World of Warcraft

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Contents

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Updates

  • 1/8- Added Blizzard Guides link under the NPC/Quest Location Section. Added Priest section under Class/Professions section.
  • 1/5- Added TBC Instance Info
  • 1/4- Added Expansions Sections including TBC and WotLK subsections. Added note on Epic Paladin Horse Quest (Class/Professions/Paladin section)- it's no longer needed. Added Outland Map Links under WoW World Section.
  • 1/3/09- Added Inscriptions (Profession) section to Class/Professions section.
  • 12/28- Added blurb on reinstalling WoW from scratch in the WoW Issues on Your Mac section. Established a Blacksmith/Mining section under Class/Professions section. Added WotLK Guide link under General Links.
  • 12/20- Added Booty Bay Merchant List under NPC/Quest info section.
  • 12/16- Added Fishing Section under Class/Profession links and NPC/Quest info for Honor Hold under NPC/Quest Location links.
  • 12/14- Added Warlock Section under Class/Professions links.
  • 12/11- Added Class Trainer link and Quest/Locations section under Class/Professions section.
  • 12/9- Death Knight Section added to Class/Professions section.
  • 12/1- Added Paladin link section.
  • 11/29- Added more Fishing Info in the Class/Professions section.
  • 11/28- Reformat Professions/Class Links Section.
  • 11/27- Happy Thanksgiving! Added Mining Guide link under WoW Class/Professions help
  • 11/24- Added Wow Class/Profession Based Links (Hunt'n)
  • 10/21- Added WoW Issues Section (Hunt'n)
  • 10/21- Added WoW Links Section (Hunt'n)
  • 10/22- Added WoW PVP Links, WoW World Links, and Level 1-60 Instance Maps Links (Hunt'n)
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Overview

World of Warcraft (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/) is a computer game developed by Blizzard Inc. It is a 'MMORPG', or Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Taking place in a fictional online world, players interact with millions of other players worldwide. The game is fee-based and costs $14.99/month to play, $13.99 for a 3 month subscription, and if you are committed, the best deal offered is $12.99 for a six month subscription. This article will attempt to answer the most common questions about World of Warcraft (sometimes known as 'WoW') and playing it on the Macintosh platform.

Note: Additions made by Hunt'n are Alliance specific as I have no active Horde characters.

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Compatibility

World of Warcraft is simultaneously developed for the Windows and Mac platforms, and the two versions are entirely interoperable.

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System Requirements

These are the minimum system requirements for Mac as posted by Blizzard (link):

Mac® OS X 10.3.9:
933 MHz or higher G4, or G5, or Intel processor
512 MB RAM or higher; DDR RAM recommended
ATI or NVIDIA® video hardware with 32 MB VRAM or more
6.0 GB available HD space
4x CD-Rom drive
56k or better Internet connection

These are the recommended system requirements as posted by Blizzard:

Mac® OS X 10.3.9 or newer:
1024 MB RAM or higher; DDR RAM recommended
ATI or NVIDIA® video hardware with 64 MB VRAM or more
Broadband Internet connection

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Performance

World of Warcraft performance is a highly debated and asked-about topic. Typically performance is broken down into two categories: in-city performance, where there are many other players, and outdoor performance, where there are few other people on the screen. The game can be installed on most Macs running Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer, whether they meet the minimum requirements or not.

Key, assuming the graphics are all the way down, or only slightly enhanced:
Poor: Averaging less than 10fps outdoors, unable to function in cities/raids.
Weak: Averaging between 10 and 20fps outdoors, 1-5fps in cities/raids.
Decent: Averaging between 20 and 30fps outdoors, 5-20fps in cities/raids.
Good: Averaging between 30 and 40fps outdoors, 20-30fps in cities/raids.
Excellent: Averaging greater than 50fps outdoors, greater than 30fps in cities/raids.




