Welcome, intrepid adventurers, to the world of Azeroth! If you're gearing up to embark on your journey in WoW Classic Season of Discovery for the year 2024, you've stumbled upon the treasure trove of guides. Fear not, for we shall navigate the labyrinthine depths of this classic MMORPG together. Grab your map and compass—we're about to set sail!

 

• Choosing Your Faction
• Roles
• Class Breakdown
• Class Tier List
• Choosing Your Race
• A Quick Rundown of Races
• Quest Types
• Leveling
• Settings to Change
• Sources of Healing
• Enemy Types / Healthbars
• Combat 101
• Class Trainer Visits
• Respeccing
• Weapon Training
• Inventory Management
• Auction House Economics
• Mail System
• Banking
• Finding NPCs
• Primary Professions
• Secondary Professions
• Leveling Your Professions
• Pairing Professions
• Reputation and Rep Grinds
• Fast Travel
• Death and Consequences
• Gear Up
• Stats
• Resistances
• User Interface (UI)
• Rested Experience
• Buffs
• Honor System
• Talents
• Quest Log
• World Map
• Macros
• Addons
• Aggro
• Group Content
• Rotation
• World Buffs
• Mounts
• Choosing Your Server
• Rune Engraving

 

↖ Choosing Your Faction

First things first: Alliance or Horde? This decision is crucial as it dictates your comrades-in-arms and your mortal enemies. Alliance players can choose from Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, or Gnomes, while Horde players have Orcs, Undead, Tauren, or Trolls at their disposal. Remember, your faction pick locks you out from playing with the other side. So if your buddy's going Horde, don't be that guy who accidentally rolls Alliance.

 

↖ Roles

In the grand tapestry of WoW Classic, you'll need to pick a role: Tank, Damage Dealer (DPS), or Healer. Each class has its strengths and limitations in these roles. For example, Warriors are versatile tanks and DPS but can't heal to save their life—literally. Mages are potent DPS and can now heal in the Season of Discovery. Choose wisely to avoid being the reluctant healer in a dungeon run when you'd rather be slinging spells.

 

↖ Class Breakdown

Let's zoom in on the classes:

• Warrior: The armored juggernauts of the battlefield. Warriors are excellent tanks and DPS but require skill to manage threat and keep mobs focused on them.
• Druid: The shapeshifting masters of versatility. Druids can tank, heal, or DPS depending on their form—bear for tanking, cat for DPS, and tree for healing.
• Shaman: The elemental force of nature (Horde only). Shamans bring powerful totems and spells to buff allies and can fill any role with the right spec.
• Paladin: The holy warriors (Alliance only). Paladins are durable tanks and exceptional healers with great utility through buffs.
• Priest: The quintessential healers. Priests wield the light and shadow to restore allies or decimate foes.
• Rogue: Stealthy assassins. Rogues excel in burst damage and can unlock paths for their party with lockpicking skills.
• Hunter: Masters of ranged combat. Hunters use bows and pets to deal damage from afar but must manage their ammo and dead zones.
• Mage: Elemental powerhouses. Mages offer high DPS and crowd control capabilities and can now heal in Season of Discovery.
• Warlock: Summoners of demons and afflictions. Warlocks are DPS specialists with pets that can tank, now with added tanking abilities.

 

↖ Class Tier List

The tier list is a contentious topic that changes with each season. Traditionally, Fury Warriors and Combat Rogues top the charts for DPS, while Holy Paladins and Priests shine as healers. Protection Warriors are the go-to for tanks. However, Blizzard aims to shake things up each season, so take these rankings with a pinch of salt.

