Haven't played since EARLY Cata. Getting Pandas for christmas.

[SirCowdog]

So what all have I REALLY missed? I imagine the game has changed significantly since I last played. I'm almost certainly going to try out the monk class, of course, but what else should I keep my eye out for?

Even with an authenticator, I'm assuming that all my characters have been wiped clean by hackers, so I'll be starting from scratch. Is there even any difference between horde/alliance these days? Is PVP still a mess? How about the tank shortage?

Probably I'm going to have to completely re-learn the game. Any addons I should pick up for certain?

Sorry, random questions are random, I know there's so much I'm going to have to figure out on the fly. Just thought I'd try to get a headstart on it now.

[MisterMine]

99% sure ur characters are still there

[Mechberg]

Your characters should still be there, so don't worry too much about that.

Not much difference between horde and alliance, aside from how the races look.

PvP is pretty much always going to be a mess because balance is a tough nut to crack.

Tank shortage is less of an issue these days, though some of the tanks you will get are just plain not good.

If you're planning on doing any type of raiding you will want to get deadly boss mods. Weak Auras also comes highly recommended.

[Mystrome]

I recommend the standard addons:

* DBM
* Recount or Skada (if you prefer being able to set up multiple windows)
* UI addons like Titanbar, Move anything, Bartender, Quartz etc.
* If you plan to use the AH, Auctioneer is handy

Most classes have been overhauled, so pick anything you enjoyed playing before and see if you still like them. Warriors, Warlocks and Shammies seem to be in a good place. And as always, playing Alliance is very uncool. Paladins are frowned upon as well. :P

A quest to get a legendary cloak will be handed to you as soon as you ding 90. Getting it is going to take you 10-12 weeks at least, up to 4-5 months if you're unlucky, so if you intend to get it, make sure you pick a class you really really like. You most likely won't be able to do it twice or more (without burning yourself out) before WoD comes out.

As for PVE content, if you want to hop into the latest raids, this path should get you there quickest:
Ding 90 -> Head for the Timeless isle and grind out 496/535 gear -> Hop into LFR -> Hop into Flex -> Normal -> HC

Depending on your determination/luck you could get yourself Normal-raid-worthy in under a week from the moment you ding 90.

[7seti]

Probably the biggest change you'll see is talents. Trees are gone: all the little "increase spell X damage by 1%" have just been baked into base damage and the rest of your spec abilities will just automatically appear as you level. All three specs now have access to the same talents, and they come in 6 tiers each with 3 choices. You can only take one from each tier.

Flex raids are the main new feature: a new raid mode with normal-mode mechanics, but slightly easier and it scales so you can take anywhere between 10 and 25 people. The raid can update on the fly, so you don't need to zone out when people join or leave. PuGs are popular although as usual many people ask for an unreasonable level of gear. They are also popular among casual guilds who can't quite manage normals or don't have a consistent raid team.

[Raiju]

Flex raids are the main new feature: a new raid mode with normal-mode mechanics, but slightly easier and it scales so you can take anywhere between 10 and 25 people. The raid can update on the fly, so you don't need to zone out when people join or leave. PuGs are popular although as usual many people ask for an unreasonable level of gear. They are also popular among casual guilds who can't quite manage normals or don't have a consistent raid team.

LFR as well, basically like LFD except for a substantially easier version of the raid, but drops gear below flex.

[Soisoisoi]

Is there even any difference between horde/alliance these days?

Depends what you mean by difference. It's the same as it ever was.

Is PVP still a mess?

There are still some FotM classes and stupid mechanics, but with WoD coming up I expect there to be some change.

How about the tank shortage?

Not really a shortage, it depends what you are doing though. A lot have moved on to Flex from LFR, with the new in-game raid finder (not LFR), or oQueue/Open Raid it's still easy to find decent PuGs cross-realm.

Any addons I should pick up for certain?

