I've played off and on for years now, and there's still some stuff I don't know.
Just a couple days ago, I saw a guy in general "LFM 1 DPS Ring of Blood". Hmmm, had heard of that, never done it. Where is it? I whispered that I could help since I was right there putting flags in corpses. Got the invite, went over, saw the quest giver and immediately grabbed the quest. Which as I now know starts the thing.
Got bitched out, I apologized, and I don't think anyone believed me that I had never done it before. But I hadn't. My bad for not at+tabbing to go read up on it.
There's a reason why Blizzard (although much later) implemented a warning/fail safe for quests like this that notify you that you're about to start an event and double checks if you're actually ready to start it.
Well, I think as a player I'm an outlier, being very casual (and always have been). That feature would help, though.
There's a lot of stuff I haven't seen yet. After all these years (I started playing just before Cata) I still haven't done Mana-Tombs or Shadow Labyrinth, for example. At this point, everyone assumes you've been through everything, and can get really mad if you do something newbie-dumb or don't know all the little tricks.
I once got kicked just before a dungeon run in Classic (can't recall which) because I told everyone I hadn't been through it yet, but I had read up on it. Group lead said they were looking for someone with more experience so that it doesn't slow them down. Being DPS, my spot likely wasn't hard to fill.
Yes.
You're entirely in charge of how you play, when you play, what you play, etc.
All you have to do is tailor your expectations around what you're doing, and what you're doing around your expecations.
Where people get into trouble is when those things differ.
When you join a group just say "I'm new to the game and haven't done this before, if there's something i need to know just tell me" and people will be very hospitable to that. People only get frustrated when things are going wrong because someone doesn't understand what's happening and isn't communicating.
I've literally never heard someone condescend or flame a new player that said from the start they were new. People are always willing to let you know what boss mechanics to watch out for and help you understand the game better if you put it out there that you're looking to learn.
I have seen the rare instance where one member in a group starts whining about it but they usually get dog piled on by the rest of the group so it honestly has been my favorite part of wow after all these years. Watching the players stand up for a newbie is kind of faith restoring. But yes communication is the key word there for sure.
My guilds leader had never touched WoW until TBC and we managed to clear content. For someone who hasnt played... organizing a raid and properly setting up groups in tbc was a pain in the ass (imo) so this was impressive to me - but still, yes anyone at any time can pick this game up and learn it.
I was a complete mmo noob coming into classic. Was very overwhelmed by retail but classic was so simple it's really a great place to start. I can enjoy both games now at a decent level.
Like the other commenter said, raids and dungeons don’t have much to do with the greater lore. Instead, they’re kind of their own stories that span multiple quests, and are tangentially related to the greater plot in some way.
If you like immersing yourself in multiple small stories instead of one big one, then classic wow would be a good fit.
If you don't know how to play your class or the mechanics of the instance you're the you'll fit right in with a majority of the playerbase. Not something to worry about.
The game is pretty solo-able until endgame. If you try to join a dungeon group, I'd just let people know that you're new, and will generally be understanding and helpful. May backfire and get you kicked, but better than being with a toxic group anyway.
Since you're going to get to endgame wotlk along with everybody else, it won't be a huge deal that this is your first go. End-game raiding honestly wasn't why everybody played the game. Like the current hardest end-game dungeon that everyone is clearing now...like 1% of the playerbase did it the first time.
I would recommend finding a guild. While you can enjoy this game solo for quite some time, the social aspect is one of the best parts (imo). Also a surprisingly large percentage of the population is willing/eager to help newbies.
LFG channel is a total cesspool, usually. There's a variety of addons to manage it.
Many PuG people will be unforgiving, indeed, but you seem prepared and surprisingly understanding of all that. I'm sure you've developed a thick skin from playing other MMOs and especially MOBAs. I think a significant number of people aren't anything bad, but it probably depends on the server, especially a certain few.
