I failed my will save and I'm joining the masses. Noob Questions

[Comstar]

Eve is right now level 3 courior missons and too scared to go back to low sec.

SO right now I'm 20 hours away from getting the download for the WoW trial. Couple of newbie questions:

Whats more wanted in groups, Rogue or Hunter? Which one is better at soloing? In groups? In raids?

I'm going to go Allience as WW2OL has beaten out any joy of being on the outnumbered side. Does race matter in any way for finding groups as far as different allience races go? Eve has givin me a great experience in NOT being able to find groups to join (F13's corp is cool, but usually not on when I am). Whats the most and least popular race for Rogues and Hunters?

Any particlaur server I should join or stay away from? Any guilds that could be recommended? (joining thr F13 corp in EVE when it was in allience space was nice). Non PvP, but what abour a RP server?

[Trippy]

Welcome (soon) to the Dark Side

[Scadente]

I'd join a PvP server, the times in Stranglethorn Vale are so much fun. And well, non-PvP sort of kills an random element in the game. RP is ok, didn't do too much of it, but I noticed alot of kids trying to kill the fun, I guess it depends upon the guild. Rogue is more wanted in a group, if I'd be starting it. Hunters are better at soloing stuff though. But if you want to be WANTED, roll a druid and go all in for healing.

I'd warn you away from alliance, I played both sides and Horde was... well, so much more fun, both times. Don't really know why, maybe it just feels better beeing a big Minotaur compared to a Gnome. Well, if you want something truly unique; Go go female dorf rogue  :-D

[Oban]

Try leveling as a feral Druid on the Alliance side.  Rogues and Hunters are a dime a dozen.

For instance, here are the stats from a sample of the launch servers:

PvE:
http://tinyurl.com/g8lb7

PvP:

http://tinyurl.com/hjdlp

RP:

http://tinyurl.com/fwheh

The nice thing about the Druid for a new player is that it exposes you to all the traditional roles such as Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, Healer and Tank. Not really the best at any one role, but you can respec to try each one as opposed to rerolling and starting from scratch.  You can play as a cat (Melee DPS) when you are soloing, switch in to bear (Tank) form when you get an add, switch in to travel form when you get another add and then switch in to Elf form to heal or pop off a ranged attack to finish off a runner.

Just remember, if you are about to join a group, tell everyone that you are a 0/0/X spec healer.

Specing as a Restoration Druid prior to the BRD/xBRS/Scholo/Strat/DM instances is just asking for trouble unless you have a constant DPS leveling partner.

Perhaps the best post on the forums that sums up the Druid is:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11491411&sid=1

Best of luck and grats for ditching eXvCeL.

[Merusk]

Be warned, though, that all I've ever heard from druids is they are slow as hell at leveling.   No idea why, but it's been a common complaint.

The only time race REALLY matters is for priests.  If you're going to roll one and want to be wanted (regardless of actual skill or ability) roll a dwarf for fear ward.  People get so set on ez-mode raid encounters they often overlook the fact that the player sucks, or is a complete jackass just because of that one spell.  (Or they see you're not a dwarf and say "sorry, we need priests but only DWARF priests are being accepted."  Wtf?)

The least-played Alliance races are dwarves and gnomes for all classes. If you're dead set on hunter or rogue roll as one of them.

Night Elves are the most popular (and therefore most hated) race.  Night Elf Hunter gets you auto-labeled as a noob jacktard 14 year old with ADD.

As mentioned, rogues and hunters are a dime a dozen.  If it's a class that appeals to you and you're not interested in doing group dungeons or endgame stuff a lot, go for it.  If you just want to do DPS mages and locks are great and always in a mid-level of demand. (Mages moreso for their CC and water/food summoning abilities)   

Out of the rogue/ hunter I'd say rogues are probably more often wanted for dungeons.  The auto-labeling above seems to lead some people to believe hunters can't dps. 

[stray]

Stranglethorn Vale is not fun.

-------

Any server will do if you want to play Alliance.

General rule of thumb on Classes (from what little I know): If you want to be wanted in groups, AND want to play a dps role, then the wise thing to do is not pick a Hunter or Rogue. You'd have a better time with something else (especially the higher level you get). Pick a mage or warlock.

A warrior can dps too, but you'll be much more appreciated if you go sword and board for tanking instances (Not a big deal. It doesn't require a respec at least).

Another option is: Pick a new server if you want a Hunter or Rogue. More than likely, you'll have a better experience because of it.

