I'm an absolute newbie. Help, please?

[Wintermute]

Do you know anywhere I can read about how certain stats benefit characters? That's the kind of guide I'm looking for too. Really basic reference material. Or is all that in the manual and/or on the official website?

Where is a good place to read about the classes? I'll hazard a guess and say that's probably Blizzard's site, too.

I use WoW Wiki and Thottbot, I hear WoWHead is good too.

The official Blizzard Forums varies wildly in quality when it comes to useful posts too.

Might be worth lurking Elitist Jerks, though that's probably too in depth for now.

[Kohan]

Excellent, thank you very much.

[Eaglestrike]

Would you mind not talking down to me for just one fucking second? I know WoW and would just as well not have this thread shitted up by people who don't understand simple things like context

The question asked by the OP was 'what's a newbie friendly class?'

Can you honestly say that hunter is more newbie friendly than a mage or a rogue, who push ONE fucking button from 1-50 to kill their exp mobs?

I'm pretty sure even the developers consider Hunter the class of newbies.

[Shuemue]

I'm amused that Correction found Huntard difficult

[Kyo]

When I played wow, I was very new to it and I rolled hunter first only problem I had was learning how growl worked and its a very expensive Job to start with, havent played in 2 yrs so might have changed, im thinking of picking it back up soon.

[Arcana]

Can you honestly say that hunter is more newbie friendly than a mage or a rogue, who push ONE fucking button from 1-50 to kill their exp mobs?

El Oh El. hunter only needs to right click auto-shoot shit to death. its frankly easier than leveling a mage or rouge.

no class in WoW is hard to level, hunter is just easier to level than all the others, despite how hard your making it seem. It was the first class i picked up thinking it would be somewhat like RNG in ffxi, which it is a little but pet mechanics are no where near close to difficult even when you had to feed them to keep them happy. i think even auto-shoot triggers defensive pets now too.

[Kurp]

Priest is a pretty good class for beginners. It's easy to level as Shadow and you've got two polar opposite playstyles to choose from when you hit level cap.

[Kyo]

I've just done Paladin 1-22 in the last few days, it's really easy, much easier than the fire mage I played to 70 last year. Basically pick any class you fancy, they're all pretty decent in my experience.

I really wanna play pld, just not a fan of the races its chosen for ;/

[Rivero]

Yeah. Those websites are good. You can also watch some videos if you like. Look up Hunter PVP for example if you want to see what PvPing as a Hunter is like on Youtube/Warcraft Movies.

I saw Ioneye's Elemental Shaman video one day and since then I have been Elemental for almost two years and half without ever respecing once. : p But that was after I played my Hunter/Mage. : x

If you want a quick general description I can give you one of each class.

Priest: Hybrid (Healer/Magic DPS): When you think Priest you think "Heal Me." It's pretty much the same case in WoW only you have the option of going Shadow and being the exact opposite. You are encouraged not to use "holy spells" as shadow and go about your own methods melting other peoples faces. I'd stray away from Priest unless you don't mind having to heal since that's what you're probably going to wind up doing.


Mage: Total Offensive DPS (Magic DPS) - Shoots Fireballs/Frostbolts/Arcane Magic and you can choose to specialize in one of those three schools. I can't really go too specific into Mage since when it comes down to it they are pretty simple in terms of what they will normally do. They have a few tricks up their sleeves though like being able to turn enemies into sheep or encasing themselves in ice for a short period to avoid taking damage.

Druid: Pure Hybrid (Tank/Melee DPS/Magic DPS/Healer): I'd say this is for someone who can't decide on what they want to be or maybe someone that wants to try everything in one go. Normally you think Hybrids tend to be mediocre but I find druids to be my favorite tanks and I love being able to party with their magic DPS forms whenever possible. Druids use various animal forms (i.e bear to tank and cat to melee) It used to be limited to this but they now even have a healing form (treant if you've ever played wc3 : p) And there's the love-able Moonkin form if you decide to become a Magic DPS.

Shaman: Limited Hybrid (Melee DPS/Magic DPS/Healer): Shaman would be a perfect hybrid if it had the ability to tank and so unfortunately I kind of see it as a limited hybrid, at least in my eyes. There's still no reason not to roll a Shaman although I've been an Shaman these past two and a half years I'd say to try and stay away from this class as it is constantly being put into the "shit hole" of the game. Most people tend to see Shaman as mediocre since the first game came out and I couldn't really agree more. PvP is pretty much dead if you go against almost every class also. : /

If you do choose to be a Shaman you have the choice of being a Melee DPS (Enhancement) or you might favor calling upon lightning to destroy your opponents like me. (Elemental) There's also the standard healer for a Shaman which is Restoration.

Paladin: Pure Hybrid (Tank/Melee DPS/Healer): Here's another basic WoW Hybrid meaning you can cover every spot necessary if you decide on changing on your mind as to what role you want to play. You're obviously missing the Ranged DPS but Paladins from what I heard are pretty unique and have gotten much more powerful since WotLK.