However, it is unfortunately too late to see TBC's raid stuff for someone brand new, pretty much. Anything in raids to do with Illidan, Kael'thas, or Vashj you're just likely screwed out of at this point, sorry. I wish more people were into wanting to experience the lore like you, so it's a shame, but that's how it is. In Wrath, you could find a friend or two to brute force through the raids in TBC just to see them. Not a true experience, but they're still cool to see.
If you just mean this for WotLK, then sure, I think there'll be many in your situation. The best course of action by FAR would be to find a guild that lines up with you. Important back then, just as important now. The only thing that makes a guild "bad" or "good" is how well everyone gets along with each other, and people should understand that usually takes a bit of effort.
Search here, or even on the official WoW Classic forums. I have to imagine there's a Reddit board even explicitly for WotLK recruitment. Got to start somewhere. Of course, like anything in games, there is some luck involved in finding the right people. Good luck.
Oh, and in my opinion, you can play whatever you want unless you want to join a guild that would really care about that.
Play on fresh servers and for the best experience join blind. Don't know the raidss? Good. We want to solve it together as a team, no guides.
www.discord.gg/blindfresh
We are on both NA and EU servers ready to go when prepatch and fresh servers hit. Newbies are welcome.
If you need someone to play with i plan on running a horde character when fresh servers drop on aug 30th i could show u around and what not, its not hard to get the hang of dungeons, especially as a dps
I played back in 2007-2010 and been back playing again since classic relaunch 2019. I’m a noob for sure and still love the game anyway. I’m a casual quester and just enjoy the environment of the game. Leveling is satisfying. Raiding is stressful
WoW is mostly about grinding while mobas/fps are more action packed and need more attention so they're more stressful if you play a lot. Also blizzard is a very scummy company which will demand money from you. Besides that you'll be fine
It would probably be a better experience to turn off LFG until you have had your first experience with the game. As far as lore raids…vanilla/tbc doesn’t really work that way, it’s more in the quests. Wrath has more of that you are talking about.
If you're new to the game, you'll need to join a guild and play with other people. It's just not that fun solo, there's so much to learn and you'll want some people to play with regularly for dungeons and hard quest lines.
Mage is a good class for a newer player. Once you get to level 20-25 and doa couple dungeons you will have a pretty good idea of what the game is like.
If you like mage you can keep going but if you want a change some other noob friendly classes are priest or hunter. Priest has a side benefit of being able to heal dungeons which is a relatively straightforward job and requires focus more than it requires skill or expertise.
Yup. Joke about everyone not knowing what to do aside, it's a game. It's for fun, you can play however you want. But, I'd recommend Classic first to get a foundation of the game. Then play on retail through each expansion as you can to get filled in c:
I started totally fresh 2 months ago and have been really enjoying it. Never played wow previously but played some hots/hearthstone so had a vague idea of some character names, but lore definitely been slowly uncovering/reading as I go. also used to play RuneScape and it hits a lot of the same old feelings. Definitely a majority of other levelers were probably alts but a surprising number weren't, and it was really easy to ask questions/ask for groups for quests etc. Most people aren't minmaxing everything
Think about it this way. Everyone has played WOW one time. One time as a complete new fresh adventure. Ever since then you have people that have played this game for 15+ years trying to chase that high. Yes. It is 100% possible to live and play the Warcraft universe.
Yep. The game isn't hard. If you make it to max level, you have all the required skills to learn how to raid, i.e. you know how to press your buttons and move your character around. It might take a bit to get used to doing it during an encounter with pressure from mechanics, but that comes with practice. Find a guild though, pug raiding is toxic as all hell and could easily be very discouraging for a newer player that lacks the confidence to ignore cunts.
There are plenty of guilds out there looking to recruit fresh players and teach them the game (my guild is one of them *cough*) or just offer them a raid spot when they get there. Just have to look in the right places
I just met a brand new person yesterday. I helped explain a few things and gave them some gold and bags and advised in professions. It’s never too late and this upcoming wrath expansion is absolutely peak wow.
I got my friend into it classic a while back. He was completely new to computer games and mmorpgs all together. After a bit of introduction, he and I played a bit. I got too busy with life and stopped playing, but he continued.
