WoW Guide (new and improved)

Andrew · Nov 10, 2004

As you may have seen, there is already a sticky on this, but I am making a
new one that has the same information, but more of it, and it will be easier
to read.

First off, I give a lot of thanks to Blizzard for giving us this
information. I will include the links to the official pages in which I get
most of my information from.

The order in which the information is collected is this:
Races
Racial Traits
Classes
Basics (a lot too)
Professions (trade skills)
Item Information
And an FAQ

The information will be included in more than one post, so scroll and read.

Races and Their Start
Points

The Alliance

Humans
The Humans are the people who have been here since the beginning of Warcaft.
They have many good qualities. They are a great race to use.

Start Location: NorthShire Abbey
Home City: Stormwind
Classes they can be: Warlock, Warrior, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue

http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/humans.shtml

Dwarves
The Dwarves are the short people who are very strong and endure the cold.
They may be small, but they make up for it in strength.
Start Location: Dun Murogh
Home City: Ironforge
Classes they can be: Hunter, Warrior, Paladin, Priest, Rogue
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/dwarves.shtml

Gnomes
The Gnomes are the shortest people in the game, but they are very crafty.
They are smart and work well in engineering. Their hometown was taken over
by the enemy, so they live with the Dwarves.
Start Location: Dun Murogh
Home City: Ironforge
Classes they can be: Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Warlock
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/gnomes.shtml

Night Elves
The Night Elves are the warriors from the forect. They are very exotic and
they are close with nature. They aren't that bad to look at either.

Start Location: Teldrassil
Home City: Darnassus
Classes they can be: Hunter, Druid, Warrior, Priest, Rogue
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/nightelves.shtml

The Horde

Orcs
Also part of the original Warcraft, the Orcs are the strong, brutish type,
but not that very smart. They can be really scary.
Start Location: Durotar
Home City: Orgrimmar
Classes they can be: Hunter, Warlock, Warrior, Shaman, Rogue
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/orcs.shtml

Trolls
The tall people with the big teeth. The trolls are very unique, and they are strong.
Start Location: Durotar
Home City: Orgrimmar
Classes they can be: Hunter, Warrior, Shaman, Rogue, Priest, Mage
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/trolls.shtml

Tauren
Moo! The big cows are here and ready to fight. They are very good melee fighters too.

Start Location: Redrock Mesa, Mulgore
Home City: Thunder Bluff
Classes they can be: Hunter, Druid, Warrior, Shaman
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/tauren.shtml

Undead
The left over Undead from WarCraft III are playable. They are very fearsome.
Start Location: Tirisfal Glades
Home City: The Undercity
Classes they can be: Warrior, Warlock, Mage, Rogue, Priest
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/townhall/undead.shtml

Racial Traits

Dwarf
Stoneform: Activate to gain immunity to poison, disease, and bleed
Gun Specialization: Increase Gun Skill
Frost Resistance: Increase Cold Resistance
Treasure Finding: Activate to see treasure chests on mini map - lasts until canceled - no cooldown

Gnome
Escape Artist: Activate to break out of a Root or Snare effect
Expansive Mind: Increase Intelligence
Arcane Resistance: Increase Arcane Resistance
Engineering Specialist: Increase skill bonus to Engineering

Human
Perception: Activate to increase stealth detection radius
The Human Spirit: Increase Spirit
Diplomacy: Bonus to faction point gain
Sword Specialization: Increased Sword skills
Mace Specialization: Increased Mace skills

Night Elf
Shadowmeld: Activate while immobile and out of combat to enter stealth mode
Quickness: Dodge chance increased
Wisp Spirit: Become a wisp when dead with movement speed increase
Nature Resistance: Increase Nature Resistance

Orc
Blood Fury: Activate to increase Strength
Hardiness: Increase resistance to stun & knockout effects
Command: Pet melee damage increased
Axe Specialization: Increase to Axe skill

Tauren
War Stomp: Activate to stun opponents
Endurance: Max Health increased
Cultivation: Increase skill bonus to Herbalism
Nature Resistance: Increase Nature Resistance

Troll
Berserking: Activate when "Wounded" to increase melee & spellcasting speed
Regeneration: Increase health regen bonus
Beast Slaying: Increase damage bonus to Beasts
Throwing Specialization: Increase Throwing Weapon skill.