Rogue: Pure DPS : (Melee) This is it as far as pure melee DPS goes. There is no option for a rogue other than do slice up an enemy. You can choose how you want to kill as a rogue though, maybe very stealthy (subtlety) or very aggressively (combat). I hate to say it but this is really an idiot-proof class when it comes to everything.

Rogues have their own unique system which is called Energy. Energy will restore itself over a span of maybe 5 to 10 seconds and your moves will require that Energy for you to be able to use them.

Playing a Rogue is so tremendously easy that once you learn the what all your moves do and how to "stunlock" (you'll learn that term later on but it pretty much means using your moves to keep your opponent stunned the entire time you're beating on him) all opponents become laughing matters really. PvP is entirely favored to being a Rogue and in PvE it couldn't be more simple than hitting 2-3 buttons really. Rogue wasn't my favorite class but who knows, it might be more to your liking than me. : p

Hunter: Pure DPS (Ranged DPS {Not Magic}): I'll tell you right now. Hunter is probably the easiest class to level with . I bolded that part to make sure I wouldn't get you confused with PvE/PvP content. But one thing I can also tell you is that for my Hunter was by far the most entertaining class I've ever played in WoW, you get a pet which now you can literally customize from wanting a T-Rex to having a Moth.
Hunters are also famous for their ability to "kite" things meaning they have great powers when it comes to tackling some of the harder elite mobs in the game, all by themselves!

Their talent trees can also turn into what type of Hunter you'd like to become, Beast Mastery to make your pet stronger, Marksmanship to make yourself stronger, or Survival to be an all around "Survivalist". : p You'll also level quickly and have very little downtime so that should help you out the first time. It's also very easy to gear a Hunter.

Warlock: Pure DPS (Magic DPS): Warlocks are Hunters fused with Mages to put it in simple terms. They get their own unique demon pets and four in total (Imp, Felhound, Voidwalker, Succubus) and one extra if you delve into the demonology tree. Warlocks are their own style of DPS varying from a Damage-Over-Time style method which no other class really can excel at like Warlock (Affliction). They have a tree in which your pet becomes much stronger and which you gain an extra pet which you can only normally obtain via talent points and the ability to morph into a Demon. (hence Demonology) Finally there's the mage-style shoot large fireballs (in your case Soulfires,Immolates,etc.) and do huge amounts of damage over short periods. (Destruction)

Warlock is a fun class, it's a difficult one to master but when you know how to play it well you can be very deadly at what you decide to do, be it PvE or PvP.

Warrior: Limited Hybrid (Tank/Melee DPS): I don't like really classifying warrior as a hybrid but it does give you more than one option which is normally doesn't exists in most classes. Warrior is a job for those who like charging into battle because they literally learn how to charge into battle. : p They fight pretty recklessly and straight forward, there's no stealth or trickery as to how a Warrior will kill you but if you have excellent gear or know how to use your moves correctly you will dominate anything that comes in your path when it comes to PvP and in some cases PvE.

Warrior is the ideal "main-tank" of the game. Tanking as the other two classes I've stated above will usually get you an "off-tank" spot. If you want to be the guy that those other 24 people's lives depend on then you might love tanking as a warrior. Or if you want to wield giant weapons and deal massive amounts of burst damage then you might enjoy a DPS warrior also. The cool thing about Warrior is they get some of the most bad ass weapons and armor in the game and they have their own unique Rage system in which you build up Rage points dealing damage and then use them on your skills for combat.


If you want to know what I did I simply took a quick glance at the manual (maybe a half hour or so) and looked at each class for a little bit and I picked a Mage on my first go since I loved Black Mage from FFXI so much. : p How you decide is totally up to you. You can use the "well I love playing an X style class in MMO's so I'll go with X obviously" or you can say "the Y class looks like it has fun spells/talents so I'll try that"

Your options are huge since you're not only deciding between nine classes but you also choose between three different styles of play in each class (in most cases, not always : p)

[Senoska]

I play a Mage and love it. Arcane mage is horribly over powered, being able to crit someone for 3-4k with an insta-cast fireball, and then turn around and smack someone with a 3k arcane barrage is crazy...

Ice mage gives you a pet, which doesnt stay around forever, you have it for about a minute and a half if you tallent it, but the cooldown is only two minutes on it. You have a TON of "OH SHIT" abilities, like Iceblock, Blink, Mana shield, Ice barrier, etc.

Mage was really easy to learn, and its from what I can tell, amazing DPS. Just last night I out damaged and out DPS'd a 71 Rogue at lv64 Arcane mage.

[Correction]

I'm amused that Correction found Huntard difficult

'difficult' is not a word I used once. I'm amused that you once again completely fail to read posts before responding to them.

[Shuemue]

I really wanna play pld, just not a fan of the races its chosen for ;/

Yeah, I wish I could have been a gnome, I had to settle for a dwarf though

[Shuemue]

'difficult' is not a word I used once. I'm amused that you once again completely fail to read posts before responding to them.