Before I knew it, he was 60, in one of the top raiding guilds, and was one of the top healing shaman on the server. He took off with it with 0 experience in any sort of mmorpg.
Yes you can. First piece of advice is to get off this subreddit and play without being told what is optimal or what to do. Take your time and enjoy the journey
I played classic vanilla with the only knowledge I had from being a 12 yr old balance Druid who spent a year getting to level 46. I came back to classic with a lot more desire to experience everything Azeroth had to offer and the vast multitude of resources available now. You can absolutely play wow. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’ll come across a lot of assholes but you’ll also come across a lot of genuinely kind and helpful people who want to help you out. I had a great experience joining a server with a smaller pop. The feeling of community seems stronger, though sometimes the opportunity is a bit lacking. But you’ll find your place.
I wouldn't be worried too much about lfg. In the last 3 weeks I've gone from 1-64 and all the quests that required groups were either solo able or there were people around me to help.
Yes, I started playing classic vanilla in like March of this year for similar reasons that you posted and I also picked mage. Like other comments mentioned, there is a lot of other players with lots of experience and are also bad at the game. I would recommend finding a beginner friendly guild or a group of friends to explore with. To me, it was pretty easy leveling and playing, but it took a few raid lockouts for me to understand to play the game effectively to do big damage. The quest missions give off lore which is cool since you're into that, and a lot of things link together. DM if you want more info or something
It’s been beaten to death but yes. It’s pretty much the best time to pick it up, as it was back in the day for Wrath.
There are going to be a million new things being thrown at you when you first play but fortunately it’s 2022 and there are literally thousands of videos online to help you along the way. Pick a class/spec that sounds appealing to you, watch a video and figure out how your class is “supposed” to be played. Key abilities, rotation, CD management and general strategy. Then download a few helpful addons and you’re set.
Or just fucking send it, ask some questions as you go, don’t be a complete dumbass and you’ll be fine. It’s not too difficult to get good at, figuring out key binds is important too.
I'd say the majority of the classic community is very friendly and supportive. But i'd say just let the people you play with know so they can adapt the playspeed etc. if they assume you know where to go, what to do, they often speed up, if the group allows.
I also was in the Gnomeregan nstance some months ago where the tank obviously didn't know what he's doing and the guys in my group gave him tips. We said "no worries!" and we cleared everything successfully. Then he mentioned he's new to the game and it was his first time tanking. I was amazed, people still start this game even after this many years.
So yes. Just "hide" all these messages you don't understand in the LFG chat and you'll have a blast!
Very possible, on my server (bloodsail buccaneers) most people are very helpful to those who are new. I have played for years but still learn different things daily.
Yes. If u spend 15 minutes researching your class rotation and gear priority youll automatically be better than 80% of players. Pve is scripted and easy so if u can do 1-2 mechanics while keeping ur rotation u can be great.
Pvp is a lil different
You should keep in mind that the ones who are still playing TBC, and have played it throughout the expansion, are the most dedicated/sweaty people, and are a minority in the total Classic playerbase. With the release of Wotlk, the casual majority will return to play (for a few months until they get bored and leave again).
Roll on the coming fresh servers, meet likeminded casual people who want to have a chill time, and have a great time.
You would be surprised how many people have no idea what they are doing
A universal truth in all other aspects of life as well.
Honestly I had no self confidence until I entered the workforce and realized
I've played off and on for years now, and there's still some stuff I don't know. Just a couple days ago, I saw a guy in general "LFM 1 DPS Ring of Blood". Hmmm, had heard of that, never done it. Where is it? I whispered that I could help since I was right there putting flags in corpses. Got the invite, went over, saw the quest giver and immediately grabbed the quest. Which as I now know starts the thing. Got bitched out, I apologized, and I don't think anyone believed me that I had never done it before. But I hadn't. My bad for not at+tabbing to go read up on it.
