Post by Jax on May 5, 2007 5:19:02 GMT -5
World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the fourth game in the Warcraft series, excluding expansion packs and the canceled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. World of Warcraft is a subscription-based MMORPG that lacks an offline mode. The Warcraft series of games are set in the Warcraft Universe, a fantasy setting introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft itself takes place within the world of Azeroth, four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. World of Warcraft's release celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.
Although its initial release was hampered by server stability and performance issues, the game is a popular and a financial success, being the world's leading subscription-based MMORPG. On January 11, 2007, Blizzard announced that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft has reached a new milestone, with 8 million players worldwide; there are more than 2 million players in North America, 1.5 million players in Europe, and 3.5 million players in China. The game has won numerous awards and recognitions, including Gamespot's Game of the Year Award for 2004. The first official World of Warcraft expansion pack, known as The Burning Crusade, was released on January 16, 2007.
Unlike previous games in the Warcraft series World of Warcraft is not a real-time strategy game, but is a Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). As with other MMORPGs such as EverQuest, players control a character avatar within a persistent gameworld, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, and performing quests on behalf of computer-controlled characters. The game rewards success through money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve in skill and power. In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players, including both duels and fights against player characters allied with an enemy faction.
The majority of the quests during the early and middle stages of gameplay can be completed without the help of other players, particularly if the player is a higher level than what the quest suggests. Other portions of the game, such as dungeons, are designed to require other players to work together for success. Dungeons are designed for parties ranging from two to five players, up to significantly more difficult "raids" (a term originating from EverQuest gameplay) requiring up to a maximum of 40 players. The highest level, most complex dungeons, and encounters are designed to take raiding guilds months of playtime and many attempts before they succeed.
In particular, the game areas designed specifically for level 60 characters and above are generally much more raid-dependent (and time-consuming) than the relatively more casual experience of advancing one's character from levels 1 to 60. The majority of World of Warcraft's endgame content (i.e., content specifically designed for level 60 and higher characters) requires raiding, with raids making up the bulk of the game's development since release, followed by the Player Versus Player aspect.
World of Warcraft runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Boxed copies of the game use a hybrid CD to install the game, eliminating the need for separate Mac and Windows retail products. The game allows all users to play together, regardless of their operating system.
As of February 2007, Blizzard has not released a Linux version of the game. However, support for World of Warcraft is present in Windows API implementations Wine and Cedega, allowing the game to be played on Linux. FreeBSD users have also been successful in using Wine to run the game.
As of Patch 1.9.3 the game added native support for the newer Intel-powered Macs, making World of Warcraft a Universal application (as defined by Apple). As a result of this the minimum supported Mac OS X version has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X.[11]
Due to the fact that new content is constantly being added to the game, official system requirements frequently change. As of version 1.12.0, the requirements for Windows have increased from requiring 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM and from Windows 98 to Windows 2000.[12]
Pricing
World of Warcraft is priced differently in different regions of the world. Usually, the pricing model is similar to that of MMORPGs previously released in the market.
In the United States and Canada, Blizzard distributes World of Warcraft via retail software packages that sold for over US$50 at the time of release, but have since dropped to around $20. The software package includes one month of gameplay for no additional cost. After a month, a player must purchase additional service using a credit card or prepaid game card. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is one month. A player also has the option of purchasing three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount. Prepaid game cards are sold for US$30 and provide 60 days of gameplay.[13] Either way, a player pays about US$0.50 for one day of gameplay.
In South Korea, there is no software package or CD key requirement to activate the account. In order to play the game, however, players need to purchase time credits online via credit card or the ARS billing system. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is five hours. A player may also purchase game time by thirty hours or by increments of one week. A player also has the option of purchasing game time by one, three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount.[14] As of December 17, 2006, 30 days of gameplay costs ₩19,800 (US$21.46).
In China, because a large number of the players do not own the computer they use to play games (e.g. Internet cafes), the CD keys can be purchased independently of the software package. The CD key, which is required to activate an account, is sold for ¥30 (US$3.75) each. The software packages vary in price depending on the items they contain. In order to play the game, the player would need to purchase prepaid game cards in denominations of ¥30 each that can be played for 66 hours and 40 minutes.[15] This equates to exactly ¥0.45 (US$0.06) for one hour of gameplay. A monthly fee model is not available to players of this region.