----

As for Alliance Hunters.... I hate to say it, but Night Elf for sure. Dwarves aren't bad, but they can't compete with +dodge and Shadowmeld. The only other race with abilities that perfectly compliment a Hunter is the Troll on Horde.

----

Pretty much all Alliance races are good for Rogues, but general "wisdom" puts Humans and Night Elves on the top of the list.

Humans get a sword bonus and can gain faction rep quicker. Depending on your spec, +swords works out well. The faction gain bonus is the real plus, though it's just a general all around good skill. Nothing rogue specific.

Night Elves get a higher percent to dodge, higher base agility (but not much), and Shadowmeld (which isn't as crucial on Rogues as it is for other classes).

Dwarves can dispel poisons (among other things).

Gnomes are a harder to see and can break snares. In the end, they are only Alliance race that's worth a damn.

I suggest Orc.


[edit] Don't listen to Oban. If you want a Rogue, or dps in general, do NOT roll a Druid. I have one. It's not a Rogue....And playing Feral for the cat is about the dumbest mistake you could make as a Druid anyways.

[Zetor]

Night Elves are the most popular (and therefore most hated) race.  Night Elf Hunter gets you auto-labeled as a noob jacktard 14 year old with ADD.

Interestingly enough, undead (proportionally) make up a far larger majority of the horde than NEs do of alliance. I can't be arsed to check warcraftrealms again, but priests/warlocks/mages/rogues were like 75+% undead and the rest divided among the other eligible races. That said, elves do suck.

Go gnome or go home!!!11


-- Z.

[stray]

I can believe that. The Undead are everywhere.

I don't see a lot of Undead Warriors though (my first choice when WoW launched).

[Typhon]

Both Oban and Stray are right.  Stray is right when he says "if you want a dps class, don't roll druid".  Oban is right when he says, "druid gives you the flavor warrior/rogue/healer without having to reroll".

If you are looking to roll one character and stick with it, pay attention to what Stray says.  If you are looking to roll a solid low-level char (assume you'll need to play to about 25ish) to give you an idea of how tank/dps/healbot play, and then make a decision about long-term char, druid is a good choice to give you the flavor of each.

Seeing as you are asking for dps and ease-of-leveling, I'd say hunter is a little easier to level after the first 15-20 levels (the pet improves survivability quite a bit).  I'd also say that (for me) mages play a bit more entertaining then either (however, you have to expect to be mobile, the mage has to be played as a mobile class when solo), and you are likely to have an easier time findiing groups (food/water and int buff).

[stray]

I should add: I like the Druid. I would agree that they're a good intro to the game. It's just that since he mentioned Rogues and Hunters, I figured he was leaning towards the pure dps side.

Technically, Druid powers in catform can achieve about 80-85% of what a Rogue's damage does, but without the high dodge rate, stunlocking, poisons, extreme item scaling, and the ability to add weapon procs, your damage comes nowwhere near what a rogue can do. Not only will you not dish out similar damage, but you'll take more damage too.

Even with the big heals, it doesn't compensate. Druids are not "Rogues with heals". They're something entirely different, and should be defined by all their forms. Not just one.

[Venkman]

If you want good PvP, I'd not recommend PvP servers, but rather PvE ones and focusing on BGs. From my perspective, it's not like Eve where you at least had a good chance of bolting if baddies came to play. WoW is too level-centric for you to have any chance, of winning or bolting, unless you're in a good strong-ish guild. Loss is a joke in WoW comparatively of course, but it sucks to get continually prevented from leveling/questing up. Basically, if you want to experience the really excellent PvE game (I'd say superior to Eve in a number of ways if you can like a class-game) and then do PvP as an endgame, PvE first to 60 then BG.

Any server should do. I have no idea where your greater chance to group is. I'd invite you to Icecrown and my guild, but we're mostly on the upper end of levels and most of us are going to be focusing on quests in Outlands, 70 and the new BG once BC launches. We do have some lower levels, and some of us do plan to play lower level classes on off time, but nothing official yet. One thing: the new races seem to cap out on unique content around level 20, so thereafter they're in lands their players have already been before. If you join any guild based on people you know at F13, and don't feel like rolling a new race while they do, you'll end up meeting up with them in the mid-20s anyway.

