World of Warcraft Introduction For Beginners With Guide and Tips
Game History
World of Warcraft (WoW) became North America’s fastest selling PC-game ever. With a phenomenal number of accounts created in just the first day, it was confirmed that World of Warcraft had broken day-one sales records all over North America.
It sold through to over 240,000 customers at retailers in North America on Tuesday, November 23, selling more in its first 24 hours than any other PC game in history. The game became so popular, that by the end of that Thanksgiving weekend, 40 additional servers were deployed to meet the rapidly growing player base.
Plot:
You choose between two factions, The Horde and the Alliance, which basically means you’re choosing between Good and Evil. The Alliance is the "good" side and alternately, the Horde is the "bad" side.
Whichever faction you decide to choose doesn’t really decide whether or not you’re good or evil, you just choose a faction that reflects your personal interest in that factions races and classes that are available. There are many different characters to choose from. The Alliance consists of Humans, Night-Elves, Gnomes, and Dwarves. The Horde consists of Orcs, Trolls, the Tauren, and the Undead.
Realms
With the millions of people playing World of Warcraft, it’d be unreasonable that they’d all play together in the same place. Realms are game worlds that exist only for the few thousand players tied with it.
All realms are exactly the same in terms of the game world, but each realm has its own characters tied to that particular realm. Characters in one realm cannot interact with characters in another, and can only interact with characters in their own realm. This is excluding characters from the opposite faction.
You can choose between two realm types: Player vs. Environment (PvE) and Player vs. Player (PvP). In Player vs. Environment realms, you can create both a Horde and an Alliance character, and quest and explore without being disturbed by the other faction.
If you wish to engage in PvP combat, there are optional battlegrounds set up to do so. In Player vs. Player realms, you can attack or be attacked by the opposing faction anywhere besides a few safe zones. This means while you’re questing, you could be suddenly under attack by the horde.
There is also the option to join a Role-Playing realm which is a realm meant for those who wish to imagine that they’re really an inhabitant of a fantasy world. Role-Playing realms give players the chance to develop characters with a back-story who do not simply progress through the game.
If you choose to join a Role-Playing realm, you can also choose to be in a PvE Role-Playing realm or a PvP Role-Playing realm. There are a variety of options for any player regardless of which role you prefer. This is one of the factors that make World of Warcraft so wildly popular.
Classes
A class is the main adventuring style of the created character which determines the type of weapons and armor your character can use, and the spells/abilities that can be learned. The classes you have to choose from are affected by the race you choose.
Each race has a group of available classes you have to choose from. If you don’t have the Burning Crusade expansion installed, then as the Alliance you cannot create a shaman class. The same is true if you’re a member of the Horde, then you cannot create a Paladin.
However, if you do have the Burning Crusade expansion, then you gain access to the Draenei and the Blood-Elf races. The Draenei is an Alliance race that can become a shaman, and a Blood-Elf is a Horde race that can become a Paladin. Here’s a list of the classes you have to choose from:
Druid - A druid is a diverse class with a variety of playstyles that can shapeshift into certain animals that mimic other classes. An example would be a big cat, which mimics a rogue, or a bear, which mimics a warrior. Druids can use cloth and leather armor, and are available to Night-Elves and the Tauren.
Hunter - A hunter is a marksman, capable of picking off enemies from a distance with their deadly bows and rifles. They can track different types of creatures, lay traps to damage their foes, and can even tame certain animals to keep as their loyal guardian. This class can use leather, cloth, and mail armor. Races with the option to become a hunter are Night-Elves, Dwarves, Draenei, Tauren, Orcs, Trolls, and Blood-Elves.
Mage - A mage wields the elements of Fire, Frost, and Arcane to do ridiculous amounts of damage to their enemies. They can conjure food and water for themselves or their allies, and can teleport themselves to different parts of the world. This class uses only cloth armor, and is available to Humans, Gnomes, Draenei, Trolls, the Undead, and Blood-Elves.
