Newbie guide/Name and selection circle colors

Newbie Guide
Sections
Picking a Server Character Creation Intro Fly-thru and Starting Areas Name and selection circle colors Getting Better Quests Obtaining Wealth Rest Fighting and Dying Travel Items Parties Instanced Dungeons Chat and Interface Tips for New Players
Combined
Complete combined guide
Other
Newbie instance guide

Pip Quickwit, a friendly NPC

Not every creature in the World of Warcraft universe is friendly, and new areas of the world are more intimidating when you can't tell who is friend or foe. Learn to spot the intent of the NPC from a distance by looking at color of their name to keep yourself from getting in over your head. A selected target will also have a circle underneath

pointer to select over mobs or NPCs (pointer may change depending on type of target)

• Friendly NPCs will have green names. This means you can't accidentally attack them, and can likely talk or trade with them.
• Neutral mobs and NPCs will have yellow names.
  • Neutral mobs will not attack you unless you attack them first, at which point they will become hostile. They will revert to neutral if you go out of their attack range for long enough.
  • Neutral NPCs--like friendly NPCs--typically cannot be attacked. However, there are situations in which neutral NPCs can become hostile. For example, in a neutral city like Gadgetzan, if a player starts attacking another player, the city guards that are typically neutral will become hostile and attempt to settle the matter.
• Unfriendly NPCs have orange names and are similar to Neutral NPCs, except that you initially cannot trade or talk with them. These NPCs are typically members of a faction, and if you do quests for them, or kill their enemies, you'll earn reputation with their faction. Earn a high enough reputation and their faction will usually open up new quests and items for you.
• Hostile mobs and NPCs will have red names. These will attack you once you once you enter their aggro radius. It's important to remember that an enemy's aggro range is usually relative to the difference between their level and yours. When you're level 10, a level 15 mob will be very eager to attack you, and will start fighting you from a large distance. However that same enemy would not engage you until you get much closer if you were to return at level 20. If you're at a significantly higher level, the mob will pretty much ignore you entirely.

Player characters of the same faction as you and their pets will generally have blue names. You may see that other players have red, yellow, or green names. For these conditions, see PvP flag.