World of Warcraft Guide: Field Manual

World of Warcraft players rejoice. You now have an incredibly valuable resource right at your fingertips - The World of Warcraft Guide: Field Manual! Unlike the other guides, I'll give you tips that you can actually use. World of Warcraft has always been about having fun and helping out your fellow players. In that tradition, I pledge to bring you the ultimate field guide in World of Warcraft. Whether you're Horde or Alliance, you're gonna wanna get in on this action. I'm emptying all of the knowledge that I've compiled throughout my stay in World of Warcraft for you right here! Sit back and enjoy the ride. Your life in World of Warcraft is about to get much easier. I wrote the World of Warcraft Guide: Field Manual exactly for players like you! Whether you're new to World of Warcraft or you're just looking to brush up, this WoW Guide is for you!

General Strategies

Before we jump right into the specifics, there are a few things you need to know. There are some tips and tricks that can be used right from the beginning of the game, no matter what class, race or level you are. These are things that should be kept up throughout your journey in World of Warcraft. They're things that the common player overlooks. They're time tested and they perform!

- Kill everything!

On your journey throughout the leveling process in World of Warcraft, don't just do quests! Some players are genuinely shocked to hear that last sentence. Kill everything in your way! By only doing quests you're really hurting your leveling efficiency. I'll explain. Quests are great, but a lot of players decide that killing monsters that quests don't call for hurts their leveling speed. This isn't the case. When you're running from the quest giver to the location that they give you, kill everything that will give you experience along that way. You're already running there, you might as well get some extra experience along the way.

A lot of players ask me "But why? Isn't that like...grinding?" No. It's not like grinding. When grinding, you're just standing in one place killing monsters over and over again. Think of this as multi-tasking, since that's essentially what you're doing. While completing the quest, you're killing only the creatures that are in your way. You're cutting out every ounce of time that you'd spend chasing down creatures while grinding. Plus, this method proves time and time again to be efficient on your life and mana bars. Since you're not going to be rapidly killing creatures over and over again, you'll have a bit of downtime to regenerate any lost mana or health before you come across another creature. Trust me, kill everything that will give you experience on your way to the quest destination.

- Storage

This might seem like common knowledge, but most players don't realize how much time they waste going to the vendor to sell. Think about it. If you're questing in Durotar (Orc and Troll starting area) and you have to go to Orgrimmar or back to Razor Hill to sell right in the middle of a quest, you're wasting time. When possible, always get the largest bags you can find. Time and time again I'll start a new character and be questing with a friend when he says he needs to go sell. I am then left standing there waiting for him to get back. it's a huge waste of time. I've even seen power levelers that don't pick anything up in the first twenty levels if they can afford it. This is why they're efficient. They know the time wasters and they know when and how to avoid them. Trust me, grab as many bags as you can before you head out. It doesn't matter what level you are, you're going to need storage to avoid wasting time. This is especially true for classes that need to carry extra things. Warlocks need Soul Shards, Feral Druids need a set of tanking gear to switch out when they're tanking in a group. Hunters have to carry tons of arrows. These are all things you'll need to take into account before you go out hunting. Get prepared. It's the only way to power level.

Tip: Early on, get used to checking your bags for gear you've picked up along your journeys. Some of it might be better than the gear you have on, in which case you can just equip it and destroy your inferior gear. This saves bag space and time.

Newbie Strategies

- Look around!

New World of Warcraft players are often beset on all sides by things they've never seen before. This can lead to some confusing in the mind of a blooming player. I heavily suggest taking a look at your surroundings before you start bumbling around trying to find out where to start. No matter what your starting area, you're going to want to form a specific goal and guidelines towards reaching that goal from the moment you step into World of Warcraft. I wish I had a World of Warcraft Guide to tell me this when I started! People often overlook their environment and miss out on great opportunities. Always make sure that when exploring a new town or area, you check every nook and cranny. I've leveled up countless characters throughout my stay in World of Warcraft and I've often thought I knew everything about a certain place until I got there with another character and realized there for 2 to 3 more quests than I originally thought!

- Ask for help!

The other players in World of Warcraft are there for themselves. That's just a fact, but also, they're there to interact with people. So are you! Never forget that you have an incredible resource in the people all around you. Most players are pretty nice and will lend some advice or a helping hand. I'm not going to lie to you, you are going to come across some people that are just plain snotty and mean, but the majority are nice people. I know that when I first started I had no guides or tips anywhere, I just had to learn. Many of the players will look at you as a version of themselves when they first started and if you treat them with respect, they'll do the same for you!

If you're in a city and you can't find anybody to help you...ask a guard! Guards are the tour guides of World of Warcraft. Even being a seasoned WoW players, I still have to ask a guard every once in a while. In WoW, If you right click on a guard, you'll find a very helpful menu with a bunch of option. These will include guild trainers, armor vendors, trade skill halls, you name it. If you're just needing the location of something or someone, guards are a great resource for the new player and veteran alike.