Rogues and Hunters are in adundance, but the reason is that they can be very desired for groups. I can't speak for PvP because most of what I do there is PUG stuff. But for PvE, both classes, and Druids, and really most anything, come with enough usefulness that only the Club Fus/Afterlifes of the world would turn someone down purely based on class (and their equipment and spec) alone. While I think Rogues out DPS, either my guild's Rogues aren't as equipped or the Hunters just are, but in our Alliance it's always the Hunters that do the tops. Or maybe that's just because we include pets in the damage (whereas I hear sometimes people dont', which is retaaded).

[Oban]

Yes, before the expansion comes out, your life at 60 as a Druid will be spent as a Restoration spec Druid...or as some of us call it, professional whackamoler.  Although, now that Blizzard disabled emergency monitor and decursive I guess we need a new title.

Level 60 raiding Feral Druids are rarer than legendary weapons and most of those are bears.

I think the fact that the expansion turns restoration Druids in to trees is very telling...  I want to be a tree when I grow up!

Anyway, the important thing is that you play what ever makes you happy, as long as it is not a pink haired female gnome.

[Scadente]

Stranglethorn Vale is not fun.

the visuals are pretty different and fresh compared to the low level zones, so it feels like a big step up. And the zone is HUGE, full of pretty nice and interesting quests. The other option being Desolace, which is.. well Desolate :p

Gotta say STV is more fun as Horde though, easier to group up and generally more Horde around (on my serveratleast).

As they say; Horde gets ganked in STV, Alliance gets raped.

If you want a class thats always in demand and can do some pretty nifty dps; Warrior is the way to go. Almost every single instance run requires one, and as horde, you're the only one wearing plate :) Otherwise expect to compete with Paladins for some drops. Warriors are as said, always in demand, you seldom see an instance group without one (But you'll often see an instance group with one that can't tank). So basically, if you want to take charge and have a smooth ride, roll a warrior.

I did, since I don't really like relying on others when it comes to a bad pull that might wipe the group.

----

On Feral druids in endgame:

We had a Feral Druid doing alot of tanking for our guild. They do come  in handy at certain encounters like; Broodlord, the MS can't crit so he can eat at least one and then get the knockback (since his avoidance is so low). Starting with one on Vael gives you one more warrior executing. Jin'do almost requires one, since one unlucky polymorph + Mindcontrol = complete aggrowipe. They're good on patchwerk, for eating hateful strikes. They also are good inthat they can some considerable dps or add some healing to the raid. Maybe not the best for MT healing, but raidhealing with HoTs and some good +healing makes them more then viable.

Might be the shortshightedsness of some raidleaders, that has gotten people into the mode; Feral = Useless.

[stray]

as long as it is not a pink haired female gnome.

Dude, that's like the best thing Alliance has to offer.  :-D

Seriously.

[stray]

Stranglethorn Vale is not fun.

the visuals are pretty different and fresh compared to the low level zones, so it feels like a big step up. And the zone is HUGE, full of pretty nice and interesting quests. The other option being Desolace, which is.. well Desolate :p

Gotta say STV is more fun as Horde though, easier to group up and generally more Horde around (on my serveratleast).

Cool looking zone, yes. Wish they made a BG there.

As for the quests, meh. Quests suck in general. And beast killing sucks. Go go powergaming. Better drops seem to come off humanoids and demons. Desolace might look like crap, but it's the better place to grind.

...

I recently ran though STV on a Horde character actually. No Horde but me. Just me and a bunch of cackling Night Elves. I'm talking 1 to 20 ratio here.

That was a on a PvE server. In the past, STV was the sole reason why I got turned off on the idea of WoW's world PvP. It's not fun as Horde, in my experience.

As they say; Horde gets ganked in STV, Alliance gets raped.

I had no idea "they" said that.

[Scadente]

Hmmm..

Guess it's just me that got lucky with my realm  :-D

[stray]

Hey, that's pretty cool.

And strange. Seems like it's the case for a lot of EU servers. Wonder why.

Hell, looking at EU Darksorrow, it says Alliance is 16% and Horde is 84%. That's whack.

[Zetor]

PVP servers are a lot closer to 1:1. My server is 1:1.2 [horde:alliance] in terms of characters, and 1:1 in terms of activity. I know I got ganked a hell of a lot while levelling, and barely saw any other alliance... but that might just be a timezone thing (I'm European, but play on a west coast server).
PVE and RP servers are horribly skewed though... which makes trying to pvp as alliance sucky at 60, since BG queues take 30 mins to an hour, while horde queues are instant (in the entire battlegroup).


