WoW newbie looking for advice

[NiteFox]

Oh, and yes, a populated server is good. I don't care for PvP servers myself. Too much immaturity in the ganking of lowbies and all that. I much prefer the PvE (Normal) servers where i can quest in peace. YMMV.

And my preference is otherwise. I prefer PvP servers (I'm on an RP-PvP myself, which is supposed to be the best of both worlds) and the threat of something leaping out of the bushes and attacking you at a moment's notice keeps a nice edge on day-to-day stuff.

Yes, it's frustrating at hell to be repeatedly ganked over the course of an hour, and Booty Bay is a really bad place to be, especially straight after the Fishing Extravaganza (There seems to be a mutual ceasefire during said event, but afterwards you'd better be gone as quickly as your hooves can carry you), but... Y'know, I like it. It also brings out some hilarious moments. Meeting Stones on a PvP server are... awkward situations for the most part; nothing like two edgy groups standing next to each other debating with themselves whether or not to strike first.

It also keeps you sharp if you want to PvP in battlegrounds or arenas. I'm not saying that by just being on a PvP server will automatically mean you'll rule over the nüblets in dedicated PvP, but you will be made of slightly sterner stuff and have a few tricks up your sleeves from your questing experience.

[Taelas]

And my preference is otherwise. I prefer PvP servers (I'm on an RP-PvP myself, which is supposed to be the best of both worlds) and the threat of something leaping out of the bushes and attacking you at a moment's notice keeps a nice edge on day-to-day stuff.

I actually have a couple mid-30s Horde toons on Ravenholdt... Heh.

[NiteFox]

I actually have a couple mid-30s Horde toons on Ravenholdt... Heh.

And I plan on reactivating my account in a few days to capitalise on the Christmas holiday. Whoo.

[TriggerHappy]

My Warlock is now level 9. Woot!:)

Which leads me to another few questions. I don't seem to be able do anything to my attributes/stats. They raise on their own every level, so I end up with things I really don't need as a caster (strength mainly) getting raised anyway. Is there actually some way to manually control them?

Do you get anything out of PvP combat? I've been challenged a few times now to a duel, but didn't really want to get into them for thinking them to be a waste of time (for now). Do I get gold, experience, anything if I win?

My character constantly complains about being out of range of spells. Why won't she take two steps to get into range? I seem to remember vaguely from years and years ago in the stress test before launch (last time I tried WoW) that my mage character would close in on his own into spell range. After all, my little Fiend friend does it when I tell him to go shoot a Firebolt, why is my main character then blessed with the intellectual capacity of a gnat?

Oh sorry, one more question. When in god's name am I getting out of that forest? It seems endless and I'm yearning for a change of scenery.

Thanks again for any advice.

[Bun-Bun]

My Warlock is now level 9. Woot!:)

Which leads me to another few questions. I don't seem to be able do anything to my attributes/stats. They raise on their own every level, so I end up with things I really don't need as a caster (strength mainly) getting raised anyway. Is there actually some way to manually control them?

Nope! You get what you get. At level 10, you get the Voidwalker, which is a gamechanger, if that helps.:)

Do you get anything out of PvP combat? I've been challenged a few times now to a duel, but didn't really want to get into them for thinking them to be a waste of time (for now). Do I get gold, experience, anything if I win?

You get Honor for a kill of the other faction. Duels, it's just for fun.

My character constantly complains about being out of range of spells. Why won't she take two steps to get into range? I seem to remember vaguely from years and years ago in the stress test before launch (last time I tried WoW) that my mage character would close in on his own into spell range. After all, my little Fiend friend does it when I tell him to go shoot a Firebolt, why is my main character then blessed with the intellectual capacity of a gnat?

The click-to-move setting might fix that. I dunno, I just watch when the hotkey isn't red. You get a good feel for it after a few years.:)

Oh sorry, one more question. When in god's name am I getting out of that forest? It seems endless and I'm yearning for a change of scenery.

Thanks again for any advice.

The game is designed to have you move to a new area roughly on the decades. There are a few exceptions, but most of the zones are designed for 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, etc. until you hit the outlands and they slice it a bit more finely. One trick if you find they direct you to a zone you find too tough, go to another races' starting area and quest some there. The game rapidly expands to give you several choices of zone in each decade, in any case.

[Artega]

Meeting Stones on a PvP server are... awkward situations for the most part; nothing like two edgy groups standing next to each other debating with themselves whether or not to strike first.

