Revision as of 2009-03-26 19:56:14
  Older version (diff) | current version (diff) | Newer version (diff)

Starter's Guide To Character Creation  

Contents [hide]

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to offer guidance to new players in helping create a character for the first time. In this, we will cover server selection, faction choice, as well as race and class decisions.

While this guide will provide insight and direction, it should not be the final judgement for what you do. Ultimately, you should create a character you will enjoy playing because that is the point of any game: to have fun.

Server Selection

Your choice in servers at its most basic level is based on the decision between PvP and PvE. While in functionality and content there is very little difference, the gameplay experience is vastly different.

PvP

PvP, or Player versus Player, is probably the most difficult for new players. This is due to the fact that there lurks in every shadow the opportunity to be killed by other player characters.

In a PvP environment players from opposing factions can attack player characters throughout the land. While this cannot be done in a player's faction-controlled territory unless the fight is instigated by the player, most of the territories in Azeroth are contested and therefore open to PvP activity. If you want an extra challenge in your game experience, PvP is definitely a large step up in difficulty.

PvE

PvE, or Player versus Environment, lends itself more to new players as it is easier to learn how to play World of Warcraft when players are not constantly looking over their shoulder for random attacks by the opposing faction.

While PvP activity can still occur on a PvE server, it is limited to players who opt to flag themselves for PvP. Therefore, if you are new to MMORPGs or prefer to focus more on the quests, PvE is probably for you.

RP

RP, or Role-Playing, servers can be chosen for either PvP or PvE servers. RP is more of a social interaction choice than a play-style decision because it reflects the way characters carry on discussions, form guilds, quest, or any other in-game activity. Players will create back stories for their characters and voice their opinions based on how their characters would react.

RP servers can be fun if you enjoy the creative side to RPGs. Most of these are populated by players who are familiar with pen and paper RPGs and are accustomed to acting out their character's actions.

Population

Server populations are rated as Low, Medium and High. This reflects how many players are playing on this server on a fairly regular basis. Each has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Low population servers tend to have an over-inflated economy due to the fact that fewer people are out collecting and selling materials, weapons and armor. This makes it more difficult for players to find items that they are looking when they are looking for it.

This also leads to its main benefit as it is easier for players to go out and grind for hard to find items as there will be less competition. Also, enterprising players who are willing to learn their server's economy and expend a fair amount of time monitoring the Auction House can make a decent amount of gold maintaining monopolies on certain materials.

It is also difficult to find groups and guilds as quickly on a low population server than it is on medium and high population servers. This can cause frustration for players who reach the end-game content only to be stymied by the lack of adequate players to complete it with them. It is not impossible to do end-game content on lower population servers, it does prove to be a challenge in itself.

Medium population servers normally happen to be a nice middle ground as there are a fair amount of items in the Auction House and plenty of players to do raids and form guilds. While there is not an over-abundance of either, but players should rarely want for most things. The economy on these servers also tend to be more balanced and less likely to fluctuate on the whims of a few players.

High population servers have more players and with that there is a large amount of items available for purchase and more than enough players to form any raid you could possibly want. This comes with a steep price, though, as most high population servers have queues where players must wait before they can log onto their character. For some, this is a reasonable price to pay for access to everything they could possibly need at almost any time during the day. Also, the economy on these servers can be depreciated based on the almost never-ending supply of items on the Auction House.

Faction Selection

There are two major factions in World of Warcraft: The Horde and The Alliance. As far as playability and access to content, there is no serious difference between either faction. While there are some recipes and items that are only available to one faction or the other, most of this is balanced out between the two.

It is not uncommon to hear a statement that "The Horde/Alliance is full of children." The truth is that there are players of almost every demographic playing in both factions.

The only real difference between the two is the surroundings you will be looking at for most of your early questing. With the Horde, you will be looking at mostly desert and plains while with the Alliance it is primarily forests and woodlands.

Race

Your choice for races is based on what you choose for your faction. The Horde offers Orcs, Darkspear Trolls, Tauren, The Undead or Forsaken, and Blood Elves.

World of Warcraft
Wikibase™

This page last modified 2009-03-26 19:56:14.