Are you thinking about starting World of Warcraft again or for the first time? In our beginner's guide, we'll tell you everything you need to know to get started in WoW!
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With its almost 20 years of lifespan, World of Warcraft is a veteran in the MMORPG genre. So it's not surprising when players have taken a look and then taken a break of several years.
If you want to get into World of Warcraft now, you may expect a completely different game than one, two or nine expansions ago. We want to give you a little guide here and explain what you need to know if you start playing World of Warcraft now.
How much does World of Warcraft cost?
Many players are confused at the beginning about the costs associated with World of Warcraft. Do you have to buy all expansions? Is there still a subscription model? Is it possible to earn playing time in other ways?
Base game with old expansions is free. First of all, the most important thing: To get started with World of Warcraft, you don't have to buy a "boxed" version of the game or a game license. As soon as you create an account, it is upgraded directly up to the last expansion "Shadowlands". The current expansion Dragonflight is very cheap but in a few weeks it will automatically become part of the base game.
Subscription costs remain. In order to play WoW, a subscription is still required. This costs €13 per month if you subscribe for a longer period of time, it gets a little cheaper per month and you get a mount or other rewards every few months. If you want, you can also earn your game time with ingame gold. However, the gold price here fluctuates strongly. This option is only worthwhile for frequent players and auction house speculators who rip off other players with in game goods.
Cost of The War Within. From August 27, the new expansion "The War Within" will be released. In order to access these features, which are then "current content", the extension must be purchased. This currently costs €50 in the standard version.
In a nutshell: WoW costs 13€ per month. On August 27th, another 50€ will be due for the expansion "The War Within".
Choosing the server
When starting WoW, the first task is to choose the server. But on which server should you play? The best way to do this is to orient yourself to the server on which your friends are playing.
The friends are spread out on different servers? That's no problem! In the meantime, you can create groups in WoW that can play with each other across servers. Even if you play on "The Aldor" and your friend on "Azshara", you can experience adventures together. This is even possible across factions, at least in dungeons and raids. Only in the open world can players of the Alliance not be able to play together with players of the Horde or only to a very limited extent.
RP servers should only be considered if you really intend to role play i. e. the acting of a character within World of Warcraft. If you can't do anything with it, you should steer clear of the RP servers.
In a nutshell: The choice of server is secondary. Just avoid "empty" servers or RP servers if you don't want to do RP at all.
Progress on many levels
At the time of the "Classic" version of World of Warcraft, there was a clear gradation of character progression. After visiting dungeons, the only remaining raids were to develop the character. It took 40 coordinated players and a lot of time.
In the meantime, things are completely different in WoW. While there are still raids that bring in the best loot the fastest, there are plenty of opportunities for players with less time or more spontaneous evening entertainment to keep noticing progress.
Mythic+ as an endless challenge for well rehearsed groups: Dungeons (or "instances") have many different difficulty levels at maximum level. The last one, the "Mythic+" mode, is even endless and gets harder and harder the better your gameplay performance is. This also increases the reward that the final boss leaves behind. At the end of the week, there will also be an extra reward based on the most difficult dungeon you have mastered.
PvP as a source of equipment: If you prefer to beat up other players, you will also be regularly rewarded in PvP. For winning battlegrounds or fighting battles in the arena, there are regularly pieces of equipment - for successful players, these are correspondingly higher quality.
Solo play as an alternative: If you don't feel like groups and other players and just want to play an evening "for yourself", you can do that too. With World Quests, there are always tangible rewards that even have a chance of an unexpected upgrade.
In a nutshell: Every type of player can experience permanent progression in World of Warcraft. There is always a reward within reach that improves the character a little more.
PvP has become fairer
The PvP system of World of Warcraft has already been significantly overhauled several times. Where you used to be able to score with normal equipment, PvP equipment is now almost mandatory. Fortunately, beginner equipment can be earned within a short time.
Depending on whether you're aiming for Ranked or Unranked matches in Battlegrounds and Arenas, you'll have a different player experience. While in the arena, matchmaking ensures that you usually encounter similarly strong enemies, this is more often unbalanced on battlefields but the increased chaos can also be all the more fun.
If you want to do PvP in the free game world, you have to activate the new war mode in a capital first. But be careful! In War Mode, you will only encounter other players who are also looking for battles. So there is a permanent threat.
In a nutshell: PvP in WoW has become fairer and better, but also much more complex. However, if you never want to do PvP, you can avoid it completely.
The first steps: Leveling, leveling, leveling!
If you're just starting out with World of Warcraft and want to be as "effective" as possible, then the focus should be on a single character that you can level up to max as quickly as possible. Once you have a character at level 70 (or soon level 80), it is much easier to catch up on other characters, as you can support them with gold and resources from the first character.
The fastest way to level up is currently via quests in World of Warcraft, occasionally supported by a visit to the dungeon to complete the missions there as well. Basically, there is no "wrong way" that can be taken.
Almost all areas in the game scale, so they adapt to the level of the character. If at some point an area no longer gives experience, the next mission always beckons, which lures the character to a new zone. Alternatively, a look at the world map also helps, because there is shown above each area for which level it is suitable.
In a nutshell: Focus on a character you want to play. Leveling alone is a bit tough, but with dungeons or a friend at your side, it's fast.
Find your teammates!
Although you can have a lot of fun alone in World of Warcraft, the game is more fun with fellow combatants. If you don't have any acquaintances in your circle of friends who also play, you may find it a bit difficult to get started.
Thanks to the new "Community" feature, however, there is now an easy way to meet like minded people and go on an adventure with them in Azeroth.
Alternatively, you can form a guild or join existing guilds. If you're looking for guilds, an in game tool will help you. But maybe you just get to know other players in the open world with whom you have fun and then found a guild together.
The last tip: Have fun and don't be afraid!
More important than all the things mentioned above, however, is one basic rule: A new MMORPG is most fun when you take the time to discover everything yourself. You shouldn't let yourself be rushed by friends just to be able to be at the maximum level as quickly as possible if you would much rather explore the world at your own pace. Take all the time you need. World of Warcraft offers more than most other MMORPGs thanks to 20 years of game development.
So much content can be overwhelming and make you think that you can never cope with everything. To some extent, that's true, but that's not important. To be able to play with friends, all you need is the maximum level and solid equipment that can be earned quickly.
All the small "side activities" in World of Warcraft, such as pet battles, collecting toys, titles or achievements, are numerous gap fillers and long-term goals. It is an enrichment of the game world and offers numerous possibilities - but that should not scare anyone.
In a nutshell: Play the game the way you see fit. Whether after fixed guides or simply marching curiously into the world. You have the most fun when you play at your own pace. If you still need ideas for choosing a class, here are the best classes for beginners and returnees in WoW.
We hope that this little guide was able to take away some of your fear of (re)entering World of Warcraft.