Undead
Will of the Forsaken: Activate to become immune to fear, sleep, and charm effects
Cannibalize: Increase health regeneration while consuming a corpse
Underwater Breathing: Underwater breath increased
Shadow Resistance: Increase Shadow Resistance

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/races/racial-bonuses.shtml

Andrew · Nov 10, 2004

Classes

Druid
Druids are the spellcasters that can also transform into powerful animals.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/druid.html

Hunter
Hunters are ranged combat fighters that get a special pet to become your companion.
Site is down

Mage
Mages are spellcasters with very powerful spells. AoE and Single Target spells.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/mage.html

Paladin: Alliance Only
Paladins are like holy warriors. They can heal themselves and others. They are strong melee too.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/paladin.html

Priest
Priests are spellcasters that mainly heal and buff. They also have spells that can disable your enemy and even deal damage.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/priest.html

Rogue
Rogues are melee that have dual wield. They attack fast, and they are lethal. They can sneak around and pickpocket humanoids.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/rogue.html

Shaman: Horde Only
Shamans are also healers, but they have very powerful buffs. They use totems to hurt the enemy.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/shaman.html

Warlock
Warlocks are like mages, but they can summon a pet. They have very cool spells. Very fun.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/warlock.html

Warrior
Warriors are the main melee and they deal a lot of damage. They are very cool.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/warlock.html

Basics

Andrew · Nov 10, 2004

Professions

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/

In the World of Warcraft, there are two types of professions, primary and secondary. Every player may have as many Secondary Professions as he or she desires but will only be able to choose two Primary Professions. All professions also fall into three categories: gathering, production, and service.

Gathering Professions:
Gathering professions support production professions by providing the materials necessary to create goods. Players may choose to become pure gatherers and sell gathered materials to other players.

Herbalism
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/herbalism.html
Fishing
Secondary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/fishing.html
Mining
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/mining.html
Skinning
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/skinning.html

Production Professions
Production professions allow players to create trade goods to be sold or used by the creator. However, some goods cannot be sold and are designed only to be used by the one who made the item.

Alchemy
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/alchemy.html
Blacksmithing
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/blacksmithing.html
Cooking
Secondary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/cooking.html
Engineering
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/engineering.html
Leatherworking
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/leatherworking.html
Tailoring
Primary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/tailoring.html

Service Professions
Although no goods are produced with service professions, they are still valuable skills to learn that will aid players in their adventures.

Enchanting
Primary Profression
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/enchanting.html
First Aid
Secondary Profession
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/firstaid.html

Items

Basics
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/items/basics.html

Level Requirements / (min 10)
Many items have level requirements. You cannot use them until your character has reached that level. Place your cursor over the item to check the level requirement. "(min 10)" is the minimum level that you have to be to use the item. So you would have to be character level 10 or higher to use this item.

Items are listed in red when your character cannot use them.

Item Quality Colors(from least powerful to most powerful)
Poor Quality
Common Quality
Uncommon Quality
Rare Quality
Epic
Legendary (Color Undecided)
Artifact (Color Undecided)

Item Type Rarity
This section explains when you will come across items for certain slots on your character.

At level 1: Chest, Shirt, Hands, Legs, Feet, Waist, Wrist
At higher levels (not revealed), listed in the order at which you will find them: Shoulder/Finger, Head/Neck, Trinket.

Item Bound Types
Not Bound- Items can be equipped, removed, or traded at any time and in any order.
Bind on Equip- You can trade this item if you haven't equipped it. Once you equip it, you can no longer trade it with other players.
Bind on Use- Once you have used this item, you can no longer trade it.
Bind on Acquire-Once you pick up the item, you will no longer be able to trade it with other players. Be very careful not to loot this item if you're not supposed to have it permanently.
Quest Items- Quest Items are bound to your character. You cannot trade them.

Durability
Item durability is an important aspect of World of Warcraft that works to stabilize the economy, decrease inflation specifically in the high end game, and in general keep prices of player sold items lower than normally would occur without such a feature. Durability should also add additional depth to the game since players will have more variety in their items and more abilities will be added over time to interact with durability. Item durability is different from item decay in that players will never lose items through item durability. On death, all equipped items will lose 10% durability
Durability key points
-All armor and weapons have durability, but not trinkets, cloaks, shirts, guild tabards, necklaces and rings.
-Items remain at full effectiveness until they have no durability. Their power does not degrade.
-Items cannot permanently break.
-All armor/weapon vendors can repair durability in exchange for cash.
-When an item reaches zero durability, it no longer gives the player any benefit; it acts as though it does not exist until repaired.
-Professions cannot repair durability, but we will discuss ways for the professions to interact with them in the future.

Set Items
There are Set Items where wearing more pieces of an item set will convey more bonuses to your character.

Armor Swapping
Armor can't be swapped out (changed) while in combat. Other equipment such as weapons and accessories can be swapped out.

Linking Item Stats to Chat Text
You can create a link to your item in chat text, which is useful for showing it to people for trading purposes or just to share information about your item. Hold down "Shift" and left-click on the item while having your chat text typing box open. This will insert a link to that item. Whenever you see [itemname], you can click on that text to see the stats of the item. Trade channels are the only general chat channels that allow item links. You can also link to items in the auction house to show items for sale to your friends

.

Stacking
Some items are stackable. They will stack/combine automatically when you drag them over to your backpack. You can break up a stack of items by holding "Shift" and then left-clicking on the item. This will bring up a number box, which you can use to indicate how many items you want to take out of the stack.

"Made By <Playername>"
This is an item that was created using a trade skill. The name on the item is the name of the person that created the item.

