A Beginner's Guide to World of Warcraft: Getting Started in Azeroth

There are many Massive Multiplayer Online games out there. City of Heroes, Rift, Runescape, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, and of course, World of Warcraft. Although I do have accounts with other games (Lord of the Rings Online, Rift, and most recently City of Heroes), In my mind, World of Warcraft shines out among all of them, and I know I'm not alone when I say that.

Why is World of Warcraft so popular though? What makes it stand out from the rest? There are many reasons, but the main one is that it is so expansive. Once you enter Azeroth, it truly is like stepping into another world. It's quite possible to even lose yourself in the game from time to time.

If you're reading this article, chances are you either are thinking about buying the game, or already have. One major thing that gets people from the get-go is the learning curve. Understanding the different classes and races, and how different mixtures are better than others, then understanding the basics of your role (DPS, Tank, Healer), and as you progress, the more advanced stuff. I know for myself, it was hard starting off.

I began playing halfway through the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and things were pretty difficult back then, but after talking to many veterans of the game, I found out that it was a cake-walk compared to the difficulty level in it's original state.

However, things have changed even more since I first began playing. The latest expansion, Cataclysm, brought about a great many changes in the difficulty level of the game. In fact, it's not very difficult at all. For the release, they lowered the amount of experience needed for levels 1-60. A later patch (I'll go into more about patches later), reduced the amount of experience needed to get from level 60-70. And with the latest patch not too far off, they are going to be reducing the experience needed to get from 70-80. This feature alone has dramatically increased the easy factor, and made the game even more appealing to those just starting out.

Other changes include the increase of money earned from quests, adding more flight paths to aid lower level characters who are unable to fly yet get back and forth from zones faster, and allowing better gear to be awarded from quests, as well as dropped from various creatures.

Now that I've covered that, it's time to get down to business. If you're thinking about purchasing the game, I'd say go for it. They have brought the price down of the original game, which is all you need to get started, and even merged the first expansion, the Burning Crusade, into it, which saves you all in all about 30 bucks. The monthly recurring subscription fee is $14.99, and with tax it comes out roughly to about $16.32. However, they have just recently introduced a Free-to-play option, which allows you to play for free up until level 20. You will continue to be able to log on and play your character/s, but you will not be able to level up any further than level 20. This is a huge step up from their 10-day free trial, which was pretty limiting to say the least.

Anyway, lets get back on track. So where do we go from here? Now what? Well there are several crucial things to get started that will ultimately determine your first impressions of the game. I'm going to hold you hand a little bit and give you a little introduction on how to avoid a bad experience.

Selecting a server can possibly make or break your experience. There are about 200 servers on the North American side, and even more worldwide. The reason selecting a server is so important is because most servers have certain attitudes towards not only new players, but other players in general. I have seen quite a few people transfer over onto my realm because their realm was very hostile or rude. I play on the Turalyon realm, and I will admit that it's not the best server on WoW. There are your share of rude people, and many people will not bend over backwards to help you. But there are quite a few who will, and I have had many good experiences on that server.

Alot of servers even treat each other as family or good friends, always willing to lend a helping hand or some good advice.

The best thing you can do when selecting a server is do your research. Check out the official World of Warcraft website forums and look into the realm specific forums and get acquainted with the community. You can also search the Internet for guides on picking the right server for you. Wowwiki.com does offer some nice insight as well into factors of choosing a server. Something to consider as well is what your intentions are. Most servers are PvE, which means Player vs. Environment, meaning the player generally levels and participates in dungeons, raids, and questing, and has the option to turn PvP, which means Player vs. player, on and off. However, there are PvP servers, as well as PvE-RP servers, which are your Role-Playing servers. Some RP servers are very serious with their role-playing, and will stay in character almost all the time. But there are several who enjoy role-playing, but will actually come out of character when needed. So the choice is yours!

Once you've done that, its time for some character creation!

Decisions, decisions! Alliance? Or the Horde? Do you want to play as a good guy, saving people, liberating others from being oppressed, or doing other various heroic deeds? Or do you want to bring chaos and mischief to all those around you?

Both factions are very cookie cutter, with very little room for a grey area. Unlike games like Dragon Age or The Elder Scrolls, you do not get to choose your path once you have chosen your faction. This allows more focus on character creation than anything. Besides, most players do make characters of the opposite faction as well. I have 7 Alliance characters, and 3 Horde characters, but I much prefer the Alliance as I believe they are alot more fun to play.

After you pick a faction, it's time to decide what race you'd like to play. For the alliance, you have Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, Gnomes, Draenei, and most recently, the Worgen. On the horde side we have Orcs, Undead (otherwise known as the Forsaken), Tauren, Trolls, Blood Elves, and the newest addition, Goblins.

