Hi, so I’m brand new to WoW and need some questions answered please. But before that, just a little introduction. I’ve played quite a few MMOs in the past, but never WoW. Regardless, I do understand how MMOs work in general. I’ve been aching for a proper MMO for a while now, and many people were suggesting to give Shadowlands a shot. Mainly because of all the supposed changes that’ve been made, which has made starting this game from scratch much much easier and beginner friendly. So, here I am!
Now for the questions…
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What Realm should I pick? I’m primarily a PvE player (Dungeons/Raids/World Content etc). I don’t see any PvP Realms. Mostly “Normal” with a couple of “New Player” and “RP” ones. Should I pick any of the Normal Realms that are full? Are PvP Realms a thing, just so I don’t accidentally create a character in one.
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Which servers should I be playing on? I got automatically put into a US server that’s giving me around 230~ms, vs 130~ms on an OCE server. Even at 230~ms, I don’t seem to be having much delays, and is that normal or could it end up being bad at the later game? Again, I’ve only played until level 10 just so that I could post on the forums, and that’s barely any game time. (lol)
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Lastly, the good old, Race and Class question. I mainly enjoy playing Melee Classes with emphasis on DPS and Tanking (I do like Healing from time to time, but am not quite sure if every class can do that). So, what would you guys recommend I start off with for a DPS/Tank Melee class? Also, does Race matter at all, or should I just pick anything? (I must say the Demon Hunter and DKs have really intrigued me)
That’s about it for now. Hopefully someone can answer my questions. Thanks!
(1) For retail, there aren’t PvP realms. Instead, when you are in Stormwind or Orgrimmar, you can turn on (and off) Warmode, which will put you on a shard with other players who use that setting once you leave the city. So, all realms are normal, but all realms can be PvP if you turn it on. (It should be noted that you can still flag for PvP even without Warmode, but you don’t get any of the Warmode bonuses.)
(2) It’s going to depend on what type of content you want to do at end game, and how tolerant you are of lag. If you plan to be pushing the hardest content, then you’ll probably have a better time where your ping is lower. (Although I’ve known people who do just fine even in the hard content with higher ping.) Most people don’t actually do the harderst content, though. At end game, there are many difficulty levels, so unless you’re super competitive, it’s probably not the biggest deal.
(3) There are 3 classes that do not have melee specs at all: Priest, Mage, Warlock. The following classes have tank specs: Druid, Monk, Demon Hunter, Warrior, Death Knight, Paladin. The following classes can heal: Priest, Druid, Monk, Shaman, Paladin. (Priests have 2 different healing specs.) Shaman, druids, and hunters are the only class with both ranged and melee options. Monks, druids, and Paladins are the only classes that can do all 3 roles, and druids are the only one that can do all 3 roles and play ranged or melee dps.
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PvP realms are no longer a thing. As of BfA they introduced a setting where you can manually toggle PvP and PvE by entering a major city (Orgrimmar for Horde or Stormwind for Alliance). This is called “Warmode”. RP realms focus on RPing, so if you don’t wanna do that stick to normal realms.
You want a realm with a decently high population. Full realms are generally best given the economy, guilds, etc. But might run into an issue where you have a queue to get into the realm, though I don’t know how bad and common that is since I never played on one. High population servers will have a decent population and a healthy economy and offer a decent alternative to full realms. The last thing to note is you should Google faction imbalance of a server. Thrall and Illidan are known Horde strongholds, and you don’t want to be Alliance on that server. Just simple Google search to peruse the talks on the imbalance should suffice. Most servers are in the middle of the balance, but some lean one side, and you want it either balanced or in your factions favor.
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OCE is for Oceanic, are you from Australia/New Zealand region or the USA? Servers are based on certain locations, and you can google where exactly it’s based, though it really ultimately doesn’t matter unless realm time interferes with your schedule. I play on a server based on US Central Time, and that’s just a one hour difference when I am in USA. When I’m in Europe, though, I can’t really line up my schedule as when I get on most people are sleeping in US. Regarding MS, I would say at around 100 it’s doable, higher it goes the more unbearable it becomes. At 200 it might be too much when doing high level content where a second is the difference between a wipe or a win.
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Race mostly doesn’t matter, but offers some perks and their usefulness, for the most part, won’t manifest until end game on a min/max environment. Some races get an extra percentage of a stat, some get racial abilities that are really useful, and se dö have good synergy with certain classes. However, I always recommend picking a race who’s fantasy, voice/sounds, and animations (spell casting, running etc.) you like, rather focusing on the synergy with the class necessarily.
Udiza answered the classes portion I was going to suggest.
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The player base on an OCE server is more likely to be active during the times you are active. A player from the US is likely going to be active 12+ hours off from your time zone.
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In regards to classes, there are you tube guides on every spec. Read the Icy veins class guides for rotations and talents. Maybe level a few to 25ish to see what you like. Warrior is currently the weakest of all tanks.
DK versus DH. Havoc DH is one of the easiest specs in the game to play so some like it but some get bored. Havoc DH is below average in raids and mid pack in dungeons. Vengeance DH is the best dungeon tank in game. DH only has two specs, and they have great mobility.
Unholy DK is currently very good in dungeons and top tier in raids. Blood DK’s are good tanks. You get three specs with DK. The performance rankings I’m providing are only important when you get into mid to high level content. If your just doing the lowest dungeons and raids it doesn’t matter. Also, performance is subject to change.
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Why are you suggesting playing on a laggy server is okay? He’s/she’s paying for the game not to have lag and have a generally positive experience. Oceanic lag is bad and it gets annoying. If you live in the US play on a US server. You can type in google OCE wow realms and avoid those. As a new player I would chose a bigger realm. You can get a lot of info on servers via wowprogress website. If you live In australia you should choose a server like barthilas or frostmourne.
They clearly stated that their ping is lower on oce realms so there is no way they live in the continental US. I would assume they live in an Asian country, probably Japan. As said by others the time zone of the server so be the biggest factor in which zone you play.
Choose a medium population server.
Pick the race you like best.
Druids are a good class right now dps wise. They are able to mount up instantly into their travel form which is significant, let alone in zones like the Maw where no one else can mount up.
Havoc DHs just got nerfed H-A-R-D. Unless you want to just tank id choose something else.
Guilds may well be one of the most important choices for a new player. Find one that suits your play style and that is supportive. If they aren’t supportive or you don’t mesh well leave and find another.
Addons:
- GTFO is great for new players as it tell you when you are standing in something that is hurting you
- SellJunk is great for helping you sell stuff you don’t need.
- Details! is great for keeping track of your DPS. Its particularly important once you hit lvl 60.
- H.H.T.D. or an equivalent is a must if you decided to PVP.
if you want many great guild options, id go stormrage or proudmoore for alliance and illidan or area 52 for horde. just pick the class and race you like. its never that serious… its literally a 1% dps difference.