World of Warcraft Shadowlands is going to massively change the way that new characters and alts level through Azeroth for the foreseeable future of the Blizzard MMO. When the pre-patch inevitably arrives it will bring along a level squish and a brand new starting zone option for level 1 characters. Exile's Reach will be a brand new zone meant to introduce players to the basics of both WoW and to their specific class.
Although many players have been on the World of Warcraft train for 15+ years at this point, the MMO is still trying to make itself user friendly for new fans who want to jump into the fun. With that in mind, Blizzard is trying to make those early levels as inviting as possible with the introduction of Exile's Reach and some other new player tools. One of these new features is the Newcomer Chat that will offer brand new players a place to chat together and get advice from veteran WoW experts without all of the Chuck Norris jokes and spam that come along with the usual General chat channel in starting zones.
Yesterday Blizzard dropped a ton of new intel on many of the changes and additions thats will be arriving when the first pre-patch is released (though there is still no confirmed release date for that). In addition to the level by level conversion chart for the level squish, there was also some interesting details about what Newcomer Chat is and how veteran players can volunteer to help be a guide for these new players who want a helping hand throughout levels 1-20...
What Is Newcomer Chat?
"After creating your new character and beginning your journey into World of Warcraft for the first time, you will automatically be added to a Newcomer Chat channel, where you can talk with other new players and seek advice from experienced players on the same faction who will be your guides as you level through the new starting zone of Exile's Reach. New players and guides will be able to recognize one another in the chat channels and by icons above their characters' heads that only they can see. Upon reaching level 20, new players will continue the journey ahead on their own and will no longer have access to the Newcomer Chat."
The chat seems like a fantastic idea and it's a little surprising it has taken this many expansions for a feature like this to arrive. Those first few levels fly by, but they can definitely be a little intimidating for players who are new to Blizzard's MMO. Having some like-minded new players and veterans easily available to chat with should make a massive difference and decrease a lot of WoWhead or google searches throughout those first 20 levels.
How to volunteer to be a Newcomer Chat guide
If you're a veteran player and interested in guiding new players as they experience World of Warcraft for the first time, head over to Stormwind or Orgrimmar and speak to the guide recruiter once you've met the following criteria:
Have an account in good standing
Reach level 50
Complete 3,000 quests
Earn at least two of the following achievements: Terrific Trio, Rival: Battle for Azeroth Season Four, Battle for Azeroth Keystone Conqueror: Season Four, The Waking Dream, or We Have the Technology.
If you no longer wish to be a guide, you can speak to guide recruiter once again.
At this point, that's about everything we know about Exile's Reach and Newcomer Chat. When the pre-patch launches it will be very interesting to dive into that zone with a new toon and see how it plays out. Hopefully the chat is less spam than the typical /1 channels and remains a helpful place for new players to find their footing and get a better understanding of the game. With so much of the MMO's playerbase already being established, it will also be interesting to see how frequently this feature is actually used by players who are truly brand new to WoW or who have been away for long enough that returning feels like playing a brand new game.
Be sure to check back in the coming weeks as more details about Shadowlands emerge. Until then, For the Horde!
World of Warcraft is available now for PC. At this point, World of Warcraft Shadowlands releases on October 26 or 27 (depending on time zone) for PC.
Source: Blizzard