Welcome to an epic adventure in the world of Warcraft. I’m Erosium, a veteran wow player who’s been enjoying this game for 20 years now! I’m here to guide you through the incredible journey that awaits you throughout this WoW Beginners Guide 2024. Let’s get into this!
Choosing Your Race and Class – Follow Your Heart
The game offers a plethora of races and classes, allowing you to pick the one that resonates with you and your playstyle. From healers to tanks and damage dealers, the possibilities are endless. Consider classes like Paladin, Monk, and Druid for maximum flexibility.
Delving Deeper – Exploring Each Class and Role
As a new player, understanding the roles and abilities of each class is essential to finding the perfect fit for your gaming experience.
Priests: Holy Healers or Shadowy Spellcasters
Priests have two main specializations: healing as a Holy / Discipline Priest or dealing damage as a Shadow Priest. Holy Priests are known for their powerful healing abilities, while Shadow Priests wield dark magic to wreak havoc on their enemies. Find your balance between supporting allies and causing destruction.
Warriors: The Frontline Champions
Warriors excel in close-combat, using heavy weapons and armor to engage enemies directly. They can play as a tank using the Protection specialization, or deal damage as either Arms or Fury Warriors. Embrace the heat of battle and lead your team to victory.
Warlocks: Masters of Demons and Dark Magic
Warlocks summon demonic minions and use destructive spells to torment their foes. Specializations include Affliction, Demonology, and Destruction. Each one offers a unique approach to dealing damage, from cursing enemies with damage-over-time spells to summoning powerful demons to aid in combat.
Hunters: Ranged Experts and Beast Tamers
Hunters can deal damage from afar using bows, guns, or crossbows, or engage in melee combat as a Survival Hunter. They can also tame beasts as companions, which can tank, deal damage, or support the Hunter. Choose your preferred combat style and harness the power of nature and your animal companions.
Paladins: Holy Warriors and Versatile Support
Paladins combine the strengths of warriors and priests, allowing them to tank, heal, or deal melee damage. Their specializations include Protection, Holy, and Retribution. Paladins wield the power of the Light, using it to smite their enemies and protect their allies.
Druids: Shapeshifters and Nature’s Guardians
Druids are masters of nature and can shapeshift into various forms, each with its own unique abilities. Specializations include Guardian (tank), Restoration (healer), Feral (melee damage), and Balance (ranged damage). Unleash the power of the wild and adapt to any situation.
Monks: Martial Artists and Spirit Healers
Monks utilize martial arts and inner peace to fulfill various roles. Brewmaster Monks tank with agility and evasion, Mistweaver Monks heal allies with soothing mists, and Windwalker Monks deal melee damage using lightning-fast strikes. Embrace harmony and discipline to conquer your enemies.
Mages: Elemental Spellcasters and Masters of Magic
Mages manipulate arcane energies to unleash powerful spells. Specializations include Arcane, Frost, and Fire, each offering a unique approach to dealing damage. Control the elements to freeze, burn, or obliterate your enemies.
Rogues: Stealthy Assassins and Cunning Combatants
Rogues rely on stealth, agility, and cunning to eliminate their targets. Specializations include Assassination, Outlaw, and Subtlety. Use poison, stealth, and an array of deadly abilities to outmaneuver and dispatch your foes.
Shaman: Elemental Channelers and Spiritual Guides
Shaman harness the power of the elements and the spirits to deal damage, heal, or support their allies. Specializations include Elemental (ranged damage), Enhancement (melee damage), and Restoration (healer). Summon totems and elementals to aid you in battle and dominate your enemies.
Death Knights: Undead Champions and Unstoppable Forces
Death Knights were once valiant warriors who fell in battle, only to be raised as powerful undead servants. Specializations include Blood (tank), Frost (melee damage), and Unholy (melee damage). Use dark magic, frost powers, and unholy strength to crush your enemies and defy death itself.
Demon Hunters: Agile Demon Slayers and Infernal Adversaries
Demon Hunters have spent thousands of years hunting demons, adapting their abilities to become fast, unkillable melee damage dealers or tanks. Specializations include Havoc (melee damage) and Vengeance (tank). Utilize demonic powers and unmatched agility to hunt down and vanquish your foes.
Evokers: Humanoid Dragons and Masters of Draconic Magic
As the newest class in World of Warcraft, Evokers are humanoid dragons who have harnessed the power of dragon magic to deal massive damage or heal their allies.
By exploring the unique roles and abilities of each class, you can find the perfect fit for your preferred playstyle. Do you want to charge headfirst into battle, wielding powerful weapons and armor? Or would you prefer to support your team from the backlines, healing and empowering your allies? The choice is yours, so let’s choose and start leveling now!
Watch Erosium’s New Player Video Guide below
Horde or Alliance – The Faction Dilemma
In World of Warcraft, players are faced with a critical choice that will shape their entire gaming experience: joining the Horde or the Alliance. These two factions have been at the heart of the game’s storyline since its inception, and your decision will determine your character’s race, starting location, and the allegiances you’ll form throughout your adventures.
