WoW Rookie: Coming back to WoW after a break
by Lisa Poisso 
Aug 19th 2010 at 5:00PM
You're not really a rookie -- but man, it's been ages since you last played! Azeroth feels like a whole new world. A "dungeon finder" -- huh? And why are all these people pelting you with friend invitations that have real-life names attached?
As more and more former players start peeking their heads back into the game in anticipation of the launch of Cataclysm, we'll be seeing more and more uncertain vets fumbling through mechanics and features even those rookies among us now take for granted. What's the best way to get back up to speed after an extended time away from WoW? Reader Anthony writes:
I used to be an avid WoW player but quit about a year ago (just before patch 3.1). I have been entertaining the idea of getting back in the game but am kind of intimidated, because I think there probably have been so many addons to the game since I left, I'll be totally lost. I used to use your website as a resource and visited it daily when I did play, but I stopped after I quit playing. So I'm not really sure what has changed.
And I am also not really sure if it's a good time to pick up playing again because of the expansion that's supposedly coming out. So I was wondering if there could be any way that someone on your team could give me a quick little up-to-speed brief on some of the changes that have happened, mostly with the gameplay aspects; I'm not overall concerned about new raids and stuff. I used to raid all day, every day when I played before but would rather just ease into that later. So if there's maybe a link or something, I would greatly appreciate it.
A "link or something"? WoW Rookie can certainly oblige. Join us after the break for a healthy dose of tips on getting your bearings if you've been away from WoW for quite some time.
Should I wait until the expansion hits?
Like a freshman sidling into room packed with upper classmen, sometimes you have to wonder if maybe jumping in at this particular moment wasn't such a good idea after all. Should you even be here yet? Depending on how you were playing the game before you left and what you hope to jump back into and how quickly, the answer is a definite "maybe."
Many guilds have already romped through every last available hard-mode option and have retired until the expansion hits, but others are only now getting organized enough for a full-court press to the Lich King. Altaholics and achievement junkies are relentlessly ticking their way through achievements that will be wiped off the face of Azeroth come Cataclysm, but others are saving their energies for the new races and race/class combos, revamped zones and fresh experiences of the expansion. Many guilds are getting creative with special events and dipping into areas such as world PvP and roleplaying that they've never had the chance to try out before.
If the thought of logging in to WoW once again piques your interest, it's safe to say you'll be able to find something to keep you busy in the days from now until the expansion hits. If it's the new stuff you're really longing for, though, you should probably hold off just a little bit longer.
With all I've missed, how can I get Cataclysm-ready?
You may not need as much preparation as you think. The expansion will be designed so that even non-raiding level 80s wearing quest greens and blues can progress forward into the new leveling zones. Sure, there are plenty of players who are racing through raid zones and burning emblem currency to gear up for strong-arming their way through the early 80s ... But even if you enter the expansion wearing the basics, you'll manage just fine.
What's changed in the past year or two?
The best way to pick up where you left off is to read our patch overviews of anything that landed after you stopped playing. There's an incredible amount of detail, but our guides break it all down into bite-sized pieces. Skim each guide for the mechanics, content and changes that affect your own playstyle the most.
Jan. 20, 2009: Patch 3.0.8 This was the first update after the launch of Wrath of the Lich King.
April 14, 2009: Patch 3.1 The first major post-Wrath content patch introduced the ability to purchase dual talent specialization and saw the debut of Ulduar, the next generation of raid instances.
Aug. 4, 2009: Patch 3.2 The "Call of the Crusade" patch launched a new 5-man dungeon and a new raid instance (with both 10- and 25-man versions) at the Argent Tournament grounds, plus The Isle of Conquest battleground. Level requirements for mounts dropped significantly.
Dec. 8, 2009: Patch 3.3 This patch introduced three new 5-man dungeons and a new raid instance (with 10- and 25-man versions) at Icecrown Citadel.
March 23, 2010: Patch 3.3.3 This changes in this patch focused primarily on changes to battlegrounds and class balance.
June 22, 2010: Patch 3.3.5 This content patch introduced the Ruby Sanctum raid instance plus the implementation of the Battle.net system.