-- Z.

[WindupAtheist]

I'll be perched somewhere off in the distance, watching with interest when the expansion is released, listening for the horrified shrieks of alliance-haters when they realize that the entire horde is now elves.

[Rasix]

I thought I'd extend an olive branch and say that you're welcome to come to Shadowsong.  I just restarted to roll a druid and he's not that far in yet (level 12, which is 2 days of leveling or less).  I'm on horde and usually play around 10PST.  Normally I wouldn't suggest coming, but I'm in the rare situation of actually planning on getting this alt to 60.

Problem is my server is extremely backwater: low pop and extreme population imbalances (70+% aliance).  And it's PVE.

It's funny coming back and trying to play casually.  People keep looking at my gear and trying to get me to raid 

[Lantyssa]

Druid is fun, but you have to reach level 20 to really get any feel for the roguish aspects.  It would be much easier to start with a Rogue if that is what interests you.  If you like versatility, they are great.  I do have to carry an extra set of gear if I am the healer, however I often fill whatever roll we are lacking in our group and no one has ever complained that my less specialized skills hurt us.  (And has frequently saved us when I switched rolls mid-battle to adapt to a bad situation.)

Hunters and Warlocks are great if you like doing decent DPS and enjoy pet classes, yet they play differently enough to give you some choice.

As much as I love stealth classes, I have never been able to get into Rogues, so I cannot offer much on them.

[Morfiend]

My 2c.

What ever you do, dopnt play Night Elf Hunter or Rogue. As the others have said it gets you labeled as a 14 y.o. ADD kiddie. I heard mages are in fairly high demand right now. I would stay away from Warlocks as they are the new warrior, in the sence that lately every one has been killed by a warlock, so they go out and roll one. From what I can tell right now, warlock is the most rolled alt. Warriors are really fun, because they can tank and dps fairly well with the same spec. Hunters and rogues are great solo'ers, so if you want to solo you cant go wrgon with ether, hunters being the easiest solo'er in the entire game.

Shaman is very fun to level up, but if you plan on playing at 60, a lot of the time you get lumped in to the "healbot" roll. Same with Druids. Even if your specced full feral, people will still expect you to heal in instances. If you dont plan on getting to 60 and raiding, then basically play what you want and have fun. Just know that any class that can heal, will be expected to in instances.

[SurfD]

I'll be perched somewhere off in the distance, watching with interest when the expansion is released, listening for the horrified shrieks of alliance-haters when they realize that the entire horde is now elf paladins.

Fixed that for you.

[Morfiend]

I'll be perched somewhere off in the distance, watching with interest when the expansion is released, listening for the horrified shrieks of alliance-haters when they realize that the entire horde is now elf paladins.

Fixed that for you.

Try BE Warlocks. Pretty much every time the topic comes up of what class your BE will be, 90% say Warlock. I am thinking of making a BE shadow priest.

[Venkman]

I'm currently thinking Draenei Shadow Priest as my alt. My Mage will continue to 70 and all that, but I'm thinking my alt post BC is going to be BG-focused PvP. The great thing about my alliance is they've got all the healers they need, so much so a few priests specced Shadow.

[Azazel]

Whats more wanted in groups, Rogue or Hunter? Which one is better at soloing? In groups? In raids?

Generally, Rogues are more wanted, and for groups considered better as Hunters have a habit of not being able to control their (fucking) pets which leads to a bias against them unless you know them.

Rogue is pretty good at soloing, though I think Hunter is probably superior.

Whats the most and least popular race for Rogues and Hunters?

Shemale Hunters are the most popular. Shemale also applies to male Night Elfs
I see a lot of NE and Human rogues. Gnome not so much (though they do rock). Can Dwarves even be hunters?
No-one cares about your racial choice though. Ever. Except when they're giving shit to a race in general (Elf hate, Gnome Punts, etc) and that's just people fucking around.
[/quote]

Try leveling as a feral Druid on the Alliance side.  Rogues and Hunters are a dime a dozen.
Just remember, if you are about to join a group, tell everyone that you are a 0/0/X spec healer.
Speccng as a Restoration Druid prior to the BRD/xBRS/Scholo/Strat/DM instances is just asking for trouble unless you have a constant DPS leveling partner.

