Starting out in World of Warcraft

this is created to Show the best way to start off in Azeroth

Getting started

The first thing you will be forced to choose is the Realm, most people will chose the realm there friend is on, but, if none of your friends play WoW, then you have to choose one by yourself

For new players i would reccomend playing in medium population Normal servers, chances are that there will be enough players that they will help you out, and that the more you play it and understand, the more players there will be on the realm. there is RP and PVP capabilitie on normal servers so it will suit you either way you want to play.

For experienced players you will be more inclined to play on high Population servers since there will be more people to quest or raid together.

The Second thing you must choose is the faction, there are two factions that hate eachother and will not be able to talk to the other faction.

General Pro's/Con's
Alliance
Pros:
-most new characters are created on Alliance
-Alliance has generally more helpful people
-Alliance has a tram system
-rare item drop rates are usually better for Alliance

Cons:
-Alliance usually has absolutely no disipline in PvP arenas
-Low level areas arn't as defended as Horde's

Horde
Pros:
-Alot of experienced players switch to horde
-Listens well in Battlegrounds
-owns more land then Alliance
-Low level areas are well defended

Cons:
-Will not get as much help if asking a question
-AH prices are higher

Each faction has its good and bad side, and eventually balance out in overall, Alliance may be easier to get kick ass gear, but, what use is it if your not organized in a fight.

Next you will be able to choose your race, there are 5 races for each faction (if you have Burning Crusade)
Each can have specific classes and has class only specialities.

Alliance:
Draenei
Human
Night Elf
Dwarf
Gnome

Horde:
Orc
Troll
Tauren
Undead
Blood Elf

Classes:
There are 9 different classes that either focus on Healing, Tanking or DPS, some also give choices to branch between ones

Definition:

DPS (Damage Per Second):
this will comprise most of the groups, they are ocused on delivering the most damage they possibally can towards the target

Tank:
a group usually cannot be without a tank, this is the person that takes the punishment from the monsters.

Healer:
The most valued player, without a healer, a group will simply die, there is no group without a tank, but the healers the one that keeps him alive

Now that that is explained you can see what sections calsses fit into.

Warrior:
Warriors are the best at tanking if they are protection speced, they cannot heal as much aggro as Paladins, but can take alot more punishment. they are usually useless without a healer. Warriors can also DPS, and this will fill the majority of Warriors out there. not the best at DPS, but has many abilities to immobilize/weaken the enemy.

Paladin:
Paladins are good tanks and are very good at holding aggro, with the ability to heal themselves they can continue the fight without a healer if he should die, and can also become inveunerable for a period of time. if speced right Paladins are the most mana efficient healers in the game, and are the most valued in arena teams. Paladins can DPS thanks to the new patch, but are at the bottom of the list for DPS.

Mage:
Mages are built for DPS, they are very valuable with the ability to polymorph, and can summon food and water to make dungeons much faster. Mages are the most valued for DPS, but when it comes to close combat, you are almost worthless.

Priest:
Its a priest, just made for healing right? wrong, while it is the best healer in the game for overall, it can also be DPS, if its Shadow speced, it can do massive damage, almost as much as a Mage.

Warlock:
Warlocks, you will be hated the most in Battlegrounds and favoured for long battles, with many powerful spells, you also have DOTs (Damage over Time) witch kills an enemy without having to do anything except cast the spell on him. yo also can summon a pet, witch can tank, DPS and distract monsters.

Hunter:
Possibally the easiest class, with the ability to run faster than your enemies, shoot at them from range, immobilize them with traps, and fake death, you are the fastest leveling class created. you also have pets that you can make tank for you.

Rogues:
Rogues master the art of Deception, they can deal out massive DPS and then just vanish into the shadows. Rogues are the best DPS in early levels and are the best melee DPS in its later levels, not much of a damage taker, Rogues are very veunerable to being hit.

Shaman:
Shamans are probably the best overall, but are still overrated, they can ressurect themselves, buff allies and put down powerful totems to help turn a hard battle into an easy victory, and dont forget there very powerful magic attacks. Shamans are the ultimate buff character, supplying their allies with powerful buffs while able to heal or do devestatingly heavy DPS

Druid:
Finally we come to the most customizable class, Druids can DPS, Tank or heal, and does well at all of them, while not the best at any of them, it is definitly good th have one, it is basically a sub for any slot, Jack of all trades, but hardly a master of any.