Getting back into the saddle
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Returning to WoW after an extended absence While this article is aimed at returning BC-era players, tips on topics solidifying guild and realm choices are still germane. |
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Level 80: Now what? This basic checklist will help point you in the right direction for whatever type of game play you're interested in pursuing. |
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Class Skills 101 What's the current state of the art in basic level 80 play for your class and spec? Cover the bases with our class experts. |
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Getting started in endgame 5-man instances What's it like inside today's 5-man endgame instances? We'll prepare you for what lies ahead. |
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Emblem gear for the fresh level 80 With today's emblem currency system, it's never been easier to take your character to epic levels of gear and adventure through 5-man instances. |
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Advice for the new level 80 player Brush up on what else is worth your attention once you're playing at level 80. |
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No more drama The advent of the random dungeon finder and Real ID have raised some sticky yet all-too-common social situations for pickup players. Find out how others are dealing with the issues. |
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Buying and selling in the pre-Cataclysm economy What sells these days? And what about professions – what should you be making, and where should you spend your cash? |
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Finding a guild for ICC and beyond The Classifieds lists openings in guilds recruiting for current ICC content and positioning for post-expansion adventures. |
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What's current in addons What do players use these days to handle X? The recommended examples in this post will update you on what's popular and working best right now. |
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Getting back into raiding Soothe pre-raid nerves with this reassuring raiding reminder checklist for rusty (or new) raiders. |
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WoW.com's Guide to Ruby Sanctum Meet Halion and the three mini-bosses of the Ruby Sanctum. |
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WoW.com's Guide to Icecrown Citadel Explore general raid strategies for all the bosses of Icecrown Citadel. |
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Re-entering the stream Catch up with the latest scuttle with The Queue, our Q&A feature that answers your burning questions about World of Warcraft. |
Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything you need to get started as a new player, from game lingo for the beginner, to joining your first guild as a mid-level player, all the way up through what to do when you finally hit level 80. Got questions to ask or tips to share? Email lisa@wow.com.Filed under: WoW Rookie, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
clok1966 Aug 20th 2010 12:59PM
Returning, I wanna say DONT!!!! The game is more work then fun with GEARSCORE and elite attuitudes. But I keep plugging away finding new people that I greatly enjoy talking with, and far more I want to never deal with again. I also quit for a little over a year. Comming back was actually fun as so much had changed, but with time back the negatives all seem to stick out even more. WoW (IMHO) is the best MMORPG out there right now, and with the right people can be one of the best "fun" times in gameing. Dont get caught up in all the GearScore stuff, dont read how to beat every boss before you even see him (this may annoy some raiders, but what fun is it to have the solution to the riddle before sombody tells it to you?). remeber its a game and have fun, if its not, quit again and move on.
CarbonatedFalcon Aug 19th 2010 5:12PM
I quit playing a couple of months after 3.3 (no, I didn't get to down the Lich King, unfortunately.)
However, my plan is to try and pick up playing again a month or two out before Cataclysm hits so that I can experience all of the fun, unique pre-expansion events (which will likely include unique, nifty items, if not achievements).
It'll also give me a chance to try and wrap up some achievements or experience at least some things of the old world that I won't be able to experience again, as well as not be totally caught off guard with the 4.xx patch changes.
It's not worth it to me to resub now though, since raiding is in a big downtime, so coming back would be harder (and I don't have time to dedicate to catch up at the moment) and rolling alts would be no fun, since I want to experience the new, better Cataclysm content (and roll a Tauren paladin.)
Chikane Aug 19th 2010 5:45PM
I let my time run out last Spring after playing WoW for 4 years. The endgame has become the game and I lost interest in the endless repetition. Now they're going to upend the lower level maps, and I have to wonder if my one last bastion of bliss in WoW, leveling alts, is about to vanish forever.
I haven't decided yet if I'll return. There's a lot about the game that I miss. Having this article bookmarked should make that return less painful. :)
doit Aug 19th 2010 5:50PM
Here's what I do when I want to figure out how to play at end game. I check the official forums and the EJ forums for what stats I want to stack, how to gem/glyph etc. etc. I run randoms for badges, see if I want my T9 4/4 set bonus, if I don't I get the 245 helm and shoulders. Finally I figure out what I need from regular and heroic TOC, FOS, POS, and HOF (those are all the most recent five mans with ilvl 200-232 gear). Then I get bored and move on to the next toon ;P
Brett Porter Aug 19th 2010 8:34PM
Exactly what I did with my main main (yes more than one!). I don't do raiding, so I get the best I possibly can from random heroics and the like.
Scooter Aug 19th 2010 5:52PM
The answer is quite simple. If your main is lvl 80 then come back before the holidays begin in September and work on the epic holiday achievement "What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been" which rewards you with a violet proto-drake. The kicker here is that if you miss one holiday you gotta wait till next year.
There are also the "Pre-Expansion" events for each faction which occur shortly before the expansion is released. You don't want to miss the rewards from them.
jsbeam Aug 19th 2010 5:57PM
Wow reading this letter was weird since it almost exactly describes me. I quit WoW about a year ago and just returned in the last two weeks to find myself intimidated by all the changes. Trial of the Crusader had just released when I took off and I never got to go. Now I return and everybody is farming ICC and asking for minimum gear scores to do raids and I feel so left behind since I've never even seen the other stuff thats happened such as Onyxia and Ruby Sanctum.
ttvp Aug 19th 2010 5:58PM
There's something about that screenshot at the beginning of the article. It feels like a much higher quality graphics engine than it should be. Something about the lighting and shadowing makes it seem amazingly better than it normally is. I'm aware that the newer dungeons and content have a bit more graphical polish to them, and that the lich king is always rendered in an extremely high quality, but I've completed Halls of Reflection more times than I can possibly count (on maximum graphics settings) and never has it looked like that before.
Maybe I haven't been paying as close attention when I'm actually in there and fighting for my life. Maybe I'm just imagining detail where there is none, and making too big a deal out of it. The screenshot just caught me off guard with the shadows playing off the surfaces in such a detailed way.