Druids are a good way to see the variety in the class roles, but be warned that in groups you'll often be expected to heal and will be invited on that basis. Nothing pisses people off like a group with a warrior, rogue, mage and 2 druids who constantly bleat "but I'm feral" and try to dps and tank instead of healing.

The only time race REALLY matters is for priests.  If you're going to roll one and want to be wanted (regardless of actual skill or ability) roll a dwarf for fear ward.  People get so set on ez-mode raid encounters they often overlook the fact that the player sucks, or is a complete jackass just because of that one spell.  (Or they see you're not a dwarf and say "sorry, we need priests but only DWARF priests are being accepted."  Wtf?)

Out of the rogue/ hunter I'd say rogues are probably more often wanted for dungeons.  The auto-labeling above seems to lead some people to believe hunters can't dps. 

Merusk is correct on the Dwarf Priest thing. The auto-labelling in my experience about Hunters isn't so much because people think Hunters can't DPS, rather it's because they can't (fucking) control their pets. (your experience may vary).

Stranglethorn Vale is not fun.

General rule of thumb on Classes (from what little I know): If you want to be wanted in groups, AND want to play a dps role, then the wise thing to do is not pick a Hunter or Rogue. You'd have a better time with something else (especially the higher level you get). Pick a mage or warlock.

A warrior can dps too, but you'll be much more appreciated if you go sword and board for tanking instances (Not a big deal. It doesn't require a respec at least).

Gnomes are a harder to see and can break snares. In the end, they are only Alliance race that's worth a damn.

I suggest Orc.

Stranglethorn Vale can be a ton of fun. On a PVE server at least there's a shitton of interresting and fun quests there. Generally the playerbase are morons in that level and zone, but you can easily ignore them, and the playerbase are morons everywhere you go. I have no problems with the zone, it's got a lot of variation and character.

Stray is right in that Mages and Locks are always in demand. I found Warlock grating to level, while Mage is awesome fun. Still, play whatever class appeals to you.

DPS-focused warriors tend to annoy groups. Since you generally need someone of some kind to tank, it's always nice to find a warrior who is focussed on actually tanking as opposed to being a "rogue in plate". Kind of like druids who refuse to heal "because they're feral) mentioned earlier. (In that instance I had to tell them "look guys, we have a def spec warrior for tanking, a mage and rogue for DPS. I'd go healer, but I can't actually heal, so if you guys could take care of that it'd really help a lot.")

What Stray says about race choice is all true. Except that while Elf Hunters may have some stat/ability advantages over Dwarfs, they also have the "you're probably a fuckwit" bias far applied more often. Gnomes do rule, however.


about STV:

Cool looking zone, yes. Wish they made a BG there.

As for the quests, meh. Quests suck in general. And beast killing sucks. Go go powergaming. Better drops seem to come off humanoids and demons. Desolace might look like crap, but it's the better place to grind.

It makes sense when viewed through Stray's perspective here. If you want to just powergame and grind to +max level, then STV might not be great for you.
Don't be put off it by posts like this however if you plan to quest and enjoy the ride, because it's a great zone for that (and you'll have nothing do to but grind at level cap, so you may as well enjoy getting there). Whatever works for you, however.

Shaman is very fun to level up, but if you plan on playing at 60, a lot of the time you get lumped in to the "healbot" roll. Same with Druids. Even if your specced full feral, people will still expect you to heal in instances. If you dont plan on getting to 60 and raiding, then basically play what you want and have fun. Just know that any class that can heal, will be expected to in instances.

Morph is totally correct here. Though you can also throw Pally into the same situation that Shammies have at 60. It's because of the nature of the game's setup that the Tank/Healer/Everyone else dynamic is present, so as one of the two classes that can (properly) heal, you'll be invited to instance groups on that basis, since the other members of the group are a warrior, and the final 3 slots in the group are being competed for by every other class (and any double-ups).

[Kail]

In my experience, hunters are generally more useful in groups (they generally seem to deal more and take less damage than rogues), but I can't speak for public opinion on how desired they are or anything.  I'd say both are pretty much fighting for last place.

Soloing, I'd say hunters are probably faster and easier due mainly to the pet.  But, in PvP, I'd say rogues are probably more interesting.  Stealth is extremely handy when they're alone, and their stuns are very useful when they're in groups.

I wouldn't worry about choosing Horde, if you see a race or class you want.  On a PvP server, as others have mentioned, populations tend to be fairly balanced.  And on a PvE server, it's not that big a deal playing on the underpopulated side (maybe you have to wait longer for groups, I haven't really noticed).

