June 27, 2005 - In Blizzard's World of Warcraft, players may choose among eight playable races. Massive and bull-like, the Tauren are normally peaceful nomads devoted to maintaining the sanctity and balance of nature. During the invasion of the Burning Legion, they allied with the fierce Orcs, who came to Azeroth from their native world, Draenor. Later, the Trolls of the Darkspear tribe joined this coalition after an Orcish leader saved them from extermination. None of these have much good will toward the Undead, but align with them, albeit rather tenuously, against a common enemy, the Lich King. These four comprise the Horde faction.

The industrious Dwarves, once disinclined to leave their mountain citadel, Ironforge, now scour the far corners of Azeroth for signs of their ancient beginnings. They have staunch friends in their Gnomish cousins; the two have become even closer since the latter were driven from their techno-city of Gnomeregan. Both are friendly with the Humans of Stormwind, which stands as the last bastion of that species' civilization. Reclusive immortals who favor the hours of darkness, the Night Elves are honorable and just, but still hesitant to trust the 'lesser races' with whom they are allied. This quartet makes up the Alliance.

---

#59 The Deadmines? (for approx. levels 17-22)
The Deadmines is an instanced world dungeon in the region of Westfall, which many Alliance characters will have explored, at least partially, prior to reaching the stated level range. Accessed via the town of Moonbrook, it offers the chance to complete three quests obtained in the city of Stormwind and another you can acquire before entering. The foes you'll face are humanoid elites ranging from level 15 to 21, and some regular ones that are 16 to 19 but attack in numbers.

It can be a moderately lengthy location to go through, so you should allow two to three hours depending on the composition and cohesiveness of your group. There isn't a whole lot particularly unusual in regard to overall strategy. Most parties will want to pull a few enemies at a time so as to make the individual fights shorter and easier. Another reason is that you may be spotted by wandering patrols. If and when that happens, you don't want to be nearly dead from a tough battle.


#60 Rogue Items and Equipment (for all levels)
Among the weapon-users, the Rogue is the one that can deal out the most damage. However, being limited to wearing leather armor, members of this class are seldom robust enough to play as tanks - not for long anyway. So, the idea is to strike quickly, often from stealth mode. If you're alone, you want to finish your opponent as quickly as possible. In a group, you ideally want to deliver a powerful opening blow and then have a tank aggro the foe off you.

The primary attribute for the class is Agility. Raising it should be a priority since it's tied to the likelihood of both critical hits and dodging. Second choice may be gear that adds health points by increasing Stamina. Once you reach the mid-levels, you may want to watch out for "of the Monkey" items that raise both, although neither as much as something of a singular nature. Since you're never going to be heavily armored anyway, it can occasionally be worthwhile to consider a cloth piece or two with really good bonuses over mediocre leather alternatives.


[You can follow the progress of Blizzard's acclaimed persistent state title both here and at our World of Warcraft Vault where we have a more community-oriented perspective. - Ed.]