Make sure you get TellMeWhen OR WeakAuras2, they both are pretty much mandatory for everything. If you want a full UI, go with ElvUI - otherwise the likes of Bartender, SexyMap, MoveAnything, Shadowed Unit Frames etc. will make a UI.

The rest depends on what you want to do:
PvE: VEM - basically DBM, but vocal with some nifty (better) features. Not much else needed besides the UI stuff.
PvP: Gladius (or GladiusEx), GladiatorlosSA and Spy are all wonderful. AfflictedUI 3 is also good if you want to configure it. It all depends on how much info you want really.

Other AddOns that aren't really required but are common/useful.
Addon Control Panel
AutoTurnIn
Postal
Prat (chat addon, not needed if you use ElvUI)
Auctionator (or Auctioneer)
TradeSkillMaster
GatherMate 2
SilverDragon / NPC_Scan
Skada (not recount)
VuhDo

[7seti]

LFR as well, basically like LFD except for a substantially easier version of the raid, but drops gear below flex.

Ah right, I forgot that LFR came in at the end of Cata.

LFR (Looking For Raid) is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Compared to normal or flex, the mechanics are watered down to a ridiculous degree. However, you will still wipe because half the raid is either incredibly awful or just not bothering to pull their weight.

Loot in LFR and Flex mode is on a personal roll, by the way. Everyone gets their own hidden roll and if you get above a certain threshold, you get a random piece of suitable loot. This means you cannot pass on loot or trade unwanted pieces, but has the bonus of making class composition less of an issue. If you want to bring 10 mages to a flex raid, you can do it without them all fighting over the same loot.

[Cyrops]

So what all have I REALLY missed? I imagine the game has changed significantly since I last played. I'm almost certainly going to try out the monk class, of course, but what else should I keep my eye out for?

Even with an authenticator, I'm assuming that all my characters have been wiped clean by hackers, so I'll be starting from scratch. Is there even any difference between horde/alliance these days? Is PVP still a mess? How about the tank shortage?

Probably I'm going to have to completely re-learn the game. Any addons I should pick up for certain?

Sorry, random questions are random, I know there's so much I'm going to have to figure out on the fly. Just thought I'd try to get a headstart on it now.

Wat


Stop spreading lies that hackers hack your unhackable authenticator, unless you have it on phone and you give your phone to strangers on regular basis.

Game hasn't changed THAT much that you would have to relearn it -_- Unless you played for a few days before.
There's plenty cool quests in Pandaria, I was told the Operation Shieldwall/Horde w/e is pretty cool but I cba with dailies to unlock that stuff.
Nowadays I feel more healer than tank shortage :/ For raids anyway. 10-15min queues on tank for LFR.
At level 83 you can start getting MoP greens so don't forget that
Difference between horde/ally is mainly how you care about lore and that's it.

[-Superman-]

Enjoy it! It was a fun expansion. I'm not much for fat fuzzy bears, but that is just me.

[Ronduwil]

This instructional video should fill you in on what you need to know to get around Pandaria:

[Grubjuice]

you missed the fact that Monks are awesome, i highly recommend you start a Monk!

You'll need to learn the new talent system , but rotations and spells are fairly similar and only take a little research to relearn old classes... (except Warlocks, which are so different that you will not recognize them)

just update all the basic addons:
Recount
Deadly Boss Mods
Weak Auras (never downlown encoded strings off the internet though, they can contain trojan horse scripts)
Whater UI addons you like
etc..

[SirCowdog]

Wow! Didn't expect such awesome responses! Thanks guys!

On hacking: I have heard many many many rumors of people being hacked despite having the authenticator. Rumors, I know. I only assumed my characters would have all their loot/gold removed. It'll be a pleasant surprise if they're still wearing their ghetto quest gear from Cata. XD

I'll definitely give monk a try. From what I read it sounds like a really fun class that's capable of filling just about any role. I heard that pandas can be either horde or alliance, is that true? Are there 8 bazillion panda monks, or has that kind of broken down for people playing whatever race they like most? I'm fond of the idea of a tauren monk flipping out and throwing flying kicks.