Tier	Class
S	Fury Warrior
A	Combat Rogue
B	Frost Mage, Affliction Warklock, Marksmanship Hunter
C	Shadow Priest, Feral Druid
D	Elemental Shaman, Enhancement Shaman, Retribution Paladin
F	Balance Druid

 

↖ Choosing Your Race

Your first step in WoW Classic is selecting a race. Not all races can play every class, so your class choice will influence your decision. Consider these factors:

• Starting Zone: If you're teaming up with a friend from level one, ensure your starting zones align. Otherwise, you might need to solo for a few levels before joining forces. But don't sweat it; this is a minor hiccup in the grand scheme.
• Appearance: Vanity is no sin in Azeroth! Love the skin (or scales) you're in, as you'll be spending countless hours with your character.
• Combat Effectiveness: Racials can give you an edge in battle. Min-maxers, take note!

 

↖ A Quick Rundown of Races

Alliance Races:

• Gnomes: Brainy with a knack for escaping sticky situations. Ideal for mages and warlocks.
• Dwarves: Hardy folk with a penchant for guns and a resistance to ailments. Priests revel in their Fear Ward.
• Humans: Jacks-of-all-trades with a reputation for fast friendships. Great for warriors and anyone wielding swords or maces.
• Night Elves: Masters of stealth with a peculiar affinity for quick ghostly sprints post-mortem.

 

Horde Races:

• Undead: Aquatically adept and unfazed by fear or sleep. Perfect for PvP enthusiasts.
• Orcs: Ax-wielding powerhouses with a resistance to stun. Formidable in both PvE and PvP.
• Trolls: Quick on their feet and bow specialists. Ideal for hunters and those who enjoy an attack-speed boost.
• Tauren: Gentle giants with a stomp that echoes through the battlefield. Their health bonus is nothing to moo at.

 

↖ Quest Types

Quests are your bread and butter in WoW Classic. Keep an eye out for:

• Soloable Quests: Go it alone and reap the rewards.
• Dungeon/Raid Quests: Band together for glory and loot.
• Elite Quests: Tackle these with a partner for a hefty XP boost.

 

Remember, quest markers vary in color:

• Gold: Available quest
• Silver: Not high enough level
• Blue: Repeatable quest

 

↖ Leveling

Leveling in WoW Classic can be an adventure in itself. You can quest, grind mobs, or run dungeons repeatedly. Each method has its pros and cons, but a mix of all three usually hits the sweet spot.

 

↖ Settings to Change

Tweak these settings ASAP for a smoother experience:

• Enable auto-loot.
• Turn on NPC names and enemy cast bars.
• Activate additional action bars.
• Customize keybindings for comfort.

 

↖ Sources of Healing

Your survival toolkit includes:

• Food and Water: Out-of-combat replenishment.
• Potions: In-combat emergency heals.
• Bandages: First aid for when things get dicey.

 

↖ Enemy Types / Healthbars

Enemies come in different flavors:

• Yellow text: Non-aggro
• Red text: Aggro
• Green text: Ally

 

The color of an enemy's level also gives hints about difficulty:

• Gray: No XP
• Green: Easy kill, less XP
• Yellow: Even match
• Orange: Tougher than you
• Red: Very difficult
• Skull: Deadly

Elite enemies have gold dragons around their portrait; rare elites have silver dragons. Approach with caution or comrades.

 

↖ Combat 101

Combat in WoW Classic is not for the faint-hearted. Here's how to avoid becoming monster chow:

• Engage Wisely: Facing multiple enemies? Think twice. Crowd control is key—sheep one, freeze another, and take them down one by one.
• Know Your Odds: Enemies two levels above pack a punch with a 6% spell miss chance; at three levels higher, it's a whopping 17%.
• Bandage Up: Caught in a tight spot? Slap on a Heavy Linen Bandage mid-battle to tip the scales back in your favor.
• Run Smart: If you're losing, run—but don't attack! Enemies will chase you to the ends of Azeroth if you keep poking them.

 

↖ Class Trainer Visits

Skills don't just magically appear—you've got to learn them:

• Find Your Trainer: Look for NPCs with titles like "Mage Trainer" and brace your wallet.
• Choose Wisely: Only learn spells you'll use to save gold for more important things (like shiny new armor).
• Regular Check-ins: Visit your trainer every couple of levels to stay on top of your game.