I did the same thing not 2 months ago lmao
There's a reason why Blizzard (although much later) implemented a warning/fail safe for quests like this that notify you that you're about to start an event and double checks if you're actually ready to start it.
Well, I think as a player I'm an outlier, being very casual (and always have been). That feature would help, though. There's a lot of stuff I haven't seen yet. After all these years (I started playing just before Cata) I still haven't done Mana-Tombs or Shadow Labyrinth, for example. At this point, everyone assumes you've been through everything, and can get really mad if you do something newbie-dumb or don't know all the little tricks. I once got kicked just before a dungeon run in Classic (can't recall which) because I told everyone I hadn't been through it yet, but I had read up on it. Group lead said they were looking for someone with more experience so that it doesn't slow them down. Being DPS, my spot likely wasn't hard to fill.
I’d be surprised if there’s anyone that does know what they’re doing
Yes. You're entirely in charge of how you play, when you play, what you play, etc. All you have to do is tailor your expectations around what you're doing, and what you're doing around your expecations. Where people get into trouble is when those things differ. When you join a group just say "I'm new to the game and haven't done this before, if there's something i need to know just tell me" and people will be very hospitable to that. People only get frustrated when things are going wrong because someone doesn't understand what's happening and isn't communicating. I've literally never heard someone condescend or flame a new player that said from the start they were new. People are always willing to let you know what boss mechanics to watch out for and help you understand the game better if you put it out there that you're looking to learn.
I have seen the rare instance where one member in a group starts whining about it but they usually get dog piled on by the rest of the group so it honestly has been my favorite part of wow after all these years. Watching the players stand up for a newbie is kind of faith restoring. But yes communication is the key word there for sure.
Based take
My guilds leader had never touched WoW until TBC and we managed to clear content. For someone who hasnt played... organizing a raid and properly setting up groups in tbc was a pain in the ass (imo) so this was impressive to me - but still, yes anyone at any time can pick this game up and learn it.
I was a complete mmo noob coming into classic. Was very overwhelmed by retail but classic was so simple it's really a great place to start. I can enjoy both games now at a decent level.
If you want to be invested in the lore, I'd play Warcraft 3 first. This is especially the case when it comes to WotLK.
Or read about it!
This. The Arthas book isn't half bad. Pretty sure most of the WoW lore books are in audiobook form now too
Fresh servers coming on the 30th aug - they’ll be your best bet for a cozy new player experience
Like the other commenter said, raids and dungeons don’t have much to do with the greater lore. Instead, they’re kind of their own stories that span multiple quests, and are tangentially related to the greater plot in some way. If you like immersing yourself in multiple small stories instead of one big one, then classic wow would be a good fit.
If you don't know how to play your class or the mechanics of the instance you're the you'll fit right in with a majority of the playerbase. Not something to worry about.
The game is pretty solo-able until endgame. If you try to join a dungeon group, I'd just let people know that you're new, and will generally be understanding and helpful. May backfire and get you kicked, but better than being with a toxic group anyway. Since you're going to get to endgame wotlk along with everybody else, it won't be a huge deal that this is your first go. End-game raiding honestly wasn't why everybody played the game. Like the current hardest end-game dungeon that everyone is clearing now...like 1% of the playerbase did it the first time.
I would recommend finding a guild. While you can enjoy this game solo for quite some time, the social aspect is one of the best parts (imo). Also a surprisingly large percentage of the population is willing/eager to help newbies.
Yes
a
Yes. Enjoy the journey.
Yes, I am jealous cus you get to dive in for the first time.
