Creating a character in World of Warcraft  can be a daunting task for a new player and especially for players coming from other games. Don’t worry though; we’re here to help you through the process. Let’s begin by explaining the basics.

First is the big question. Do you have a friend who will be playing the game with you? If the answer is yes then you’re going to want to ask them two things. What realm (or server) do they play on and what faction are they. These two questions are super important; otherwise you will not be able to play alongside your friend.

The first thing the game will ask you is what realm do you want to play on and will often recommend one for you. If you have a friend you’re going to want to view the realm list and choose your friend’s server, otherwise you can simply take the game’s suggestion and move to the character creation screen. If you don’t choose your friend’s server then you and him can be in the same spot but unable to see or communicate with one another! So be sure to ask if you have a friend who plays WoW as well.

Realms also have a type and it’s important to understand the various types. There are RP (roleplaying), PvP (player vs. player), normal, and RP-PVP servers. Any server that is PvP will allow other players from the opposing faction to kill you on sight in any of the non-newbie areas. It may sound like a big inconvenience, but it adds a lot of fun and excitement to the game. If you don’t want to PvP then be sure to choose a normal server. Roleplaying servers are generally considered to be for those who want to roleplay. If you don’t know a lot about it then you can just skip them.

Characters in WoW fall into one of two factions, either the Alliance or the Horde. Each faction determines what race you can be, your starting location, who you can talk to, and who is your enemy. It’s important to understand what each faction is first before you go any further in creating your character.

The Alliance: The Alliance is composed of Humans, Gnomes, Night Elves, Dwarves, and Draenei. They all work together to defend their lands from the barbaric Horde and other evils that have encroached on the land. Many see the Alliance as pure and clean, their cities being massive and pristine. Most of the Alliance races are humanoid in appearance and are very far from what the more monstrous Horde look like. The Alliance races are sworn enemies to the horde, but are able to communicate with other members and allies of the Alliance.

The Horde: The Horde is very rustic and barbaric. They are composed of Orcs, the Undead, Trolls, Tauren (big cow people), and Blood Elves. The Horde work tirelessly to survive in a land that’s constantly trying to reject them and work with their limited history in order to build a massive empire. The Horde can be considered monstrous in appearance considering that most of their races do not resemble humanoids. The Horde races are sworn enemies to the Alliance, but are able to communicate with other members and allies of the Horde.

If you have a friend playing then you’re going to want to choose the side that’s he or she is on. If you don’t have a friend playing then it all comes down to do you want to fight for the humanoid “good guys” or the monstrous “bad guys.” The entire game changes depending on this choice, but you can choose whatever side you want to be on.

Once you know your side you can pick a race and a class. Which class is the best class? Well, that’s a matter of personal opinion. I suggest you read through each of our individual class guides for a class that you’re interested in and then make your choice. You can also play through the game a bit with different classes to see which one you like the most.

Ten Ton Hammer Class Guides

Additionally, the race you choose will determine your starting area. The starting areas are as follows (click the link to see a starting guide to each section):

Horde

Alliance


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Get in the bush with David "Xerin" Piner as he leverages his spectacular insanity to ask the serious questions such as is Master Yi and Illidan the same person? What's for dinner? What are ways to elevate your gaming experience? David's column, Respawn, is updated near daily with some of the coolest things you'll read online, while David tackles ways to improve the game experience across the board with various hype guides to cool games.

Comments

Related Content

Patch 5.4 Profession Changes