 

↖ Respeccing

Not happy with your talents? Time to respec:

• Costly Change: Respeccing isn't free. The price goes up each time you do it, so choose your talents wisely.
• Strategic Shifts: Sometimes a new strategy requires a fresh set of talents. Budget for it.

 

↖ Weapon Training

Don't be that hero swinging a sword like a stick:

• Skill Up: Use weapons to increase proficiency. Don't wait until high levels, or you'll be missing more than your ex.
• Learn New Weapons: Visit Weapon Masters in major cities to learn how to wield new armaments.

 

↖ Inventory Management

Your pockets aren't bottomless pits. Manage your gear:

• Bag Space is Precious: Invest in bags early on to avoid heartbreaking decisions at the loot drop.
• Sell the Junk: Gray-text items? Vendor fodder. Keep the good stuff.

 

↖ Auction House Economics

The Auction House can be your best friend or worst enemy:

• Search and Sort: Use filters to find what you need or list what you want to sell.
• Bid or Buyout: Decide if you're in it for the long haul (bidding) or need instant gratification (buyout).
• Undercut Cautiously: Lowballing prices can backfire. Know the market value before you list.

 

↖ Mail System

Sending items via mail is like texting for gear:

• Inventory Relief: Mail items to your alts or friends to free up space.
• Auction House Assistant: Use an alt parked next to the Auction House and mailbox for smooth selling.

 

↖ Banking

Need a place for your keepsakes? Use the bank:

• Extra Slots Cost Gold: Each bag slot in your bank increases storage but hits your pocketbook.
• Not Account Wide: Each character has its own bank—no sharing between alts.

 

↖ Finding NPCs

Lost in town? City Guards are your Google Maps:

• Ask for Directions: Guards point you to trainers, banks, auction houses—anything you need.
• Flagged on Map: Once you ask, you'll get a handy marker to guide you.

 

↖ Primary Professions

In WoW Classic, you can choose up to two primary professions. These are split into crafting and gathering categories:

 

1. Crafting Professions:

• Tailoring: Ideal for Mages, Priests, and Warlocks who wear cloth armor. Tailors also craft bags, which are universally needed.
• Leatherworking: Suited for Druids, Rogues, Hunters, and Shamans who wear leather or mail armor. Leatherworkers also create quivers and ammo pouches.
• Blacksmithing: Often chosen by Warriors and Paladins for crafting mail and plate armors as well as weapons.
• Enchanting: Popular with spellcasters for adding buffs to gear. Enchanters disenchant items to obtain materials.
• Engineering: A versatile choice for all classes interested in PvP and raiding. Engineers craft guns, ammo, and gadgets.
• Alchemy: Beneficial for all classes due to potion crafting that provides buffs and restorative effects.

 

2. Gathering Professions:

• Skinning: Provides materials for leatherworking and is easy to level as you encounter beasts.
• Mining: Reveals ore nodes on the minimap and supplies materials for blacksmithing and engineering.
• Herbalism: Essential for alchemists; herbalists collect plants to create potions and elixirs.

 

↖ Secondary Professions

Unlike primary professions, you can learn all secondary professions:

1. First Aid: An essential skill for all players. Create bandages to heal yourself in and out of combat.
2. Cooking: Prepares food that regenerates health and mana or offers buffs.
3. Fishing: Provides ingredients for cooking and alchemy. Can be done in any body of water.

 

↖ Leveling Your Professions

To level a profession, you must perform its associated tasks. For example, mining ore will increase your Mining skill. The chance to level depends on the color code of the task:

• Grey: No experience gained.
• Green: Low chance (around 33%) to gain a skill point.
• Yellow: Moderate chance (around 75%) to gain a skill point.
• Orange: High chance (nearly 100%) to gain a skill point.
• Red: Skill too low for the task.

