Quests, missions from a NPC with a reward at the end, will be a focal point of your experience playing World of Warcraft. With hundreds upon hundreds of quests to choose of varying length and difficulty, you will never be without a new one to attempt. World of Warcraft quests range from short quests that can be completed in a few minutes, to epic "life quests" that will span your entire adventuring career. You will begin doing quests from the moment you set foot in the world, and they will guide you on your way towards character advancement and new areas.

When you enter a town for the first time, you won't need to click on every NPC to find a quest to complete. World of Warcraft NPCs will have large exclamation points over their head if they have a quest, yellow exclamation points if you can do the quest, and blue exclamation points if you aren't high enough level. Clicking on an NPC will bring up the quest window, which displays a description of the quest along with a selection of rewards you could recieve from that quest. Most WoW quests will have several reward options, and since they are shown before you even except the quest you can choose which quests you wish to undertake.

Once you accept the quest, it will be added to your Quest Log. You can have multiple quests running at the same time, even more than one from the same NPC. Quests can be moved around in your Quest Log how you see fit, and they will display your current status on that quest. If it is a multi-part quest for example, the Quest Log will tell you what you have completed and what is left. Quests in World of Warcraft are also specifically designed to lead you to other quest givers or hunting grounds. For example, your character may deliver mail to a stranger who suddenly offers you some lucrative jobs.

There will be both quests and "tasks". Quests can only be done once and rewards are unique items you can't buy or find in that area. Tasks you can do multiple times and are simple things like deliver this item to this person. Some quests will pinpoint areas on your minimap, so you can easily find where you need to go. This won't be on every quest however, some require exploration and adventuring.

The story and history of the World of Warcraft is a major part of the game, and the focus on questing will help players become personally involved in this complex and ever-changing history.