World of WarcraftBeginner’s Guide

Chapter IV
The Late Game

In World of Warcraft, the next adventure is always just around the corner. Together, you and your friends will take on and overcome challenges far beyond your wildest dreams and become the heroes Azeroth has been waiting for.

In this chapter, we will explore some of the more advanced gameplay elements that await you in World of Warcraft: dungeons, end-game raids, and player-vs.-player content.

Dungeon Finder
You can rally your friends to fight monsters together, or you can use World of Warcraft’s built-in Dungeon Finder to let the game automatically match you with other players. The Dungeon Finder will find a group for you based on whatever parameters you choose, and you can use it to fill out the last remaining slots in your group if you already have a few people together. The dungeon finder is useful when you’re just starting out and maybe don’t have that many in-game friends yet, and it remains an incredibly powerful tool throughout your career as it allows you to find a group for any dungeon easily and quickly. The Dungeon Finder is your friend!
Instancing
All dungeons are instanced, which means that anytime you step through the dungeon’s entrance, World of Warcraft creates a new copy of the dungeon specifically for you and the members of your group. Think of it like a private adventure where you won’t be interrupted by other players.
Elite and Boss Monsters
You will find the monsters that inhabit the dungeons of World of Warcraft to be much more dangerous than the ones you encounter out in the world. They hit harder, can soak up more damage, and may also have some additional tricks up their sleeves. In short, they’re out to ruin your day. But if you keep your wits about you, stay calm, and pay attention to their behavior, you will eventually see patterns that you and your friends can use to your advantage.
In Case Of Fire
Sooner or later, even the most formidable heroes will meet their match and be defeated. If the entire group perishes, this is called a ’wipe.’ Wipes are a setback, but they are not the end of the world. You can return to the dungeon and try again, but beware: some of the minor monsters you and your group cleared earlier may have been replaced with fresh reinforcements, so watch your back.
Glittering Prizes
Slaying dragons can be its own reward, but it’s always nice to walk away from your vanquished foes with a souvenir. Whether it’s a better weapon, a powerful new piece of armor, or a magical trinket pried off the cooling corpse of a boss monster, the loot you find in dungeons is of higher quality than what you normally encounter in the world. Boss monsters drop a variety of different treasures, giving you a good reason to re-visit dungeons even after you’ve already cleared them.
Dungeons
World of Warcraft dungeons are home to some of the game’s toughest monsters, but they also guard great treasures. In a nutshell, dungeons are special challenges designed specifically for small groups of five players working together as a team. You progress through a dungeon by methodically eliminating the monsters within, gradually working your way up to the boss monsters  – your group will have to fight as one if you want to overcome the dungeon’s most dangerous challenges.
Raids
World of Warcraft’s raid dungeons are even more challenging than its normal dungeons. You will likely visit many normal dungeons while your character is leveling up, but raid dungeons are the exclusive domain of high-level characters. Just like dungeons, raids come in various degrees of difficulty and different level ranges. You will need bigger groups of ten or even twenty-five players to bring down the monsters guarding these lairs.
The Ultimate
Challenge
Max-level, endgame raids put your skills to the test like nothing else in World of Warcraft. Knowing how to play your class well is crucial, but being a good team player is even more important. Downing a raid boss takes skill, coordination, and perseverance. More often than not, raid bosses will throw your group a curveball with an unexpected twist; be on your guard!
The Ultimate
Experience
While you are adventuring in Azeroth and beyond, you will become embroiled in epic storylines that tie into the overarching plot of World of Warcraft. Whether you are defending the kingdom of Stormwind against a terrible threat from within or fighting to contain an ancient and unspeakable horror deep within an ancient Titan stronghold, these stories will lead you to the raid dungeons of World of Warcraft where you will be able to see them through to their ultimate conclusion.
The Ultimate
Reward
Raids are where you will earn World of Warcraft’s greatest treasures: powerful magical armor, the mightiest weapons, and mystical artifacts of unfathomable origin. If you want to get your hands on these items, you will have to defeat the most powerful beings in all of World of Warcraft. Wear them proudly to let everyone know that you have proved your worth.
Player-vs-Player Combat
With tensions between the Alliance and the Horde at an all-time high, skirmishes between members of both factions are taking place everywhere. You can jump into the fray at any given time and fight for your faction, for fame and fortune, or for the simple thrill of battle.
Battlegrounds
Battlegrounds offer a structured PvP experience. Battlegrounds are PvP instances where two teams of players meet on the field of battle and have to complete mission objectives to achieve victory. These objectives can be as simple as grabbing the enemy flag and taking it to your base, or they can be as complex as setting demolition charges, breaching the other team’s defenses, and capturing the defending team’s artifact. Each Battleground has a different objective, and they also vary by number of players per team. You can join Battlegrounds by yourself, in which case you will be on a team with other random players of your faction, or you can queue up as a group together with your friends.
The Arena
Some say the Arena is the ultimate test of a player’s PvP prowess; others simply enjoy its straightforward deathmatch-style PvP and its team-based, competitive organization. In the Arena, two small teams fight each other until one team is eliminated. The team with the last player or players standing wins. Arena teams share one similarity with guilds in that they are persistent groups that exist for as long as there are players on the team’s roster. Winning Arena matches will improve your team’s rating and potentially your ranking on the Arena ladder, where the top teams across several realms compete for the top position. Successful gladiators also gain access to powerful weapons and armor specifically tailored to PvP combat.
World Objectives
Beyond instanced Battlegrounds and the Arena, world objectives offer yet another spin on objective-based PvP in World of Warcraft. Some locations throughout the world can be conquered by players of either faction, and holding these strategic locations offers unique benefits to whichever faction is currently in control. These benefits can range from simple, zone-wide buffs to special item rewards and even exclusive access to new areas.
Duels
Whether you want to defend your honor, settle a score, or simply see who is the better fighter, you can challenge players of your faction to a friendly duel. Duels are not fought to the death, and only the two players involved in the duel can harm each other. The duel ends when one player’s health drops close to zero, or if one of the players flees the duelling area.
World PvP
The simplest form of Player-vs.-Player (PvP) combat in World of Warcraft is free-form, open world PvP. Anytime you run into another player of the opposite faction and you’re both flagged for PvP, either one of you can attack the other. Some areas are PvP hotbeds where players clash frequently, while other places are relatively quiet. On PvP realms, you will automatically be flagged for PvP almost everywhere you go, but on Normal realms you are safe from attacks by other players unless you willingly flag yourself for PvP.
What’s Next?
We’ve barely scratched the surface of what World of Warcraft has to offer. From the sun-baked shores of Tanaris to the snow-capped mountains of Dun Morogh, from the shattered realm of Outland to the Light-forsaken depth of Icecrown glacier, there’s a whole universe out there for you to explore. Gather your allies. Hone your skills. Dive into a fantasy universe unlike any other.