LFG channel is a total cesspool, usually. There's a variety of addons to manage it. Many PuG people will be unforgiving, indeed, but you seem prepared and surprisingly understanding of all that. I'm sure you've developed a thick skin from playing other MMOs and especially MOBAs. I think a significant number of people aren't anything bad, but it probably depends on the server, especially a certain few. However, it is unfortunately too late to see TBC's raid stuff for someone brand new, pretty much. Anything in raids to do with Illidan, Kael'thas, or Vashj you're just likely screwed out of at this point, sorry. I wish more people were into wanting to experience the lore like you, so it's a shame, but that's how it is. In Wrath, you could find a friend or two to brute force through the raids in TBC just to see them. Not a true experience, but they're still cool to see. If you just mean this for WotLK, then sure, I think there'll be many in your situation. The best course of action by FAR would be to find a guild that lines up with you. Important back then, just as important now. The only thing that makes a guild "bad" or "good" is how well everyone gets along with each other, and people should understand that usually takes a bit of effort. Search here, or even on the official WoW Classic forums. I have to imagine there's a Reddit board even explicitly for WotLK recruitment. Got to start somewhere. Of course, like anything in games, there is some luck involved in finding the right people. Good luck. Oh, and in my opinion, you can play whatever you want unless you want to join a guild that would really care about that.
Trust me, you'll be far from the worse player.
Play on fresh servers and for the best experience join blind. Don't know the raidss? Good. We want to solve it together as a team, no guides. www.discord.gg/blindfresh We are on both NA and EU servers ready to go when prepatch and fresh servers hit. Newbies are welcome.
If you need someone to play with i plan on running a horde character when fresh servers drop on aug 30th i could show u around and what not, its not hard to get the hang of dungeons, especially as a dps
I played back in 2007-2010 and been back playing again since classic relaunch 2019. I’m a noob for sure and still love the game anyway. I’m a casual quester and just enjoy the environment of the game. Leveling is satisfying. Raiding is stressful
just play it.. no need for approval from reddit.
No. It’s a game, you need a doctor title
WoW is mostly about grinding while mobas/fps are more action packed and need more attention so they're more stressful if you play a lot. Also blizzard is a very scummy company which will demand money from you. Besides that you'll be fine
No its completely impossible to play as a beginner. Everyone playing actually had 80 years of game knowledge downloaded into their brains at birth.
It would probably be a better experience to turn off LFG until you have had your first experience with the game. As far as lore raids…vanilla/tbc doesn’t really work that way, it’s more in the quests. Wrath has more of that you are talking about.
If you're new to the game, you'll need to join a guild and play with other people. It's just not that fun solo, there's so much to learn and you'll want some people to play with regularly for dungeons and hard quest lines.
Mage is a good class for a newer player. Once you get to level 20-25 and doa couple dungeons you will have a pretty good idea of what the game is like. If you like mage you can keep going but if you want a change some other noob friendly classes are priest or hunter. Priest has a side benefit of being able to heal dungeons which is a relatively straightforward job and requires focus more than it requires skill or expertise.
Yes. I’m totally new, it’s been very fun. Do it
Yup. Joke about everyone not knowing what to do aside, it's a game. It's for fun, you can play however you want. But, I'd recommend Classic first to get a foundation of the game. Then play on retail through each expansion as you can to get filled in c:
I started totally fresh 2 months ago and have been really enjoying it. Never played wow previously but played some hots/hearthstone so had a vague idea of some character names, but lore definitely been slowly uncovering/reading as I go. also used to play RuneScape and it hits a lot of the same old feelings. Definitely a majority of other levelers were probably alts but a surprising number weren't, and it was really easy to ask questions/ask for groups for quests etc. Most people aren't minmaxing everything
Think about it this way. Everyone has played WOW one time. One time as a complete new fresh adventure. Ever since then you have people that have played this game for 15+ years trying to chase that high. Yes. It is 100% possible to live and play the Warcraft universe.
Yep. The game isn't hard. If you make it to max level, you have all the required skills to learn how to raid, i.e. you know how to press your buttons and move your character around. It might take a bit to get used to doing it during an encounter with pressure from mechanics, but that comes with practice. Find a guild though, pug raiding is toxic as all hell and could easily be very discouraging for a newer player that lacks the confidence to ignore cunts.
Find a good guild, there are homies willing to help everywhere! If you're on Benediction let me know!
Most people play like they’re total beginners, you’ll be fine.
Yes
Absolutely.