+Damage vs. +Mana
Using Fireball as an example, you can cast more fireballs with the INT item, but the damage you do is greater with the DMG item. Overall you deal slightly less damage on a full mana bar but at an increased DPS using the DMG item.

Andrew · Nov 10, 2004

Item Management
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/items/management.html

Bags
You can open up all your current bags at once by hitting "Shift + B." A good suggestion is to remap the B hot key so it simply opens all your bags at once. That way you don't have to figure out which bag contains the item you're looking for. Whenever you need something, hit B to open up all your bags.

Bag Organization
Come up with an organization plan for your bags. The very left bag (or top when you open them all) can be devoted to permanent items that are important. The next bag can be dedicated to holding quest items. The third bag could hold all your trade skill items, and so on. Your default backpack could contain food, water, and things you use for healing. It helps to pick different colored bags so you can easily identify which bag your item belongs in.

Equipment Plans
There are many different possible equipment plans. Decide what is best for you based on your playing style.
Looks/Styles
Some players select their equipment based on how it looks on their character. This is great for style. However, from a combat point of view it doesn't really matter what your character looks like. Stats are the most important aspects for combat. From a player's point of view, however, you may notice that your character's appearance will influence the actions of other players. If you look especially cool you may find other players offering compliments. Therefore, you might decide that your look is most important and thus focus mainly on your appearance, not worrying about character stats. If you can get the appearance youre looking for, while also having superior stats on the items you like, that's even better.
Suggestion: keep an alternative outfit in your backpack or bags to wear when you're not fighting. This is great approach to use for a role-playing/realistic point of view. The only downside is that it takes up room in your pack(s) that could be used for other items.
Stats First
Power players are primarily attracted to an item's stats and how it will improve their character's performance. They are willing to wear any item that improves their stats even if it includes, for example, wearing a dress on a male character!

If you are focusing on stats, find out which will benefit your character class the most. There are often multiple paths you can select. You should ask other players of the same class, especially more experienced players, for their advice on what stats will best benefit your character. For example, Warriors should look for high damage weapons and might want to focus on Strength. Or, perhaps, Warriors might want to focus more on Stamina increasing items.
Which item is better?
This is a common question. The most general solution to this problem is to ask other players which item is the better item. Link both items in your chat channel and then ask other players what they think is the better item to use for your character. General Chat might be a good channel for this, or you can ask your guild members, or even party members. Feel free to ask why one item is better than the other. You will then learn and gain experience that you can use later, or if someone asks you for help. There are usually plenty of stat focused players out there that know exactly what the "best" item is.
looks and Stats
This option is the best of both strategies. Find an item with stats that help your character that also looks great!

Item Selling
It's important to learn which items should be sold to other players and which should be sold to the vendors.
Other Players
What will other players buy? This is determined by demand and luck. Players will most often buy your item if it's one they consider good and is sold at the right price. Players will go for items they want or need. If you're trying to sell an item that is easily obtainable, it's unlikely to be purchased by other players. A good way to learn which items are valuable is to pay attention and watch auctions. You can see what types of items people sell and for what price. That way if you ever get one of those items and look to sell it, you will know what it will sell for. You should also ask other players for their advice. Also, item colors are important to learn. Blue items are often more valuable than green items, and so on.
"Vendor Trash"
This term has come to refer to items that should be sold to the merchants. This is because they won't, or are extremely unlikely to be bought by other players. Perhaps they are some body part that is dropped by a monster. Since players most likely won't purchase the item, it leaves only one group of buyers, the NPCs! If someone tells you an item is "Vendor Trash" this means you should sell it to the merchants. Of course they could just be insulting your item! Make sure you know the difference.

Old Equipment
Once you're done using an item, likely because you have found a better one, it's time to get rid of it. You have several options:
Hand-me-downs to a friend or guild mate

Lower level or poorly equipped players appreciate gifts. This can improve your standing with them, which might benefit you later on. If the item is bound to your character, your only choice is to sell the item to a vendor.
Auction
Sell the item in an auction. "One person's trash is another person's treasure." Your old items might fetch a hefty sum. Be sure that the item isn't soulbound to your character before trying to sell it.
Merchants
Anything you cannot give away, or sell to other players, should be sold to the merchants.

The Bank
Use the bank to store items. This will free up space in your bags. Store anything that you are not using or that you're unlikely to use.
Future Upgrades
Some items have a level requirement above your current level. So you must wait until you level up before you can use them.
Items for Other Classes
Save items for friends or mail them to your other characters.

Don't forget that you can get additional storage by buying bag slots and filling them with the largest bags you can find.

Out of Room?
If you're out of room, it's time to make some decisions as to what to keep. Try to sell anything you can to other players. If you have some items that you've tried to sell but cannot, it might be time to sell them to the merchants.

FAQ

WoW Guide (new and improved)

Andrew

Premium Member

Andrew

Premium Member

Andrew

Premium Member

Andrew

Premium Member

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