Most of a character’s first hour is spent on decisions that are permanent or expensive to reverse. Make them deliberately and the rest of the week takes care of itself.
1. Ruleset, not realm
Each region has one large realm per ruleset. Normal is the default and never has the evening queue. PvP is the same world with the other faction able to attack you in contested zones; it is a good choice for a group that levels together and a bad one for a solo first character. Roleplay and Roleplay-PvP enforce naming rules. Hardcore is not available until winter; do not wait for it to start.
2. Name
Characters have a first and last name and the full name must be unique in the region. If you reserved a name on 27 October it is held for you; if not, pick something you will not mind seeing in a raid roster for a year.
3. Race and class
- The new pairs are real options, not novelties: Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage and Troll Warlock all level fine.
- Skyborne start on Zephras Isle (levels 1 to 12) and need the paid pack. Horde Skyborne can be shamans; Alliance Skyborne can be mages.
- For a first character: a class with a pet or self-healing levels with the fewest deaths. Hunters, warlocks, paladins and druids are forgiving; mages and rogues are fast in good hands and slow in bad ones.
- Dual specialisation is ten gold at level 40 from your trainer. A tank or healer spec on a damage character makes dungeons appear out of nowhere.
4. The experience preset
On first login you choose Classic or Enhanced. Classic keeps standard-definition models, quest points of interest off, one-bag off and the classic layout. Enhanced turns on high-definition models, quest markers on the map, a single combined bag and transmog. It is changeable later, so choose Enhanced for your first character unless you specifically want to navigate by quest text.
5. Where to start
- Finish your starting zone and the one after it; the quests chain and the gear is better than anything you can buy.
- Run each new dungeon once as it becomes available from level 13. They are short and the first run of each is the fastest experience in the game at that level.
- Keep the campsite upgraded: a shared campsite with crafted features is the cheapest buff you will get.
- Pick two gathering professions on your first character. Money matters at 40 and 60 and the Legacy system passes unlocks to alts, not gold.
- Do not grind to 60 before 9 December at the expense of enjoying the levelling; the raids are five weeks out and the levelling is the content.
The addons guide covers what to install before any of this.