A Beginner's Guide to World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is what's called an MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. In it, you can choose what sort of character you can play, what faction you want to be, and what class you'd like to take. There have been two expansions so far, with a third on the way, each of which has added new sorts of characters you can play.

If you're going to play World of Warcraft, the first thing you need to do is choose a server. There are three different kinds. If you have friends who play ask them which one they use so you can play together! If you're getting into the game solo, then here are your choices: PvE - Player vs. Environment. That means players of the opposite faction (faction's coming later) will not be able to kill you unless you turn on PvP (player versus player) or wander into their home cities. PvP servers are servers where other PCs (player characters) are fair game, as long as they're not in a safe zone. The game will tell you whether you are or aren't. The last kind of server is an RP server. That is a Roleplaying server. What this means is that when you talk in chat in the game, you talk as your character.

The character creation screen is where you start after choosing a server. You have to choose your faction first, then your race, gender, and class. You can also personalize how your character looks. Finally, you need to choose a name you like, but keep in mind people will shorten it to the first syllable. For example, I play a character, also known as a "toon," named Guendolyn, but people call me Guen. The game can also randomize your name for you. Don't worry, if you end up not liking it you can change it later.

The faction is pretty important, too. You'll have different cities that you start from,different quests and different race choices. The factions are called Alliance and Horde.

When you're picking your race, make sure you read about their special abilities. Some races are more compatible with some classes than others. For example, gnomes have an intelligence bonus that makes them great mages! Picking your class is just as important. If you want to do a lot of damage, a rogue currently is the best class to play. If you want to be a healer you have four choices, and so on.

When you first start, you'll get a video and a story about why your race is involved in the war. You'll get to see your starting area via an aerial shot coming in onto your character. You will start with virtually nothing, no money, no gear, but there will be an NPC (non-playing character) with a yellow exclamation point over his head. Talk to him and he'll give you a job to do, called a quest. When you do it, you're probably going to have to kill level 1 creatures; when you do you will gain XP - experience points. That's how you get better in the game! The creatures will sparkle when they're dead, that means that they have something on them. You need to click on them to loot them, and you might even get better gear. The things you get that you can't use hold on to though, that's how you make money.

That's how you start with World of Warcraft, AKA WoW. Good luck!