About World Of Warcraft

Unlike previous games in the Warcraft series, World of Warcraft is a MMORPG, not a real-time strategy game. As with other MMORPGs, players control a character avatar within a persistent game world, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, performing quests, building skills, and interacting with NPCs as well as other players. The game rewards success with money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve their skill and power. Players can level up their characters from level one to level 60, level 70 if they have The Burning Crusade expansion (released on January 16, 2007), or level 80 if they have the yet to be released Wrath of the Lich King expansion.[9] In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players of an enemy faction, in PvP battlegrounds or in normal world zones subject to the rules in place on the particular server. Duels can also be fought between members of the same or opposing factions, although these do not provide tangible rewards. Many players also choose to join guilds in order to conduct raids

There are two types of characters in the game: Player Characters (PCs, or simply "characters") and Non-Player Characters (NPCs). A Player Character is an avatar in the world of Azeroth that is controlled by a player. The color of a PC's name tag can be blue, green, yellow or red depending on faction and Player vs. Player (PvP) status. Non-Player Characters are controlled by the game software and can only interact with PCs through scripted events or artificial intelligence (AI).

There are three types of NPCs. Friendly NPCs, whose names are displayed in green, cannot attack friendly characters and vice versa. Hostile NPCs, whose names are in red, are either of the opposing faction or are mobs (enemies controlled by AI) and will freely attack any PC with whom they are hostile. Neutral NPCs, whose names are displayed in yellow, are neutral and will only attack if provoked. Some NPC interaction is affected by the reputation a PC has with them.

NPCs in major and minor cities can buy and sell merchandise, train class and profession skills, give quests and provide a large number of services that are needed in the game. While some will merely offer advice or further the story, others, such as city guards, patrol around set paths to keep cities defended against attacking PCs or hostile NPCs that may attempt to invade.

When creating a character in World of Warcraft, the player can choose from eight different races (two more are introduced in The Burning Crusade expansion) in two factions: Alliance and Horde. The Alliance currently consists of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Draenei. (Draenei characters require The Burning Crusade expansion in order to be created.)[10] The Horde currently consists of Orcs, Tauren, Undead, Trolls and Blood Elves. (Blood Elf characters require The Burning Crusade expansion in order to be created.)

In addition to the ten playable races there are many NPC races including (but not limited to) Goblins, Ogres, Murlocs, and Naga.

The game has nine character classes that a player can choose from. Some class restrictions are imposed based on race, so not all classes are available for each race. Each class has a set of unique abilities and talents. Abilities are general skills and spells available to the entire class, while talents allow players to specialize their character and further refine their role. Each class has a set of three talent trees. Depending on class, players may choose to build their character's talent trees for damage-dealing (also called damage-per-second, DPS), healing, tanking, or a mix of these.[11] Some classes, known as "hybrid classes," are able to perform different roles depending on a group's needs.[12]

The nine available classes in World of Warcraft are:

Druid: Hybrid class. A nature-oriented class capable of fulfilling the role of a damage dealer, a tank, or a healer. The druid can shapeshift into many forms: a bear (for tanking), a panther or lion (for melee damage), a "moonkin" (for ranged magical damage), a cheetah (high-speed land travel), a seal (water travel), a "Tree of Life" (for healing), and a bird (flight travel in Outland).
Hunter: Damage class. A combination of a marksman/archer and animal specialist, the hunter specializes in ranged damage dealt by means of a bow, crossbow, or gun with the help of an animal pet. The hunter also employs a series of traps for damaging or disabling enemies.
Mage: Damage class. The wizard-esque damage dealer of World of Warcraft, the mage employs spells of the "arcane," fire, and frost elements. Mages can also conjure food and water to replenish group members, and teleport themselves and others to most major cities.
Paladin: Hybrid class. A heavily-armored holy warrior that serves primarily as a durable combat healer. Like druids, paladins can specialize to fulfill each of the three major roles in World of Warcraft. (See also: Paladin (character class).)
Priest: Healer/damage class. A lightly-armored class that typically represents either the forces of good (as a "Holy Priest") or evil (as a "Shadow Priest"), becoming a healer or damage dealer through each type of "faith" respectively.
Rogue: Damage class. The rogue is a shadowy assassin that can "stealth" to avoid being seen by enemies (providing near-invisibility). The rogue deals damage by dual-wielding melee weapons such as daggers or swords.
Shaman: Hybrid class. Unlike other hybrid classes (paladins and druids), the totem-wielding shaman's tanking abilities are quite limited, however, they can specialize to become effective healers, or damage dealers, using either melee weapons or spells.
Warlock: Damage class. Essentially a sinister combination of the mage and the hunter, the warlock deals magical damage like a mage but also has demonic "pets" (called minions) like hunters. Depending on their specialization, the warlock's damaging spells can come chiefly in the form of so-called "damage over time" spells that, after being placed on an enemy, slowly deal their damage, or in the form of direct damage spells that deal damage all at once, as those of a mage (or Elemental Shaman) do.
Warrior: Tank/damage class. World of Warcraft's most heavily-armored class, the warrior is a general melee fighter who can use any non-magical weapon in the game and who can specialize to be either a damage dealer or a tank.
The Paladin class was previously only available to the Alliance, and the Shaman only available to the Horde. Now, with the release of The Burning Crusade, the Draenei (Alliance) are able to be shamans and the Blood Elves (Horde) are able to be paladins, removing the previous faction exclusivity. In the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, a tenth class known as the Death Knight will be added, which will also be the game's first Hero class. [9]