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WoW Rookie: I rolled the wrong class
If, like I did, you came into World of Warcraft with no real idea what the game was about, you may have just picked the first class that looked interesting and started playing. (If, instead, you read a guide to what the various classes can do, you may not have the following problem.) In my case, I picked Paladin, because I'd been playing a lot of D&D beforehand and the Paladin class there is a good melee combatant, especially against demons, undead and other evils, with some spot healing thrown in. I expected to run around hitting stuff with a sword. I didn't understand how healing works in WoW (that you could stand in one spot casting heal spells on someone else while he tanks a monster, for instance, didn't even occur to me) and so I happily leveled him to the mid 20's grinding away, doing the occasional quest, and finally got my first invite to a Deadmines group.As the healer. Now, I didn't even understand how healing worked in the game yet, much less that I was expected to do it: I knew there were healing spells, mind you, but I figured they were for after the fight or emergencies in it, and that (like the paladins I'd played in other settings) I'd have to run up and touch folks to use them. I had no idea I could stand back and cast heals, much less that all that lovely 'of the bear' gear I'd been collecting meant I had the mana pool of a diseased marmoset.
WoW Rookie: Welcome to PvP
For many players, the term PvP or Player vs. Player can be daunting. Nightmarish visions of ??-level players coming out from nowhere and disrupting -- to put it lightly -- questing or exploring have played a part in the choice of server. I started playing World of Warcraft with my girlfriend, now my wife, who decided that PvP was not for her. We rolled on a PvE server to level and explore the world in relative peace. A few friends of ours who started playing only recently also gave the same argument -- they wanted to appreciate the game without fear of being griefed by higher level characters. Because it was their first time to play, they also wanted to try out both factions (you can't make a toon of the opposing faction on a PvP server) to see what side they felt more comfortable with. In time, I managed to convince my wife to re-roll on a PvP server and we haven't looked back since. Later on, I learned that my friends also re-rolled on a PvP server (wisely choosing Horde...) after testing the waters on Mok'Nathal.Let's face it: Unless you play on a PvE server and consciously avoid it, PvP is inevitable. It is integral to the game. There are Battlegrounds that are virtually mini-games that players can grind to earn Honor; there are Arenas where players can compete for sport, prizes, and glory; and there are World PvP objectives that players can participate in to... well... pass the time. PvP is everywhere and with a variety of quests that nudge even the most casual carebear to live a little dangerously, it's almost impossible to play WoW without dabbling in PvP. Today on WoW Rookie, we'll go through some PvP basics to help you get started on a life of war -- or at least a taste of it.
Beginner's guide to WoW raiding
Always wanted to get into raiding but don't know where to start? Our sister site WoW Insider has compiled a 3-part series to get you up to speed: Learn2raid: A beginner's guide, part 1If you too are looking to step into the raiding arena, here's a how-to guide to give you some idea as to what you should do. Learn2raid: A beginner's guide, part 2So you want to be a raider, eh? Plenty of people will argue against it, tell you it's not worth the time, but in the end, in your heart of hearts you know you want to see that end game content and wield those ungodly weapons. Not sure how to go about it? Well, that's what this guide is for. Learn2raid: A beginner's guide, part 3Today we will finish up our 3-part series with the final step: how to apply for a raiding guild. Learn2raid: Raid speakEntering into the world of raiding, eh? Now that you've gotten ready, it's time to get you familiar with some of the concepts you might encounter during the raid.
WoW Rookie: Money-making 101
Once a week, WoW Rookie attempts to bring new players useful tips and tricks on improving their game.My first character rarely managed to keep more than a gold to her name until after she hit level 60, and I imagine the story is similar for most new players. There are plenty of skills to buy, so many professions to learn about, and always the lure of the auction house attempting to part you from your hard-earned coin. If I only knew then what I know now, mount money at 40 wouldn't have given me such grief -- instead of being frustrated over my lack of funding, I could have been frolicking through Azeroth on a brand new pony. But for new players struggling with money right now, I'm going to offer a few reasonable financial suggestions to help you on the road to your first big purchase.
WoW Rookie: An overview of professions
While some may argue that World of Warcraft doesn't have enough professions, there are enough choices to leave any new player at a loss when it comes to selecting one for the first time. So today we're going to discuss the good and bad of the game's ten primary professions and six secondary professions -- and hopefully give you the knowledge to make some informed decisions next time you need to chose a profession for yourself.Interested in knowing a bit more about the game's professions? Keep reading! Want to tell us which professions you find the most useful (and why)? Leave us a comment!
WoW Rookie: Choose your class!
UPDATE: See our updated guide for Wrath of the Lich King-era classes at WoW Rookie: Choose the right class.The first question many players have when they first tear open their World of Warcraft game box is, "What class should I play?" And I'm afraid that my standard answer to the question is terribly unhelpful, "Why don't you try them and see which one you like best?"I still think that's the best answer (I simply can't know all of your likes or dislikes to simply tell you "Mage" or "Shaman"), but today I'm going to try to give you a more helpful answer by defining the playstyles of each of the nine classes, and making some suggestions on which ones are the most newbie-friendly. So if you're trying to figure out which class might be best for you, read on!
WoW Rookie: All you needed to know about stats, part 2
For those of you who have been playing World of Warcraft since launch, this information is going to be ancient history. However, for players newer to the game, I imagine that many of the stats you'll find on armor and weapons remain something of a mystery -- and it's for the new players in the audience that this post was written. That said, if you haven't read our recent post attempting to explain the five basic attributes, you ought to start there, because the basic stats all impact the more advanced stats we'll be discussing here.In part 2, we're going to be talking about stats that improve physical DPS -- if that sounds interesting to you, read on!
