Get Your Bearings: New and Returning Player Overview (Official)

Blizzard has a great overview ready for new and returning players, as the War Within Early Access starts today.

If you haven’t been keeping up with things and were considering coming back in, it’s a very handy article. We have a nice story summary trailer to get warmed up on the lore and goings on. There’s a very compact overview of the new War Within features. We also get a refresher on starter and trial characters and how the subscription system works with and without the new expansion. Then there’s even a look at how returning players can recover old accounts, the new player chat, and more!

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Welcome to the world of Azeroth, where adventure awaits at every corner! Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer eager to explore, the World of Warcraft®^* beckons you to forge your own legend. Join the ranks of heroes and embark on epic quests in this ever-expanding universe. The path to Khaz Algar—the ancestral home of the Earthen—opens in The War Within™ on August 26 at 3:00 p.m. PDT. We have what you need to get started on your journey.

Conflict Looms on the Horizon

Players can begin their World of Warcraft: The War Within^™adventures deep beneath the surface of Khaz Algar at level 70 and uncover a land fraught with danger and ready for exploration.

In the opening chapter of The Worldsoul Saga™, players will traverse through never-before-seen subterranean worlds filled with hidden wonders and lurking perils, making their way down to the dark depths of the nerubian empire, where the malicious Harbinger of the Void is gathering arachnid forces to bring Azeroth to its knees.

Some see visions of resplendent light, while others are taunted with ominous warnings from the shadows. One thing is clear—something is coming as a sinister threat rises within Azeroth. World of Warcraft®: The War Within™ is the first installment of the new Worldsoul Saga™.

What’s Inside The War Within

Begin new adventures in The War Within and work toward enlisting the aid of the Earthen, a new allied race available to both Horde and Alliance players, as they journey to the new level cap of 80. Traverse the new continent of Khaz Algar to discover new dangers, secrets, and hidden pasts.

New continent of Khaz Algar: Players will be able to adventure through four sweeping new zones in the continent of Khaz Algar. The Isle of Dorn is a new hub for the Horde and Alliance off the western shores of Kalimdor. Begin to explore what dwells beneath the surface in the lava-fueled forge of The Ringing Deeps, the lush Hallowfall, and the pinnacle of Nerubian society, Azj-Kahet.
New Playable Allied Race – the Earthen: Progress through the main campaign and meet the Earthen allied race who have made the Isle of Dorn and the lands beneath it their home. The Earthen will be available to play as members of the Alliance or the Horde.
Expand your Warcraft fantasy with Hero Talents: At level 71, players can expand on their character’s abilities with new Hero Talents available to each class specialization. These Hero Talents will allow players to embrace their class fantasy with these evergreen self-contained talent trees inspired by iconic Warcraft universe archetypes.
Delves: Explore bite-sized world instances, gain experience, and epic rewards! You can explore alone or with up to four additional friends, along with an NPC companion—Brann Bronzebeard—that you can customize through a talent tree.
Warbands: With Warbands, players can enjoy account-wide progression with all characters in their Battle.net® account, regardless of faction, which includes shared The War Within renown, a Warband bank, achievements, and more! Additionally, players can learn and share appearances across their Warband of any class or gear type for the characters who can equip them.
Cross-Realm Guilds: To make guilds more accessible, players can be invited to join in the fun from across different realms. Restrictions on Cross-Realm Mythic Raiding have also been removed, allowing players of all Realms to participate in Mythic Raids when they become available in The War Within Season 1.

To begin the journey to Khaz Algar, you must own The War Within expansion and have a character at level 70 or higher. Don’t want to wait to get to level 70? You can get into the action quicker with the Enhanced Level 70 Character Boost, now available in the Blizzard Shop.

Get A Fresh Start in Exile’s Reach

A new expansion presents a unique opportunity to start your adventures in World of Warcraft and bring new friends to Azeroth. Available to both veteran players and new players, the introductory excursion to Exile’s Reach is a great way to learn or relearn the basics of World of Warcraft.

For New Players

If you’re new to World of Warcraft and have never created or leveled a character, you will automatically begin your journey into Azeroth with the Exile’s Reach starting experience. Here, you will learn the basics of your class and the fundamentals of interacting with the world you’ve become a part of.

New Adventurers Needed at Exile’s Reach

After completing the adventure, you’ll move into Dragonflight, where you’ll be able to learn more about the dragonflights as they rediscover their foundations. You’ll level to 70 before moving on to Khaz Algar and the new high-level areas introduced in The War Within.