Endless Aug 19th 2010 6:17PM
It's quite possible your computer renders the image differently due to different graphic card. Abilities of graphic cards tend to vary not only from one brand to another, but also from one manufacturer to another, even from one type to another. Also, you might have maximum settings ingame, but not maximum settings in your card driver software (those are separate). Especially various hardware settings can make your shadows and textures a lot more crispy than your average default setting.
danawhitaker Aug 19th 2010 6:19PM
Speaking as someone who quit at the end of BC and came back a month into WOTLK, come back *before*. I wish I had. The shock of coming back plus the shock of all the new content left me confused about what to even do. I ended up scrapping the level 70 I'd run during BC and making a brand new character to level to 80 because I felt so overwhelmed. I don't regret doing that, but it'll be a little bit less of a shock when Cataclysm hits.
Endless Aug 19th 2010 6:30PM
I kinda wonder... is there anybody else who isn't planning to come back for Cataclysm?
This decision came out of the clear sky for me... one day I was enthusiastic about Cataclysm, and the other day I realized I'm not really enthusiastic about WoW anymore... still loving the world, but not liking the game anymore. The breaking point must be when I realized that Cataclysm isn't really going to change anything, that annoying limitations and obstacles aren't going anywhere, that they're only marginally sweetened by some additional contents, but not really changed for the better.
I know I'll eventually come back to see what's it like. Might be in a year, or two, or three. But it won't be for Cataclysm, because it's not different enough. It still carries all the things that drove me away in the first place.
Ikarus Aug 19th 2010 7:06PM
I quit for about 6 months, just after clearing Naxx 10 a hand full of times. Man was I surprised when I found out how out of date my gear became in 6 short months. Thank the Blizzard gods for Trial of the champion (5-man reg and heroic) and the 3 newer 5 mans in Icecrown (Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron and Halls of Reflection). Great place to get some nice upgrades to your gear.
Ikarus Aug 19th 2010 7:21PM
What the..!? You got an account closed for some violation (I assume) and you still got into the beta?!
lsschwartz Aug 19th 2010 7:24PM
I quit January of this year. Am still thinking if I should return for Cataclysm or not, sometimes I feel the itch but then I remember that obligation to play a lot of hours to farm, grind, and not be left behind (I was playing around 10 hrs a day, seven days a week). I'm not sure I'm willing to spend so much time into a game again.
Viper007Bond Aug 19th 2010 7:57PM
I wasn't playing as much as you, although it was close.
I quit too around that time and I'll be coming back for Cata. However the biggest time sink for me was 3 hours of 25 man raiding and then another 2-3 hours of 10 man. You won't be able to do that in Cata -- one or the other.
My current plan is like 3 nights a week and 10 man only. 10 hours a week is nothing. :)
clevins Aug 20th 2010 1:15AM
Oh please. You don't have to play anywhere close to 70 hours a week. I dinged a hunter at 80 with 11 days /played and geared her to an ICC entry level (T9, 232 gear) in a week. I farmed a lot... for 2 days. If you played 70 hours a week it's because you wanted to, not because you had to.
lsschwartz Aug 20th 2010 9:31AM
@Clevins - I didn't mean I HAD to play 10 hours a day. I said I was playing 10 hours a day. Yes, because I wanted to, because I was THAT into the game. The fact I actually felt like staying so many hours connected, and feeling obligated to myself to farm more, grind this or that rep/item/etc, it's one of the reasons I quit.
My comment about not sure I want to do that again it's in the sense of being afraid if I return to the game I'll end up playing that much again. My husband also quit since he left for Tech School (Air Force) and is also not sure he should go back to WoW as we were both rather addicted to it.
Terrant Aug 20th 2010 12:33PM
When in doubt, don't. It sounds like you're posting this publicly because you want other people to tell you not to return... so don't return!
Spend that $15 on a couple books or DVDs. You may blow 10+ hours on a Lord of the Rings marathon but at some point it ends, whereas WoW can potentially never end.
kdeselms Aug 19th 2010 7:38PM
I quit again about a month ago. Was 11/12 in ICC, pugging it...got tired of weeks going by without a group willing to put the attempts in on Lich King to finish the place off. I have also just slowly been losing interest in the game, overall. I've played since the open beta, taking three major breaks along the way...and while I never say never, what I'm seeing of the Cataclysm beta is not getting me fired up to return, at all. Pretty sure I'm done with the game, finally. Now it's just a wait for Diablo 3.
If you're a veteran pondering a return right now, I'd suggest just waiting for the expansion to hit. Nobody wants to run the Wrath dungeons anymore, raids are impatient and good ones are hard to come by, anyway. Besides, you're gonna have to re-learn a whole lot of stuff with the expansion, anyway - they're changing pretty much everything, it looks like.
Adulius Aug 19th 2010 8:43PM
I feel your pain, i come back from a 4 month break only to find those guilds who are capable of raiding ICC content (whether its 10 or 25) wont take two looks at someone with pre-raid gear (pre-raid as in t9 4 piece, and the rest Best in slots from emblems and gear from heroics.)