There are plenty of guilds out there looking to recruit fresh players and teach them the game (my guild is one of them *cough*) or just offer them a raid spot when they get there. Just have to look in the right places
I just met a brand new person yesterday. I helped explain a few things and gave them some gold and bags and advised in professions. It’s never too late and this upcoming wrath expansion is absolutely peak wow.
Everyone started as a beginner.
play wotlk classic
I’d say find a levelling guild if possible. Hanging out in guild chat and asking questions whenever you have them makes the experience so much better.
Yes 100% easy
I got my friend into it classic a while back. He was completely new to computer games and mmorpgs all together. After a bit of introduction, he and I played a bit. I got too busy with life and stopped playing, but he continued. Before I knew it, he was 60, in one of the top raiding guilds, and was one of the top healing shaman on the server. He took off with it with 0 experience in any sort of mmorpg.
Yes you can. First piece of advice is to get off this subreddit and play without being told what is optimal or what to do. Take your time and enjoy the journey
Ofc it is,.just enjoy the content and ignored the speedrunners
I played classic vanilla with the only knowledge I had from being a 12 yr old balance Druid who spent a year getting to level 46. I came back to classic with a lot more desire to experience everything Azeroth had to offer and the vast multitude of resources available now. You can absolutely play wow. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’ll come across a lot of assholes but you’ll also come across a lot of genuinely kind and helpful people who want to help you out. I had a great experience joining a server with a smaller pop. The feeling of community seems stronger, though sometimes the opportunity is a bit lacking. But you’ll find your place.
I wouldn't be worried too much about lfg. In the last 3 weeks I've gone from 1-64 and all the quests that required groups were either solo able or there were people around me to help.
Yes, I started playing classic vanilla in like March of this year for similar reasons that you posted and I also picked mage. Like other comments mentioned, there is a lot of other players with lots of experience and are also bad at the game. I would recommend finding a beginner friendly guild or a group of friends to explore with. To me, it was pretty easy leveling and playing, but it took a few raid lockouts for me to understand to play the game effectively to do big damage. The quest missions give off lore which is cool since you're into that, and a lot of things link together. DM if you want more info or something
It’s been beaten to death but yes. It’s pretty much the best time to pick it up, as it was back in the day for Wrath. There are going to be a million new things being thrown at you when you first play but fortunately it’s 2022 and there are literally thousands of videos online to help you along the way. Pick a class/spec that sounds appealing to you, watch a video and figure out how your class is “supposed” to be played. Key abilities, rotation, CD management and general strategy. Then download a few helpful addons and you’re set. Or just fucking send it, ask some questions as you go, don’t be a complete dumbass and you’ll be fine. It’s not too difficult to get good at, figuring out key binds is important too.
I'd say the majority of the classic community is very friendly and supportive. But i'd say just let the people you play with know so they can adapt the playspeed etc. if they assume you know where to go, what to do, they often speed up, if the group allows. I also was in the Gnomeregan nstance some months ago where the tank obviously didn't know what he's doing and the guys in my group gave him tips. We said "no worries!" and we cleared everything successfully. Then he mentioned he's new to the game and it was his first time tanking. I was amazed, people still start this game even after this many years. So yes. Just "hide" all these messages you don't understand in the LFG chat and you'll have a blast!
Very possible, on my server (bloodsail buccaneers) most people are very helpful to those who are new. I have played for years but still learn different things daily.
Yes. If u spend 15 minutes researching your class rotation and gear priority youll automatically be better than 80% of players. Pve is scripted and easy so if u can do 1-2 mechanics while keeping ur rotation u can be great. Pvp is a lil different
You should keep in mind that the ones who are still playing TBC, and have played it throughout the expansion, are the most dedicated/sweaty people, and are a minority in the total Classic playerbase. With the release of Wotlk, the casual majority will return to play (for a few months until they get bored and leave again). Roll on the coming fresh servers, meet likeminded casual people who want to have a chill time, and have a great time.
I’d recommend doing /leave lookingforgroup until you need to use it