The World of Warcraft awaits!
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Comments (132)

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yes i love you blizzard
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Daqiao
Darksorrow
Daqiao
01/06/2013
There's so much to do and I've barely scratched the surface with any of my characters lol
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Antroga
The Sha'tar
Antroga
01/06/2013
@Daqiao: Well if you ever need some more help, I'd be more than happy to help out :)
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Lostplanet
Sylvanas
Lostplanet
03/05/2013
:))))))))))))))))))))))))
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Diablogato
Burning Legion
Diablogato
10/04/2013
No matter how many years pass, WoW will always be the best MMORPG ever created! End of story!
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Hyomxx
Stormscale
Hyomxx
29/03/2013
i am love
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Krystian
Thrall
Krystian
22/03/2013
skr186@wp.pl
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Gallowlex
Aggramar
Gallowlex
08/03/2013
There is a problem with this game though... ITS TOO BIG! never have enough time to try everything.
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Smeegul
Stormreaver
Smeegul
09/03/2013
@Gallowlex: That´s the best part, the game never ends :)
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Khaelech
Argent Dawn
Khaelech
02/03/2013
That cleared up some stuff I was confused about. Now I feel less like a complete noob.
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Corrupterra
Ragnaros
Corrupterra
30/01/2013
WoW wow is great
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Catastróphe
Kazzak
Catastróphe
27/01/2013
1st comment of 2013 ;)
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Táint
The Maelstrom
Táint
29/12/2012
Love that no matter what Blizz do, people still find reason to moan! :) Keep up the epic work Blizz, most people appreciate what you are doing :) :D.. Q flamewars :P
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Isuckatdk
Kazzak
Isuckatdk
01/12/2012
this is practically made for n00bs and retards
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Muld
Magtheridon
Muld
19/02/2013
@Isuckatdk: So you're saying that when you started playing you were already an OP game pro that knew exactly everything that is worth knowing about WoW? We're all noobs in the beginning, more or less.
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Nomanon
Stormrage
Nomanon
01/12/2012
this is the most useful source of information i read thak you blizzard for putting this up now i know everything about world of warcraft
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Shadowgames
Burning Legion
Shadowgames
29/10/2012
This is the most useful page I have ever read:>D just gto ressurected and never understood raids:D Now it is all clear:) <3
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Snoork
Confrérie du Thorium
Snoork
13/10/2012
Why did they take the mount page, i liked to see qll the varieties
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Dasamiron
Aszune
Dasamiron
29/09/2012
just start to read this..thanks
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Hordetauren
Anachronos
Hordetauren
17/09/2012
after 1 priest i love pristes cus the shadow form at lvl 40 i op
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Ethador
Azjol-Nerub
Ethador
22/08/2012
I'm a level ten.
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Thelien
Magtheridon
Thelien
01/05/2013
@Ethador: And?
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Lidocaine
Al'Akir
Lidocaine
29/07/2012
@Føurpaws - after 4 years only DPS classes play I decide to make healer, after that tank. Every role type has different play style. Just practice it and of course learn some info about goal stats, AoE tanking or Single target etc. As healer in pugs will say that a lot tanks takes their CDs with them on Grave Yard, so better use them before that :)
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Lizu
Magtheridon
Lizu
25/06/2012
@Føurpaws: You trolling? "because i dont care about the gear".....thinkin that you dont need PvE gear!?