I'm amused that you once again completely fall for basic trolling.

[Correction]

I'm amused that you once again completely fall for basic trolling.

I still see no evidence that you've read my posts from the beginning, and yet you accuse me of trolling. Lovely.

[Shuemue]

You're an idiot, I was trolling you. Just forget it. It's derailing the thread. I'm sorry for laughing at your inability to play the easiest class in the easiest MMO.

[sb]

I agree with Correction...

I found lock, rogue, and mage easier classes to level/manage. I also find all three much easier to instance, raid, and pvp with.

Plus you don't have to deal with an entire wasted bag.


If you (OP) plan on getting into higher level stuff, I would recommend you pick one of the classes that can respec to either heal or tank. You will be much more likely to find a spot within your group.

[Kyo]

SO far my favorite class by far is mage, the frost spec is just so much fun. Just restarted myself.

[Kyreth]

I play a Mage and love it. Arcane mage is horribly over powered, being able to crit someone for 3-4k with an insta-cast fireball, and then turn around and smack someone with a 3k arcane barrage is crazy...

Ice mage gives you a pet, which doesnt stay around forever, you have it for about a minute and a half if you tallent it, but the cooldown is only two minutes on it. You have a TON of "OH SHIT" abilities, like Iceblock, Blink, Mana shield, Ice barrier, etc.

Mage was really easy to learn, and its from what I can tell, amazing DPS. Just last night I out damaged and out DPS'd a 71 Rogue at lv64 Arcane mage.

<---- 70 Frost Mage. And I started in September, so that was 1-70 in less than 2 months.

Mages are indeed all about the damage, and like someone else here, I'll suggest a Frost-spec mage as your starter. Mages aren't 1-button as people think when they're leveling, but they are straightforward. It's a game of tag. You slap the monster with damage and make sure that the monsters don't slap your cloth-armored body into the nearest treeline back. Frost gets a lot of tricks that immobilize/slow movement speed your enemies, a very handy damage shield (Ice Barrier) that AoE freezes when it overloads on damage, and probably one of -the- best AoE's in the game.

Ice Block, Blink, and Mana Shield are spells any mage can learn, and ones all of us find rather handy. Ice Block is a "I can't do anything" trade for "I can't be hurt" (and it purges most debuffs on you in the process). Blink leaps you forward a good chunk of yardage, meaning you can get distance on enemies or use it to quickly slip by monsters you don't want to fight. Unlike FFXI, monsters have a "leash" in most cases- they'll only chase you so far before giving up. Mana Shield turns a certain amount of damage into mana drain instead.

Mind you, mages (like any class in WoW) are defined by their "talents". Someone like me, who has most of their talent points in Frost talents is a "frost mage", but for a small in-game fee, you can "respec" at a trainer and spend them again as you wish. You start getting talent points at level 10. Think of them as a kind of merit system.

Talents are in a "tree", and mages (and all classes have three choices, too) have three of them- Arcane, Fire, and Frost. Each has a few choices at the "top", and enough points in the first few choices will then open up further choices for talents further down- when someone talks about "deep frost", that means it's a character who spent a lot of talent points in that tree, and is so far down that he can take the talents at the very bottom (usually, that means 51+ talent points in one tree).

WorldofWarcraft.com -> Info -> Classes -> Mage -> Talent Calculator to get an idea of how it works. If you start Frost, I'd suggest getting Frostbite first- freezing targets is a lifesaver, and frozen targets are key to dealing heavy damage later on with the Shatter talent. Permafrost is handy to extend your chill effect, too.

[Koul]

if you're starting out, take up mining and herbalism as your professions so you can make easy money. If you see a mining node or herbalism node, go out of your way to get it.

don't really buy shit on the AH unless it's a big upgrade or you see something that's really cheap and good.

If you're on a pvp server stack stam and whatever other stat helps. so caster classes "xxx of the eagle" would be great. or if you're melee "xxx of the bear" or "xxx of the monkey".

I don't know how many times I've been able to kill people 5 levels higher then me on my holy priest because the morons had 600 health and 3.4k mana. opposed to my 2k health and 2.8k mana. Or the dumbass rogue duos trying to gank me

pvp is active if you have your fraction emblem next to your name... hmm what else...

[Wintermute]

if you're starting out, take up mining and herbalism as your professions so you can make easy money. If you see a mining node or herbalism node, go out of your way to get it.

don't really buy shit on the AH unless it's a big upgrade or you see something that's really cheap and good.

If you're on a pvp server stack stam and whatever other stat helps. so caster classes "xxx of the eagle" would be great. or if you're melee "xxx of the bear" or "xxx of the monkey".

I don't know how many times I've been able to kill people 5 levels higher then me on my holy priest because the morons had 600 health and 3.4k mana. opposed to my 2k health and 2.8k mana. Or the dumbass rogue duos trying to gank me

pvp is active if you have your fraction emblem next to your name... hmm what else...

Skinning is also a very good trade skill early on since you fight quite a few beast types as you grind and leather sells well.