 

↖ Pairing Professions

Choosing professions that complement each other can make leveling easier and more profitable. Here are some common pairings:

• Tailoring with Enchanting or Skinning
• Leatherworking with Skinning
• Blacksmithing with Mining
• Engineering with Mining
• Alchemy with Herbalism

Remember that you can always switch professions if you find that your initial choices aren't working out. However, this will reset your progress in those professions.

 

↖ Reputation and Rep Grinds

Reputation is your standing with the various factions in WoW Classic. By completing quests and vanquishing foes aligned against a faction, you'll earn their favor. For example, assisting the denizens near Undercity will boost your Undercity rep.

As your reputation grows from Neutral to Honored, and beyond, you unlock mounts, cosmetics, and other coveted items. Humans have an edge here with a 10% increased reputation gain. While rep grinds can be time-consuming, they're not mandatory—unless you're among the most dedicated players seeking every achievement.

 

↖ Fast Travel

Azeroth is enormous, so fast travel is a godsend. Here are the methods at your disposal:

• Flight Paths: Look for green exclamation points to unlock new flight paths. These connect you to previously visited locations for a nominal fee.
• Hearthstone: Bind it to an inn for a quick teleport back. Remember, it has a one-hour cooldown.
• Zeppelins: Free rides between continents—ideal for inter-faction travel.
• Mage Portals: Mages can conjure portals to cities, perfect for group travel.
• Death: In dire situations, dying can be a strategic move to respawn closer to your destination.

 

↖ Death and Consequences

Upon death, you can release your spirit to a graveyard. You have two choices: resurrect at your corpse without penalty or at the Spirit Healer with a durability hit to gear and a temporary debuff.

Pro tip: Regularly repair your gear at NPCs to avoid the inconvenience of broken armor.

 

↖ Gear Up

Your character can equip various items:

• Armor Slots: Head, neck, shoulders, back (cloak), chest, wrist, hands, waist, legs, and feet.
• Accessories: Two finger slots for rings and two for trinkets.
• Weapons: Main hand, offhand, ranged weapon (bows need ammunition; wands do not).

Armor comes in four weights—cloth, leather, mail, plate—and rarity levels from common (white) to legendary (purple). Remember that higher rarity usually means better stats.

 

↖ Stats

Stats enhance your character's abilities:

• Strength: Increases melee attack power.
• Agility: Boosts ranged attack power and critical hit chance.
• Stamina: Expands your health pool—vital for survival.
• Intellect: Raises mana pool and spell critical hit chance.
• Spirit: Improves mana and health regeneration rates when not casting or out of combat.

 

↖ Resistances

Resistances reduce the effect of specific elemental attacks on you. They can be complete or partial and are crucial in both PvE and PvP encounters.

 

↖ User Interface (UI)

Your UI is your command center. At the bottom, you'll find your action bars where you slot skills, consumables, and items with on-use effects (like that mana-giving offhand—sweet for mages!). Your character portrait is top left, displaying your level, name, health, and mana. The blue bar above your action bars? That's your XP bar; it turns purple when you're out of rested XP (more on that soon).

 

↖ Rested Experience

Logging out in an inn? Smart move. You'll accrue rested XP, granting you double the experience for monster kills until it's depleted. It's like a welcome-back bonus for taking a break—use it wisely!

 

↖ Buffs

Buffs are like virtual high-fives you can give or receive to boost stats. Share the love! If you have a buff like Arcane Intellect and spot a fellow mage, toss it their way. It's all about camaraderie in Classic WoW.

 

↖ Honor System

Honorable Kills (HKs) are your badge of PvP honor—earned by defeating players of a similar level. Dishonorable Kills (DHKs), on the other hand, are big no-nos; they're earned from defeating much lower-level players and can tarnish your honor rank. Play fair!

 

↖ Talents

Post-level 10, each level grants you a talent point. Talents let you customize your character—whether you're an Arcane Mage or a Fury Warrior. Choose wisely but don't fret; respeccing is possible (though it can be pricey).