In Australia and many European countries, video game stores commonly stock the trial version of World of Warcraft in DVD form priced at A$2 or €2 including VAT, which include the game and 14 days of gameplay. After which, the player would have to purchase the full version of the game priced at recommended retail price similar to those sold in United States. As of November 2006, the RRP is A$29.95.[16]
Suggested Retail Price Monthly Fee Paid Character Transfer Fee
Europe €49.99[17] €11-€13[17] €19.99[18]
United Kingdom £19.99[19] £7.70-£9[17] £14.99[18]
North America
Oceania US$20[20] $13-$15[21] $25[22]
Realms
World of Warcraft uses server clusters, known as 'realms', to allow players to choose their preferred gameplay type, and to allow the game to support as many subscribers as it does. Users may have up to ten characters per realm, and up to a maximum of fifty characters per account.[23] There are four types of realms: Normal (also known as PvE or player versus environment), PvP (player versus player), RP (a roleplaying Normal/PvE server) and RP-PvP (roleplaying PvP server). The latter two enforce a set of roleplaying rules - players can be penalized for not roleplaying.
Blizzard posts announcements on the login screen of World of Warcraft about realm status or issues. The status for each realm can also be viewed on their main website.
Player versus Environment (PvE)
On the PvE (also known as Normal) realms, throughout most of the world, the PvP flag may only be enabled by actively turning it on using the command /pvp or by attacking a hostile player, entering a "Contested Territory" (such as a Battleground), entering an "Enemy Territory" (an enemy faction Capital City) or casting a buff/healing spell on a friendly PvP-flagged player. In battlegrounds and free-for-all arenas the PvP flag is also turned on. The PvP flag will be removed when the player has been out of PvP combat for 5 minutes. If the PvP flag was enabled using /pvp, the player will need to turn it off using the same command and then avoid PvP combat for 5 minutes while also residing in friendly territory. Players also use this /pvp command to 'raid', or attack with a group, towns of the opposing faction.
Player versus Player (PvP)
PvP realms will flag the player for PvP as soon as he or she enters a neutral or opposing faction's zone. Faction specific zones (Zones made for characters between levels 1–20 and the major cities) are friendly to the player and are indicated with a green name when entered. When a player enters a contested zone (indicated by a yellow color) he or she is instantly flagged for PVP. Entering an opposing faction's green zone (for example, being a human at the gates of Orgrimmar) is the far end of the spectrum, and is indicated by the zone text being red upon entering. In this situation, you alone are flagged for PVP combat. Enemy players can choose to engage you (thus flagging themselves for combat as well), or simply ignore you. This is to prevent level 60 characters from steamrolling the beginner areas.
PvP-flagged players may attack any other PvP-flagged player of the opposing faction without any moderation from the gamemasters. Players on PvP-realms can only make characters on one faction (Horde or Alliance), as opposed to PvE-realms, where players may create characters on both factions.
Roleplaying (RP)
The roleplaying realms use the same ruleset as PvE realms, with the exception that players must act and behave in character. This means that if players go onto one of these realms (for example; Darkmoon Faire, Defias Brotherhood or Moonglade), those players act as their characters and anything that is not done in character is then out of character and usually in ((brackets)), or preceded by "OOC:". It is also against the rules to be off-topic in all public channels, such as General and Trade.[24]
However, it should be noted that this is rarely (if ever) enforced, and out of character chat is common on RP realms, though usually not in such a blatant manner as on non-RP realms.
Roleplaying Player versus Player (RPPvP)
The roleplaying PvP realms are an extension to the roleplaying realms in that they use the PvP ruleset instead of the Normal (PvE) ruleset. Blizzard did not initially have this server type when the game was launched. It was added later, largely due to player feedback.
Characters
Characters in World of Warcraft are tied to specific user accounts. User accounts can be used on all servers, or realms. Characters can be moved between servers in the same region (e.g., from one EU server to another) for a fee. Users can create up to 10 characters per realm with a maximum total of 50.[25] The two playable factions currently in the game are the Alliance and Horde, both consisting of four different races each, of which there are 9 playable classes. The Burning Crusade expansion, released on January 16, 2007, added 1 new race to each faction. In a controversial decision by Blizzard, each of these new races are able to play as the previously faction-specific class of the opposite faction. This means that a Blood Elf can become a Paladin, and a Draenei can become a Shaman.
Races and classes
See also: Races in the Warcraft universe.
Players create characters which serve as their avatars in the online world of Azeroth. When creating a character in World of Warcraft, the player can choose from ten different races and nine different character classes. The races are split into two diametrically opposed factions, the Alliance and the Horde.
* The Alliance currently consists of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Draenei (requires The Burning Crusade expansion.[26])
* The Horde currently consists of Orcs, Tauren, Undead (also known as Forsaken), Trolls and Blood Elves (requires The Burning Crusade expansion.)