If you're looking for stats on what is most or least frequently played, I find sites like Warcraftrealms to be fairly useful.

If you want good PvP, I'd not recommend PvP servers, but rather PvE ones and focusing on BGs.

Seconded.

[Kitsune]

Let me just add another stone on the 'Don't roll a druid with an eye towards being feral' stack.  To be a successful feral druid you need top-notch gear if you don't want to be the joke of the party, and there is crap for feral druid gear in the game.  What decent gear there is is all in high-level raid instances or from painful rep grinds.  If you want to be a respected DPS class, the top two are rogue and mage.  If you want a pet, then for the love of god learn how to control it.  I've been with more than one idiot hunter/warlock whose pet went charging off to aggro a room full of monsters because they didn't know how to call it back to them.

Bind the 'pet attack' command to one mouse button/hotkey.
Bind the 'pet follow' command on another.

If the pet decides it's pissed off at some monster and starts going after it, click key #2 to recall it to you before it causes a train.

[Merusk]

People who don't know how to put their pet on Passive vs Defensive or Aggro are also major irritants.   90% of the time if there's a problem with pets it's because they didn't have the pet on passive - which it SHOULD ALWAYS BE in an instance unless you're with a group you're completly comfortable with. Even then it should never be on Aggro (except for possibly Jin'do)   Ctrl-1 isn't THAT hard to press and is the default 'pet attack'

Like Az said, pet management is the #1 reason hunters are labeled as twits.

[Flood]

Hey Comstar, welcome to the support group. 

I thought I'd give some info based on my personal play experience. 

I think I am oh so very qualified with noobler tips because I am a chronic alt maker and server hopper.  I just restarted Hordeside on Echo Isles actually.  I have probably 15 characters spread over a dozen PST servers.  I've levelled characters on PvP, RP-PvP, RP and PvE servers up into the 50's with my poor old mothballed Dwarf Priest at level 59 gathering dust on Ner'zhul. (My first character)  Same for factions.  I have upper and mid-level characters in both factions, barring Night Elves because I refuse to ever play one.  Ever.

Other than waaaaaay back toward release when I was involved in a guild with a few people I knew in real life, and the short lived glory days of the Emerald Dream F13 guild - I play solo almost exclusively.  I never have any extra funds or guild alts or trades characters to help me.  I hop on a new server and do it up the old school way.  *shrug* I sort of enjoy it more since I can focus on just playing in a way that's fun for me personally.


So after all that crap here's what I learned:

PvP versus PvE servers

1. The actual game play is the same.  You won't start to see much "open" or world level PvP until 20ish anyway.  Still the majority of your actual playtime (killing monsters) is the exact same as on a PvE server mechanically.  Except.  Except that your levelling/questing/tradeskilling can and will be interrupted by opposing faction players.  This can not only slow down your levelling time, but actually determine some things that you absolutely can and cannot do.  (Like say...walk into STV and expect to get any questing done) Some people really hate it.  Other people see the ability to go out and do unto others as they do unto you as the price you pay.  The majority of my playtime has been on PvP servers and I enjoy it.  However as a brand new player I'd recommend a white server for you.  Your going to be walking around looking at things and generally enjoying the game as it was meant to be enjoyed.  I'd try it out first and then if you want to draw a little blood you can always jump to a PvP server, or get involved with the Twinkgro... I mean Battle Grounds, before you're on a PvP server and out in Ashenvale killing Furbolgs and generally having a gay old time when Gangstakilla and UnclePappy hop off their epic mounts and slice you to bits just because they can (And well, to be honest Blizzard encourages it.)

2. The most important thing to factor in when thinking about servers is this: On PvP servers every decision you make revolves around your PvP viablity.  Your class, your talent build, your gear, your professions.  I won't say this is a limiting factor exactly, but I will say that playing on a PvE server is more relaxing.  If you want some whacked out talent build, or a lame ass Hunter pet, what difference does it make unless you're hurting your group or your guild?  You just have a bit more freedom to explore the game like you want without having to worry about making yourself into (more) a walking target.  A lot of PvP server life boils down to min/maxxing and making decisions based on fighting off the newest FoTM class build.



