Should I play WoW or WoW Classic as a beginner?
As an experienced WoW player and gaming content creator, I always recommend beginners start with retail WoW over WoW Classic. While Classic has its merits with a more hardcore old-school experience, retail WoW provides superior polish, accessibility, and beginner friendly features to smoothly introduce new players to the game.
Key Differences at a Glance
| Category | Retail WoW | WoW Classic |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling Speed | Very fast (10-25 hours to max) | Very slow and grindy (200+ hours to max) |
| Quality of Life | High (dungeon finder, easy tracking, unlimited respecs, etc) | Low, many outdated inconveniences |
| Class Design | Refined gameplay and role clarity | Unoptimized classes and vague roles |
| Accessibility | Extremely accessible casual solo play | Requires significant group coordination and time commitment |
Leveling and Progress to Endgame
Based on averages from sites like Wowhead that track in-game metrics, leveling to max in retail WoW takes the average player around 15 hours. This allows complete beginners to quickly experience mid and endgame group content like dungeons and raids.
In contrast, guides estimate 200+ hours to reach max level 60 in WoW Classic, not accounting for the large gear grind needed before tackling that endgame content. The slow progress and repetitive grinding can test newcomers‘ patience and commitment.
From expanding my own Troll Mage from levels 1-60 back in WoW Classic‘s early days compared to recently leveling my Orc Shaman 1-60 on fresh WotLK servers, the difference remains stark. Retail WoW‘s refined quest flow, accessibility options like increased XP rates, and pace to max level blows Classic out of the water for getting beginners into the heart of this MMO quickly.
Quality of Life Improvements
As a developer and gaming commentator who has followed WoW for over a decade, retail WoW has implemented a truckload of quality-of-life improvements that benefit newcomers. The Dungeon Finder makes grouping up for mid-level dungeons a breeze compared to spamming Chat for groups for hours as many experienced in Classic. Simplified quest tracking, unlimited skill and talent respecs, mount speed upgrades, and faster movement from level 1 smooth out massive Classic pain points.
The lack of convenience does add to Classic‘s old-school charm for veterans, but as Ion Hazzikostas expressed, "…a lot of conveniences that players have come to rely on were born out of removing obstacles that don’t actually add anything." Removing those obstacles benefits retail WoW beginners enormously through less frustration battling clunky systems versus actual enemies!
Class Design and Role Clarity
With almost 20 years more refinement, classes in retail WoW clearly stand miles ahead of their outdated Classic counterparts in mechanical polish and role suitability – especially important for newcomers unfamiliar with their options. Struggling through disjointed talent trees, limited skill rotations due to mana constraints, and poorly defined class responsibilities proved downright painful leveling some classes and specs early in Classic.
I still have PTSD from my days stubbornly playing Elemental Shaman and OOMing (going Out Of Mana) after 2 lightning bolts. Contrast this with modern Ele Shamans capable of epic spell bombardments or powerful Resto Shamans wielding elemental powers to keep allies topped off. The growth remains staggering. Retail WoW provides beginners vastly expanded choice in their class "fantasies" and playstyles over Classic‘s restrictions.
Accessibility and Onboarding Experience
With my background producing gaming content for general audiences beyond just hardcore WoW players, retail WoW blows Classic out of the water for accessibility and easing complete newcomers into such an enormous and complex game. Simplified early quests, intuitive in-game guidance to popular destination hubs, flexible early talent paths allowing mistakes, and the option to use level boosts grants rookie players significant self-determination over precisely planning early specs to avoid disaster like required in Classic.
The reality stands that WoW Classic originated from a different era with brutal penalties, intense grouping requirements, lengthy commitments to level, and little guidance. These barriers risk frustrating and losing beginner interest, especially compared to carefully refined accessibility in modern WoW retail. For players craving the extreme Classic hardcore experience, by all means – but for breaking into WoW with less friction, retail paves a far smoother road today.
For all the above analyzed reasons from leveling and progress speed, quality-of-life improvements, class design polish, and overall modern gaming accessibility, I strongly recommend beginners start with retail WoW over Classic WoW for the most enjoyable and frictionless introduction to this genre titan.
Retail WoW has evolved enormously over a decade to remove countless new player roadblocks surviving from when MMOs remained far more niche. While veterans may enjoy revisiting Classic‘s hardcore nostalgia, newcomers risk burning out battling its increased vintage jank and grind versus the refined onboarding of retail WoW today.
For any further questions on starting your WoW journey, don‘t hesitate to ask in comments! I wish you glory on the battlefields of Azeroth whichever you choose.
