Have you already played WoW Retail and now want to try out Classic? Or maybe this is your very first time playing World of Warcraft, and you decided to start with the good old vanilla experience? Either way, this guide is for you. Here, we’ll break down all the WoW Classic essentials you should be aware of as a newcomer, so buckle in and let’s get going.
Your WoW Classic Character
Choosing Your Faction, Race, and Class
In WoW Classic, there are
two main factions: Alliance and Horde. Apart from the narratives and lore, the main differences between the two come down to a handful of questlines, key NPCs, and capital cities; otherwise, the overall gameplay experience is largely the same for both factions.
Each faction has its own unique set of playable races. Your race mainly determines how your character looks and where you start the game. While races do have special traits that provide small bonuses or utility perks, they don’t really affect your journey much, so just go with whatever you think looks coolest.
Your class defines your playstyle and the role you fill in group content. When choosing a class, it’s better not to chase “the best” one or follow the so-called meta, and instead, focus on what you actually enjoy doing in the game and which class fantasy you’re most drawn to. Every class has its strengths and weaknesses, but absolutely all of them are fun to play, so stick with something that you really like and won’t get bored with after a few hours. Everything else you’ll figure out along the way.
Skills & Talents
Once your character is created and set out to explore the in-game world, you’ll come across several skill systems as you play:
- Your core abilities are the spells and skills defined by your class. To unlock new abilities and upgrade existing ones, you’ll need to visit class trainers in major cities.
- Weapon skills determine how effective you are with different types of weapons. You can improve these skills by actually using a weapon in combat, and you can also learn to use new weapon types from weapon trainers.
- Your class also has three talent trees, each focused on a different playstyle. These trees contain abilities and bonuses unlocked by spending talent points that you earn while leveling.
- Professions are additional skills that let you gather resources or craft items that you can either use yourself or sell. Professions are picked up and upgraded through profession trainers.
Leveling and Questing
Leveling in Classic takes noticeably longer than in Retail, but there’s nothing too complicated about it. You still earn XP by completing in-game activities and defeating the creatures (or mobs) that populate the world. As you level up, you’ll gradually unlock more zones, content, and abilities.
In the early game, quests will be your main source of XP and gear upgrades. You’ll be doing a lot of walking and running around, and the game itself won’t give you much guidance when it comes to quests. There won’t be any markers on your minimap for locations and objectives, so you’ll need to read quest descriptions really carefully to figure out what to do.
Gold
Gold is the
main currency that you’ll use to pay for all the things essential for your character’s progress. You’ll need gold to buy level 40 and level 60 mounts, repair and upgrade your gear, level up professions, purchase consumables, train your skills, and more.
In Classic, gold is much harder to come by compared to Retail, while expenses are still relatively high. That’s why it’s important to
start earning as early as you can and avoid spending gold on stuff that you can make or farm yourself.
Raw gold can be earned from mob drops and quest or dungeon rewards. Low-tier loot can be sold to vendors, and more valuable items are often traded on the Auction House, the game’s marketplace. Professions can also make you a lot of gold, providing various materials and crafted items for sale. And if you’re saving for something big or just want to take a break from the grind, you can always
buy WoW Classic gold on special platforms in any amount you need.
Dungeons
Dungeons are instanced co-op challenges designed for teams of five players. Dungeons are fun and also very rewarding, giving you gold, XP, and lots of great loot that you can keep or sell for profit.
In dungeons, much like in any other group activity, every player fills one of three roles:
- Tank, who absorbs damage and controls enemy attention
- Healer, who keeps the group alive
- DPS (damage dealer), who focuses on killing enemies fast
The golden rule of dungeons is that the
tank should always go first to pull enemies and keep them occupied, so the rest of the group can follow and safely do their part. If a healer or DPS runs in first or doesn’t wait for the tank to make the pull, they can easily trigger multiple mobs, turning the run into a mess and often leading to a full group wipe. So just let your tank set the pace (or, if you’re the tank, do the pulls yourself), play your role, and everything will be just fine.
Endgame
The word “endgame” refers to the content you unlock once your character hits the maximum level. This is where you’ll experience WoW’s most iconic activities, including:
- Raids, which are massive PvE instances where big groups of players take on powerful bosses. Raids are much tougher than dungeons; they require very serious teamwork and preparation, but in return, reward some of the best gear in the game.
- PvP content, which includes one-on-one Duels with other players, as well as large-scale objective-based Battlegrounds and smaller, more tactical and class-focused Arenas (available in later Classic versions).
Endgame is often considered the best part of WoW, but it doesn’t mean that you have to rush toward it at full speed. Classic is more about the journey than the destination. Don’t treat leveling like a tutorial you need to sprint through as fast as you can, because that way, you’ll just miss a huge part of what makes Classic so special. Take your time, explore the game, and enjoy the ride.
And, of course, Classic feels much better when you play with others. So bring some friends along or join a guild, where you’ll always find someone to ask for advice, do group content together, or just hang out and discuss the game.
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