Class Choice 

I won't go too much into depth here as I've rambled on already but, again, especially if you're on a PvE server - who cares what class you are?  The only time your class choice becomes an issue is if you join a hardcore raiding or instance running guild.  And considering you don't even own an actual copy of the game yet those kind of situations are light years away for you.  Just play something you find fun or interesting.  That being said, yes, Hunters are very beginner friendly and easy to level up.  But yes you will be 1 of 39847983761964 Hunters on any server and it may hurt your raiding prospects eventually.  And just don't be a Night Elf, just don't.  Have some self respect. 

My personal experience with Druids is that they are actually slow levellers until level 25ish due to the talent spread.  They are always wanted in groups as they are great healers in most 5 man instances if you are strapped for a priest.  They are statistically the least played class.  They have a lot going on with forms, heals, nukes etc.  I'd say the learning curve for Druids is actually fairly steep.  The highest I've ever toughed a Druid out to levelwise is 35, I just could not get into a groove with them.  They really are one of the true "hybrid" classes of WoW (like Shamans) that you really have to play exstensively to learn their full potential.  I wouldn't recommend them as a starter class for a 10 day trial of WoW I guess is my point.

[bhodi]

Go high population PvE server unless you want a thrill / additional playing difficulty / like being repeatedly kicked in the balls. PvP servers are like being in 0.0 space all the time in a noob ship. There WILL be some douchebag that makes it his life's goal to sit and kill people who are doing quests for fun, until you log off or leave. They can't do any permanent damage to you, the only thing you lose is time. They will be far too high for you to even damage them, and will more likely than not kill you in one hit. If you think it's fun to have that thrill, trying to sneak past, or get away from people like that, then by all means have at it. Otherwise, pick a PvE server. You want high population becuase high = mature economy (good for you) + alts (people who know how to play to party with, often on their second characters). Low population = ghost towns, no fun there.

Go alliance because it has the far superior PvE experience. As an added bonus, you won't get to experience the visual diversity of the barrens, or the "diversity" of "barrens chat". If you absoloutely must be horde, be a Tauren, becuase out of all the horde they have the best starting area/quest chains.

Any class can be fun, and all of them are easy to level. WoW will be the easist to level, bar none, that you have ever played. It's part of what makes it so casual friendly. The difference between a 'hard to level' class and a 'easy to level' class is, very small, especially if you take the correct talents.

When you hit level 10, you start investing in talent points, one per level, to enhance your abilities. It's like diablo2. You will want to spec one specific way. One of the (oft repeated) crappy things about the game is the talent trees which on the surface show a lot of options, but realistically boil down to one or two talent specs per class, and generally a single spec while soloing/leveling up. You can be a unique snowflake, or you can read up on a leveling spec and make your life a WHOLE LOT easier. Liken this to creating a Eve character with rank 4 frigates to start. You don't HAVE to, but you will regret it later if you don't.

Race can matter, but if you are set on staring at a hot woman avatar ass, then by all means, go for it. It doesn't matter THAT much. This is diku for the masses, remember, all advantages are marginal. Except for talent point spec.

Learn to love wow wiki, alla, and thottbot. Use the first for general information, use the second for zone maps / general info, and use the third if you're trying to find something in the game world (like finding where that damn quest giver was). Don't be shy on tabbing out to look. Head to the class forums with blinders on. Read the stickied posts. Ignore the rest. A lot of this stuff has been CC'd to wowwiki if you feel your intelligence draining away by osmosis.

Never buy items from a vendor. Specifically don't buy weapons and armor. You'll be sent to a main city around level 7-10. Once there, find the AH (ask a guard) and do your shopping there. Buy some bags first, they will make your life a lot easier. Pick up and sell everything to a vendor. It all adds up. While you're in town, train some professions and weapon skills (at the weapon trainer). Take at least one gathering skill (mining or herbalism), and if you want to rake in the cash take one of those and skinning as well.

Abuse the hell out of your hearthstone. It has a 60m cooldown. Use it often. Why walk back to town after killing that last bunny? You can just hearth back and save yourself 5-10m of travel. Make sure to bind at an inn in the town you're questing at, and make sure you log off there to gain rest experience.

When you get settled in, try out a UI mod compilation such as CTMod. Check out Curse Gaming. It has a lot of 'convienience' addons, such as a quest level next to your quests, instead of just being green (easy) yellow (moderate/even) orange (hard) red (impossible).

