World of Warcraft New Player Guide
New Player Guide!
Introduction
Firstly, I want to welcome you to the World of Warcraft. Whether you are a brand-new player, or a returning player, you are in for a world of Exploration and Adventure! WoW has been around for 18 years and is still going strong. With new Major Expansions, Minor and Major Patches, and even hot fixes. There is almost no end to the new content you can find.
But where do we start? Come along and we will show you!
Choosing a Region
The game world is much too vast for every player to exist in the same place. To try and balance the load, Blizzard has separated the game into Regions, which are based on your Geographical locations. I.E North America, Europe, Asia. When you first create your Battle.net account your Region is one of the things you select. One thing to keep in mind, is currently you cannot play Cross Region. You will only be able to participate in content with people from YOUR current Region.
Choosing a Server
Your Server is less restrictive, and mostly exists to separate Normal gameplay, and Role-Playing. If you are on an RP server, you are expected to adhere to some rules of conduct, and not ruin the immersion for other players. If you are on a Normal server, you can play the game as you see fit without most conduct restrictions. (Editor’s note: As with most things, being kind tends be to rewarded. If you enter the game with kind intentions and wish to learn, you will be rewarded and even make friends. However, if your goal is to disrupt others for your own amusement, it is unlikely that people will want to play with you.)
Erosium’s New Player Guide
If you would prefer this info in Video Format, Erosium has a fantastic YouTube Video just for you! Erosium has many videos in his Catalogue, and there is a video for almost any topic imaginable! If you have a a request, feel free to drop it in our Community Discord, or in the comments of Erosium’s videos!
What race should I play?
Once you have selected where you are playing, now its time to decide what to play! Ero’s video (Link new player guide here) has a wonderful breakdown of all he various classes and races.
Ultimately that comes down to what you feel you will identify the most with.
The races are separated into Factions, as of writing this guide you CANNOT play cross faction in most of the available content. The 2 factions are the Alliance, and the Horde.
This is a fantasy game, and outside of the top .05% of gameplay, your race does not have a major impact other than helping you immerse yourself. There are currently 5 “Allied” races available to each faction. These Allied Races can be unlocked as you play the game by completing various Achievements and Questlines.
But what about my Class?
There are 12 classes in the game currently. I am going to give a quick synopsis and a screen shot of each class so that you can make an informed decision! For a more in-depth guide on how to play the class, there are many External resources such as WoWHead and Icy Veins.
Warrior:
Warriors are the Plate wearing juggernauts. They specialize in dealing damage with an assortment of weapons in melee. When the need arises, they can also don a One-Handed weapon and a shield to protect their friends from danger!
Roles: Melee Damage, Tank.
Hunter:
Hunters are the quintessential master of beasts and tracking. They come with 3 different Specializations that enhance various aspects of the class identity. As a Beast Mastery hunter, you will tame and train a menagerie of beasts to aid you in combat. From the lowliest of grubs to the largest of mammoths, all beasts will obey your call! As a Marksmanship hunter you will specialize in improving your aim and be able to fell any foe with well placed shots! As a Survival hunter, you and your trusty animal companion will get into Melee Combat and utilize traps and coordinated assaults to bring down any enemy!
Roles: Ranged Damage, Melee Damage.
Mage:
Mages are the masters of reality. They can conjure the powers of Frost, Fire, and Arcane to bring destruction to their enemies, or alter the flow of time to aid their Allies! A Frost specialized Mage will control the flow of battle by slowing enemies with Ice-based spells. You can conjure blizzards and orbs of frost to deal massive Area of Effect damage! A Fire mage is the epitome of the DnD style mage. Have a problem? The solution is probably a fireball! The sheer destruction they can wrought is beyond measure, as they chain critical strikes to devastating effect. An arcane mage is the master of time. They can deal consistently growing damage as they combo spells together, and when they are out of mana they can rewind their own time and start again!
Roles: Ranged Damage.
Rogue:
Rogues are the stealthy assassins and dashing outlaws of the world. They can specialize in poison, subterfuge, and friggin guns! Rogues can stealth around their environment, pick pocket, and swashbuckler to their hearts content. If you are in a situation that is too much for you to handle, you can even vanish to escape combat!
Roles: Melee Damage.
Priest:
Priests are the versatile followers of the light. As a priest, you can Heal, Deal Damage, or combine the 2! Priests can be Holy, Shadow, or Discipline specialized. A Holy Priest practices direct healing, bringing Allies back from the brink of death. A Shadow Priest is the other side of the coin. Where there is Light, there is Shadow. Shadow Priests assault the enemies mind and flesh with powers of the void. The final Specialization is Discipline. A Discipline priest can shield their allies and then deal damage to restore health to their shielded friends!
Roles: Healer, Ranged Damage.
Warlock:
Warlocks are pure damage powerhouses. They utilize the assistance of Demons to deal damage to their enemies! You can Specialize in Affliction, a Damage over Time based spec that spreads pestilence to enemies and capitalizes on their illness. You can be a Destruction Warlock, raining fire and chaos magic onto your enemies to rip them asunder directly. Or, if assembling your own army of underlings to assault your enemies is your goal, you can play Demonology.
Roles: Ranged Damage.
Paladin:
Paladins are the Plate wearing soldiers of the Light. Unlike their priest counterparts, Paladins adhere zealously to the power of the Light. As a Paladin you can protect yourself and provoke enemies into focusing on you. You can wield large 2 handed weapons and smite your enemies with whirlwinds of light. Or if Healing is your goal, beseech the light to heal your Allies. The light rewards those who prove themselves, a large portion of a Paladins healing capabilities come from being in the fray and dealing damage to earn your prayers!
Roles: Tank, Melee Damage, Healer.
Druid:
Druids are bastions of Nature. Completely in tune with their surroundings and the power of Life itself. Druids are the only class to have 4 individual Specializations! As a Druid, you can shapeshift as a core part of the class identity, and as such their specs are based around these forms! A Guardian druid is a tank that shapeshifts into a giant bear and cleaves enemies to gain their threat. Guardian druids can bristle their fur, and self-heal to remain alive! A Feral Druid shapeshifts into a powerful cat form. This allows them to be stealthy, always land on their feet, and bleed their enemies dry with their razor-sharp claws and powerful jaws. A Balance druid combines the powers of Astrological bodies to rain destruction upon those who wish you harm. Balance druids will move between Lunar and Solar cycles using the sun and moon as their weapons. And finally, Restoration Druids. A Restoration Druid is well versed in providing healing over time. This allows them to maintain their spells on an entire raid at once.
Roles: Tank, Melee Damage, Ranged Damage, Healer.
Shaman:
Shaman are the masters of the elements and ancestral spirits. Shaman can harness the elements themselves to wreak havoc on a battlefield. As an Elemental specialized Shaman, you can hurl Lightning, Frost, and Fire at your enemies, and summon Primordial guardians of Fire and Earth to aid you in combat. If you choose Enhancement, you will use the Elements and spirits to improve your weapons and call down strikes upon your enemies. As a Restoration Shaman you utilize the healing properties of Water and beseech your ancestors to restore power to your team!
Roles: Melee Damage, Ranged Damage, Healer.
Monk: Monks are masters of Kung-fu and Zen. They come in 3 different specializations that are reminiscent of Eastern mythology. They can be Brew Masters, Wind Walkers, or Mist Weavers. As a Brew Master, you dull incoming pain with your Potent Beverages. You dodge many attacks, and riposte with devastating attacks. A Wind Walker focuses on damage. They focus their chi into powerful attacks against an enemy’s body, often revealing weakness that they can exploit with powerful combos. A Mist Weaver uses the mystical arts of Mist to heal their allies, and even shield them from incoming damage. Roles Tank, Melee Damage, Healer.
Demon Hunter:
Demon Hunters are the newest addition to the Roster of Classes. They use the power of a Demon that they slew, and absorbed, to enhance their combat capabilities. They come with 2 specializations. Vengeance and Havoc. A Vengeance Demon Hunter uses their Demon Soul to become borderline unstoppable. They can leap into the fray, explode in bouts of fire, and rip the souls from their enemies to restore their own health. A Havoc Demon Hunter Dashes through the enemies, wreaking havoc with Fire and Fel energies. They can shift into their Demon form and gain massive damage bonuses, and periodically can release beams of Fel from their eyes!
Roles: Tank, Melee Damage.
Death Knight:
Death Knights are the resurrected corpses of great heroes, blessed with unholy power so that they can serve under the Lich King. Death Knights can use the powers of Blood, Unholy, and Frost. A Blood Death Knight is a tank, specializing in ripping the life force from enemies to restore their own health and shield themselves. An Unholy Death Knight summons Skeletal minions and empowers them to cause damage and weaken enemies simultaneously. A Frost Death Knight embodies the power of the frigid north. Using Howling Blasts of wind, frozen strikes, and even summoning a Frost Wyrm to raid frost on enemies!
Roles: Tank, Melee Damage.
Now that you have a character!
Now that you’ve selected a race, a class, and customized your character’s appearance and name, it is time to jump into the world! If this is your first character, you won’t have a choice of where to start. You will have to do Exiles Reach, the Tutorial section for new players! It will walk you through the basics of the game. (Editor’s note: This is the best place to start even if you have played before. It doesn’t take very long and will get you to level 10 and to your faction’s major city by the end!)
If you have completed Exiles Reach on at least one character, you have the option of starting in your Races starting area. This is a great way to get introduced to the race you chose. (Editor’s Note: Allied races skip the starting areas, and let you begin your journey immediately at level 10.)
Once you have hit level 10, either from Exiles reach or your Starting Area, you can train Riding in your major city, and begin your adventures! If you have not gotten a character to Level 50, you will be required to start the Battle for Azeroth: Tides of War campaign.
You can follow the Campaign quests in your Quest log accessible by pressing “L”.
Once you reach level 48, you can begin the Shadowlands campaign! This quest will begin in either Orgrimmar for the Horde, or Stormwind for the Alliance. You will be guided through the story for your first time and will be introduced to the 4 covenants and systems that have been added!
Quality of Life Changes!
Some players have preferences as to how somethings work and look in game, and Blizzard has added many Interface Options for you to change, to suit your needs. If you press Escape on your keyboard, it will pull up a menu. In this menu you can find many different options, such as System Settings like your Graphics and Sound, and Interface options.
In the Interface options I advise you go to the “Controls” tab on the left and find the Auto Loot feature. This will cause you to instantly loot anything you interact with, without having to manually click each item.
Next, we are looking for the ActionBars tab. It is typically suggested that you select the Bottom Left Bar, Bottom Right Bar, Right Bar 1, and Right Bar 2. This will give you access to almost all your Action Bars on screen without the need for an Addon.
What is an Addon?
Addon’s are external additions to the game that change many different User Interface aspects. These are considered mostly harmless and does not necessarily violate the games Terms of Service. If you want to see a list of addons with examples, here is Ero’s Addon list! To install and use addons, it is recommended you use an Addon Management program. The most common is Curse Forge. It will provide you a database of Addons that it can automatically install and update for you, as well as mods and addons for other games!
And now you are ready to begin your adventures in Azeroth! Keep an eye out for new guides in the future that will go over what to do at 60, and great ways to maximize your game play!
We are looking forward to you joining us in the World of Warcraft!
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