Unlike previous games in the Warcraft series, World of Warcraft is a MMORPG, not a real-time strategy game. As with other MMORPGs, people control a character avatar within a persistent game world, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, performing quests, building skills, and interacting with NPCs, as well as other players. The game rewards success with in-game money, items, experience and reputation, all of which in turn allow players to improve their skill and power. Players can level up their characters from level one to level 60, level 70 if they have The Burning Crusade expansion. Upon release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, players will be able to attain level 80 after purchasing the expansion

The current virtual world consists of two planets, Azeroth and Draenor (also known as "Outland"). Azeroth consists of two main continents, the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Located to the northwest of Kalimdor are the Azuremyst and Bloodmyst Isles, and Teldrassil. Kalimdor contains the starting areas for the Orc, Troll, and Tauren races of the Horde. The Night Elves and Draenei of the Alliance both begin in areas off the coast of Kalimdor (Teldrassil and Azuremyst and Bloodmyst Isles respectively). The Night Elves have the capability to move to the mainland fairly early as well. The Eastern Kingdoms contain the beginning areas for the Undead and Blood Elves of the Horde, as well as the Humans, Dwarves and Gnomes of the Alliance.

There are two types of characters: Player Characters (PCs, or simply "players") and Non-Player Characters (NPCs). A Player Character is an avatar in the game environment that is controlled by a player, whilst Non-Player Characters are controlled by the game software and can only interact with PCs through scripted events or artificial intelligence (AI). There are three types of NPCs. Friendly NPCs cannot attack friendly characters and vice versa. Hostile NPCs are either of the opposing faction or are mobs (enemies controlled by AI) and will freely attack any PC with whom they are hostile. Neutral NPCs will only attack if provoked. Some NPC interaction is affected by the reputation a PC has with them.

Player characters can acquire various "items" in the game, which can aid in character customization, or which can otherwise be of aid to them. Items can vary from resources such as herbs or raw ores to items to be retrieved for quests. Player characters can also equip different weapons and armor, either to customize their character or to improve abilities (such as better attack or defense skills).[29] Items improve character effectiveness to a level where this makes acquisition of these items necessary and highly desirable for progression. World of Warcraft’s item mechanics are complex.

World of Warcraft includes significant support for modifications to the user interface (UI) of a game, colloquially known as "mods" and "addons". At a simple level it allows full control over the content of toolbars and hot keys, as well as macros to automate sets of operations and the ability to script much more elaborate tools. The range of modifications that are available can be anything from ways to automatically advertise trade skills, to adding extra rows of button bars for spells, skills and more, to one designed for humorous intent, such as one that reproduces the infamous Leeroy Jenkins sound. The 2.0 release of World of Warcraft changed the way that an addon interacts with the game, causing certain modifications and addons to no longer function as intended. This meant that all addons designed before the patch needed to be rewritten, or they would not work.

The World of Warcraft Arena Tournament is a tournament based on the Arena System in World of Warcraft. All teams participating in the 5-vs-5 Arena matches will be competing for a spot to play at live events and win prizes. The tournament will consist of two qualifying rounds, followed by live regional tournaments, and will conclude at a global final event. There are two types of Arena matches: rated battles and practice battles (skirmishes) Rated battles count toward your team’s ranking in the current Arena Tournament, and you must be a member of an Arena Team to participate. Practice battles will not affect your team’s ranking. Your team will obtain a ranking by playing at least 10 rated battles a week.

Arena teams are created in the same fashion that guilds in the game are created. Special Arena NPCs called Arena Promoters are in various main cities like Ironforge, Orgrimmar, and Gadgetzan. Talking to an Arena Promoter is like talking to a Guild Master NPC. You purchase an Arena charter based on the type of Arena matches you wish to play, with the cost depending on the size of team (80g for 2-vs.-2, 120g for 3-vs.-3, 200g for 5-vs.-5), and then have the appropriate number of players sign that charter. Once the charter is complete, return it to the Arena Promoter and your team will be created. Once created, you can compete with your fellow teammates in your respective battlegroup.

How many people must gather for a battleground before a match can begin? This number varies depending on the battleground. Warsong Gulch, for example, requires eight players from both factions to be present in the queue at the same time. Since Alterac Valley is designed for full-scale epic battles, at least thirty players are required from each side in order for an instance to begin. Will joining the queue alone using the "First Available" option get me into Battlegrounds more quickly than entering as a group with the "Join as Group" option? Yes. Think of it as being seated at a restaurant. If you show up at a restaurant with ten people, the staff must wait until there's room to seat you. This may take some time, depending on the crowd.

Tip 1 - Read your Quest Journal. Now we hate to snipe here, people, but the "L" key on your keyboard opens up your Quest Journal. This handy-dandy little item contains literally all the information you need to solve whatever quest your given. Check it early and check it often because if you're cluttering up the "General" chat channel asking "Where's the Wailing Caverns?" 47 times not only will you learn all sort of new Azerothian insults, but when you eventually find the place, it's not going to win you any friends when you then start looking for a group to explore with. Your Quest Journal has directions so precise they make MapQuest look vague to avoid precisely this situation. Read your Quest Journal! Read your Quest Journal! Read your Quest Journal!

Players can only learn two "professional" trade skills (Fishing, Cooking, First Aid and a few others don't count). Be aware that with the exception of Enchanting and Tailoring, every trade skill has a "gathering" skill and a "crafting" skill. Blacksmithing, for example, requires raw materials that can only be retrieved by Mining. Be sure you select the appropriate skill; otherwise you will end up buying raw materials at auction or trying to trade your raw materials for finished goods. This should be obvious, but you'd be surprised how many players forget to use their auto run. Auto run is your best friend, though. During long runs you can be checking your quest log, futzing with your inventory, or chatting with friends. Use it!