* Additionally, there are many NPC races such as Goblins, Ogres, Murlocs and Naga.
The nine available classes are Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. The Paladin class used to be available only to the Alliance, and the Shaman only available to the Horde. With Burning Crusade expansion installed, this changes, as the Draenei (Alliance) are able to play both Shaman and Paladins, and the Blood Elves (Horde) are able to play as Paladins, removing the previous faction exclusivity. Classes are primarily limited by race. Including combinations only available with The Burning Crusade, there are currently 26 possible combinations of race and class for each faction, for a total of 52 combinations across both factions. Without the expansion, the character and class combinations are limited to 20 and 20 respectively. The playable races as of the The Burning Crusade are below:
Playable Races and Classes in World of Warcraft Races (* indicates only available in the Burning Crusade expansion pack)
Classes Human Night Elf Gnome Dwarf Draenei* Troll Tauren Orc Undead Blood Elf*
Druid No Yes No No No No Yes No No No
Hunter No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Mage Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Paladin Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes
Priest Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Rogue Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Shaman No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Warlock Yes No Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Warrior Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Character types
There are two types of characters in the game: Player Characters (PC) and Non-Player Characters (NPCs), the latter having many different offshoots. Player Characters are people around the world actively playing the game. The color of a PC's name tag can vary from blue, green, yellow, or red depending on faction and Player vs. Player (PvP) status. NPCs are characters that can only interact with player characters through scripted events or artificial intelligence (AI).
There are many types of NPCs. There are friendly NPCs, whose names are displayed in green, and hostile NPCs; mainly the NPCs of the opposing faction and mobs (enemies controlled by AI), also known as Creeps by some players. Any character whose name is displayed in red is hostile and should either be avoided or dealt with accordingly. There are also NPCs who are neutral and will only attack if provoked; their names are displayed in yellow.
Some NPC interaction is affected by the reputation you have with them, and certain NPCs will have more items available if you have a higher reputation with them or their faction. Your standing with a faction can be increased or decreased by killing certain NPCs or handing in items to certain NPCs. An example of this is the Timbermaw Furbolgs, who initially start out hostile, but if you complete quests with a neutral NPC to increase your reputation, or kill other "Corrupted" Furbolgs, you will eventually be seen as friendly, and you will be able to trade with them.
However you cannot gain reputation at this time with the opposing faction. The Horde cannot gain reputation with the Alliance, and vice versa.
NPCs in major and minor cities can buy and sell merchandise, train class and profession skills, give quests, and provide a large percent of services that are needed in the game. While some will merely offer advice or further the story, others patrol around set paths to keep cities defended against attacking players or hostile NPCs that may attempt to invade a city.
Professions
In addition to the character classes, a player may choose two primary professions and all three secondary professions that the game offers, if they so choose. Essentially, there are two types of professions: gathering and item creation. Many players choose to pair two related professions, thus allowing the character to gather the required materials for the crafting skill.
The most commonly paired skills are as follows: Mining and Blacksmithing, Mining and Engineering, Skinning and Leatherworking, Herbalism and Alchemy, and to a lesser extent, Tailoring and Enchanting.
Some players choose to select only "gathering" professions, opting to simply supply resources to players with item creation skills. These types of players will typically offer gathered items for sale in the game's auction houses.
With the release of the expansion, the Jewelcrafting profession has been introduced, and the paired skill for Jewelcrafting is Mining.
Items and equipment
Player characters can acquire various items in the game. Items can vary from resources such as herbs or raw ores to items to be retrieved for quests. Player characters can also equip different weapons and armor, either to customize their character or improve abilities such as better attacks or defense skills. Items are classified by the color their name is displayed in, Grey being Poor, White being Common, Green being Uncommon, Blue being Rare, Purple being Epic, Orange being Legendary, and Red being Artifact.
Players of higher levels can obtain mounts of varying appearances and speeds depending on class and race, such as horses or mechanostriders, that increase their movement rate when ridden.
PvP rankings
The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.
See also: World of Warcraft Player versus Player.
As of version 2.0, the PvP system has been changed. Upon defeating another player of the opposite faction, the victor earns "Honor Points" which may be spent on various rewards (similar to in game gold). Some rewards require marks of honor from various Battlegrounds as well (you receive 1 mark from a loss and 3 from a win). A new battleground area called "The Arena" has been added, allowing players to form teams of 2 and up to 5 versus other player teams, be it Alliance or Horde players. Currently, the Arena is still in development, and as such, Honor cannot be gained in this battleground instance. However for level 70's this is the equivalent of honor. The only people who are even allowed to earn something from the arena are level 70 players. 70's fight in teams and the top teams can obtain gear from the arena. Otherwise though, the arena is still useless because nothing except skill is gained.
