Welcome to the world of Azeroth, where adventure awaits around every corner! Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newcomer eager to explore, World of Warcraft®* invites you to forge your own legend. Join a band of heroes and embark on an epic adventure in this ever-expanding universe. Make your way to Khaz Algar, the ancestral homeland of Earthlings, in The War Within™ on August 26 at 3pm PDT. Everything you need to begin your journey is included.
Signs of conflict
Starting at level 70, players can begin their World of Warcraft: The War Within™ adventure deep beneath the surface of Khaz Algar, discovering a land rife with danger and ripe for exploration.
In the opening chapter of The Worldsoul Saga™, players traverse a never-before-seen subterranean world full of hidden wonders and lurking dangers, propelling them into the dark depths of the Nerubian Empire, where a malevolent Emissary of the Void is amassing an army of spiders to bring Azeroth to its knees.
Some see visions of bright lights, others hear ominous warnings from the shadows. One thing is clear: a sinister threat threatens Azeroth, and something is happening. World of Warcraft®: The War Within™ is the first in a new Worldsoul Saga™.
Inside the War Within
Embark on a new adventure in The War Within and enlist the help of the Earthen, a new allied race available to both Horde and Alliance players, as you reach a new level cap of 80. Traverse the new continent of Khaz Algar and discover new dangers, secrets and a hidden past.
New Continent Khaz'argar: Players can explore four vast new zones on the continent of Khaz'argar. The Isle of Dorne is a new home for the Horde and Alliance off the western coast of Kalimdor. Start exploring what lies beneath the surface of the lava-filled forges of Ringing Deeps, the lush greenery of Harrowfall, and Azhi-Kahet, the pinnacle of Nerubian society. New Playable Allied Race – Earthen: Advance through the main campaign to meet the Earthen allied race, who call the Isle of Dorne and the lands beneath it home. Earthen can be played as members of either the Alliance or the Horde. Expand your Warcraft fantasy with Hero Talents: At level 71, players can expand their character's abilities with new Hero Talents available for each class specialization. These Hero Talents allow players to indulge their class fantasy with timeless, self-contained talent trees inspired by archetypes from the iconic Warcraft universe. Caves: Explore bite-sized world instances and earn XP and awesome rewards! Explore alone or with up to four friends along with Brann Bronzebeard, your NPC companion who can be customized with a talent tree. Warbands: With warbands, players can enjoy account-wide progression across all characters in their Battle.net® account, regardless of faction. This includes The War Within prestige sharing, warband banks, achievements, and more! Plus, players can learn and share outfits for their character classes and gear types across their warbands. Cross-Realm Guilds: To make guilds more accessible, players from different realms can be invited to join. Restrictions on cross-realm Mythic Raids have also been removed, allowing players from all realms to join Mythic Raids when they become available in The War Within Season 1.
To begin your journey to Khaz Argal, you must own The War Within expansion pack and your character must be level 70 or above. Don't want to wait until you reach level 70? The improved Level 70 Character Boost is now available in the Blizzard Shop.
Start a New Life with Exile's Reach
The new expansion offers a unique opportunity to begin your adventure in World of Warcraft and bring new friends to Azeroth. Available to both veteran and new players, the introductory tour into Exile's Reach is the perfect way to learn or relearn the basics of World of Warcraft.
For New Players
If this is your first time playing World of Warcraft and you have never created or leveled up a character, you will automatically begin your journey into Azeroth with the Exile's Reach introductory experience, where you will learn the basics of your classes and how to interact with the world you'll be a part of.
When an expedition goes missing, you, as part of a new crew of novice adventurers, are tasked with tracking them down. As with many such journeys, you are part of the crew and board a ship bound for the final location. When things go wrong, you land on the island of Exile's Reach.
Now it's time to face the challenges the island presents, which will become increasingly difficult as you complete the first 10 levels. As you progress through the levels, you'll learn more about how to use the new skills and abilities available to you.
At the end of your adventure, you'll face off against two new bosses in a “mini-dungeon” designed for one to five players.
Learn new skills
The experience has been carefully crafted to teach a variety of skills needed to succeed in Azeroth and beyond.
As you progress through Exile's Reach, you'll learn all of the fundamentals of playing World of Warcraft while also diving deeper into some of the most important mechanics of your chosen class: Warriors will learn the basics of a good charge, Rogues will overcome the challenges of proper combo point usage, and Hunters will learn how to tame and stabilize pets.
Along the way, you'll meet new allies in Exile's Reach who can teach you more of the abilities your class requires: Paladins will encounter the ghost of a former paladin who can teach them Divine Shield, while Monks will receive tutelage in learning Touch of Death through meditation.
