Leeroy Jenkins

Origin

The original video, titled Leeroy!!, was released by the World of Warcraft player guild "Pals for Life" to video-sharing site Warcraftmovies on May 11, 2005. It shows a group of players discussing a detailed battle plan for The Rookery in Upper Blackrock Spire, intended to help Leeroy obtain a piece of armor from the boss Solakar Flamewreath. Leeroy is away from his computer preparing a plate of chicken. Upon returning, ignorant of the strategy, he says "Let's do this!" and rushes headlong into battle shouting his own name.

One companion says "oh my God, he just ran in." After a moment of disbelief, the others try to save him, but the chaotic fight leads to everyone being killed by hatching dragon whelps. The guild chastises Leeroy, who retorts, "At least I have chicken!" The meme began when the video clip was posted to the World of Warcraft game forum in a thread titled "UBRS (vid) Rookery Overpowered! blue plz."

The thread presented the video in a serious context, requesting help with strategy and that Blizzard reduce the encounter's difficulty. Leeroy's response "At least I have chicken!" was also widely mimicked. In a March 2007 interview, Ben Schulz said the name "Leeroy Jenkins" originated from him and his friends drinking and creating "the most culturally inappropriate character names imaginable for a bunch of white guys playing video games." In April 2008, Schulz told National Public Radio that the players "were drinking 40s and just yelling at each other."

Some later suggested the video may have been staged, which Schulz refused to confirm or deny. In December 2017, Schulz and Ben "Anfrony" Vinson, who recorded the video, released what Schulz described as a first take or dry run. Vinson stated, "We didn't think anyone would believe it was real, we thought it was so obviously satire."

Legacy

Leeroy Jenkins was included as a card in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game released on October 25, 2006, with art by Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade. A "Leeroy Jenkins" Legendary card later appeared in Blizzard's online card game Hearthstone as part of the Classic set, using the same art. Upper Deck Entertainment released a World of Warcraft Miniatures game in fall 2008 that included a Leeroy Jenkins figurine. The May 2005 issue of PC Gamer UK featured an article titled "The Ballad of Leeroy Jenkins," which took the position that the video was designed as a negative commentary on "nerd-guilds" whose members plan raids with the seriousness of military tacticians, and that Leeroy is the hero acting against the geekiness of his guild.

In 2009, an Armed Forces Journal article titled "Let's Do This!: Leeroy Jenkins and the American Way of Advising" linked Jenkins to the American approach to advising indigenous armed forces in Iraq. IGN placed Jenkins 10th on their 2017 list of best Blizzard characters. In 2008, Blizzard added an achievement to World of Warcraft called "Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy!" awarding the title "Jenkins" to players who kill 50 rookery whelps within 15 seconds. In March 2022, Leeroy Jenkins debuted as a playable mercenary character in Hearthstone's Mercenaries game mode.