The PvP titles that were available in the old system are still displayed but frozen to what they were before the 'version 2.0 update" and they now give no bonus and are just for display purposes.
Many players did not receive well the changes that were made to the honor system as of version 2.0, because players who had previously taken months to reach the High Warlord or Grand Marshal honor rank (the highest honor ranking for each faction) felt betrayed by Blizzard. In the old honor systems it would take an excess of 3 or 4 months of hard gaming (putting in several hours of PvP every day) to reach the High Warlord or Grand Marshal honor rank. By achieving this rank players had access to some of the greatest weapons and armor in the game. When Blizzard released this new patch it allowed players to purchase all the High Warlord or Grand Marshal gear that they would need after only two weeks of hard gaming and honor collecting. Due to this change any player that had once taken months to reach their factions highest PvP ranking felt that all their time had been wasted, as now anyone could use the weapons they had access to for a significantly shorter period of gaming.
The world
Geography
World of Warcraft Map (Including 'Outland')
World of Warcraft Map (Including 'Outland')
The current virtual world is built around two main continents: The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.
Kalimdor is the beginning continent for the Horde races of the
* Orcs
* Trolls
* Tauren
And the Alliance races of the
* Night Elves
* Draenei; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
The Eastern Kingdoms is the beginning continent for the Alliance races of the
* Humans
* Dwarves
* Gnomes
And the Horde races of the
* Undead
* Blood Elves; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
A third continent, Outland, was added after the release of The Burning Crusade.
Cities/Settlements
There are four main cities for each 'side' and six neutral cities.
Horde cities include:
* Thunder Bluff in Mulgore
* Orgrimmar in Durotar
* Undercity in the Tirisfal Glades
* Silvermoon City in Eversong Forest; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
Alliance cities include:
* Stormwind in Elwynn Forest
* Ironforge in Dun Morogh
* Darnassus in Teldrassil
* Exodar in Azuremyst Isle; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
Neutral cities include:
* Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale
* Ratchet in The Barrens
* Gadgetzan in Tanaris
* Everlook in Winterspring
* Cenarion Hold in Silithus
* Light's Hope Chapel in the Eastern Plaguelands.
* Shattrath City in Terrokkar Forest, added in The Burning Crusade
As of early 2007 a number of regions in the virtual world have yet to be implemented. Some examples of this are:
* Gilneas, which is southwest of Silverpine Forest, past the Greymane Wall.
* Region beyond Grim Batol to the east (Thin strip of land, east of Wetlands and Loch Modan).
* Mount Hyjal, which in adjacent to Azshara, Winterspring, Moonglade, Felwood, and Ashenvale Forest.
* The region directly northwest of Eastern Plaguelands, in between Western Plaguelands and Ghostlands.
* The regions to the east and west of Burning Steppes.
It should be noted that many of the unopened areas in the game are off limits to players. However, using exploits or outright hacks, players have managed to enter these areas. Blizzard Game Masters can and do monitor this and have simply asked players to leave the banned areas or in some cases, banned them outright.
There are four large portals located in Ashenvale, Duskwood, Feralas, and the Hinterlands that are connected to the Emerald Dream. Each one of these portals is guarded by a corrupted green dragon. The Emerald Dream itself is not yet accessible.
The third major continent on Azeroth, Northrend, featured in Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne, does not appear in World of Warcraft. However, Burning Crusade includes a map that depicts both Outland and Azeroth, where Northrend is visible.
Instances
Main article: Instance (World of Warcraft)
Instances, also known as instance dungeons or simply "dungeons", are areas where multiple copies of the same area can exist concurrently. This means that multiple groups can both be doing the same activities in the same location, yet not interfering with one another.
A dungeon instance is usually identified by its entrance - a large, swirling portal (with a few exceptions).
"Instance" can also refer to a particular copy of such an area. Other areas, such as battlegrounds, are also instances, enabling multiple groups of players to participate at the same time.
Virtual community
In addition to playing the game itself and conversing on discussion forums provided by Blizzard, World of Warcraft players often participate in the World of Warcraft virtual community in creative ways, including fan artwork and comic strip style storytelling. Blizzard furthers this community by offering in-game and out-of-game prizes, as well as highlighting community events and occurrences. Blizzard has also provided incentives for introducing new members to World of Warcraft. In late October 2005 each subscribed player received a 10-day free pass which they suggested be employed as seasonal gifts that could either be used by the current player or given to a friend. These passes would generate a free month's usage if the guest player purchased a full account.