1. go do some heriocs/HoT and gear up your PvE set...you will see that a druid can tank and is even very easy to play.
2. dont ever join my or other peoples raid with this attitude.
3. check some site's..tankspot for example
4. if you still feeling a big fail....stop tanking and go spanking as dps

Have a nice day!
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Mùthèrfùckèr
Eonar
Mùthèrfùckèr
26/07/2012
paladin is better:)
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Føurpaws
Sunstrider
Føurpaws
17/06/2012
WooWoop, i love to Raid, even if i am in pvp gear, but god dame druid tanks suck. wish i was a warrior instead of druid, but suppose i could make a warrior so i have both :P saying that, anyone else think there is a better class then warrior to tank ??? please help because end game raids for me is not very fun... and please dont say U NEED PVE GEAR, because i dont care about the gear just care about being a better tank so that i enjoy the game more at end game :)
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Exoque
Bronzebeard
Exoque
20/03/2013
@Føurpaws: Seriously, i find reading most posts here that nobody ever bothers to use google and just sits in game saying they have no clue how to do anything. For one, you cannot tank in PvP gear because you will be missing alot of dodge and parry stats needed to mitigate damage, secondly best tank in cata was the paladin, for MoP it is the DK, warriors are darn good but so is a druid now. If you sort your act out, do some research and get the PvE gear instead of acting like a nub and doing raids in PvP you will never join a raiding guild who actually has progress. If you do want to be a better tank then get the gear instead of or moaning about it. I spend half my time playing the game and the other half researching although i've playing for 4 years now i still research constantly to stay ahead of the curve, maybe you just need to put a bit of effort in.
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Gordons
Bronze Dragonflight
Gordons
26/03/2012
DJTYJ
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Haamusoturi
Ravencrest
Haamusoturi
25/03/2012
Good good.
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Ganom
Vek'nilash
Ganom
16/03/2012
its 2 hard to go in 2 a raid wat am i going 2 do???
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Mcmean
Doomhammer
Mcmean
27/04/2012
@Ganom: yeah its so hard to get raid together
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Zerenos
Draenor
Zerenos
08/05/2012
@Ganom: I seen Your comment and Viewed your Profile that when i typed /Facepalm . Your item Level is only 333, How do you expect to get into a Raid with that? You really need to run Cataclysm Heroics and Spend Your valor points on Valor Armor to boost Your item Level. You need at least iLevel 380, if you're lucky , for someone to let You into Dragon Soul. You need to spend your Justice points on at the Justice point vendor aswell, to get some 378 Gear. Hope this Helps:P
- Zerenos
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Valenteria
Darkmoon Faire
Valenteria
13/05/2012
@Zerenos: he also needs to enchant and gem it properly and read up on the fights.
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Allesëa
Kul Tiras
Allesëa
11/02/2012
If i do a raid and the boss drops an epic item, does the whole team bid for the item? Or does everybody get one copy of it? It would be pretty annoying to bid with 24 other ppl...
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Sparkbark
Hellfire
Sparkbark
10/03/2012
@Allesëa: A raid boss usually drops 3-4 items. The members of the raid usually then /roll for each item individually if they need it. The person who rolls the highest wins the item.
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@Allesëa: Plus, not all 24 people would need/be able to use the item.
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Augustine
Hellfire
Augustine
09/02/2012
Stop just looking at the pandaran race part of the Mists of Pandaria expansion. The main theme to the new expansion is the war between the Horde and Alliance heating up over the new continent of Pandaria. Also, it includes all new talents, dungeon challenges and much, much more. It's not all about the flipping Pandas!
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Venka
Tarren Mill
Venka
05/03/2012
@Augustine: i am with u man , i really dont give anything about the pandas onley dungs , raids and new placecs to go and say : WOW that is cool
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Dorahn
Bladefist
Dorahn
05/04/2012
@Augustine: Yeah it doesn't matter how bad or unoriginal some of the expansion elements are. After all it's not like people have invested sometimes huge amounts time playing or are paying for the expansion. I think making everyone less individual with the new awesome 3 choices every 15 lvls talent tree is bad oh it's the same talent tree the other specs use by the way, the introduction of the most stupid race, pandas is bad and the fact the no matter how you dress it up it's China is bad. So yeah it's not just about pandas, it's about how bad it all is in general. Blizz "Here you go a bit plate of unoriginal dribble". Consumers "Thanks Blizz we don't care as long as there are epics in there", nom, nom, nom.
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Zerenos
Draenor
Zerenos
08/05/2012
@Augustine: It's new Race, What do You expect. When TBC came out I was excited about the Blood Elves and the fact that they could be Paladins. Same with Goblins. The Pandarens are also bringing the Class ' Monk ' into the Game so People will like them because of that:P I know I do. Being able to be a Panda is Epic though:)