World of Warcraft or WoW as it is more commonly known, is a MMORPG which is an acronym for “Massively Multi player On-line Role-Playing Game”. In an MMORPG, thousands of players from all around the World exist in the same on-line game world at the same time. They abandon the real world and undertake heroic quests in a land of fantastic adventures.
In the game there are two opposing races at war with each other: the Alliance and the Horde. When you have decided which side to play there are nine classes of character to choose from: Shaman, Warlock, Warrior, Druid, Hunter, Death Knight, Mage, Paladin, Priest and Rogue. They all have their individual set of skills and depending on the class of character that you build, your character’s talent trees are for damage-per-second (DPS), tanking, or healing.
There are thousands of quests to complete with many different kinds of weapons and transportation. In addition, there are four realm types which will be the very first decision you will have to make before playing World of Warcraft. Your reward is money and reputation which will increase your skill and power. A good place to start is our Best WoW Levelling Guides to help you through this mystical world.
There are ten races you can choose from: Dwarves, Gnomes, Humans, Night Elves, Draenei, Orcs, Tauren, Trolls, Undead and Blood Elves and multiple professions you can have: Alchemy, Black smithing, Cooking, Enchanting, Engineering, First Aid Fishing, Herbalism, Leatherworking, Mining, Skinning, Tailoring, Jewelcrafting, and Inscription. (Note: Within the Rogue class there are two unique secondary professions: Lock Picking and Poisons).
Within the game itself there are two “modes” of character:
- Characters controlled by real people
- Non-Player Characters (which are controlled by the games’ software)
So you can find yourself playing a “real” person as well as the games created opponent.
Your character can earn copper, silver or gold to fund your adventures. In addition you will need to work on the different skills for your character.
There are a whole host of guides around and all do pretty much what they claim but some do it better by having additional features such as forums and members areas which help you level your character from 1-70 more easily. Many also have detailed gold guides and the latest up to date information on, for example, Wrath of the Lich King which takes you up to level 80! However, with that said, players are more than free to progress at their own pace and pit their skills against multiple on-line opponents.
World of Warcraft is the 4th game in the series and is now played by over 11 million people world wide! It is set a few years after Warcraft 3 on the fantastical world of Azeroth.
The Horde and Alliance are opposing races locked in a struggle for control of the land – and both are itching for a showdown. Horde and Alliance players can battle each other, but they cannot interact, trade or even talk to each other. So if you have friends you would like to play with, make sure you belong to the same factions!
