Creator of Invaluable World of Warcraft Fan Sites has Passed Away

Sandra Powers, World of Warcraft super fan, creator of Warcraft Mounts, and former administrator of Petopia, recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. Known to the World of Warcraft community as Mania, the loss of this this player, fan site administrator, and game developer will be keenly felt by many.

After over two decades, many World of Warcraft fan sites have risen to help guide players along their journeys across Azeroth and beyond. Petopia, a one-stop shop for Hunter pets for both modern and Classic WoW, and Warcraft Mounts, a comprehensive encylopedia featuring detailed information about all 900+ mounts in World of Warcraft right now, are two of the most well-known websites used by fans.

Sadly, the community has lost one of the legendary minds who made these sites what they are today. Sandra Powers, better known as Mania to players who use these sites, passed away from cancer on January 25. She was the original creator of Warcraft Mounts, and ran the World of Warcraft Hunter companion site Petopia through the golden age of the MMO’s lifespan, implementing tons of categorization and information that is still used to this day.

The Legacy of Sandra ‘Mania’ Powers in and Out of World of Warcraft

Outside these fan sites, Powers was also an accomplished game developer who went by the admin handle “Srand.” Beyond her credits working on both Asheron’s Call and EverQuest 2, the engineer built her own MMO, Project Gorgon, alongside her husband and Elder Game studio co-founder Eric “Citan” Heimburg. Powers has even been immortalized in WoW itself twice: once as an anadrome via Ainamiss the Hive Queen, a tameable Silithid Colossus in Tanaris added in Cataclysm, and again with Beastmaster Mania, a replication of her in-game Orc Hunter avatar as a member of the Unseen Path – the Hunter Class Order Hall in World of Warcraft: Legion.

The World of Warcraft community was devastated to hear of Powers’ passing, with players, developers, and content creators alike coming out to express their condolences to her family and friends. MassivelyOverpowered, who awarded Project Gorgon indie Game of the Year two years in a row, even shared a touching obituary to the legendary developer and community member.

Petopia and Warcraft Mounts have honored Powers’ memory by continuing to update both sites, and will do so indefinitely. Heimburg has also dedicated himself to continuing work on Project Gorgon, despite the dedicated fanbase insisting he take time to mourn and rest. Be it as Mania or Srand, it seems Powers’ legacy will continue to impact the MMO community for the foreseeable future.

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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It’s one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.

Released

November 23, 2004

ESRB

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T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)

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