Although its initial release was hampered by server stability and performance issues, the game is a popular and a financial success, being the world's leading subscription-based MMORPG. On January 11, 2007, Blizzard announced that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft has reached a new milestone, with 8 million players worldwide; there are more than 2 million players in North America, 1.5 million players in Europe, and 3.5 million players in China. The game has won numerous awards and recognitions, including Gamespot's Game of the Year Award for 2004. The first official World of Warcraft expansion pack, known as The Burning Crusade, was released on January 16, 2007.
Unlike previous games in the Warcraft series World of Warcraft is not a real-time strategy game, but is a Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). As with other MMORPGs such as EverQuest, players control a character avatar within a persistent gameworld, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, and performing quests on behalf of computer-controlled characters. The game rewards success through money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve in skill and power. In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players, including both duels and fights against player characters allied with an enemy faction.
The majority of the quests during the early and middle stages of gameplay can be completed without the help of other players, particularly if the player is a higher level than what the quest suggests. Other portions of the game, such as dungeons, are designed to require other players to work together for success. Dungeons are designed for parties ranging from two to five players, up to significantly more difficult "raids" (a term originating from EverQuest gameplay) requiring up to a maximum of 40 players. The highest level, most complex dungeons, and encounters are designed to take raiding guilds months of playtime and many attempts before they succeed.
In particular, the game areas designed specifically for level 60 characters and above are generally much more raid-dependent (and time-consuming) than the relatively more casual experience of advancing one's character from levels 1 to 60. The majority of World of Warcraft's endgame content (i.e., content specifically designed for level 60 and higher characters) requires raiding, with raids making up the bulk of the game's development since release, followed by the Player Versus Player aspect.
World of Warcraft runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Boxed copies of the game use a hybrid CD to install the game, eliminating the need for separate Mac and Windows retail products. The game allows all users to play together, regardless of their operating system.
As of February 2007, Blizzard has not released a Linux version of the game. However, support for World of Warcraft is present in Windows API implementations Wine and Cedega, allowing the game to be played on Linux. FreeBSD users have also been successful in using Wine to run the game.
As of Patch 1.9.3 the game added native support for the newer Intel-powered Macs, making World of Warcraft a Universal application (as defined by Apple). As a result of this the minimum supported Mac OS X version has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X.[11]
Due to the fact that new content is constantly being added to the game, official system requirements frequently change. As of version 1.12.0, the requirements for Windows have increased from requiring 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM and from Windows 98 to Windows 2000.[12]
Pricing
World of Warcraft is priced differently in different regions of the world. Usually, the pricing model is similar to that of MMORPGs previously released in the market.
In the United States and Canada, Blizzard distributes World of Warcraft via retail software packages that sold for over US$50 at the time of release, but have since dropped to around $20. The software package includes one month of gameplay for no additional cost. After a month, a player must purchase additional service using a credit card or prepaid game card. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is one month. A player also has the option of purchasing three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount. Prepaid game cards are sold for US$30 and provide 60 days of gameplay.[13] Either way, a player pays about US$0.50 for one day of gameplay.
In South Korea, there is no software package or CD key requirement to activate the account. In order to play the game, however, players need to purchase time credits online via credit card or the ARS billing system. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is five hours. A player may also purchase game time by thirty hours or by increments of one week. A player also has the option of purchasing game time by one, three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount.[14] As of December 17, 2006, 30 days of gameplay costs ₩19,800 (US$21.46).
In China, because a large number of the players do not own the computer they use to play games (e.g. Internet cafes), the CD keys can be purchased independently of the software package. The CD key, which is required to activate an account, is sold for ¥30 (US$3.75) each. The software packages vary in price depending on the items they contain. In order to play the game, the player would need to purchase prepaid game cards in denominations of ¥30 each that can be played for 66 hours and 40 minutes.[15] This equates to exactly ¥0.45 (US$0.06) for one hour of gameplay. A monthly fee model is not available to players of this region.
