Starting area
Starting areas are where new characters begin their life in World of Warcraft, based on their selection of race or hero class. The starting area layout pattern of the first ten races that were added are very similar to each other. The layout of Gilneas is inspired by this pattern, but the worgen do not make use of it in the same way as other races.
Shadowlands introduced a new starting zone available for characters that aren't allied races, death knights and demon hunters; Exile's Reach, which includes a mini-dungeon.
Unlike other classes, hero classes begin at a high level in their own special starting areas. Death knights starting off in The Ebon Hold in an instance version of the Eastern Plaguelands or for allied races and pandaren at the Frozen Throne. Demon hunters begin in their own special starting experience.
Allied races need to be unlocked and start at level 10, and usually start in their own small phased starting area.
Veteran players can start by choosing Exile's Reach or their old starting zone prior to Shadowlands. Players are more or less free to travel wherever they want from this starting location, but it is generally recommended that one complete the character- and race-specific quests in and around the character's starting locations. Worgen, goblins, and pandaren start in instanced zones, and do not necessarily follow the same starting area layout patterns as the other races.
Notes
- Portals for the allied race starting areas can be found in front of the Stormwind Embassy or Orgrimmar Embassy, only visible to the specific allied race.
- All starting areas have one small village, outpost, or town with trainers for all classes and are available to the race(s) that controls the area. There are no profession trainers or inns in starting areas; however, when a starting player first uses their [Hearthstone], they are teleported back to the main settlement in the area. Once the player changes where their hearthstone is set, they cannot change it back to the starting area.
- All starting areas are protected by Elite guards 5 levels above the current level cap, though quest givers in starting areas are not flagged for PvP and may not be killed by enemy players, even on PvP servers. This is in order to prevent enemy players from killing beginning quest givers and preventing new characters from playing the game. New player characters may still be killed, however, but the extremely powerful guards make sure the enemies do not stay long.
- Starting areas often contain a substantial amount of lore, and involve numerous storylines during which characters may find their place in the world and among their people. Each class' early quests also tend to define a character's role and the nature of the class.
- Prior to Dragonflight, Class Trial characters started the game aboard a faction specific airship (Sword of Dawn for the Alliance, Tempest's Roar for the Horde), before transitioning into relevant expansion's intro experience (Assault on the Dark Portal for Warlords of Draenor, Battle for Broken Shore for Legion, Battle for Lordaeron for Battle for Azeroth).
Patch changes
- Patch 10.0.0 (2022-10-25): Class Trial starting scenario removed, Class Trial characters now start in Stormwind or Orgrimmar.
- Patch 9.0.1 (2020-10-13): Most starting zones now scale 1-30. Initial starting areas now scale 1-10.
- Patch 8.2.5 (2019-09-24):
- Most starting zones that scaled from 1 - 20 have had their scaling increased to 1 - 60.
- Initial starting areas (e.g. Northshire Valley, Valley of Trials) in the affected zones now scale.
- Patch 7.3.5 (2018-01-16): Starting zones that had a level range of 1 - 10 now scale from level 1 - 20.
- Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Classic starting areas (levels 1 - 10) received a number of improvements to the tutorial, quests, and mob tuning to provide a smoother starting experience.