Well, I got a bug to check out the game after escaping back in 2010. And wow, I was able to recover my formerly level 80 raiding warlock, but what a shock!
What level was he when you logged back in ?
Welcome back!
Oh man, that must be a trip. You left at 80, and returned at 30.
Yeah, in the “level squish” that happened when we hit level 120, all character levels were reduced by a little over half.
And remembering all the stuff in your bags and bank, and how to travel, and the new Skyriding.
The core of the game is still there, but VAST amounts have been added, and some pretty fundamental things have changes.
You should think of yourself as a new player for a while, and be patient with yourself until you have mapped all the new stuff. There will be a lot of things that you remember that still exist, but have changed and work differently. It is much more confusing than it used to be.
I recommend this video: WoW Complete Beginner Guide 2026 (Midnight)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyqj414Se1Y
It is massively long, but broken into 1-2 minute chapters, with a Table of Contents when you click “more” on the Description so that you can choose what you are interested in.
Also
wowhead.com for anything about items and quests
icy-veins.com for building and playing classes and specs
I find that AIs are good for questions, so long as you specify the circumstances around your questions clearly, but be cautious that they may be giving answers of prior expansions that are out of date now.
I hope you enjoy your return. Please do ask any questions you have a problem with!
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