I've been leveling an Alliance warrior to tank for a friend's guild, but it's on a PvE server. I kept expecting the Horde to camp me at the Blackrock Depths meeting stone, then realized I was on a PvE server. And then a little piece of me died inside and I cried.

[Artega]

Base stats are more or less meaningless. It may mean you have a little more HP, crit, or MP than another race when compared at lvl 70, but in the end it's nothing like a lot of other MMOs do it (Final Fantasy Online, for example.)

[Taelas]

My Warlock is now level 9. Woot!:)

Which leads me to another few questions. I don't seem to be able do anything to my attributes/stats. They raise on their own every level, so I end up with things I really don't need as a caster (strength mainly) getting raised anyway. Is there actually some way to manually control them?

Unfortunately, no. Just don't worry about them.

Do you get anything out of PvP combat? I've been challenged a few times now to a duel, but didn't really want to get into them for thinking them to be a waste of time (for now). Do I get gold, experience, anything if I win?

Duels are generally a waste of time. You don't get anything for winning them.

My character constantly complains about being out of range of spells. Why won't she take two steps to get into range? I seem to remember vaguely from years and years ago in the stress test before launch (last time I tried WoW) that my mage character would close in on his own into spell range. After all, my little Fiend friend does it when I tell him to go shoot a Firebolt, why is my main character then blessed with the intellectual capacity of a gnat?

I've never even heard of PCs closing into spell range automatically... You'll just have to move on your own, I'm afraid.

Oh sorry, one more question. When in god's name am I getting out of that forest? It seems endless and I'm yearning for a change of scenery.

Generally starting areas take you to levels 10-11, and up to 12 if you do absolutely every quest. The next area you're taken into is Silverpine Forest, and while the scenery isn't that different (it's a little brighter), Silverpine is one of the most well-done areas in original WoW, in my opinion. (If you have the time, check out Pyrewood at daytime and at nighttime.)

[Bob the Beholder]

Unfortunately, no. Just don't worry about them.
Duels are generally a waste of time. You don't get anything for winning them.
I've never even heard of PCs closing into spell range automatically... You'll just have to move on your own, I'm afraid.
Generally starting areas take you to levels 10-11, and up to 12 if you do absolutely every quest. The next area you're taken into is Silverpine Forest, and while the scenery isn't that different (it's a little brighter), Silverpine is one of the most well-done areas in original WoW, in my opinion. (If you have the time, check out Pyrewood at daytime and at nighttime.)

Adding to this, I'd say that although Silverpine is a really cool place with some really interesting quest lines, it's, from my experience, much, much harder to level in Silverpine than in the similarly levelled area on the other continent--The Barrens (accessible via a zeppelin from Undercity to Orgrimmar, and a moderate length run south, and then west) is packed with so many freaking easy levelling quests that basically from 12 to 20 you're good to go. Silverpine, though, has a pretty good gap in soloable quest density between 14 and about 18.

I'd try Silverpine first, and if you're having any trouble go ahead and make a run for the Barrens.

[Delc]

Which leads me to another few questions. I don't seem to be able do anything to my attributes/stats. They raise on their own every level, so I end up with things I really don't need as a caster (strength mainly) getting raised anyway. Is there actually some way to manually control them?

Starting at level 10 you get talent points. They are the primary way that you can change the strengths of your character. All classes get 3 trees. For warlocks its affliction (damage over time spells), demonology (increases the strength of your pet), and destruction (direct damage spells).

My character constantly complains about being out of range of spells. Why won't she take two steps to get into range? I seem to remember vaguely from years and years ago in the stress test before launch (last time I tried WoW) that my mage character would close in on his own into spell range. After all, my little Fiend friend does it when I tell him to go shoot a Firebolt, why is my main character then blessed with the intellectual capacity of a gnat?

You have total control over your character. Think first person shooter. It has advantages and disadvantages.

Oh sorry, one more question. When in god's name am I getting out of that forest? It seems endless and I'm yearning for a change of scenery.

If you stay in the zones near the Undercity that forest (Silverpine looks exactly like Tirisfal) will last until your mid 20s. Your other option is Durotar/Barrens which has more of a desert/savanna look to it.

[Icebird]

If he has the expansion, Ghostlands is another option for levelling to 20. But Ghostlands is also dark, and you may simply be craving a little sunlight - in which case, take the zeppelin to Orgrimmar, and follow the road out to the Crossroads in the Barrens.