The Horde: Strength, Honor, and Survival
The Horde is a faction comprised of various outcast and misunderstood races, bound together by their shared values of strength, honor, and the will to survive. Playing as a Horde character, you’ll encounter proud and resilient races like Orcs, Trolls, Undead, Tauren, Blood Elves, Goblins, Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, Mag’har Orcs, Zandalari Trolls, and Vulpera. The Horde capital city is Orgrimmar, a massive fortress carved into the red rocks of Durotar.
The Alliance: Unity, Nobility, and Tradition
The Alliance, on the other hand, represents a faction of diverse races united by their shared commitment to unity, nobility, and tradition. As an Alliance character, you’ll join forces with races such as Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Draenei, Worgen, Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarves, Kul Tiran Humans, and Mechagnomes. The Alliance capital city is Stormwind, a sprawling metropolis filled with grand architecture and bustling streets.
Choosing Your Faction
Your choice of Horde or Alliance will have a significant impact on your gameplay, as each faction has unique zones, quests, and storylines. While recent updates have allowed for more cross-faction cooperation, these two factions still have a deep-rooted rivalry, which becomes particularly apparent in player-versus-player (PvP) content.
Ultimately, the decision between Horde and Alliance comes down to personal preference. Consider the aesthetics, lore, and values of each faction, as well as the races and classes available to them. Talk to friends who play the game, and perhaps join their faction to play together. Whichever faction you choose, remember that you’re contributing to a rich and ongoing storyline that has captivated players for nearly two decades.
Leveling Route and the BFA Campaign
As a new player in World of Warcraft, you’ll experience a series of unforgettable adventures as you progress through the leveling route. One of the most significant parts of this journey is the Battle for Azeroth (BFA) campaign, which will be your primary focus on your first character playthrough.
During your time in the BFA campaign, you’ll explore diverse zones, uncover hidden secrets, and become embroiled in the ongoing conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. As you level up, you’ll also learn the art of mount training, enabling you to traverse the vast world of Azeroth with ease and style. Immerse yourself in epic storylines and thrilling battles as you discover the rich lore and history behind each quest and zone.
Chromie Time: Unlocking a World of Possibilities
After completing the BFA campaign on your first character, you’ll unlock a fantastic feature called Chromie Time for all future characters. Chromie Time allows you to choose from previous expansions’ storylines and leveling routes, providing a fresh and exciting experience for each new character you create.
To activate Chromie Time, speak with Chromie in your faction’s capital city (Orgrimmar for Horde or Stormwind for Alliance) and select the expansion you’d like to play through. This feature not only offers variety and replayability, but it also enables you to experience the rich history of World of Warcraft and delve deeper into the stories and events that have shaped Azeroth over the years.
Whether you’re exploring the shattered lands of Outland in The Burning Crusade, battling the Lich King’s undead armies in Wrath of the Lich King, or uncovering ancient Titan secrets in Legion, Chromie Time provides countless opportunities for adventure and discovery. So, gear up and prepare to embark on a new journey with each character you create, as the world of Azeroth awaits your arrival.
Dragonflight – Soar Through the Skies
Unlock the highly anticipated Dragonflight content and become a powerful Champion Dragon Rider. Forge bonds with other players, take on challenging enemies, and lead your team to victory.
To learn to fly in Dragonflight simply level up in the Waking Shores completing the campaign quests until at around level 61 you will get the quest chain where you’ll learn how to fly your Dragon. Then on any future alt characters you’ll automatically have flying unlocked.
Tips for New Players – Tweak the Settings and Use Addons
Customize your settings and download addons to enhance your gaming experience. Make the game more comfortable and efficient with these helpful tips.
I advise to turn on Auto Loot and Enable Extra Action Bars.
Gearing Up – Weekly Gear Upgrades and Quests
Weekly Boss Defeats: Make sure to defeat at least three bosses in any raid each week. This grants you access to a piece of gear from the vault every Wednesday, ensuring consistent gear upgrades.
Dungeons: Participate in dungeons, especially Mythic Plus dungeons, to earn additional gear rewards. Completing one Mythic Plus dungeon per week will reward you with another piece of gear from the vault.
PvP Participation: Engage in rated PvP matches and collect 1250 honor from Rated PVP each week to earn another piece of gear from the vault. This allows you to upgrade your gear while enjoying the competitive aspects of the game.
Weekly Quests: Stay on top of weekly quests, such as storyline quests, World Quests, PvP weekly quests, and PvE weekly quests. Completing these quests provides valuable resources to your character, allowing for faster progression and gear upgrades. Gear from World Quests scales with your Item level so you can always be upgrading!
Conquest Points and Honor: Accumulate conquest points and honor through PvP activities to purchase gear from vendors. This ensures that you’re always working towards better gear and enhancing your character’s performance.
Ready for the Adventure of a Lifetime?
Thank you for joining me on this beginner’s guide to World of Warcraft, I really hope it helped you!
