Four years have passed since the aftermath of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and a great tension now smolders throughout the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the battle-worn races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and ominous, arise to plague the world once again.

World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.

A Familiar World.

You can visit such places as the Burning Steppes, where Grom Hellscream fell in battle against the demon lord Mannoroth, and Ironforge, where the dwarves make their home below the mountain. Legendary heroes, such as Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, and King Magni Bronzebeard, are also in the game, presiding over their respective peoples as leaders in their race's capitals.

Guards in the human city of Stormwind look just like footmen from Warcraft III, peasants in the human town of Hillsbrad look exactly like their counterparts in the strategy games, and orc peons shuffle about the farms of Go'Shek in the Arathi Highlands. Night elf players can even see gargantuan Ancient Protectors patrolling the elven lands of Teldrassil, while a towering Ancient of War waits to greet all visitors to Darnassus.

• Adventure together with thousands of other players simultaneously.
• Explore an expansive world with miles of forests, deserts, snow-blown mountains, and other exotic lands.
• Choose from four realm types and find the one best suited for your own playing style: Normal, Player versus Player, Role-playing, and Role-playing Player versus Player.
• Join the Horde or the Alliance as one of 8 playable races.
• Select from 9 classes, including holy Paladins, shape-shifting Druids, powerful Warriors and Mages, demon-summoning Warlocks, and more.
• Encounter many familiar and new Warcraft characters and monsters.
• Learn the continuing story of Azeroth by completing a wide variety of challenging quests.
• Journey through an epic world filled with dungeons of different styles and depths.
• Explore 6 huge capital cities, which serve as major hubs for the races inhabiting them.
• Practice various professions to make and enhance custom items, locate and harvest reagents and raw materials, acquire wealth through trade with other players, and more.
• Purchase tickets for travel along a number of air routes flown by creatures such as Gryphons and Wyverns. For global transportation, travel by Boat or Goblin Zeppelin.
• Once a certain level has been achieved, players can choose to purchase permanent personal mounts.
• Join a guild of like-minded players to adventure and conquer the game's many challenges together - or establish your own!
• Mail gold, items, or messages to other players, or send them to your own characters for easy muling.
• Sell your items or search for items for sale via the automated auction house.
• Locate and engage other players with easy-to-use features and tools, including chat channels, friends lists, and animated and audible character expressions.
• Customize the game's interface via XML.
• Enjoy hundreds of hours of gameplay with new quests, items, and adventures every month.