Warsong Gulch

• Capture the enemy’s flag
• Kill an enemy flag carrier
• Killing any enemy player
• For every flag your team captures, you get experience, regardless of whether you win or lose.

Arathi Basin

• Capturing a base
• Killing any enemy player
• Completing battleground quests
• Number of resources at the end of the game, regardless of win/loss

Alterac Valley

• Number of your faction’s resources left at the end of the battle
• Killing any enemy player
• Completing battleground quests
• Killing the enemy Captain
• Burn towers and bunkers
• Freeing your team’s Wing Commanders
• Capturing mines
• Collecting supplies to turn in for quests

So, if you like battling other players, include battlegrounds in your bag of leveling tricks!

• A completely changed Old World of Azeroth, devastated by floods, earthquakes, and volcanos
• A new profession called Archeology
• Two new races: Goblins for the Horde and Worgen for the Alliance
• New classes available to existing races, like Tauren Paladins and Dwarf Shamans.
• New raids and dungeons, including a Heroic version of Deadmines
• Guild leveling
• Stat changes, like the removal of defense, attack power, and spell power
• A completely revamped talent system

Now, of course, changes to the endgame and an increased level cap mean that you’ll want to get to level 80 as quickly as possible before the expansion comes out – probably in the fall of 2010. Even though there is no release date yet, you don’t want to be caught off guard. You need to get to 80 well ahead of time so that you can start accumulating the gear you’ll need to play the expansion.

Here are some good social guidelines to follow whenever you play WoW:

Speak well

Use completely sentences and spell words correctly. Unless you’re with people you know well, don’t use “txt-speak” when you type. Most importantly: don’t use curse words. You never know if you’re playing against a 10-year-old whose mother is sitting beside him ready to report you to the Game Masters.

Learn WoW’s terminology

Start with our article on WoW abbreviations. Don’t be afraid to ask people what they mean; most people are quite nice and are flattered when they are asked for advice. (If someone calls you a noob/nub, just turn and walk away. They are not going to be nice to you.)

Don’t yell

If you type “/yell” in chat, whatever you type after that will be broadcast across the entire area where you are. It’s really annoying. People will even put you on Ignore if you continue to do it. Know that there are more appropriate ways to get your message to the right people. If you want to sell something, use Trade Chat. If you want to join a group, use /LFG. If you want to ask for quest help, just use “/say” near any town’s bank.

Don’t leave people in the lurch

If you join a group to run a dungeon, make sure you have 1 – 1.5 hours to devote to finishing it. Otherwise, at the very beginning, let the group know you need to leave early. It’s extremely rude to leave an instance in the middle. You leave everyone in the lurch and they will probably wipe (all die) without you.

Roll “Need” only on items that are upgrades

If you’re in a group, make sure you discuss how loot will be rolled on before you get to an instance boss. Typical rules are that everyone can roll on green items, but blue items should be “Needed” only by those who can benefit from them. (For example, a warrior should roll Greed on a blue-level cloth robe, but the Mage and Priest can roll Need.) Doing otherwise will get you branded as a “ninja” and it will be very hard to make friends that way.

If you need more help, sign up for our new eCourse! Of course, simply following the rules of everyday life are a good guideline, no matter where you are. Especially remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.