For Veteran and Returning Players

If you’re a veteran player or you’ve leveled a character before, you can opt out of the Exile’s Reach starting experience and begin a new character at level 1 in the starting area for your race instead. Upon reaching level 10, you can continue into Dragonflight or speak with Chromie in your capital city to choose a Timewalking Campaign. Choose an expansion and continue leveling until you can enter the Khaz Algar at level 70.

Players with Allied race characters will begin at level 10. Non-Allied race Death Knights and Demon Hunters will automatically start at level 8 and play through their own starting experience before moving on at level 10.

For those who have reached higher levels but stepped away for a couple of expansions, you will be offered a teleport to Chromie to choose a timeline to begin your adventure.

Returning to Azeroth with Account Recovery

As heroes across the world return to answer the call, you may need assistance logging into your account. Can’t Log In? Our service can help you recover access to your account in multiple ways—you can reset your password, unlock an account, remove an authenticator, and more. If our system doesn’t recognize your email address, our support article can help you. If you no longer have access to your account and suspect your account was hacked, follow these steps to secure your computer, request a restoration, and attach an authenticator to your account for a more secure Blizzard account.

If you’re stuck or require additional assistance, Contact Support to connect with a helpful Game Master.

Getting Started

Download the Battle.net desktop app for Windows or Mac and create your account.
Open the Battle.net desktop app and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
Under the Version menu, select World of Warcraft. You’ll see a second dropdown for each account if you have more than one World of Warcraft account. Select the active account you wish to play on from that column.
Click the Install button. The progress bar will show you when the game is available to play.
Once the installation is complete, click the Play button.

You’ll need to select the realm you want to play on from the available realm types. Make sure you pick the same one your friends play on—in World of Warcraft Classic, characters can only group with others on the same realm!

If you’re looking for a group of like-minded players, you can head to the New Guild Listings forum to begin your search.

Test the Waters with a Free Trial^**

Begin the journey to a world filled with wonder and boundless adventure without needing a Subscription or Game Time. All playable content is free up to level 20, including level 20 Dungeons and quests, with a Free Trial. After the initial trek through Exile’s Reach, characters on fresh accounts will be directed to Dragonflight™ content to continue to level beyond 20; however, a Subscription or Game Time is necessary.

The Free Trial is available to all players with a new or existing Battle.net account or those with a pre-existing account but inactive Subscription or Game Time.

Once you upgrade your account with a WoW Subscription or Game Time, all game content beyond level 20 and up to level 70 will become available, including higher-level Dungeons, Raids, and social features like guilds, unrestricted in-game chat, and the Auction House.

More details about the World of Warcraft Free Trial, including frequently asked questions, can be read on WorldofWarcraft.Blizzard.com/start.

Realm Types

There are several different realm types to choose from. Choose carefully, as each one has a distinct play style.

Normal—All zones are considered contested except enemy faction cities, where players will be automatically flagged for PvP. Players won’t be able to attack each other in contested areas unless they turn on War Mode, allowing players on any realm to participate in open-world PvP with like-minded players. The toggle for War Mode can be found at the bottom of the Talents interface once a character reaches level 20. It can only be activated in a Faction or Capital City and can be deactivated at any rest location.
RP (Role-Play)—This realm type is best for those who wish to participate in role-play with others. This realm type uses the Normal ruleset and does not have open-world PvP.participate

/New Player Has Joined the Chat

After creating your new character and beginning your journey into World of Warcraft for the first time, you will automatically be added to a Newcomer Chat channel, where you can talk with other new players and seek advice from experienced players on the same faction who will be your guides as you level through the new starting zone of Exile’s Reach. New players and guides will be able to recognize one another in the chat channels and by icons above their characters’ heads that only they can see. Upon reaching level 50, new players will continue the journey independently and no longer have access to the Newcomer Chat. Beginning with phase 2 of The War Within pre-patch, the level limit for Newcomer Chat will be updated to 60.

If you’re a veteran player and interested in guiding new players as they experience World of Warcraft for the first time, head over to Stormwind or Orgrimmar and speak to the guide recruiter once you’ve met the following criteria:

Have an account in good standing
Reach level 60
Complete 3,000 quests

If you no longer wish to be a guide, you can speak to the guide recruiter once again.

Pre-purchase The War Within from the Blizzard Shop today to join in the next adventures. Whether you’re a newcomer or a long-time veteran, we hope you’ll join us on the journey through Azeroth —there’s no better time to get back in the fight!

*Requires World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time.
**Trial offer not available for WoW Classic games.