World of Warcraft: Beginner Guide

Whether you play or not, we’ve all heard of the legendary World of Warcraft; with a staggering number of subscriptions (over 10 million) it’s hard not to! But through the years the game has seen growth, and with that comes plenty of changes. Most guides found on the internet can be considered outdated and unusable, leaving most new-comers in a state of shock and confusion when they log in the game for the first time. However, the World of Warcraft is not as puzzling as one might think at first glance. In this article, I hope to shed some light on WoW (World of Warcraft) and all its intricacies.          

When you first log on to WoW you are prompted to select what type of realm you want to play on and what region you are in. To avoid language barriers, it is typically best to select the appropriate region in which you dwell. But then the preference kicks in. There are 4 types of servers each offering different playing styles than the others. The server types include Normal, PvP, RP, and RPPvP.

Normal servers, also called realms, are the most abundant of servers and are often the server of choice of newer players and those that wish to PvE. PvE stands for player versus environment and is something that all players deal with at some point or another. PvE is based around players joining together to defeat terrifying monsters in raids and dungeons which otherwise a player might not be able to kill alone. The rewards of such game play offers weapons and armor that assist you in progressing through the tiers of content which grow stronger with each layer. Players who choose to PvE are accustomed to pin point teamwork, communicating with other members of your team to collaborate in battle, and the satisfaction of defeating such powerful creatures.          

PvP, or player versus player, is the second type of realm available to players. While these servers are built around combat between the two factions (Horde and Alliance), the player will still have the option to PvE; only in a more hostile environment. Where in a normal server the player must agree to do battle to initiate any kind of PvP, on these servers there are different types of areas. Areas may be Alliance/Horde controlled, where members of the Alliance/horde must agree to battle or first attack the opposite faction before any action can be taken towards themselves, and there are contested or neutral areas, meaning either faction can initiate battle against one another at any given time. PvP is built around the system blizzard has created of battlegrounds, world PvP, and arena matches. Through these activities the player earns honor which can be traded for armor and weapons, among other things, which increases the player’s health, combat efficiency and ability to be more resilient. Players who choose to primarily take part in PvP are often found to be team players, persistent, and they have the opportunity to hunt the “ultimate game”, being other players.          

Third there are RP servers. RP is Role Playing, or taking the gaming experience to another level. RP players engulf themselves in the immerse world taking on the character they play as a persona of their own. Those that do RP on these servers typically speak as if they are their character and they create epic stories together as they quest and battle. RP servers have options for either type of player, be it PvP or PvE. RP servers are the equivalent to normal servers, and RPPvP are to PvP.          

Choice of server is not a life changing experience. Should you choose a server that doesn’t suit you, you can always move your character to another for a fee, or make a new character on a different server for free.          



After you have selected your server type, you can begin the character creation process. When you first enter character creation you can choose from 12 different races or less if you don’t have the expansion activated to your account. Each race offers different bonuses in the form of racial abilities which range from an increase to attack and casting speed, to the ability to turn invisible. When choosing your race you should keep your class in mind.          

Classes are what determines who you are and what you do. There are currently 10 classes available, with an 11th announced to release with the upcoming expansion Mists of Pandaria. The classes include Mages, Priests, and Warlocks as the pure magic spell users; Warriors, Death Knights, Hunters and Rogues as the physical classes; and Paladins, Druids, and Shamans which can perform multiple roles. Again the choice in class is left to preference; and in time most players play each class at least for a short period. Races determine what classes are available, so play around until you find the one that suits you!          

After choosing your realm and creating your unique character you can enter the world. After loading, a short introduction to your race will play which explains the background of your race and how you play a part in its continuity. After this video, the adventure begins.

This is the time when you get the first chance to control your character and check out your surroundings. Familiarize yourself with what is around you and the controls before any other action is taken. Having a foundation for your now growing knowledge is important. After doing this, you may have noticed the bar on the bottom of your screen which displays the abilities you currently possess. Having just started and are only level one, they are minimal. Read the description of the ability to figure out what it does, and feel free to test them on the target dummies that are located in all starting areas or random monsters.          

Having made it this far, I’d like to take this article in a different direction and further explain the different features that makes WoW so entrancing.

Guilds are the first subject I’d like to cover, and why they are so important. Guilds are bands of players with similar tastes in play style which often offer help to those who need it. Introduced with the release of the expansion Cataclysm is guild leveling. Guild leveling is basically just what is says; leveling up a guild. Guild levels offer numerous benefits to being in a guild; starting with a level 1 guild you have no bonuses but as you level up you get bonuses such as increased experience gain, mail sent instantly to guild members (as opposed to an hour for delivery), a resurrection spell, along with many others. To gain guild experience the members must complete quests, and join up in groups to participate in activities together. While it is not necessary to always play with these people, it certainly assists in leveling the guild more swiftly.          

Next is the key of PvE, raids and instances. While PvP players go around killing each other off at sight, PvE players will gather members into their group to each do their job to assure success. Specific members are needed in instances, and these specificities are known as roles. Roles include tanks, healers, and DPS, which will further be explained below. A typical instance group requires 5 members- 3 DPS, 1 healer, and 1 tank. With teamwork, these groups can out nearly any monster that stands in their way and walk away with the loot, in the form of armor and weapons. In the later levels, players may choose to participate in what’s known as raids. Raids are instances with mobs (any enemy that is not another player) that have dramatically increased damage and health. Most raids require 10 or 25 members to complete but while the difficulty is increased, the loot that it delivers is also better.          

Next, I’d like to describe the different roles in WoW. Each individual is equally important in a group, but a lack of certain roles can ultimately lead to a group’s downfall. Tanks are the members which can take the most damage and keep the attention of the mobs they are battling. The different ability of a tank generates additional threat, used to keep the focus of damage on them instead of the other members of the group.

Healers are the other role in groups which are necessary to success. Without a healer, the tank would just keep taking damage until they ultimately died and let lose the mobs onto the other members of the group. The job of a healer is simply to keep the others alive long enough to defeat your foe, while maintaining balances of mana so that it does not prematurely run dry.          

DPS is the third role and while it may not be completely necessary to include them in a group, a lack of DPS can result in battles taking too long and healers running out of mana. There are two forms of DPS which are ranged DPS, and melee DPS. Both are ultimately the interchangeable, except that in some circumstances a group may prefer on over the other.          

The final subject I’d like to tell about is the PvP system of battlegrounds, world PvP, and arena battles. Battlegrounds are battlefields that players can participate in starting at level 10. Battleground game types include Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, Eye of the Storm, Alteric Valley, Strand of the Ancients, plus more. Each category of battleground has different objectives which must be achieved to win. Apart from battlegrounds, players may also choose to world PvP. World PvP can include attacking the other faction’s cities, participating in events or just killing players seen around Azeroth and beyond. While rewards are less in world PvP, you can still gain honor to trade for items. Arena battles are the final form of PvP that players can take part in. Arena battles can be 2 groups of 2, 3 or 5 members; creating the ladders of 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5.          

The World of Warcraft offers choices of game play to fit players of all different preferences. Whether you enjoy exciting battles against dangerous creatures with potent strength, combating players in various encounters, or questing with friends and having heroic adventures which the bards will sing of; with enough time and practice, anyone can learn to master a character and become a true WoW player.