Patch 0 . 6 World of Warcraft Client Patch 0 . 6 . 0 . Pre - release patch . We ' ve finally made all of the races available for simultaneous testing in this Alliance & Horde Phase of our Beta Test . Once the client is downloaded , you will have the option to play all eight races : Human , Undead , Dwarf , Tauren , Gnome , Orc , Night Elf and Troll . Eight classes will also be available , as applicable to each race : Druid , Mage , Paladin , Priest , Rogue , Shaman , Warlock and Warrior . You read that right , Druids are available ! We ' ve also added many new features , fixed some broken ones and changed a few things here and there . So , sit back , start the download and take a moment to scan these lengthy patch notes . Major Changes . Windows 98 / ME Loading Bug . There are three common crash errors affecting the World of Warcraft Beta running on Windows 98 / ME systems . These are known issues and fixes are currently under development : If you start the game and your computer locks up immediately . Solution : If after rebooting or when running the game for the first time you crash out with the ( FLT _ INVALID _ OPERATION ) error . Solution : If you are able to select your character but your computer locks 1 / 4 of the way through loading . Solution : Patching : . Due to heavy changes in the way we store the games data , this push will be of nearly the same size as your last download . Unfortunately , this means we wont be able to patch this time around , and instead will ask everyone to download the client again . If you haven ' t already done so , please check your email as we are re - sending you your Authentication Key , so you can have it ready for use with the downloader . Character Hold : . All current characters have been placed on hold at this time . This is due in part to all of the changes in our low level areas , the new combat system and the addition of the rest state . We feel that its important to test world advancement from the ground up and we want to take this opportunity to do so . Secondly , with the new skill system in place , we want to find a way to convert older characters to the new system without having to do a character wipe . Rest State , Inns & Hearthstones : . To broaden and balance some of the gameplay elements , we ' ve incorporated a few new features . One of them is the Rest State modifier , which gives players a time - limited bonus to combat ( PvE ) experience . This frees up time for exploring other aspects of the game without penalty , such as tradeskilling and social activities , and helps players avoid level - grinding . We ' ve also added Inns , which serve as a good place to hang up your sword or staff for the night because they confer special bonuses . Inns also act as home locations , which our third new feature , Hearthstones , take advantage of . Hearthstones provide a speedy way to travel back to an Inn when you need to take care of business in town or when you ' re ready to check in and call it a night . The basics of these new features are covered below . New Skill System : . The new skill system is in place ! Players now earn skill points based on experience points gained from killing monsters . Earned skill points can be spent on tradeskills , weapon proficiencies or to increase attributes . The new skill UI is in place . You will be able to increase your attributes by spending skill points . Attributes will cost different amounts to increase depending on your class . Attributes with a green bar are your characters primary attributes and will cost the least , while attributes displayed with a red bar are less necessary attributes and will be the most expensive . New Weapon skills will now be purchased with skill points allowing a wider variety of weapons being available to any given class . Different weapons will have different skill point costs associated with them . Finally , tradeskills will still be purchased with skill points . You will still need to buy the tradeskills at the tradeskill trainer . Talents Disabled . Some of the talent functionality , like increasing attributes , has been moved to our new skill system . The rest of the Talent system is being reworked and therefore disabled . Don ' t worry , you will get talents back , and they will be even cooler than before ! Monster Claiming . Now the first player or group to damage a monster will " tap " them . When the tapped monster dies , that player or group will get the experience and loot from the kill . Other players will be able to tell if a monster is tapped because it ' s portrait will turn grey . Players are free to help kill the tapped monster , but they will receive no experience or loot from the kill . Even with help , the player or group who initially tapped the monster will gain full experience from the kill . In situations where a much higher level player helped with the kill , some of the experience reward will be reduced . Experience Distribution Changes . As players become higher level , they will be able to receive experience from a large range of monsters . At low levels , you may get experience from monsters 5 levels lower than you , while at level 60 you will gain experience from monsters 12 levels lower . In the future we will add a user interface to monster portraits so you will always know which monsters give experience for your level . Quest Rewards . Quest rewards are now labeled as Bind on Acquire . Quest rewards can still be equipped or sold to a merchant , but you will no longer be able to sell or give them to other players . This has been implemented to deter these items from flooding the game economy . World . Many objects in the world such as buildings , dungeons and cities have undergone a significant data format change to reduce memory usage , increase render performance and minimize future patch sizes . Cloaks . Due to popular demand , cloaks have been made visible . This will help players customize their characters even more than before . Other Changes . Guild System : . Guild creation is now in the game as intended , and here is how it works :