I watched the video. Funny!

I understand that gearscore is now built into the game? This makes me sad..... but I suppose it's a fact of any MMO these days.

There was another question I had....but I'm having a brain fart and can't remember it now. Dammit! I'll no doubt remember it later while I'm at work. Thanks again!

[Mystrome]

Wow! Didn't expect such awesome responses! Thanks guys!

NP.

It'll be a pleasant surprise if they're still wearing their ghetto quest gear from Cata. XD

Prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

From what I read it sounds like a really fun class that's capable of filling just about any role.

All except ranged/caster dps.

I heard that pandas can be either horde or alliance, is that true?

Yes. At around lvl 10-12 you make the choice which faction to join. Until then you won't be able to talk to anyone, except other low lvl panda's or anyone on your battle.net friends list.

Are there 8 bazillion panda monks, or has that kind of broken down for people playing whatever race they like most?

Nah, monk is the least played class.

I'm fond of the idea of a tauren monk flipping out and throwing flying kicks.

All races can roll monk, except Goblins and Worgen.

I understand that gearscore is now built into the game? This makes me sad..... but I suppose it's a fact of any MMO these days.

Yup. Prepare to be at the receiving end of the kick-hammer because of it.

There was another question I had....but I'm having a brain fart and can't remember it now. Dammit! I'll no doubt remember it later while I'm at work. Thanks again!

There is only Zuul.

[SirCowdog]

Prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

Used the 10 day free return trial. Characters are still there. Although half of my alts are missing their stuff, mains aren't. So.....not sure what's up there.

Nah, monk is the least played class.

Any particular reason for that?

All races can roll monk, except Goblins and Worgen.

Worgen monk woulda broke the cool meter I guess. And goblins.....just....no.

Yup. Prepare to be at the receiving end of the kick-hammer because of it.

That's fine. I let skill do the talking for me in randoms. If they want to kick me, I don't want to be in their group of elitist trolls anyway. XD

There is only Zuul.

What about the Keymaster and the Gatekeeper?!?

[Anevers]

Any particular reason for that?

Either they weren't as faceroll as people expected them to be (flashback to DKs)
Leveling a new toon to 90 for the nth time (even with all the EXP bonuses and the Monk Zen Exp Boosts)
New Class burnout?

[SirCowdog]

Either they weren't as faceroll as people expected them to be (flashback to DKs)
Leveling a new toon to 90 for the nth time (even with all the EXP bonuses and the Monk Zen Exp Boosts)
New Class burnout?

Makes sense. Well, good for me then. I haven't played in like a year, so I wont have nearly as much burnout. I don't mind leveling so much either.

I just remembered the question I had: Are raid timers/lockouts still in effect? If so, in what form?

Oh, and do paid faction swaps exist yet? I can't remember.

[Anevers]

Yes there are raid lockouts. LFR, Flex, 10/25 have separate lockouts.
As far as I know, yes you can pay for a faction change.

[NotFunny008]

So what all have I REALLY missed? I imagine the game has changed significantly since I last played. I'm almost certainly going to try out the monk class, of course, but what else should I keep my eye out for?

Even with an authenticator, I'm assuming that all my characters have been wiped clean by hackers, so I'll be starting from scratch. Is there even any difference between horde/alliance these days? Is PVP still a mess? How about the tank shortage?

Probably I'm going to have to completely re-learn the game. Any addons I should pick up for certain?

Sorry, random questions are random, I know there's so much I'm going to have to figure out on the fly. Just thought I'd try to get a headstart on it now.

Why do you sound like you haven't played since Classic? So overly dramatic! I laughed at your early cata comment as if it was a long long long time ago.

[SirCowdog]

Why do you sound like you haven't played since Classic? So overly dramatic! I laughed at your early cata comment as if it was a long long long time ago.

Well, it was around a year and change ago. And I didn't even put much effort into playing even then. So maybe it just feels like it's been longer, I don't know. XD