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G3 Systems

Poor to Weak

Computers with G3 processors are not technically supported, however the game will run on the newest of them. G3s faster than 800mhz, with more that 1gb of RAM, at least 64mb of graphics memory, and with a fast (7200rpm+) hard drive can expect relatively weak performance with the graphics settings at their lowest.

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G4 Systems

Weak to Good

Computers with G4 processors vary widely in their performance in World of Warcraft. Dual-processor G4s often display surprisingly decent performance at slow processor speeds, between 700 and 900mhz, which are not technically supported. Computers slower than 700mhz, even with maximum RAM and graphics card will typically perform weakly. Here is a breakdown of the various G4 systems that can be used to play WoW and how they hold up:

  • G4 Towers- Being the most customizable, G4 towers have the most WoW potential. Dual processor machines, greater than 1ghz, having greater than 64mb of VRAM, with 1gb+ of RAM will show decent to good performance. Slower machines will still perform decently, but the amount of RAM and VRAM remain extremely important.
  • G4 Powerbooks- G4 Powerbooks represent a wide range of computers, but can easily be broken down into Titanium and Aluminum models. Titanium Powerbooks are at the low-end of being able to run the game. As usual, the faster the machine, the faster it will run the game. Don't expect great performance from Titanium powerbooks. Aluminum models range from weak performance to good performance. The amount of installed RAM and VRAM make a huge difference, with the 1.67ghz Powerbooks with 128mb VRAM and 1gb+ of RAM will exhibit the best performance, in the 'good' range.
  • G4 iBooks- The graphics card in the iBook G4s does not provide for the best playing, but WoW will perform weakly to decently. The amount of installed RAM is just about the only customizable part, and having the most possible will make the biggest difference in gameplay.
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Mac Minis

The Mac Mini is essentially the same as the iBook G4, and will exhibit pretty much the same performance.

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G5 Systems

Decent to Excellent

G5s will show the best performance in WoW. Any model faster than Single-Processor 1.8ghz has the memory and processing power to run the game well, and the rest of the performance depends on the graphics card. A fast graphics card with a lot of VRAM (256mb+), in a SP G5 with a 2.0ghz+ processor will run the game at maximum graphics settings and very rarely drop below 40fps. This cannot be said of any other Mac systems. The G5s are the best computers for the game, and, being customizable, can all provide consistently high frame rates. Graphical settings can be customized to balance eye candy with performance.

G5 iMacs will run the game well, but since the graphics card is not customizable performance will depend on the revision of the computer itself. Newer revisions with better graphics cards will perform better.

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WoW Issues on Your Mac

  • new Reinstalling WoW from Scratch- Do you want to start playing WoW again but have uninstalled WoW and dread reinstalling the game along with GBs of patches to download? There is not a universal update that with a single patch will make the client current. Depending on the age of your WoW install DVD, bunches of patches must be downloaded and installed a process that can take 5 hours or longer. As an alternative to this time consuming process, head over to www.worldofwarcraft.com. In the upper left corner in the Account Section, select Manage Account to log in. Under the Free Services section there is an option to download the game client. If your original plan was to install the game from a real old WoW DVD, this might be a better option. Either way it's not going to be a super fast install because the game with both expansions totals close to 14GB. (from post by Digitard in MR forums 12/28/08.)
  • Macs with HD2600 graphics cards, Mac OS 10.5.5 and setting the video to 8x Multisampling crashes computer. See this Blizzard Mac Technical Support thread for more. The suggested solution is lowering the Multisampling setting.
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WoW Links

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General WoW Links

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Blizzard WoW Links

  • WoW Server Realms explanation.
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WoW PVP Links

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NPC/Quest Location Info

  • Also see the WoW Expansion Links Section.
  • new Thottbot.com- Know the Quest name? Type it in for lots of info including handy tips and info from players.
  • Honor Hold NPCs- (Hellfire Penninsula)- list of all NPCs, includes trainers and quest givers.
  • Shattrath City NPCs- (Terokkar Forest, Major Hub of Outlands)-list of all NPCs, includes trainers, quest givers, and other good info.
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World Info

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Instances

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Level 1-60 Instance Maps

Tired of getting lost in Dungeons? (name, location, level range, PL=player limit)

-Sunken Temple Guide- at Blizzard Guides.

