The new expansion The War Within has been released for World of Warcraft and you may be wondering whether this would be a good time to start playing WoW for the first time. MeinMMO tells all beginners what they need to be prepared for and where potential pitfalls lie.
Most online role-playing games that have been on the market for many years are struggling with a similar challenge: With new content, mechanics and systems constantly being added, the mountain that newcomers have to climb to catch up with the long-established veterans is also increasing.
Sometimes newly created characters are bombarded with so many features, currencies, items and names that they quickly become overwhelmed and press “log out” and remain logged out.
With the launch of The War Within, the mountain of WoW content has grown a little bigger again. At the same time, a newly launched expansion always offers the opportunity for a fresh start. Below, we’ll tell anyone who’s interested whether it’s worth it and fun to start playing World of Warcraft in 2024.
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Where should I start?
Anyone who installs the Blizzard launcher these days and wants to download a version of WoW from there may soon come across the first questions: Which version of the MMORPG should I actually install: World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft Classic or Cataclysm Classic? For which version do I need to have purchased the expansion The War Within? Do all three versions require the subscription?
These are all questions that newcomers didn’t have to deal with a few years ago. It’s similar when you start World of Warcraft, create a character and then choose your starting location. In addition to the old starting areas for the various races, you can also start on the Isle of Exiles. But what does that mean exactly? There is no explanation in the selection menu.
What happens next? Once you’ve completed the island, your character should have reached level 10. After that, the entire world of Warcraft is literally open to you for the next leveling phase. The crux of the matter: you basically only have to play through the content of one of the numerous WoW expansions to reach level 70 and be ready for the adventure of The War Within.
The Dragonflight campaign from the last expansion, Dragonflight, is selected by default. However, you can also visit Chromie in the Alliance capital of Stormwind or in the Horde capital of Orgrimmar and activate one of the following Timewalking campaigns there:
It will probably be impossible for any beginner to make the best possible decision for themselves. And no matter what you decide, you will probably get the feeling that you are missing out on a lot with your character.
WoW has been declared dead many times:
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The patchwork of a story campaign
The feeling just described is entirely justified. As soon as a newcomer is even slightly interested in the story of World of Warcraft, the first leveling experience is likely to be quite sobering. After all, each of the timewalking campaigns somehow starts in the middle and ends in the middle.
If you want to see the common thread, you’ll have to level up nine characters in the correct order of the expansions – and even then, many questions will probably remain unanswered. Firstly, thanks to the rework of the old world by Cataclysm, secondly, because the Blizzard authors didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory in some expansions, and thirdly, because some parts of the plot have been outsourced to books, comics and videos.
Anyone who is now starting WoW and has a strong focus on the story will have no choice but to watch comprehensive lore videos or take a look here:
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The story of World of Warcraft to date – the whole lore summarized
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Beginner-friendly and comfortable
While the sheer number of options can be overwhelming at the start, the playful introduction to WoW is friendly: the first tasks are quickly mastered, the tutorials are understandable and all displays are easy to read. In addition, the rapid leveling up regularly brings a sense of achievement and new skills for your own playing style.
Getting started in a playful way also feels good because WoW is one of the MMORPGs with the greatest comfort factor. If you are supposed to use a quest item on pigs, for example, you don’t have to select the item first and then click to activate it. Simply right-click on the bristled animal you are targeting and you can use the item instead of reaching for your weapon. Other examples:
Due to the old-school tab-target combat system and the varied but simple quests, you shouldn’t expect an action-fest or exciting challenges at the beginning. Things are relatively relaxed in Azeroth at the beginning.
Will it remain as beginner-friendly? In terms of the difficulty of the quests and battles, yes, at least if the level scaling in the open world works correctly. However, it can potentially become overwhelming again as soon as you leave the Isle of Exiles and land in your respective capital.
Because then Blizzard’s MMORPG opens up noticeably. Through the timewalking campaigns already mentioned, but also through many new features such as pet battles, PvP, professions, transmogrification, specializations plus talent trees, collections and so on. You have to get through this culture shock first.
What helps: Take the guided tour that is offered to you in the capital. As soon as you receive the quest for the Dragon Isles, ignore everything else for the time being and choose the expansion you want to level in. The common thread associated with each campaign helps you to get deeper into World of Warcraft.
The next page continues with the content that WoW offers, the sometimes toxic community and the final conclusion.