Classic WoW Tips I've learned

So, with the launch of Classic WoW on the 27th, I wanted to post a few tips I've gleaned.

1) This is not BFA or anything post-Cataclysm. You won't level to 60 in a week. Don't expect to.

2) Professions matter. If you play a warrior or a paladin, be a blacksmith/miner. If you're a rogue/druid/shaman/hunter be a leatherworker/skinner. If you're a mage/warlock/priest be a tailor/enchanter.It's the only way to have a reliable source of level appropriate armor. Quest armor isn't reliable and may not be usable by your class. Alchemy/herbalism can be a godsend for the potions. Your secondary professions can save your life with food and bandages. Also, professions are the only reliable way to make gold by selling raw materials and finished items on the Auction House. High level mining is especially lucrative.

3) Don't expect to be able to level five or ten levels in a single zone. You're going to be doing a lot of traveling from one end of a continent to another, most of it on foot until level 40.

4) In general, playing Classic WoW isn't about the endgame like it is in BFA and everything post-Cataclysm. It's all about the journey. Don't rush it. You'll have much more satisfying experience if you take your time, read the quests (you have to to find your quest objectives), and just immerse yourself.

5) Prepare to be poor until you figure out the Auction House. Once you do, be reasonable about your listing prices. Gold does not flow freely. A level 10 item will not sell for 10 gold because no level 10s will have 10 gold on them. They probably won't have 1 gold on them.

6) Visit your trainer every time you level, or at least every other level, and be prepared to pay for it. Spells and skills are not just handed to you.

7) Where professions are concerned, you will only be able to reliably find trainers up through journeyman in the cities. Expert trainers are located in only one capital city, and it varies with the trainer. Artisan trainers are located in random places throughout the world. If you have trouble finding one, PM me. I might know where it is for either Alliance or Horde.

8) Dungeons and their entry points are crawling with elites (expect difficulty at least 10 levels above what their level # says). Don't expect to just be able to walk into a dungeon that's for ten levels below you with shoddy gear like in BFA. You will die. Don't walk into a dungeon at all without a healer and a tank and expect to make it past the point of entry. It's not going to happen.

9) Each class has it's own use, and each class is useful for somethings and horrible at others. If you're going up against demons and undead, you want a paladin with you. Mage portals and conjure food can make life a lot easier. No one pvp's like a rogue. Priests are efficient and extraordinary healers. Druids are great jack of all trades and can fill any number of roles; a fully spec'd and geared druid is no joke and can be your best friend in a dungeon.

10) You're not bound by your chosen specialization. A holy paladin can tank and a protection paladin can heal. The talent trees aren't locked to a spec. You can put talents into multiple specs for something custom, and I recommend you do at least for leveling.

11) In pvp servers, cities are not generally safe. You will frequently find rogues ganking players for fun in the opposite faction's city. "Safer" cities to place your hearthstone tend to be Darnassus for the Alliance and Thunderbluff for the Horde because they're harder and more time consuming to get to. Stormwind and Orgrimmar are likely going to be under constant attack.

12) Guilds matter. You will have a much easier time playing with others than soloing. This is not a game meant to be played alone.

Finally, remember, it's about the journey, not the destination. You're in the game to relax, have fun, and make friends. A favor done for a stranger can lead to a good gaming buddy, and being a jerk can lead to people actively hunting you and celebrating your corpse in the middle of Stormwind.

Good adventuring!