In Australia and many European countries, video game stores commonly stock the trial version of World of Warcraft in DVD form priced at A$2 or €2 including VAT, which include the game and 14 days of gameplay. After which, the player would have to purchase the full version of the game priced at recommended retail price similar to those sold in United States. As of November 2006, the RRP is A$29.95.[16]
Suggested Retail Price Monthly Fee Paid Character Transfer Fee
Europe €49.99[17] €11-€13[17] €19.99[18]
United Kingdom £19.99[19] £7.70-£9[17] £14.99[18]
North America
Oceania US$20[20] $13-$15[21] $25[22]
Realms
World of Warcraft uses server clusters, known as 'realms', to allow players to choose their preferred gameplay type, and to allow the game to support as many subscribers as it does. Users may have up to ten characters per realm, and up to a maximum of fifty characters per account.[23] There are four types of realms: Normal (also known as PvE or player versus environment), PvP (player versus player), RP (a roleplaying Normal/PvE server) and RP-PvP (roleplaying PvP server). The latter two enforce a set of roleplaying rules - players can be penalized for not roleplaying.
Blizzard posts announcements on the login screen of World of Warcraft about realm status or issues. The status for each realm can also be viewed on their main website.
Player versus Environment (PvE)
On the PvE (also known as Normal) realms, throughout most of the world, the PvP flag may only be enabled by actively turning it on using the command /pvp or by attacking a hostile player, entering a "Contested Territory" (such as a Battleground), entering an "Enemy Territory" (an enemy faction Capital City) or casting a buff/healing spell on a friendly PvP-flagged player. In battlegrounds and free-for-all arenas the PvP flag is also turned on. The PvP flag will be removed when the player has been out of PvP combat for 5 minutes. If the PvP flag was enabled using /pvp, the player will need to turn it off using the same command and then avoid PvP combat for 5 minutes while also residing in friendly territory. Players also use this /pvp command to 'raid', or attack with a group, towns of the opposing faction.
Player versus Player (PvP)
PvP realms will flag the player for PvP as soon as he or she enters a neutral or opposing faction's zone. Faction specific zones (Zones made for characters between levels 1–20 and the major cities) are friendly to the player and are indicated with a green name when entered. When a player enters a contested zone (indicated by a yellow color) he or she is instantly flagged for PVP. Entering an opposing faction's green zone (for example, being a human at the gates of Orgrimmar) is the far end of the spectrum, and is indicated by the zone text being red upon entering. In this situation, you alone are flagged for PVP combat. Enemy players can choose to engage you (thus flagging themselves for combat as well), or simply ignore you. This is to prevent level 60 characters from steamrolling the beginner areas.
PvP-flagged players may attack any other PvP-flagged player of the opposing faction without any moderation from the gamemasters. Players on PvP-realms can only make characters on one faction (Horde or Alliance), as opposed to PvE-realms, where players may create characters on both factions.
Roleplaying (RP)
The roleplaying realms use the same ruleset as PvE realms, with the exception that players must act and behave in character. This means that if players go onto one of these realms (for example; Darkmoon Faire, Defias Brotherhood or Moonglade), those players act as their characters and anything that is not done in character is then out of character and usually in ((brackets)), or preceded by "OOC:". It is also against the rules to be off-topic in all public channels, such as General and Trade.[24]
However, it should be noted that this is rarely (if ever) enforced, and out of character chat is common on RP realms, though usually not in such a blatant manner as on non-RP realms.
Roleplaying Player versus Player (RPPvP)
The roleplaying PvP realms are an extension to the roleplaying realms in that they use the PvP ruleset instead of the Normal (PvE) ruleset. Blizzard did not initially have this server type when the game was launched. It was added later, largely due to player feedback.
Characters
Characters in World of Warcraft are tied to specific user accounts. User accounts can be used on all servers, or realms. Characters can be moved between servers in the same region (e.g., from one EU server to another) for a fee. Users can create up to 10 characters per realm with a maximum total of 50.[25] The two playable factions currently in the game are the Alliance and Horde, both consisting of four different races each, of which there are 9 playable classes. The Burning Crusade expansion, released on January 16, 2007, added 1 new race to each faction. In a controversial decision by Blizzard, each of these new races are able to play as the previously faction-specific class of the opposite faction. This means that a Blood Elf can become a Paladin, and a Draenei can become a Shaman.
Races and classes
See also: Races in the Warcraft universe.
Players create characters which serve as their avatars in the online world of Azeroth. When creating a character in World of Warcraft, the player can choose from ten different races and nine different character classes. The races are split into two diametrically opposed factions, the Alliance and the Horde.
* The Alliance currently consists of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Draenei (requires The Burning Crusade expansion.[26])
* The Horde currently consists of Orcs, Tauren, Undead (also known as Forsaken), Trolls and Blood Elves (requires The Burning Crusade expansion.)
* Additionally, there are many NPC races such as Goblins, Ogres, Murlocs and Naga.
