Great Grandma Darbles and a Beginner's Guide to WoW: Part 1a

I'm going to do a couple updates kind of at a whim with a focus on a Beginner's Perspective to WoW.  They're not going to be in any particular order or follow any path of logic/reason.  They'll mostly just come to me when they do and hopefully, at the very least, they'll be entertaining to read.

So, without further adieu...afk Pizza needs to go in the oven.

Right, here we go...

Choosing Your Class

Overview:  Choosing your class, when you first pick up the game, is going to be a difficult task.  You're going to have conceptions of what each class does or doesn't do prior to ever playing the game.  The name "Warrior" says a lot; that you're going to hit people and monsters with an assortment of weapons is probably an understatement.  You might also have a thought that the Warrior is "brainless," that they do not posses the skills to work magic.

Blizzard has done an excellent job revamping the Character Creation screen:

Features:

In the top left corner we see the factions, Alliance and Horde.  Portraits below represent the different races available for each faction.  In the screenshot, I have clicked the Gnome portrait.

Below the factions and their associated races, you have a choice of gender.  In the screenshot, the male gender was chosen arbitrarily (Though I will admit that I'm totally sexist).  And below that, you will find the classes that the selected race can choose.

Over on the right you will find descriptions of the race (Including racials and a brief summary) and below you will find Blizzard's description of the class.  In the screenshot, it describes a rogue.  It describes roles that the class plays, the armor-type that they wear, a general description of the class' style of play, and the resource system that the class employs.

So, with that all out of the way, let's get into it.

Class	Tank	Healer	Damage	Plate	Mail	Leather	Cloth
Death Knight	X		X	X
Druid	X	X	X			X
Hunter			X		>Level 40	<Level 40
Mage			X				X
Paladin	X	X	X	>Level 40	<Level 40
Priest		X	X				X
Rogue			X			X
Shaman		X	X		>Level 40	<Level 40
Warlock			X				X
Warrior	X		X	>Level 40	<Level 40
Total: 10	4	4	10	3	2	2	3

There are 10 classes in World of Warcraft.  Of those 10, the following is true:

• There are only 4 pure classes (Hunter, Mage, Rogue, and Warlock).  All other classes are hybrids.
• Only 2 classes can hybrid over all 3 roles (Paladin and Druid).  All other hybrid classes only cover 2 roles.
• Only 1 class can cover 4 different raid or PvP positions (Druid).  All other classes are limited to 3 or less positions.
• 4 classes change armor specialization at level 40 (Hunter, Paladin, Shaman, and Warrior).  All other classes specialize in the same armor type from level 1 to level 85.
• Death Knights remain the only hero class.  They become available to play with the purchase of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion and a level 55 character.

Brb, want to eat the pizza I put in the oven.

Delicious!

Now that I have befuddled you with a lot of information that you may or may not take anything away from, I'm going to describe each class (Much from personal experience).  We'll go in reverse-alphabetical order just to spite the above chart.

Warrior:

Warriors are a hybrid class (Despite argument).  They cover the roles of melee damage dealer or tank.  They specialize in mail armor until level 40 and then specialize in plate armor.  They can use the largest assortment of weapons in the game, only excluding wands and relic items.  They are also the closest thing to a 2nd hero class, as all races from both factions are able to choose warrior.

Warriors as Damage Dealers:

Warriors live in the fray.  If they are not up and in your face, hitting you with any weapon that they can grab a hold of, then they aren't at their computer or are on your team.  Because of this fact, Blizzard has designed the warrior class to be highly mobile.  They are able to charge great distances to meet an enemy or to save a teammate.  They also have a lot of tools and options in order to keep enemies close to them, as it's just unwieldy to fight an opponent in hand-to-hand combat when they're half a mile away.

They tend to prefer two-handed weapons. either using a single two-handed weapon or dual wielding them through Titan's Grip.  

Warriors as Tanks:

Warriors were the first class to be built for tanking.  Throughout the Vanilla World of Warcraft, and a larger portion of Burning Crusade, encounters were built and designed for Warrior tanks.  As a result, they are the most thoroughly and carefully designed of the 4 tanking classes.  They have a large toolbox of abilities to work with in order to close gaps on enemies, lock them down through stuns and silences, and to retain health through assorted defensive abilities.

Warrior tanks use a single-handed weapon along side a hefty shield.  

Warlock:

   (Note: It's pretty fucking obvious that I do not have a decent levelled warlock.  This section will be done mostly from the eyes of an ally or enemy to warlocks, rather than from the player perspective)

Warlocks are a pure damage class.  They cover a single role of ranged caster damage dealing.  They specialize in cloth armor from level 1 to level 85.  Rather than weaponry, Warlocks use a large number of spells in order  to destroy their enemies and devour their souls.  It is important to note that Warlocks and Hunters are the only classes with dedicated pets.

Warlocks as Damage Dealers:

Warlocks can specialize in three ways: Their damage dealt over time, their pet demons, or their burst damage.  The Damage over Time (DoT) specialty warlock, or Affliction Warlock, will wear an enemy down through consistent application of  different sources of damage.  And, as you're about to die, they will steal your soul for their own purposes.  The warlock who loves their pet demon, or Demonology Warlock, will use their demon to do their dirty work.  And, as you're about to die, they will steal your soul for their own purposes.  Lastly, the burst damage warlock, or Destruction Warlock, intends to blow you up through massive fire damage.

And they, too, will steal your soul as you're about to die.

SNEAK PEAK FOR NEXT BLOG: Great Grandma Darbles and a Beginner's Guide to WoW: Part1b

Shaman: