For almost two decades now, World of Warcraft (WoW) has been one of the biggest names in gaming. If you had once been a seasoned gamer or someone who last played during the Wrath of the Lich King days, going back to WoW after such a long time can be quite thrilling and confusing at the same time.
Over time, the game has undergone numerous transformations with new expansions, mechanics, and systems. For more details on how to make your return as smooth as possible, check out this site.

Every expansion since World of Warcraft began has seen big changes—Dragonflight being the latest which introduced countless new features, zones, and systems. It doesn’t matter if it’s been just a few months or several years since you played; you will immediately notice how much the game has changed:

1. Level Squish: This one involved level squish that was brought about with Shadowlands expansion. By reducing the maximum level from 120 to 60 leveling would become easier for those beginners or people who are coming back into the game.
2. New Expansion: Dragonflight: In this newest expansion there is a focus on Dragon Isles – the mystical area with brand-new zones/dungeons/quests/storylines etc., also introducing Dracthyr Evoker as a unique class-race combo having particular skills.
3. Covenants and Soulbinds: Released with Shadowlands, these gameplay aspects allow players to choose among four Covenants provided each Covenant offers different abilities, storylines, and rewards available therein while soulbinds further can customize your character by connecting yourself to some powerful NPC that gives extra abilities/bonuses.
4. Torghast, Tower of the Damned: The rogue-like dungeon named Torghast was introduced into the Shadowlands expansion pack. Each floor randomly changes while it contains different unique abilities called Anima Powers thus affording unlimited replayability besides giving a chance to craft strong legendary items.
5. Cross-Faction Play: For the first time in its history, players can now group with members of the opposite faction within WoW for dungeons, raids, etc. This modification has given rise to new potentialities for grouping and raiding.

Getting back into the game

Update Your Game and Add-Ons

Before you jump back into Azeroth, make sure your game client is up-to-date. Since your last login, there have been numerous patches, hotfixes, and updates that WoW has received; so be ready for a large download size. 

2. Character Boosts and Level Upgrades

Old players don’t want to grind through old levels just to get into the new content. A Character Boost is offered by Blizzard as a way of instantly leveling your character up to 60 for you to go straight into Dragonflight content if you so wish. 

Familiarize Yourself with Your Class

Classes in WoW change all the time such that talents, abilities, and mechanics are rewrote at every expansion’s start. If it has been a while since you last played this game, then expect to play a completely different class. 

Discover New Content

Dragonflight comes with new stuff like:

• New Zones: Dragon Isles have four new zones each having its quests, storylines, and challenges.
• Raids and Dungeons: PvE enthusiasts will receive more dungeons and raid tiers in Dragonflight that they can play.
• World Quests & Events: Additionally, this expansion comes with brand-new world quests plus dynamic events & rare spawns across the Dragon Isles.

Equip Smartly

Returning players who have not updated their gear may find themselves behind when it comes to new content. Luckily enough there are several ways that WoW provides for people like these:

• World Quests: Completing world quests done in Dragon Isles can give you better gear.
• PvP: Honor points or conquest points are given by battlegrounds and arenas which can be used for buying equipment using these currencies.
• Mythic+ Dungeons: Therefore participate in Mythic + dungeons as they scale up with the difficulty level and offer better rewards.

Professions and Crafting

There have been some notable professional changes with the introduction of optional reagents and crafting orders in Dragonflight expansion. If a person had a top-tier profession on their character before returning to play, they might want to go for new profession missions to keep up with current crafting trends for competitive purposes. 

PvP and PvE Content

In WoW you can either be a player versus player or player versus environment:

• PvP: Rewards and loot come from random battlegrounds, and rated arenas along world PVP activities.
• PvE: There is plenty of PVE content ranging from dungeon runs through raids to Torghast expedition among others.

For those who like both, try Rated Battlegrounds or Mythic+ dungeons where you will have to challenge yourself earning top-tier rewards unavailable in any of these alone.

Preparing for End Game Content

You’ve decked your character out and explored all the new zones, so it’s time to start looking ahead as to what lies in store at the endgame. 

Raiding

In this respect, Dragonflight expansion brings some new raid zones where you need to coordinate and be tactical while teaming up. If you want to get into raiding quickly, join any guild or use the Group Finder tool. For those interested in raiding but lacking long-term commitments, WoW carries provide a good option.

Mythic+ Dungeons

Dungeon chests or dungeon boss drops will reward players with keys that function best when matching specific dungeons surrendering certain difficulty thresholds. This therefore implies that running Mythic+ dungeons within the guaranteed timeframe gives you gear pieces upgraded by loot which is used during raids.

Player Vs Player: Battlegrounds and Arenas

For PvP lovers battlegrounds and arenas offer competitive games ranging from honor gears to elite PvP mounts as rewards. Moreover, taking part in PvP also helps one acquire conquest points that can be exchanged for powerful PvP gear items. With cross-faction play, finding groups has become easier hence making entry into PvP content more accessible.

Torghast, Tower of the Damned

If you prefer challenges like rogue-likes or solo play then Torghast is your place to visit. This ever-changing tower offers unusual gifts such as Soul Ash and Soul Cinders, necessary for creating and enhancing legendary items. Each visit to Torghast is a new experience as it has random floors and Anima Powers which completely alter the way you play in each run.

Reconnecting with the Community

One of the most enjoyable parts of World of Warcraft is its active community. Whether it’s finding a guild, setting up Mythic+ dungeons, or participating in world events, restoring connection with fellow players is necessary. So how do you connect with the community?

• Join a Guild: A lot of different guilds are out there – from casual to hardcore ones enabling one to have friends when doing things together like quests/crafting/dungeons/raids/PVP.
• Use the Group Finder: The group finder tool makes it easy to join other people for dungeons, raids, and even world events. When you need to get some help with Mythic+ dungeons or world boss kills, this tool can also be used here.
• Participate in World Events: Different kinds of world events are regularly held in WoW starting with holiday-related quests up to challenging activities similar to Timewalking events where taking part in any of these allows one not only to get some good loot but also to engage with others.
• Go to forums and Discords: The WoW forums and Discord servers are filled with people discussing everything from basic questions to personal experiences and finding groups for content. A lot of guilds have their own Discord server just to maintain contact.

Conclusion

Returning to the World of Warcraft whether it is sampling new content or going back over old favorites can be enriching. Make use of this guide as you get ready for changes in the game so that it will become easier for you to catch up. With all these details from understanding new systems like Covenants and Soulbinds, to gearing up for endgame content, there’s something here for everyone in WoW.