The nine available classes are Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. The Paladin class used to be available only to the Alliance, and the Shaman only available to the Horde. With Burning Crusade expansion installed, this changes, as the Draenei (Alliance) are able to play both Shaman and Paladins, and the Blood Elves (Horde) are able to play as Paladins, removing the previous faction exclusivity. Classes are primarily limited by race. Including combinations only available with The Burning Crusade, there are currently 26 possible combinations of race and class for each faction, for a total of 52 combinations across both factions. Without the expansion, the character and class combinations are limited to 20 and 20 respectively. The playable races as of the The Burning Crusade are below:
Playable Races and Classes in World of Warcraft Races (* indicates only available in the Burning Crusade expansion pack)
Classes Human Night Elf Gnome Dwarf Draenei* Troll Tauren Orc Undead Blood Elf*
Druid No Yes No No No No Yes No No No
Hunter No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Mage Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Paladin Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes
Priest Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Rogue Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Shaman No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Warlock Yes No Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Warrior Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Character types
There are two types of characters in the game: Player Characters (PC) and Non-Player Characters (NPCs), the latter having many different offshoots. Player Characters are people around the world actively playing the game. The color of a PC's name tag can vary from blue, green, yellow, or red depending on faction and Player vs. Player (PvP) status. NPCs are characters that can only interact with player characters through scripted events or artificial intelligence (AI).
There are many types of NPCs. There are friendly NPCs, whose names are displayed in green, and hostile NPCs; mainly the NPCs of the opposing faction and mobs (enemies controlled by AI), also known as Creeps by some players. Any character whose name is displayed in red is hostile and should either be avoided or dealt with accordingly. There are also NPCs who are neutral and will only attack if provoked; their names are displayed in yellow.
Some NPC interaction is affected by the reputation you have with them, and certain NPCs will have more items available if you have a higher reputation with them or their faction. Your standing with a faction can be increased or decreased by killing certain NPCs or handing in items to certain NPCs. An example of this is the Timbermaw Furbolgs, who initially start out hostile, but if you complete quests with a neutral NPC to increase your reputation, or kill other "Corrupted" Furbolgs, you will eventually be seen as friendly, and you will be able to trade with them.
However you cannot gain reputation at this time with the opposing faction. The Horde cannot gain reputation with the Alliance, and vice versa.
NPCs in major and minor cities can buy and sell merchandise, train class and profession skills, give quests, and provide a large percent of services that are needed in the game. While some will merely offer advice or further the story, others patrol around set paths to keep cities defended against attacking players or hostile NPCs that may attempt to invade a city.
Professions
In addition to the character classes, a player may choose two primary professions and all three secondary professions that the game offers, if they so choose. Essentially, there are two types of professions: gathering and item creation. Many players choose to pair two related professions, thus allowing the character to gather the required materials for the crafting skill.
The most commonly paired skills are as follows: Mining and Blacksmithing, Mining and Engineering, Skinning and Leatherworking, Herbalism and Alchemy, and to a lesser extent, Tailoring and Enchanting.
Some players choose to select only "gathering" professions, opting to simply supply resources to players with item creation skills. These types of players will typically offer gathered items for sale in the game's auction houses.
With the release of the expansion, the Jewelcrafting profession has been introduced, and the paired skill for Jewelcrafting is Mining.
Items and equipment
Player characters can acquire various items in the game. Items can vary from resources such as herbs or raw ores to items to be retrieved for quests. Player characters can also equip different weapons and armor, either to customize their character or improve abilities such as better attacks or defense skills. Items are classified by the color their name is displayed in, Grey being Poor, White being Common, Green being Uncommon, Blue being Rare, Purple being Epic, Orange being Legendary, and Red being Artifact.
Players of higher levels can obtain mounts of varying appearances and speeds depending on class and race, such as horses or mechanostriders, that increase their movement rate when ridden.
PvP rankings
The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.
See also: World of Warcraft Player versus Player.
As of version 2.0, the PvP system has been changed. Upon defeating another player of the opposite faction, the victor earns "Honor Points" which may be spent on various rewards (similar to in game gold). Some rewards require marks of honor from various Battlegrounds as well (you receive 1 mark from a loss and 3 from a win). A new battleground area called "The Arena" has been added, allowing players to form teams of 2 and up to 5 versus other player teams, be it Alliance or Horde players. Currently, the Arena is still in development, and as such, Honor cannot be gained in this battleground instance. However for level 70's this is the equivalent of honor. The only people who are even allowed to earn something from the arena are level 70 players. 70's fight in teams and the top teams can obtain gear from the arena. Otherwise though, the arena is still useless because nothing except skill is gained.
