Starting Out in World of Warcraft: Noob Guide Part 1

Starting Out in World of Warcraft: Noob Guide Part 1

                What is World of Warcraft (or W.O.W. as most people call it)? World of Warcraft is a multiplayer, online, roleplaying game created by Blizzard. In this game, you connect with people worldwide, as well as interact with NPC (non-player characters). The online game is based off the real-time strategy game Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. It is set in a world known as Azeroth. When you start a character in this game, you begin at level 1 and work up to level 85 (currently) through questing, completing dungeons, competing in player vs. player battles, and participating in raids. 

Choosing a Realm

                There are many different realms (also known as servers) to choose from when creating a World of Warcraft account. You can have up to 50 characters (or toons) overall, and 10 characters per realm. The realms break up the population logged onto World of Warcraft. You will only be able to see and interact with players on your particular realm (although this will change in the future.) The realms are divided into high, medium, low, or new player populations. They are also divided between Normal (player vs. environment, formerly known as PvE) and PvP (player vs. player) realms.  Some realms are also known as RP or role playing realms.

Realm Choice Screen

              High population realms have benefits as well as drawbacks. In high population realms more help is available to you from other players and more players will potentially buy your goods at the auction house.  However, high population realms are more difficult on your computer’s graphics card, especially in the main cities. Also, certain creatures (NPC’s) only spawn at certain times, and these could be harder to find on high population realms, because other people are also interested in killing these creatures.

                Low population realms have the opposite effect. It is easier for your computer to load the large cities, because not as many people will be there, and it will be much easier to find the rare creatures. However, it is more unlikely that you will find someone to help or group with you, especially when you are below level 20. If you would like to strike a balance between the two, it is best to consider a medium population realm.

               Normal realms are highly recommended for new players. In this type of realm, you only engage in battle with other players when you specifically enter a PvP zone. These realms focus instead on the player vs. his/her environment. This type of realm allows you to level through without worrying about a player from the opposing side attacking. This is especially helpful if you are planning to play alone. Most lower-level territories will be controlled solely by your side (Alliance or Horde). However, a lot of higher-level territories are contested territories (both sides are fighting for control). On a Normal server, players from opposing sides are not as interested in battling one another.

                PvP realms focus more on the idea of Horde vs. Alliance characters. These realms are recommended for players who want to battle other players as well as their environment. This brings a more realistic aspect into the game, as you get the feeling of being in the midst of a war and having to constantly watch your back.

Choosing a Side

                The world of Azeroth is broken into two opposing political factions: Alliance and Horde. Each faction is composed of certain races, each with its own story of how it identified with its faction.  It is generally believe that the Alliance is good and Horde is bad. However, this is not entirely accurate. These two factions simply have different beliefs, and there is great mistrust between the factions. Many wars have broken out among the factions, however they are now involved in a stalemate. Although battles still rage throughout the world, neither faction has gained the upper hand.

The Alliance faction is bonded together by concepts like nobility, honor, and tradition. This faction consists of the following races: human, night elf, dwarf, gnome, draenei, and worgen. There is a strong bond between the Alliance races, with humans as the glue to hold them all together. There are four major Alliance cities, with one main race controlling each city. These include: Stormwind, controlled by humans, Exodar, controlled by draenei, Darnassus, controlled by night elves, and Ironforge, controlled by dwarves. Although the Alliance races have a strong bond, no one city is considered the Alliance capital. 

Horde Logo

Alliance Logo

The Horde is composed of a collection of outsiders. Their bond is based mainly on survival and power. Thus, the bonds between the horde races are not as strong and there is much distrust. The horde races include: orc, troll, tauren, undead, blood elf, and goblin. There are many different factions within the Horde, however the Horde does have strong leadership and another advantage over the Alliance: a capital city. There are four major cities controlled by Horde races: Orgimmar, controlled mainly by orcs and trolls, Thunder Bluff, controlled by the tauren, Silvermoon, controlled by blood elves, and Undercity, controlled by the undead. Orgimmar is considered the capital city for the Horde, because many other races gravitate there, and Garrosh Hellscream, the leader of the Horde, resides there. 

Garrosh Hellscream

 Within your realm, you can choose to have a character on either side of the faction. However, you can only trade with characters from your faction (i.e. if you have a night elf (Alliance) and an orc (Horde), you cannot send mail or trade between the two characters).   

...to be continued 

Written by Nicole Warrens