Getting Started with WoW Classic

It has been heavily anticipated for years, but World of Warcraft Classic is finally almost here! Azeroth returns to the original aspects of Vanilla, bringing back all the gameplay and features that made it so nostalgic and beloved by players worldwide.

World of Warcraft Classic is a massive-multiplayer-online-role-playing-game (MMORPG). It is set in the beautiful world of Azeroth, a sprawling fantasy universe packed with gorgeous terrain and larger-than-life monsters. Your role as a hero is to adventure across the land, exploring through dungeons, fighting deadly monsters, collecting better gear, and completing quests for people all across the land.

You can choose to set out by yourself, or make things more interesting with a group of friends with their own set of skills and abilities. World of Warcraft Classic is an epic journey with endless possibilities that places you in control of a powerful champion in a war-torn world.

Fresh content that existed in Vanilla will be released on a set schedule after World of Warcraft Classic is available to all. This gives you more places to explore, strong bosses to defeat, and epic rewards to look forward to. Vanilla was an incredible experience, but Classic will offer you another chance to relive in the glory days of Azeroth.

Playable Races in WoW Classic

You can choose from eight different unique races to play from. Both the Horde and Alliance are bitterly opposed, and each has their own set of four races to choose from. Picking one faction will naturally put you at war with the other, so choose carefully! You can only play with players of the same faction, but they can be any race within it.

Alliance

The Alliance have a golden reputation as being the true heroes of Warcraft. This point is debatable, but they certainly look more friendly than the Horde. These are the races you can choose if you decide to join the Alliance.

• Dwarves – A short, stocky race with long beards.
• Gnomes – Even shorter than a dwarf, but very slim to boot.
• Humans – The classic race, bearing the closest resemblance to a real person.
• Night Elves – A shadowy, magic-based race closely in tune with nature.

Horde

The Horde have a sinister reputation for being the evil villains of Warcraft. This isn’t helped by their beastly appearance. If you want to join the Horde, you can choose from the following races.

• Orcs – A fierce, green-skinned creature originating from an alien world of Draenor.
• Tauren – A noble, beefy beast that closely resembles a bovine.
• Trolls – A tricky, mojo-obsessed tall creature with blue skin.
• Undead – A sickly, bare-bones skeleton race that closely resembles a zombie.

Classes in WoW Classic

Whether you want to deal damage, soak hits for your allies, or keep your friends alive, there’s a class available for you. Here’s what you can choose from.

• Druid – A shapeshifting class capable of fulfilling any role by quite literally turning into an animal.
• Hunter – Focused on dealing damage from a distance with a bow. They can also befriend a beast to fight for them.
• Mage – Another damage dealing class that focuses on casting spells. They’re also a great pick for utility, with the ability to conjure their own food and cast portals to other cities.
• Paladin – Another class quite similar to the druid that can wear many hats. They’re a close-ranged fighter that uses holy magic to smite their foes or heal allies. Only Alliance players can be a paladin.
• Priest – This is the traditional healing class. They use their understanding of holy magic to restore vitality to allies, or forsake it to harness the powers of shadow magic.
• Rogue – Another close-ranged fighter, but this one focuses on stealth and daggers. The rogue makes for an excellent assassin, quietly dispatching of his enemies.
• Shaman – A class with great connection to the elements. They commune with them to zap their foes, or heal allies. They make heavy use of totems, and can even resurrect themselves! Only Horde players can be a shaman.
• Warlock – A powerful, demon-summoning class that makes excellent use of damage-over-time spells. Warlocks are great for damage in long, sustained fights.
• Warrior – A beefy, strong class capable of absorbing damage for their allies. They make use of a weapon and shield to take heavy blows from enemies.

For more information you can view our WoW Classic Class Guides!

Capitol Cities in WoW Classic

Both the Alliance and Horde have major cities that represent the classes within their faction.

Horde Cities

• Orgrimmar – The Orc stronghold in Azeroth. It is also home to the Trolls of Darkspear.
• Thunder Bluff – Home to the Tauren. The entire city is atop a mountain, hence the bluff.
• Undercity – Capital of the Undead. It’s quite dark and ghastly here, and you’ll find more dead things than alive.

Alliance Cities

• Stormwind – The fortress for Humans. This one closely represents a castle.
• Ironforge – The hidden lair of the Dwarves and Gnomes. It’s built into a mountainside, and is filled with lava.
• Darnassus – The secluded territory of the Night Elves. It is separate from the two main continents, and is planted on the giant Teldrassil tree.

Professions in WoW Classic

During your travels, you’re sure to run into several items that are used as crafting materials. Things like animal skins, herbs, and ores found in mineral veins can all be converted into useful items. Here are the professions you can choose from.

Primary Professions

Crafting Professions

• Alchemy – Craft potions and flasks from herbs.
• Blacksmithing – Craft armor and weapons with metal ores.
• Enchanting – Cast boons on armor, granting them extra stats.
• Engineering – Create bombs and guns with metal ores.
• Leatherworking – Turn animal skins into leather armor.
• Tailoring – Craft light armor from cloth.

You can find detailed WoW Classic Profession Guides here!

Gathering Professions

• Herbalism – Collect herbs to be used in Alchemy recipes.
• Mining – Collect metal ores found in mineral veins.
• Skinning – Remove the hide of a slain beast.

Secondary Professions

• Cooking – Create food that grants benefits.
• First Aid – Craft bandages from cloth to heal yourself.
• Fishing – Catch fish that you can cook.

Travel & Transportation in WoW Classic

Azeroth is a huge world, and it would be crazy to expect you to walk everywhere on foot. Fortunately, there are many options when it comes to quick transportation. Here’s how you can quickly navigate around Azeroth.

Flight Masters

Both the Alliance and Horde have flight masters that will allow you to ride one of their beasts to predetermined locations you’ve already been to. The key difference between the factions is what the flying creatures look like! Alliance players have friendly Gryphons and Hippogryphs, while the Horde have fierce Bats and Wyverns.

Massive Transport

Both factions can make use of boats to travel between destinations. Boats can have an unlimited number of players on them at once, allowing you to travel with your friends at the same time. The Horde also make use of a flying Goblin Zeppelin between Orgrimmar and Undercity. The Alliance use the Deeprun Tram to traverse between Stormwind and Ironforge.

Mounts!

Each playable race has their own unique steed that they can ride once you reach appropriate level. You can ride your first mount at level 40, and can ride an even-faster one at level 60. Here’s what each race can ride:

• Dwarf – Rams.
• Human – Horses.
• Gnome – Mechanostriders, a mechanical creation that closely resembles a chicken.
• Night Elf – Nightsabers, a tiger-like creature with large fangs.
• Orc – Wolves.
• Tauren – Kodos, massive mammoth-like creatures that need to be large to support a beefy Tauren.
• Troll – Raptors, bouncy dinosaur-like creatures that run on hind legs.
• Undead – Skeletal Horses, very similar to Human horses, but they have no flesh.

• Felsteed – Warlock mount.
• Warhorse – Paladin mount.