These fundamentals are the foundation you need to tackle the many challenges that await you in Azeroth, and will set you on the path to success no matter where your adventure takes you.
Completing the adventure will take you to Dragonflight, where you can learn more about Dragonflight as it rediscovers its foundations. Once you reach level 70, you'll progress to Khaz Algar and the new high-level areas introduced in The War Within.
For veteran and returning players
If you're a veteran player, or have previously leveled up a character, you can opt out of the Exile's Reach starting experience and instead start a new character in your race's starting area at level 1. Once you reach level 10, you can proceed to Dragonflight or speak to Chromie in the capital city to select the Timewalking Campaign. Select the expansion and continue leveling up until you're level 70 and can enter Khaz Algar.
Players with allied race characters will start at level 10. Non-allied race Death Knights and Demon Hunters will automatically start at level 8 and progress to level 10 through their own unique starting experience.
Those who have reached higher levels but have been away for several expansions will be offered a teleport to Chromie and can choose the timeline in which to begin their adventure.
Return to Azeroth with Account Recovery
As heroes around the world return to answer the call, you may need help logging into your account. Can't log in? Our service offers a variety of ways to regain access to your account, including resetting your password, unlocking your account, and removing your verification code. If our system doesn't recognize your email address, please visit our support article. If you've lost access to your account and suspect it may have been hacked, follow the steps below to protect your computer, request a recovery, and attach a verification code to your account to help secure your Blizzard account.
If you get stuck or need additional help, contact support to speak to a friendly Game Master.
Get started
Download the Battle.net desktop app for Windows or Mac and create an account. Open the Battle.net desktop app and select World of Warcraft from the menu. In the (Version) menu, select (World of Warcraft). If you have multiple World of Warcraft accounts, a second dropdown will appear for each account. From that column, select the active account you want to play on. Click the (Install) button. A progress bar will show you when the game is ready to play. Once installation is complete, click the (Play) button.
From the available realm types, you will need to select the realm you want to play in. Select the same realm your friends are playing in. In World of Warcraft Classic, characters can only be grouped with other characters in the same realm.
If you're looking for a group of like-minded players, you can start your search by visiting the new Guild List forum.
Try it out with a free trial**
Begin your journey into a world full of surprises and endless adventures without requiring a subscription or game time. In the free trial, all playable content is free up to level 20, including level 20 dungeons and quests. After their initial journey through Exile's Reach, characters on new accounts will be directed to Dragonflight™ content and can continue leveling beyond level 20, but will require a subscription or game time.
The free trial is available to all players with a new or existing Battle.net account, or to players with an existing account but with inactive subscriptions or game hours.
Upgrading your account with a WoW subscription or game time unlocks all game content beyond level 20 up to level 70, including higher level dungeons, raids, guilds, unlimited in-game chat, and social features like the Auction House.
More information about the World of Warcraft Free Trial, including frequently asked questions, is available at WorldofWarcraft.Blizzard.com/start.
Realm Types
There are several realm types to choose from, each with a different play style, so choose wisely.
Normal – All zones except enemy faction cities are considered contested zones and players are automatically PvP flagged. Players cannot attack each other in contested zones unless they have War Mode turned on. This allows players from any realm to participate in open-world PvP with like-minded players. Once a character reaches level 20, a War Mode toggle will appear at the bottom of the talent interface. It can only be enabled in factions or capital cities, and disabled in rest areas. RP (Roleplay) – This realm type is perfect for those who want to participate in roleplay with other players. This realm type uses the Normal ruleset and there is no open-world PvP. participate /New player joined chat
When you create a new character and begin your first World of Warcraft journey, you are automatically added to the New Player Chat channel. In this channel, you can talk to other new players and seek advice from more experienced players from your faction. These players will act as your guides as you level up in the new starting zone called Exile's Reach. New players and guides will recognize each other through the chat channel and by a player-only icon that appears above their characters' heads. Once new players reach level 50, they will continue their journey independently and will no longer have access to New Player Chat. Starting with Phase 2 of The War Within's pre-patch, the level limit for New Player Chat will be updated to 60.
If you're a veteran player and are interested in guiding new players through their first World of Warcraft experience, head to Stormwind or Orgrimmar and speak to a guide recruiter if you meet the following criteria:
Have an account in good standing Reach level 60 Complete 3,000 quests
If you no longer wish to be a guide, please contact the guide recruitment officer again.
Pre-purchase The War Within in the Blizzard Shop now and join the next adventure. Whether you're a newbie or a veteran, we invite you to join us on our journey across Azeroth. There's never been a better time to get back in the fight!
*World of Warcraft subscription or game time required.
**Free trial not available for WoW Classic game.