The game usually provides you with quests to nudge you towards different zones, and most of them are quite different from each other, with their own colour schemes, mob types, and "in zone" storylines.

Chris

[Artega]

Ghostlands has the best plot as far as starting zones go, and it's also the most efficient zone to level in - by far. Same with Eversong being the best 6-10/11/12 area.

[Taelas]

The main quest in Ghostlands is Blood Elf-only, though.

[Artega]

The main quest in Ghostlands is Blood Elf-only, though.

Uh, no.

You can do The Traitor's Destruction (which rewards the blue two-handed sword, staff, or dagger) as any race. It can be inconvenient to level as a class that the longears can't be (Warriors and Shammies; there's a Druid trainer in Silvermoon for some reason), but since he's leveling a Warlock, that's not an issue.

[NiteFox]

Uh, no.

You can do The Traitor's Destruction (which rewards the blue two-handed sword, staff, or dagger) as any race. It can be inconvenient to level as a class that the longears can't be (Warriors and Shammies; there's a Druid trainer in Silvermoon for some reason), but since he's leveling a Warlock, that's not an issue.

And it must be said, The Traitor's Destruction line is, and I quote, "epiiiiiiiiic".

Lotsa fun, and it prepares you for working as a team a lot better than the other 10-20 zone group quests, their instances included (SFK, WC).

[Taelas]

Uh? Prepares you to work as a team? I've soloed the entire questline up to the last quest several times...

[TriggerHappy]

Um, so after getting my Voidwalker at level 10 and playing until 11, I got kinda bored and at the same time curious about the other classes and races. So I went on an experimentation spree. I now have a bunch of level 5-8 characters for all the classes and most races. Now the dilemma is that quite a few of them are fun to play, yet I can't see myself devoting time to even two at a time. I find myself liking the tanking power of a Warrior, but I miss the ability to self heal that I had with a Priest (speaking of which, they actually gave Priests some real offensive power in WoW!).
I love the amazing power and range of the Mage but hate the downtime (mana regeneration) and extreme vulnerability. I love the sheer damage potential of the Rogue, but stealth seems so awkward (having to manually unstealth behind a monster to do a backstab got old after the 10th time).

So I'm leaning toward switching to a "jack of all trades" type character. Which leads to me either a Shaman, Druid or Paladin.

The Druid is out due to choice of races. I can't stand the Night Elves or their starting environment and lore. And while I love the fuzzy Tauren, they're just so huge I can't even see my target when in melee!

The Shaman seems to lack melee attack power, even with enchantments. Does it get any better? How are they in terms of solo leveling? How about late game?

Which leaves me with the last option. Paladin. How effective are they later on? For the first 5 levels I used a Human paladin he breezed through quite easily. But does this continue to hold up?

Lastly, I also got an Orc Hunter to level 8, and then find out I have to feed my pet to keep it happy, and level up too? The sounds like too much of a chore. Please tell me that isn't so, because frankly I actually enjoyed the versatility and power of the Hunter, at least in these early levels.

One of the most disappointing things was finding out that dual wielding isn't available until level 20 (!). Way to delay the fun, Blizzard. Oh wait, this is an MMOG we're talking about.:)

And these are Triggerhappy's adventures thus far.


P.S.
Where are the alliance and horde auction houses? I managed to accumulate 42 silver (probably a pathetically laughable sum for you folks) and want to at least see what's available there.

[Lissa]

Um, so after getting my Voidwalker at level 10 and playing until 11, I got kinda bored and at the same time curious about the other classes and races. So I went on an experimentation spree. I now have a bunch of level 5-8 characters for all the classes and most races. Now the dilemma is that quite a few of them are fun to play, yet I can't see myself devoting time to even two at a time. I find myself liking the tanking power of a Warrior, but I miss the ability to self heal that I had with a Priest (speaking of which, they actually gave Priests some real offensive power in WoW!).
I love the amazing power and range of the Mage but hate the downtime (mana regeneration) and extreme vulnerability. I love the sheer damage potential of the Rogue, but stealth seems so awkward (having to manually unstealth behind a monster to do a backstab got old after the 10th time).

You don't have to unstealth to backstab. Just hit the backstab button from your stealth bar and you'll backstab from stealth.

So I'm leaning toward switching to a "jack of all trades" type character. Which leads to me either a Shaman, Druid or Paladin.