PvP Tips

World of Warcraft has basically two games within it. There is the PvE (Player vs. Environment) aspect, in which you fight monsters and other bad guys to level and and gain gear. Secondly, you have your PvP (Player vs. Player) Environment. In this part of the game, you take on your fellow players in epic battle and struggle to arise the victor! Player vs. Player combat adds a lot to the World of Warcraft Experience and it can really start the competitive attitude within you. Here are a few time tested tips that will apply to any class when playing World of Warcraft PvP.

- Use your environment!

Environment is key! A lot of players are so caught up in their spec, build and gear that they don't realize that environment has just as much to do with victory as anything else. Casters cannot cast through things. If you have a pillar or a building next to you, jumping behind it will prevent them from completing their spell. This is especially useful if you're a melee class (a class that fights in close combat). This will force the spell caster to approach you, putting them out of their element and putting you in control.

- Teamwork!

If you're an experienced PvP Veteran and you're reading this, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that getting people to work together in the PvP Battlegrounds is a lost cause. A lot of players just jump into the Battlegrounds (a place to engage in World of Warcraft PvP) and forget that organization is going to win you battles. I do agree with you, Warcraft Veteran, that it's hard to get people to group and fight together, but not if you form it before you go into the Battlegrounds. In World of Warcraft, if you can muster the people, you can join the battlegrounds as a group. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and you're all working together for a common goal. Communication is the key to victory when playing World of Warcraft PvP, especially in the Battlegrounds.

PvE (Raiding and Grouping) Tips

- Know your place!

There are times while enjoying World of Warcraft that you're going to have to group. It's just a fact. Some NPC (non player character) is going to give you a really hard quest, or you're going to need to team up to defeat a nasty elite (super powerful) monster. Knowing your place in a group is paramount is achieving that group's goal. If you don't know how a group is supposed to function, then the group won't function! I'll run over every class and lay out exactly what each of their roles are (traditionally) in a group.

- Specialized Classes (One Purpose)

Warrior - The "Tank". Tanking means you are taking the brunt of the damage and holding the aggression of the monster on you. By doing this, you're protecting the other members of the party that might not be wearing plate mail or any kind of heavy armor. The Warrior is traditionally the tank of the group. Your job is to keep all of the monsters and villains angry at you!

Rogue - The primary melee damage dealer. The Rogue's job is the deal as much damage as possible to a single target. the Rogue picks his/her target and sticks with it until it's dead. The Rogue has a lot of utility moves that are going to deal an incredible amount of damage to a single target.

Mage - The Mage is a primary damage dealer as well, but they do so with spells. By using their vast arsenal of Arcane, Fire, and Frost elemental incantations, the Mage invokes destruction on their target. Mages are also highly adept at dealing a lot of damage to multiple targets. These are called AoE (Area of Effect) spells, and they're the Mage's forte.

Hunter - The Hunter is another damage class. They're assisted in battle by their loyal pet, which is used correctly can be very intimidating on it's own. The Hunter uses ranged weapons most effectively out of any class. They let arrows fly and bodies drop!

Warlock - The Warlock is like the Mage's cousin. Where the Mage inflicts damage using the elements, the Warlock is adept at flinging pestilence, shadow and decay at the target. Warlocks have a full arsenal of DoT (Damage over time) spells that erode an enemies life force over time. Warlocks are a damage dealing class.

Priest - Priest have two options or paths they can go down. Healing of Shadow. Shadow is for damage, and the other is for...well...healing. I've included Priest in the Specialized category because they are without a doubt, the best healers in the game. If healing is what you want to do, make a Priest. In a group, a priest heals the tank primarily, and tosses them out to other characters as they need them.

- Diverse Classes (Multi-Purpose)

Death Knight - The Death Knight has just recently been added to the index of class in World of Warcraft with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Death Knights are a little bit of a different breed than the other classes in Warcraft. They can be a "Tank" or they can DPS (damage per second or be a damage dealer). With the Death Knight, you'll need to choose which one you want to do and build your character accordingly.

Druid - The Druid is a jack of all trades and master of none. Druids have a specialization (spec) tree for healing, for dealing melee damage, and for tanking. They're truly a versatile class and if you're not sure what you want to do during your character creation process, the Druid is a very wise choice, as they can do anything.

Paladin - The Paladin is the perfect mix between the priest and warrior. Just like Death Knights have the ability to deal damage or tank, paladins have the option to heal or tank in a group. They can also do damage but they aren't highly group viable for that purpose due to a lack of crowd control and burst damage. Healing and Tanking are what Paladin's do best. Choose one and become a master at it!

Shaman - The Shaman is the tribal leader of the classes in World of Warcraft. Shaman can heal, deal spell damage, or deal melee damage. Shaman in groups are typically healing or doing damage. You can never tell what a Shaman will be doing. If you love the thrill of doing something different and multi-tasking, choose Shaman!

Check out my other articles for more on World of Warcraft!

World of Warcraft: Discipline Priest PvP Post 3.1

World of Warcraft: Elemental Shaman PvP Post 3.1

World of Warcraft: Marksmanship Hunter Spec Post 3.1