Summary:

1) Pick a server. Pick a high population server. There's no reason to pick low, and you want a mature economy, not a deserted game world. Check wowwiki's server page for that server for more information. Go alliance.
2) Pick a class. Don't agonize too much, just spend 10m reading  up and pick one. They are all useful late game, easy to solo, and you can find a good guild with your general interests if the server's high population. You can get to level 10 in about 3 hours of game time, so try a few out if one doesn't feel right. If you go druid/shaman/priest/paladin you will get lumped into healing role late-game. Be aware of this, but don't worry overmuch. The expansion is coming and with it many changes.
3) Check wowwiki or stickied forum posts to find the appropriate powergaming race for your class, or just go for nightelf/troll/human female if you like wiggling butts.
4) Get to level 10. This involves bunny bashing in the newbie starting area, and a journey to a town near the "main" towns - Ironforge/Stormwind or Thunder Bluff/Oggrimarr
5) If you like the class, head back to the stickied/wowwiki to figure out what to put your talent points in. Trust me on this. Don't be a unique snowflake.
6) Hit your main city, introduce yourself to the AH (Auction House), buy some bags, train your professions.
7) ...
8) Profit!

If you happen to pick a server one of us are on, we can send you some cash you can use to buy bags, if nothing else, that will make your playing experience much more enjoyable early game.

[Comstar]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Dwarf Rogue and Human Hunter, I shall try.

[bhodi]

First two talent points into sinister strike. Godspeed. When you hit 10-15, and feel you want to do more, let us know what server so we can pass down some cash.

I forgot to mention. Learn first-aid, make bandages for healing, this will save you time for both those classes. It's a "secondary profession" along with fishing and cooking, and you can train all secondary professions, but you can only pick two 'main' professions. I still say go mining/skinning or herbalism/skinning. You can always dump skinning later for a 'real' profession, but for now you need the cash.

In sort of reply to fabricated: 

Sell gathered materials, then buy gear on AH. It's both cheaper and more expedient to do so than trying to craft your own. Crafting is unfortunately a frustrating mess, with 100 different blueprints/recepies and about 3 that are worthwhile. You won't be able to keep up your crafting level to match your character level, so you will always be able to buy better stuff, either dropped or crafted, on the AH than you can actually make. Stay away from enchanting.

I hate people so I solo'd to 60 except for instance running. I'm not social but he's right, if people just aren't working out, don't feel bad about saying "see ya" or "I have to go, my cat is on fire." and dropping group. For questing, everyone gets credit for kills, so it's advantageous to party up for the "kill 10 bears" quests. It can also be fun, if WoW's population wasn't 95% mouthbreathers. This is another reason to go high population, you have a much higher chance of it being their second character, thus possibly having a clue of how to play. Make sure you do deadmines, it's the first and one of the best instances in the game. Do it for the experience even if you outlevel it.

[Fabricated]

My recommendations for a totally new WoW player:

1. Don't really agonize over what race to pick. They're all fine to be honest. Some races have starting areas that are more/less fun than others, but you honestly get those first 10 levels in what feels like 2 hours, and then you're usually done with the base newbie areas.

2. I'd recommend playing alliance for pure PvE enjoyment since the horde areas for 10+ are just awful IMO. This is 100% personal opinion though. Also, more people.

3. If you want maximum enjoyment, don't play it like some catass for your first 15-20 levels. If you just can NOT find some quest doodad, ask in general chat before hitting allakhazam or thott. Don't worry about min/maxing or being an EXP earning machine. Do. not. grind. for. exp.

The first 10-15 levels of WoW for me were just amazingly fun despite the fact that nearly all the newb quests are the "KILL/COLLECT <X> of <Y>" deals, because I had no idea what I was doing and I didn't really have my eyes set on being the most uber of uber characters and getting that next shiny. I just wanted to see more stuff, the shiny was just bonus. Play it like it's a damn GAME.

4. If you're not getting right into a guild from start pick a profession that supports your character. If you're a warrior, Blacksmithing/Mining is the way to go, Tailor/random gathering skill for casters (enchanting is a gigantic pointless moneysink for new/unguilded players), leatherworking/skinning for hunters/rogues. It makes life way easier, trust me. You could probably just buy better equipment off the AH by using two gathering skills to make cashola but then you're just grinding and grinding sucks ass.

5. Leave shitty groups. There is something to be said for being socially open and not bailing on groups just because they aren't getting you that shiny as fast as you want, but shit groups will just make you hate the game.

[stray]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Dwarf Rogue and Human Hunter, I shall try.

You can't be a Human Hunter. Dwarves and Night Elves only (and soon to be Dranei).