New to World of Warcraft? Here's Everything You Need to Know

Heard a ton about World of Warcraft and finally decided to give it a try, only to realize the game looks a bit… complicated? Don’t worry, we’re here to uncomplicate it!

In this beginner-friendly guide, you’ll find all the essential info about WoW’s core systems and main activities to start your adventure on the right foot.

 What Is World of Warcraft and How Does It Work?

World of Warcraft is an MMORPG, which is a genre that mixes two big ideas: 

• MMO: You play in a huge shared world alongside other players.

• RPG: You build, customize, and upgrade your own character.

As an MMO, WoW offers a giant open world split into multiple zones, each with its own unique style, story, and enemies. Cities act as player hubs where you’ll find important NPCs and services, like trainers, vendors, banks, etc. 

Everything in WoW revolves around progressing your character. You start by creating your hero, choosing a faction, a race, and a class (like Warrior, Mage, Hunter, etc). Then, you head into the in-game world to begin your adventure and gradually power up your character with higher levels and stronger equipment. 

Leveling

The first part of your WoW journey is called leveling, where you’ll have to earn XP by completing activities and defeating enemies. Once you reach certain XP thresholds, your character will level up, unlocking new skills and gaining access to new zones and tougher content. 

At the beginning, quests will be your main source of XP. They’ll also help you learn the game’s basics, follow the story, and pick up various rewards. Most rewards come in the form of currencies, materials, or gear, which includes armor, weapons, and accessories your character can equip. Every gear piece has an item level: the higher it is, the stronger the item. 

Endgame Content

Endgame is the part of WoW that opens up once you hit max level. That’s where you’ll find the most challenging activities and the best loot the game has to offer.

Since WoW is designed as a social experience, a huge part of its content revolves around group play. 

In every group, players need to perform one of the following roles: 

• Tank, who keeps enemies’ attention and soaks incoming damage.

• Healer, who keeps the party alive by restoring health.

• Damage Dealer (DPS), who focuses on taking down enemies.

PvE Content

Dungeons

These are small, instanced areas, where 5 players need to fight through enemies and bosses to earn rewards. Regular dungeons come in three tiers: Normal, Heroic, and Mythic. Later on, you’ll also unlock Mythic+, a scalable dungeon system with increasing difficulty and timers, where every new level brings a bigger challenge and better rewards.

Raids

These are large-scale, multi-boss activities, split into a Story Mode (solo-friendly, only the final boss, no rewards) and four main tiers: LFR, Normal, Heroic, and Mythic. Raids are very complex and challenging, but they offer some of the best gear in-game, so to secure those rewards and make runs much easier, many players team up with pro raiders through WoW carry services.

Delves 

Delves are bite-sized, dungeon-like activities that you can complete solo (backed by an NPC companion) or with up to four teammates. They’re a great source of gear, especially for soloers, and offer a bit more relaxed alternative to dungeons and raids.

PvP Content

WoW’s PvP includes several competitive modes: Battlegrounds, Arenas, and Solo Shuffle. You can queue for casual matches or take part in Rated PvP, where you earn ranks, exclusive rewards, and seasonal titles. You can also turn on War Mode and fight other players in the open world.

Other Useful Things You Should Know About

Beyond the core activities and basic gameplay features, WoW has a huge number of other things for you to explore and play around with. Here are some of the most important ones:

Professions

Professions are extra trade skills that let you gather resources and craft useful items. They’re divided into two categories:

• Gathering professions (like Mining, Herbalism, Skinning) 

• Crafting professions (like Blacksmithing, Tailoring, Alchemy, Cooking, etc.) 

Professions can earn you gold and give you access to valuable consumables, as well as some high-end weapons and armor.

The Auction House

The Auction House (often called the AH) is WoW’s marketplace, where you can trade all sorts of items and materials.

Posting an item costs a deposit, and the AH also takes a small cut if it sells. Every item you post has two prices: a bid (the starting price players can compete on) and a buyout (a set amount someone can pay to purchase the item right away).

You can sell stuff you’ve looted while playing or crafted and gathered through your professions. Many players also flip items, buying them cheaply and reselling for profit.

Mounts

Mounts are rideable creatures or machines that help you move around the world much faster. You can get them from quests, mob drops, achievements, or the Auction House. 

Reputations 

Many factions in WoW have their own progress tracks called reputations (or Renown in recent expansions). By completing certain tasks for these factions, you’ll build up your standing with them and unlock exclusive rewards, including mounts, cosmetics, profession recipes, pets, etc.

Consumables

Consumables are temporary-use items (potions, flasks, food buffs, etc) that boost your stats, restore health or mana, or give you short-term power-ups, which makes them absolutely essential to survive in Mythic+ dungeons and raids. You can craft consumables through professions, buy them from vendors, or pick them up on the AH.

Guilds

Guilds are player-run communities that bring people together around a shared goal, like raiding and Mythic+, PvP, role-playing, or just hanging out and meeting new people. 

Joining a guild is one of the best ways to experience the social side of WoW. With a guild, you’ll always have people to do group content with. Your guildmates can also offer advice, help you gear up, or simply keep you company during your adventures.