There are spoilers in this article.

Welcome to the first part of our guide to the worgen starting quests. This first article is focused on what happens before you actually become a worgen. That's right; you start as a simple Gilnean. (So don't go searching your UI for a transformation button; you don't have it yet.) The second part will cover what happens afterwards.

The first thing you'll notice when you create your worgen character is that there are two characters on the creation screen. That's because Blizzard has cleverly allowed you to see both forms as soon as you create your character. It's nice little touch that will presumably save people a lot of time lining up just the right human and furry looks.

Your worgen can be a warrior, hunter, rogue, priest, death knight, mage, warlock or druid. That means you're only missing out on paladins or shaman. If you're checking out the screenshots in this guide, you may see I chose a druid. There's no particular reason for that; I rolled a die and got druid. The appearance of my example character is equally random.

The opening sequence

If it's your first worgen, the game may ask you to wait a little longer then normal while the client streams the data necessary to see Gilneas for the first time. Wait patiently for it to load; it will be worth it.

The opening cinematic starts with a beautiful, gothic castle, then immediately pans to the legendary Greymane Wall. After a long, moody retreat through a misty forest, the camera lands in the center of a Gilnean square. As of the time of this writing, we don't know what the voiceover for the cinematic will actually say, but you can expect it to be awesome.

Meet Liam Greymane

The first words you'll hear are Liam Greymane saying, "We protected Gilneas from the Scourge. We protected Gilneas during the Northgate Rebellion. We will protect Gilneas from whatever this new threat may be." He then goes on to rally his men, warning them that they don't know what they're dealing with and they should expect to be outnumbered. This is the first inspirational Greymane moment; get accustomed to them.

Your first quest is from Liam himself. This quest is Lockdown!, in which Liam is shocked to find you still standing in the middle of the city square. He sends you to find Lieutenant Walden. You can find the good lieutenant just a little northwest of Liam. But there's bad news; he's dead! (Duh duh duhhhh!) He's lying next to an old city gate -- presumably, killed by whatever was on the other side of it. You no sooner notice claw marks across Walden's body than you hear sounds of fighting back near where Liam was. Realizing that Something's Amiss, you return to the original spot.

As you return to Liam, all around you are rampaging worgen. The models in the beta look a lot like the worgen from Northrend, so we'll have to see how that turns out.

As you speak to Liam again, he compliments you on not being a yellow-bellied coward even while All Hell Breaks Loose. In the same breath as the redheaded Greymane orders you to open a can of kickass on these invading werewolves, he tells you to Evacuate the Merchant Square. Meanwhile, nearby Gwen Armstead tells you that she needs your help to Salvage the Supplies.

This stage of questing is fairly straightforward. Kill worgen using your class-appointed methodology. Right click shiny boxes. To rescue merchants, find sparkling doors and open them. Sometimes, you'll get a merchant who will flee Gilneas; sometimes, you'll get a worgen trailing that merchant. Sometimes, just a worgen. I expect you know how to handle those situations. Turn in all three quests once you've accomplished them.

Both Liam and Gwen will congratulate you, but Liam orders you to go report to Gwen again. (I guess he didn't see you just talking to her.) Still, given the alacrity with which I developed a crush on Ms. Armstead, I have no problem obeying these Royal Orders.

Gwen's down in southern Gilneas at this point, with other evacuating humans. She warns you that there are worgen throughout this portion of the city also, so be careful. She also gives you the quest to go speak with your trainer. Since this is different for each class, we'll pick the narrative back up after your class trainer sends you to meet the legendary Genn Greymane.

Crowley is your new hero

This becomes one of those "hell, yeah" moments in the story. Genn recognizes the dire threat to Gilneas for what it is; this is a worgen apocolypse creeping over his people. And in this moment of need, Genn will call on the man who was previously responsible for deep Old Divisions. Genn Greymane wants you to enter the prison and rescue Lord Darius Crowley, who had led an insurrection against Greymane himself. While Crowley may have been opposed to Genn, he is a capable leader. Genn needs men like that now. While You're At It, a nearby nobody wants you to kill some worgen.

There is a trick to the prison, since you can't run straight in. As soon as you enter the prison courtyard, make a hard turn left. Follow that stairway up. That's how you get to Lord Darius Crowley. Sadly, he has little time for you right now, as he's busy beating up a steady stream of worgen with his goddamned bare hands. If you want him to go with you, you'll have to join him by fighting off further waves of worgen. That's how you will get By the Skin of His Teeth. After you fight off two minutes' worth of worgen, Crowley still has to tend to the welfare of his men. However, he 'fesses up to where his team has hidden a huge stash of weaponry.

Return to Genn to turn in the quests. Genn confesses he finds it unnerving that the rebellion snuck weaponry into Gilneas but is thankful to have the arsenal available now. He sends you to find the Rebel Lord's Arsenel. Keep an eye out on the ground as you approach the yellow question mark; you get down into the cellar by clicking the cellar doors. These doors are just north of the actual symbol.

When you find Josiah, a horrible truth becomes obvious. He wolfs out! You fly across the floor, only to be saved by the shotgun-wielding Lorna Crowley. Look at her. If you don't instantly fall in love, you're dead to me. Of course, it turns out Lorna is Darius's daughter (thank God!), and she took up the family business: kicking worgen ass. She lends you a mastiff to take into the city streets, which will sniff out worgen hiding From the Shadows. After you've done so, she sends you with a Message to Greymane. The message is, to paraphrase: "Our guns are ready and not pointing at you ... this time."

But Genn is worried about a civilian. This civilian just happens to be an alchemist. (I'm sure that won't be significant later.) He gives you a horse so that you can Save Krennan Aranas. This quest is very easy. Ride the horse through Gilneas, and press the button labeled "Rescue Krennan." When the bald man appears on the horse behind you, kick back and relax. There's really no way to fail this quest.

But there's bad news. You now have the debuff "Worgen Bite." One of the filthy curs must have nibbled on you as you went by. You've been bitten! Don't worry. Surely, nothing bad could come of it.

Save Krennan Aranas

You turn in Save Krennan Aranas to Lord Godfrey, who is the same nobody who just wanted to kill a bunch of worgen in the prison. No sooner do you say, "Hey, the civilian is safe," than Godfrey shrieks for the cannons to open fire on the worgen. That's all right. You can watch the damage being laid upon the worgen for a few moments, then return to Genn.

When you find Genn, he's hanging out with Darius and the rest of the court. Darius is now sporting clothing and a sword, and packing a cunning plan. To distract the worgen, he's going to have you ride with him, hurling bombs around. Every worgen chasing you is one less worgen chasing the survivors. Sometimes, heroism requires Sacrifices.

This is a vehicle quest during which you ride behind Crowley. Simply use the ground target to select the worgen, and spam your attack. You don't have to worry about driving. If you feel like you're "running behind," don't panic. There are a lot more worgen near the end of your journey, which should be plenty to fulfill the quest requirements.

When you finish this explosive ride, you're dropped off at the Gilnean church. You speak with Tobias Mistmantle, who instructs you to use the cannons and blow away worgen by the scores. Gilneas will be saved by Blood and Ash. Take control of one of the cannons in front of Tobias and let loose your fury. That's when Tobias admits the resistance is running out of ammunition. You should go inside the cathedral and speak to Darius.

Genn is by the altar. The church is a good chokepoint. And while you may all die today, it won't be without fighting. This is your Last Stand. As you kill worgen left and right, all at once, they stop flowing into the church. That is not, Genn confirms, a good thing.

And that's where a movie will be played showing you turning into a worgen. It's your first in-game transformation. As of the time of this writing, it's not yet in the beta.

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