  • Black Rock Spire- Black Rock Mountain 55-60 PL15

-Upper Black Rock Spire -Lower Black Rock Spire

  • Stratholme Location Eastern Plaguelands 58-60 PL10
  • Scholomance Location Western Plaguelands Level 58-60 PL 10

- Goblin Workshop Zul Gurub

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TBC Instances

  • L= Player Level, P5= 5 player party, P25= 25 player raid
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WoW Expansion Links

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The Burning Crusade Links

  • Shattrath City NPCs- (Terokkar Forest, Major Hub of Outlands)-list of all NPCs, includes trainers, quest givers, and other good info.
  • Honor Hold NPCs- (Hellfire Penninsula)- list of all NPCs, includes trainers and quest givers.
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Wrath of the Lich King Links

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Class/Profession Based Info

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General

  • See Quest/Locations Section
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Blacksmith/Mining (Professions)

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Death Knight

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Druid

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First Aid (Profession)

  • Reference Wowwiki First Aid- lots of info here.
  • The basic First Aid Trainers up to 150 skill are located at the big cities. For Alliance it's Stormwind City, Iron Forge, Thunderbluff and Undercity (+other locations, see the Allakhazam Profession Trainer List.
  • For First Aid up to 225 there is the Expert First Aid book (1 gold) located at Stromgarde (Arathi Highlands, Deneb Walker) and BrackenWall City (Dustwallow Marsh, Balai Lok'Wein).
  • MageWeave Bandage- requires 210 First Aid. Sold by Deneb Walker located at Stromgarde (Arathi Highlands).
  • Training for Heavy Silk Bandage is also sold by Deneb Walker (for when you are at 170 trying to figure out how you'll ever get to 210...
  • For Artisan First Aid (300) there are quests- Alliance Trauma (Theramore, Alliance) & Horde Trauma (Hammerfall, Horde).
  • For Master First Aid (375) there is the Master First Aid Doctor in the House book (5 gold) located at Temple of Telhamat (Alliance) and Falcon Watch (Horde).
  • For Grandmaster (450) see the Allakhazam First Aid Trainer Link.
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Fishing (Profession)

new * Quest: The Family and the Fishing Pole Alliance Level 14 fishing quest located: Auberdine, Dark Shore on the beach next to Inn (Glubber Bump). Reward is a decent fishing pole.

new * Expert Fishing Book requires fishing skill 125 teaches, enables fishing xp up to 225. Located at vendor in Booty Bay (lowest level ramp under Inn, coord: 27,77).

new * Quest: Nat Pagle, Angler Extreme Artisan fishing quest located in Theramore. Requires fishing xp of 225. Completing quest allows xp up to 300.

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Hunter

new * Stable Master Locations

  • Pet Statistics- A listing of Pets categories, High Armor vs High DPS including what they can learn and their diets.
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Inscriptions (Profession)

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Paladin

  • new Note: The Paladin Epic Horse Quest is no longer required and is a huge waste of time. As a Paladin, all you have to do is get expert horse training from the Horse Trainer at Eastvale Logging Camp in East Elwynn Forest (about 450 gold) and then see the Paladin Trainer (StormWind Cathedral) to purchase the upgrade.
  • Paladin Epic Horse Quest
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Priest

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Tailor (Profession)

  • Silk- Strangletorn Vale, Scarlet Monestary (Instance), and kill Syndicate in the north-east of the Alterac Mountains zone.
  • Mageweave- Furbolgs in Southern Felwood, Dwarves in Searing Gorge, Trolls in Hinterlands.
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Warlock

Retrieved from "http://guides.macrumors.com/World_of_Warcraft"