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.
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| 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.
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| Horde Logo |
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| 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.
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| 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