 

↖ Quest Log

Press 'L' to open your log and track your quests. Without add-ons, you'll need to read quest texts to know where to go—no hand-holding here! Remember, you can only hold 20 quests at a time.

 

↖ World Map

'M' opens the world map. It's vast and doesn't zoom without add-ons. But with them? It's like upgrading from an old paper map to GPS—showing quest locations, rare spawns, and more.

 

↖ Macros

Macros are nifty tools that streamline actions—like ensuring your auto-attack is always on when needed. They vary by class and role but are easy to set up and incredibly handy.

Now let's touch on add-ons—they're game-changers. Here are some must-haves:

• Auctionator: Know the auction house value of items instantly.
• Bagnon: Keep your bags organized.
• Deadly Boss Mods (DBM): Get alerts for boss mechanics.
• Details! Damage Meter: Track your DPS prowess (or lack thereof).
• GTFO: Get warned when standing in harmful stuff.
• Leatrix Maps: Enhance your map with zoom features and info.
• Questie: The ultimate quest helper.
• RareScanner: Spot those elusive rare spawns.
• TomTom: Navigate Azeroth with GPS-like precision.
• VoiceOver Classic: Listen to quest dialogues as you adventure.

To install add-ons, use CurseForge. Sort by 'Classic' and consider starting with the most downloaded ones—they're popular for good reasons.

 

↖ Addons

Before you step foot into the wilds, let's talk addons. These nifty little programs are like having a pocket-sized mage casting "Quality of Life Improvement" spells on your game interface. Here are some must-haves:

• Auctionator: For those who want to make a killing in the auction house.
• Deadly Boss Mods: Because knowing is half the battle in dungeons and raids.
• Questie: Because wandering aimlessly is only fun for so long.

 

↖ Aggro

Aggro, or aggression, is all about who's making the mobs see red. You want your tank to be the center of their angry mob world. If you're pulling aggro away from your tank by dealing too much damage or healing like a boss, you're going to have a bad time. Remember:

• Damage = Threat. More damage = More mobs wanting to give you a hug (with their fists).
• Let your tank lead the dance of destruction. They build threat, you follow their lead.

 

↖ Group Content

Dungeons and raids are where bonds are tested and loot is collected. Here's a quick rundown:

• Dungeons: A party of five (1 tank, 1 healer, 3 DPS) delves deep for glory and gear.
• Raids: Larger groups tackle even bigger baddies. Coordination is key.
• Guilds: Your home away from home. Join one for consistent raiding and a sense of community.

 

↖ Rotation

Every class has a rotation—a specific order to cast abilities for maximum efficiency. It's like a dance where you're stepping on toes if you get it wrong. Learn your steps and practice until they're second nature.

 

↖ World Buffs

World Buffs are like sprinkles on the already sweet cupcake of your character's power. They're temporary but potent—and everyone wants them before a big raid. Just watch out for those party poopers who want to wipe your buffs clean.

 

↖ Mounts

At level 40, you can get your hands on a mount to zip around Azeroth at increased speeds. Save up gold and look for discounts:

• Reach PvP rank three for a 10% discount.
• Gain honored reputation with your mount's faction for another 10% off.

 

↖ Choosing Your Server

Your server is your Azeroth neighborhood. Choose wisely:

PvE	Peaceful questing without fear of player attacks.
PvP	Thrilling and dangerous with open-world player combat.
RP	For those who want to truly become their character.

 

↖ Rune Engraving

New to Season of Discovery, rune engraving allows you to augment gear with powerful abilities or roles. Unlock slots at level 25 and customize to your heart's content.

 

Conclusion: You Made It!

If you've read this far, you're ready to tackle WoW Classic's Season of Discovery head-on. Remember, the journey is as important as the destination—so have fun out there! Leave a comment if this guide helped or if you've got more tips for fellow adventurers.