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If
you are like one of many
World of Warcraft players currently enjoying the Mists of Pandaria
expansion, you are probably thinking about or have already created your
very own Pandaren. The Pandaren starting zone is beautiful to look at
and is pretty easy to follow through. However, despite the ease of the
starting zone, there are some questions players just can't seem to get
answered.

In fact, if you spend enough
time in the starting zone you will likely see the same questions asked
over, and over, and over, and over, and...well you get the idea. This
article focuses on those question and will hopefully provide new
Pandaren players out there with the answers they seek.

World of Warcraft: Mists of
Pandaria - Pandaren Starting Zone FAQ

Choosing Horde or Alliance

This is literally the most
asked question on the Wandering Isle. Until you actually reach the
point where you choose your faction, there is absolutely no indication
when or if it will happen. Since players want to be sure they choose
the right faction this lack of information ultimately leads this
question to pop up more than a few times in General Chat.

Pandaren choose their faction
once they have complete all the quests on the Wandering Isle. There is
quite a number of quests here and as such players will find they are
right around level 12 when they are finished. When you turn in the
final quest you will then be promoted to choose between the Horde and
Alliance.

Chat on the Wandering Isle

Players on the Wandering Isle
often are stunned when they cannot speak to anyone who is not also on
the Isle with them. They come to the conclusion that chat must be
broken, which is simply not true. The Wandering Isle is as isolated as
it gets and it is meant to be that way.

There are no global chat
channels and no whispers. The exception to this rule is Battletag and
RealID friends who will still be available for whispers. Otherwise, you
are pretty much on your own till you leave the Pandaren starting zone.
As soon as you leave the Wandering Isle your chat will function as
normal.

Sending Mail

Sadly, keeping with the
isolation theme, there are no mailboxes aboard the Wandering Isle in
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. This means that you cannot send
or receive mail of any type until you are off the island. Sorry guys,
no heirlooms for your brand spankin' new Pandaren.

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When
on the Wandering Isle many normal functions, like joining a guild, are
unavailable.

Joining Guilds

Joining guilds while
adventuring on the Wandering Isle is out of the question for two
reasons. The first is the absolute isolation you experience here and
you cannot yet speak to anyone outside of the island. The second reason
is that until you are ready to leave the Wandering Isle your Pandaren
has not yet allied themselves with one faction or the other. If you
haven't chosen Horde or Alliance you certainly can't join a guild. As
soon as you leave the Wandering Isle and choose Horde or Alliance you
will be able to join a guild in the typical fashion.

Wandering Isle vs. Pandaria

I've seen several players make
the mistake of believing that the Wandering Isle Pandaren starting zone
is the continent of Pandaria. This could not be more wrong. Those
Pandaren on the Wandering Isle have long left Pandaria behind. You
won't visit the fabled misted continent until you reach level 85.

Training Professions

Despite popular belief you CAN
train some professions as a Pandaren on the Wandering Isle. This should
come as a relief to those players who like to get a head start on these
things. Visit Elder Oakpaw or Whittler Dewei to train in all the
primary professions (secondary professions such as First Aid and
Cooking will have to wait). Elder Oakpaw can be found in Mandori
Village on the steps near the blacksmith, while Whittler Dewei is
located at the Singing Pools.

Leaving the Starting Zone

If you haven't figured it out
yet, the name of the game on the Wandering Isle in World of Warcraft:
Mists of Pandaria is complete and total isolation. This means that new
Pandaren do not have the luxury of leaving their starting zone afforded
to other races. You are stuck on this giant turtle until you have
completed the quest line.

Going Back

Just like the Goblin and Worgen
starting zones, once you leave the Wandering Isle you can never go back
with that character. So be sure to see all you want to see and do all
you want to do because unless you start a new Pandaren you will never
see this place again.

With these answers firmly in
place, hopefully the Wandering Isle General Chat will be reduced to
blissful silence, only to be interrupted by the occasional Chuck Norris
joke. What are some questions you had while leveling your Pandaren?
Feel free to continue to enrich the community by sharing them and the
answers you found to them in the comment section below!