink characters often go out of their way to get extra-powerful items and min-max their stats through any means necessary. They get help from other players and the player’s main character to get the best items that would otherwise be impossible to obtain at their character level. Twinks can cost an absolute fortune in Gold to gear up.
While Twinking isn’t against the rules, most WoW players don’t have the money or time to create a Twink. On top of this, many players feel it’s frustrating to be repeatedly killed in PvP by a character vastly stronger than you, especially at such a low level.
Some WoW Players also claim Twinks are just players who are bad at max-level PvP and vent their frustration by bullying weaker players. For these reasons, Twinks are broadly frowned upon.
WoW twinks in the early days
Twinks have existed in MMORPGs for decades, and they became part of WoW soon after it was released in 2004. In the early days, before even single expansion came out, battlegrounds launched with separate level brackets to keep matches fair. They’re still playable in this form today in WoW Classic.
To join the first battlegrounds bracket, you need to be between levels 10 and 19. Once you hit level 20, you’re moved to a higher bracket where only players from level 20 to 29 are allowed. These brackets continue until level 60, the maximum level in Classic.
These level brackets are why Twinking exists in the first place. Unlike questing and killing mobs, PvP did not award players with XP (experience points), at least not back in the early days of WoW. Players who reached level 19 had the biggest advantage in the first battleground bracket, and because they didn’t gain XP, they were free to PvP to their hearts’ content.
This is where WoW Twinks come in. Twink characters collected the best gear possible so they could absolutely dominate battlegrounds at level 19. They hunted down the very best possible items equipable at their level.
They didn’t stop at gear, either, as they also had enchantments, gems (in TBC and beyond), consumables, and anything else that could give even a marginal advantage.
Under normal circumstances, to acquire all of these items, players would have to venture out into the world, kill mobs, and gain experience points to get these items, meaning they would eventually level up past the first PvP bracket. Since that would ultimately defeat the purpose of Twinking, players needed outside help to gear their Twink up.
Back in the day, Twink characters would receive thousands of gold and other useful items from the player’s main character to gear up properly. Twinks would buy only the strongest and rarest items from WoW’s auction house, all for the purpose of dominating PvP battlegrounds, usually within that first bracket. This is still possible, even today, in WoW Classic.
The results of all this preparation were spectacular. While normal players would duke it out in WoW battlegrounds, Twinks could one-shot other characters even with a weak spell. I actually experienced this first-hand. In the early days of Wrath of the Lich King, I encountered a Druid in Warsong Gulch who was carrying a flag, and no matter how many times I hit him, he didn’t even flinch. In fact, he actually stood there and let me hit him just to demonstrate his superiority.
There are thousands of stories like this on WoW’s official forum, and the general consensus is that Twinks ruin early PvP games for most players who just want a good PvP brawl. Plus, halting your leveling feels unnatural for WoW, because WoW is all about progression and is arguably at its best at max level. In a way, being a Twink in WoW is like being the brightest student in the first grade but refusing to ever move up to the next grade.
WoW Twinks during the first few expansions
In WoW Classic and the early days of The Burning Crusade, Twinks dominated battlegrounds. Many players didn’t even want to engage in low-level PvP because of Twinked characters, and it was becoming a real issue. Even a single Twinked could completely tip the scales in an otherwise balanced PvP game.
According to WoWWiki, In Patch 2.2, Blizzard tried to remedy the Twink problem by adjusting PvP matchmaking so Twink players were more likely to fight other Twink players. Unfortunately, this didn’t work as intended, and some players even claim they encountered more Twinks after this update.
Then, in patch 3.2, things got interesting as Blizzard made it so players earn XP points during PvP battles. In theory, this should have solved the twinking problem once and for all, but that wasn’t the case. While players would normally earn experience through PvP, there was an option to turn off XP gain entirely, which all Twink characters used, naturally. You can still do that by visiting Slahtz in Orgrimmar or Behsten in Stormwind and paying them 10 gold to turn off XP gains. This meant Twinks would only fight other Twinks while regular PvP players would just move on to the next bracket. However, even after the players moved to the next Bracket, they would just fight against the next bracket Twink players. There were fewer Twinks in higher brackets, but encountering them was still annoying.
In patch 5.2, Twinking took a significant blow as Blizzard made all low-level PvP battlegrounds sync players’ health, attributes, and heirlooms to the max level of the battleground bracket. This meant even though Twinks still had a gear advantage, they at least had the same base stats as other non-Twink players.
It was at this point that Blizzard started neglecting the PvP scene, and most players only did PvP at max level anyway, where twinking isn’t possible.
Retail WoW Twinks
At the time of writing, Twinks still exist in WoW. You can sometimes spot them if you queue for battlegrounds as long as you aren’t at max level. While Twinks are still a problem for low-level players who just want a quick PvP match, Twinking has never been a major concern for Blizzard.
This is mostly because very few players choose to Twink their characters, and most players engage in PvP activities at max level. As much as I hate to admit it, Twinking is just a different way to play WoW that doesn’t hold up in the modern era.
Nowadays, it seems the most popular level for Twinked characters is 20, which is also the maximum level for free-to-play accounts in WoW. While this is difficult with all the free-to-play limitations, some players enjoy the challenge of leveling WoW Twink characters with the restrictions.
I’ll probably never make a Twink character, but I do have to admit they are interesting. With so many players, including myself, playing WoW the same way, it’s always amazing to see others find alternative ways to enjoy the RPG, even at the expense of everyone else’s fun. Whether you are power-leveling, playing WoW Hardcore, or role-playing, Twinking is just another way to enjoy the game that has been around for almost two decades. I don’t like WoW Twinks, but even I have to admit they do have a place in Azeroth.
Published: Nov 28, 2023 12:02 am