Paladin - A paladin uses auras and blessings to protect their allies from harm or enhance their abilities. Paladins can heal themselves or stun their opponents, and using their heavy armor, they can also outlast there foes in battle. This class primarily uses mail and plate armor, but can also use leather and cloth.
Priest - A priest is a master of healing and preservation who restores their wounded allies, and resurrects fallen comrades. While they have a variety of such enhancement spells, they can also wreak havoc on enemies using the powers of shadows or holy light. This class only uses cloth armor and is available to Humans, Dwarves, Night-Elves, Draenei, the Undead, Trolls, and Blood-Elves.
Rogue - A rogue is a melee class capable of dealing huge amounts of damage in a flurry of attacks. Being a master of stealth, a rogue can sneak pass enemies, or escape from a battle in a blink of an eye. Rogues also craft poisons that coat their weapons, making them an even deadlier threat. This class can use cloth and leather armor and is available to Gnomes, Humans, Dwarves, Night-Elves, Orcs, Trolls, the Undead, and Blood-Elves.
Shaman – A shaman is a master of the elements, using spells and totems to heal and enhance themselves and their allies. They also use a variety of shock attacks and spells that can do a great deal of damage. This class uses mail, leather, and cloth armor and is available to Orcs, Tauren, Trolls, and Draenei.
Warlock - A warlock is a master of shadow, flame, and demonic power. Warlocks plague their enemies with damage over time attacks, and can hurl bolts of shadow or fire across the battlefield. These masters of demonic power also summon powerful demons to aid them in combat. This class uses only cloth and is available to Gnomes, Humans, Orcs, the Undead, and Blood-Elves.
Warrior - A warrior is a raging berserker, capable of withstanding powerful attacks and protecting their allies. They have a variety of melee attacks, and use battle shouts to enhance their allies’ power. This class uses mainly mail and plate armor, but can also use cloth and leather. Warriors are available to all the races except Blood-Elves.
Death Knight - The Death Knight is the game’s first hero-class, and can only be created when you have the Wrath of the Lich King expansion installed, and you have a character of level 55 or higher. These heavily armored knights have an arsenal of deadly magic and melee attacks. They can use plate, mail, leather, and cloth and are available to all races.
Professions
Eventually, you’ll be able to choose between a number of professions. There are two types of professions, Secondary Professions, and Primary Professions.
Primary professions are the main professions you’ll want to work on. These include Alchemy, Enchanting, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Engineering, Herbalism, Jewelcrafting, Mining, Skinning, Tailoring, and Inscription. These professions will be the ones that make you money when you reach a higher level.
Primary Professions like Skinning, Mining, and Herbalism are gathering professions that correspond with professions like Alchemy, Blacksmithing, and Leatherworking. You can only choose two Primary Professions, so choose ones that fill your specific needs.
Secondary Professions include fishing, cooking, and first-aid. Unlike
Primary Professions, you can learn all of the Secondary professions.
These are not mainly money-makers, but can be pretty useful during your
journey to reaching the highest level.
When you’re just
starting out, I’d recommend you choose mining as one of your
professions. Just sell the ores that you mine, and you’ll start making
a decent amount of money.
WoW Video
Tips
-Read the in-game tutorial that shows up as you progress through the game.
- Be social and make friends, they can help you when you reach difficult parts of the game.
-Try to maintain a good mood when helping you’re friends.
-When trying to sell something in a chat, shift-click the item when typing it in.
-You CAN’T sell items marked as "soulbound."
-Pick up everything you can and sell it to a vendor. Do this even if it looks like junk because it could end up making you some extra cash.
Starting Out
When playing the game, talk to people with yellow exclamation points to start questing. After you finish you’re tasks, return to the quest-giver to get your experience points. Once you get enough experience points, you’ll eventually level up. Every two levels you can talk to your class trainer and pay to learn new abilities.
Remember, when interacting with other players, be kind and respectful. Making friends can be a great way to progress through the game with more ease, and can make the game much more enjoyable.