Each race has their own unique racial abilities, some include strength or intellect bonuses, while others have certain usable abilities such as shadowmeld. More "hardcore" players will choose their class based on the race they choose, or vice-verse. I prefer a more casual style, and choose my race and class based of what is aesthetically pleasing to me, because all-in-all, if the option for the class is there, then who cares?

Now that your race is chosen, it's time to choose a class. Not every race can actually play any class. For example, only Worgen, Tauren, Night Elves, and Trolls can play druids. The option is not allowed for any other classes. Paladins are another good example, as they are holy warriors who follow the path of the light, so only 2 Horde classes can play this class, reason being that it follows World of Warcraft lore. Trolls are fueled by hatred and rage, therefore it's kind of hard to say they have good intentions. But then you have races like the Tauren and Blood Elves, whom are not necessarily evil, and are a part of the horde as more of a convenience than anything. In fact, the Tauren actually do not agree with alot of the ways of the horde.

There are 10 classes to choose from, with 1 of those classes only being attainable after having one character on that realm hit level 55. That class is called a Death Knight. The other classes are Priests, Rogues, Warriors, Mages, Druids, Hunters, Warlocks, Shamans, and Paladins.

All classes have their pros and cons, but what it really boils down to is your preferred playing style. Do you want to be on the front lines, fighting to keep yourself or your party alive? Or would you prefer to use your arrows or spells from a distance to keep enemies at bay?

The choice of class is always a hard one. But remember, it's not too much work to start another character if you don't like the class you originally chose!

Every race begins in a starting zone, whether it be in the Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor. Dwarves and Gnomes share a starting zone, and so do Orcs and Trolls. However, all other races have their own unique starting zones.

Humans begin in Northshire Abbey, located in Elwynn Forest (Eastern Kingdoms). Dwarves and Gnomes begin in Coldridge Valley, located in Dun Morogh (Eastern Kingdoms). Night Elves start in Shadowglen, located in Teldrassil (Kalimdor). Draenai begin in Ammen Vale on Azuremyst Isle (Kalimdor), and Worgens start in Gilneas City in Gilneas, which is only accessible during the beginning storyline for them (I spoil any surprises!)

For the Horde, Orcs and Trolls begin in the Valley of Trials in Durotar (Kalimdor), Undead begin in Deathknell, located in Tirisfall Glades (Eastern Kingdoms), Tauren begin in Red Cloud Mesa in Mulgore (Kalimdor), Blood Elves begin on Sunstrider Isle in the Eversong Woods (Eastern Kingdoms), and Goblins begin in Kezan, on the Lost Isles.

After going through the initial cutscene, explaining what's going on in the world of Azeroth, you are allowed to start exploring. Your first quest isn't too far off, and away you go into the world of leveling!

Now more than ever, Guilds are a huge part of your game experience. They provide a fun way to get interactive, get help and advice, or just shoot the breeze. And since the introduction of Guild Leveling and Perks, most Guilds have bonuses to XP, either 5 or 10% depending on the level of the Guild, which will help you level that much faster.

Leveling from 1-10 is generally easy. You learn all the basics about movement, targeting, crafting, etc. But once you reach level 10, the game changes a bit. You are allowed to choose 1 of 3 specializations or "specs", in which will determine your role in the game.

There are 3 roles in World of Warcraft. There are DPS, which are the damage dealers, Tanks, who keep the enemies focused on them and allow the DPS to attack the target without being killed, and Healers, who heal the Tanks and DPS to prevent them from dying. Next to all 3 of your specs are little icons, either a red sword, a green cross, or a blue shield. The sword is DPS, the cross is Healing, and the Shield is Tanking, and those icons will aid you in your decision. You can of course re-spec at any time, for a price, from your specified trainer, and you can learn a second spec at level 30.

Knowing your role is a very important thing. If you are specced as a healer, but are DPSing, you are most likely going to cause problems for yourself, and possibly the whole party, if you are running a dungeon. It is usually a good idea to at least level a bit as DPS to help you out in the beginning. After that, the choice is yours! After all, Healers and Tanks are always in high demand!

Once you hit level 30, you most likely have an idea of what you're doing now. Think of it almost as hitting adulthood. Things begin to get a bit more challenging, and keep getting more and more challenging. Truth be told, hitting the level cap is a breeze compared to being AT the level cap. Once you hit level 85, its a whole new ball game. A ball game filled with raids and hours of queuing for dungeons and striving to get the best gear.

The most important thing of all though, is remember to have fun. Many people treat the game way too seriously, and it becomes very apparent. They treat it more as a job and less of a great way to form friendships, expand your mind, or relax. I remember starting my first character 2 years ago, a Human Warrior named Linhart. It took me so long to get the hang of things. Now I'm running raids, on a first name basis with some of the best and brightest of the server, I have my own Guild, that with the help of my girlfriend (I got her to play at the beginning of the year) I started, and alot of people on the server know my name (my character name that is!). So you see, it's not that hard to get started in WoW. Just take your time, have fun, and enjoy the ride!