The PvP titles that were available in the old system are still displayed but frozen to what they were before the 'version 2.0 update" and they now give no bonus and are just for display purposes.
Many players did not receive well the changes that were made to the honor system as of version 2.0, because players who had previously taken months to reach the High Warlord or Grand Marshal honor rank (the highest honor ranking for each faction) felt betrayed by Blizzard. In the old honor systems it would take an excess of 3 or 4 months of hard gaming (putting in several hours of PvP every day) to reach the High Warlord or Grand Marshal honor rank. By achieving this rank players had access to some of the greatest weapons and armor in the game. When Blizzard released this new patch it allowed players to purchase all the High Warlord or Grand Marshal gear that they would need after only two weeks of hard gaming and honor collecting. Due to this change any player that had once taken months to reach their factions highest PvP ranking felt that all their time had been wasted, as now anyone could use the weapons they had access to for a significantly shorter period of gaming.
The world
Geography
World of Warcraft Map (Including 'Outland')
World of Warcraft Map (Including 'Outland')
The current virtual world is built around two main continents: The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.
Kalimdor is the beginning continent for the Horde races of the
* Orcs
* Trolls
* Tauren
And the Alliance races of the
* Night Elves
* Draenei; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
The Eastern Kingdoms is the beginning continent for the Alliance races of the
* Humans
* Dwarves
* Gnomes
And the Horde races of the
* Undead
* Blood Elves; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
A third continent, Outland, was added after the release of The Burning Crusade.
Cities/Settlements
There are four main cities for each 'side' and six neutral cities.
Horde cities include:
* Thunder Bluff in Mulgore
* Orgrimmar in Durotar
* Undercity in the Tirisfal Glades
* Silvermoon City in Eversong Forest; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
Alliance cities include:
* Stormwind in Elwynn Forest
* Ironforge in Dun Morogh
* Darnassus in Teldrassil
* Exodar in Azuremyst Isle; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
Neutral cities include:
* Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale
* Ratchet in The Barrens
* Gadgetzan in Tanaris
* Everlook in Winterspring
* Cenarion Hold in Silithus
* Light's Hope Chapel in the Eastern Plaguelands.
* Shattrath City in Terrokkar Forest, added in The Burning Crusade
As of early 2007 a number of regions in the virtual world have yet to be implemented. Some examples of this are:
* Gilneas, which is southwest of Silverpine Forest, past the Greymane Wall.
* Region beyond Grim Batol to the east (Thin strip of land, east of Wetlands and Loch Modan).
* Mount Hyjal, which in adjacent to Azshara, Winterspring, Moonglade, Felwood, and Ashenvale Forest.
* The region directly northwest of Eastern Plaguelands, in between Western Plaguelands and Ghostlands.
* The regions to the east and west of Burning Steppes.
It should be noted that many of the unopened areas in the game are off limits to players. However, using exploits or outright hacks, players have managed to enter these areas. Blizzard Game Masters can and do monitor this and have simply asked players to leave the banned areas or in some cases, banned them outright.
There are four large portals located in Ashenvale, Duskwood, Feralas, and the Hinterlands that are connected to the Emerald Dream. Each one of these portals is guarded by a corrupted green dragon. The Emerald Dream itself is not yet accessible.
The third major continent on Azeroth, Northrend, featured in Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne, does not appear in World of Warcraft. However, Burning Crusade includes a map that depicts both Outland and Azeroth, where Northrend is visible.
Instances
Main article: Instance (World of Warcraft)
Instances, also known as instance dungeons or simply "dungeons", are areas where multiple copies of the same area can exist concurrently. This means that multiple groups can both be doing the same activities in the same location, yet not interfering with one another.
A dungeon instance is usually identified by its entrance - a large, swirling portal (with a few exceptions).
"Instance" can also refer to a particular copy of such an area. Other areas, such as battlegrounds, are also instances, enabling multiple groups of players to participate at the same time.
Virtual community
In addition to playing the game itself and conversing on discussion forums provided by Blizzard, World of Warcraft players often participate in the World of Warcraft virtual community in creative ways, including fan artwork and comic strip style storytelling. Blizzard furthers this community by offering in-game and out-of-game prizes, as well as highlighting community events and occurrences. Blizzard has also provided incentives for introducing new members to World of Warcraft. In late October 2005 each subscribed player received a 10-day free pass which they suggested be employed as seasonal gifts that could either be used by the current player or given to a friend. These passes would generate a free month's usage if the guest player purchased a full account.