The Druid is out due to choice of races. I can't stand the Night Elves or their starting environment and lore. And while I love the fuzzy Tauren, they're just so huge I can't even see my target when in melee!

You can move your camera angle around so you can look from different angles so you can see your target. As you level, the mobs you fight will get bigger in size so even a Tauren will be looking eye to eye with some mobs (or looking up in some cases).

The Shaman seems to lack melee attack power, even with enchantments. Does it get any better? How are they in terms of solo leveling? How about late game?

Yes it will. Shaman can kick out a tremendous amount of damage at higher levels be it in melee or casting. Elemental tree is the casting tree and Enhancement is the physical tree with shocks through in. Eventually, usually around level 40, the Enhancement Shaman comes into their own with damage when they can dual wield.

Which leaves me with the last option. Paladin. How effective are they later on? For the first 5 levels I used a Human paladin he breezed through quite easily. But does this continue to hold up?

It depends on what spec you follow. If you go with the Retribution tree your damage is very spikey. Case in point, my Paladin had wildly varying kills on mobs where I would kill one mob in under 10 seconds and the same type of mob would take 40+ seconds to kill all due to whether I proc'd Seal of Command or not and how many crits I got. Retnoobs, as people refer to them, are probably one the most inconsistant damagers in the game swing to swing. Other classes you will see pretty stead DPS outputs, but with Retnoobs you see large peaks and troughs in your damage.

Another option for leveling is going Protection when you can get the Reckoning talent. Again, you will see variance in your DPS, but not as drastic as a Retnoob. You will be slower in killing unless you get crit a lot and you can take on a lot more mobs at once that the Retnoob can't. Also, at high levels, the Protection Paladin probably becomes one of the better grinders in the game due to the sheer fact that you will pull in large number of mobs and be damaging all of them at once with little incoming damage to your self (due to wearing plate and have very good tanking skills from the Protection tree).

Lastly, I also got an Orc Hunter to level 8, and then find out I have to feed my pet to keep it happy, and level up too? The sounds like too much of a chore. Please tell me that isn't so, because frankly I actually enjoyed the versatility and power of the Hunter, at least in these early levels.

Eventually you don't really notice the need for feeding, you'll just toss food at your pet every so often. What will wear on you more is the need for a quiver or ammo pouch so you can carry enough ammunition with you. In having said quiver/ammo pouch, you lose a bag slot which means you only have 4 bags to work with.

One of the most disappointing things was finding out that dual wielding isn't available until level 20 (!). Way to delay the fun, Blizzard. Oh wait, this is an MMOG we're talking about.:)

The only class that gets dual wielding pre-20 is Rogues and they need it. Most Hunters use a two handed weapon for raptor strikes shifting to dual wielding only when they can get more effective stats from the two one handed weapons than the single two handed weapon.

And these are Triggerhappy's adventures thus far.
P.S.
Where are the alliance and horde auction houses? I managed to accumulate 42 silver (probably a pathetically laughable sum for you folks) and want to at least see what's available there.

all major cities have an auction house, just ask a guard and they'll conviently point you to the one in the side and mark it on your minimap with an arrow point towards it if it's not on your mini-map aready.

[Bob the Beholder]

Lastly, I also got an Orc Hunter to level 8, and then find out I have to feed my pet to keep it happy, and level up too? The sounds like too much of a chore. Please tell me that isn't so, because frankly I actually enjoyed the versatility and power of the Hunter, at least in these early levels.

It sounds like a hassle, but it really isn't. Most pets usually eat meat--even uncooked meat that your player can't, like the bits of wolves and bears and such that you loot from them fairly often--so it's not hard to keep some extra around, from monster drops, or just picking up a stack or two in town every once in a while. And there's a handy little indicator right under the pet status bar to let you know when. Just throw him a chunk of something whenever it's not green, and you'll be good. (And only one at a time. Click on him and you'll see the 'feed pet' icon, which gives the pet happiness over time. Feeding him again before it expires will just overwrite it, wasting food.)

And the level isn't too much to deal with either. The pet'll just gain experience with you, and levels at a decent rate to keep up with you. And if for whatever reason he falls behind, you can just go tame a different pet. You can have one active pet with you, and up to two more stabled. (Gotta pay for the stable slots, though.)

[Mavfin]

(Gotta pay for the stable slots, though.)

Yeah, but if I'm not mistaken, they've cheapened those, too. My new hunter paid like 10s for one slot, the other was avail for just 5g. Didn't they used to cost more?