3 Things NOT to Do in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is an expansive, ever changing social experience. It can be a lot of fun, and it's made you friends, allowed you to escape from the monotony of normal life, and granted a sense of achievement just like any sport or activity. However, since WoW is such a social platform, there are things that are frowned upon by it's player base...and more importantly...Blizzard Entertainment. Here are the Top 5 things not to do in World of Warcraft if you don't want to get banned!

1) Don't ever use a bot. If you're not familiar with Bots, that's a good thing. Bots are essentially programs on autopilot that run around killing random things for you while you're not playing. This gets you loot, experience and a faster leveling speed than most people could imagine. However, it will also get you banned - fast! If Blizzard finds out you're using a bot (and other players WILL report you), they will immediately ban your account and prevent you from ever opening up a new on in the same name. Trust me, it's not worth it!

2) Don't corpse camp. When you're fighting in World of Warcraft PvP, don't stand over your recently fallen enemy's corpse and wait for them to respawn with half health so you can kill them again. Will this get you banned? no. Will this have any dangerous side effects and put your account at risk? No. However, this WILL give you a bad reputation within the realm of the game. While it's true that these players are just laid back gamers trying to have a good time, you'd be surprised at how fast word gets around in the game. Nobody wants a corpse camper in their guild, especially when bragging rights are on the line!

3) Don't use power leveling services (don't pay for somebody else to level you up) Yes, I know...some of use have used them and gotten away with it. Power leveling services are dangerous for these reasons:

- You must give the power leveling company your username and password to your World of Warcraft account. There are legitimate services out there, but what happens when you pay the WRONG service $250 to power level your druid and they decide to steal your account. You're done for. You can't complain to Blizzard because it's against their Terms of Service anyway. They won't help you. It's a better policy to just stay away from these sites all all costs. (If you're a power leveling service and reading this...go ahead and hate me. I hate you too)

- If the power leveling service does deliver on their claim, they often strip your account of the gold they made while leveling you, leave you with a scattered inventory, bad gear and a track record of sneaky behavior in Blizzard's eyes. It could be 5 months down the line when Blizzard bans you. You're not safe even if you "think" you got away with it. Essentially, you can pay for a leveling service to level you fast, but that money and time is lost if your account gets banned. Bummer!

On the subject of power leveling - there is a bright side to it. There are LEGITIMATE programs out there that will help you level up quickly that won't get you banned by Blizzard. Yes...they cost money...but they don't cost $250. (I've always thought that was just insane for power leveling ONE character anyway). Check out Zygor's Leveling Guide for more information. If you don't like that one, there's always the Team iDemise Leveling Guide too. I've used both and they're equally good.

Until next time, WoW it out!