Presented below are some common issues and their resolutions. For the most current support information, please visit our knowledge base using these links:


Technical Support
In-Game Support
If the information contained in this document and our knowledge does not resolve your issue, please consider contacting Technical Support here, or contacting a Game Master. While in the game, please click the red question mark icon on the menu bar. This will allow you to petition for GM assistance. Include as much information as possible about the nature of the problem you're having, and then submit the petition.
Technical Support Issues

My chat windows are all messed up. How do I reset them?
Open the Main Menu (ESC) and click Interface Options. Enable the Simple Chat option found under Chat, then click Okay. Open Interface Options again and disable the Simple Chat option. Click Okay, and then click Return to Game on the Main Menu.
**NOTE** These steps restore your chat windows' default values, but DO NOT change any channel settings.

I was disconnected and now cannot type anything in General chat.
Enter a major city such as Stormwind City or Orgrimmar. We will use Orgrimmar in this example. Leave and re-join your channels by:

In your chat window, type in /script LeaveChannelByName("Trade - City") and then hit enter.
Type in /script LeaveChannelByName("LookingForGroup - City") and then hit enter.
Type in /join Trade and then hit enter.
Type in /join LookingForGroup and then hit enter.

**Note** Make sure you use proper capitalization, punctuation and spacing to ensure success. For example, type General - Stormwind City, not general - Stormwindcity, and type LookingForGroup - City, not Looking for Group - city."
My server channels have been assigned to non-standard hotkey numbers and don't behave normally when I change zones. How do I reset them?
Exit the game. Find the settings storage folder of the character that is experiencing difficulties with chat, located in the World of Warcraft installation directory (default is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WTF\Account\\\). Delete the file named 'chat-cache.txt'. When you re-launch the game, all custom chat settings for that character will have been removed.

I've tried everything, and my chat interface is still messed up!
The following steps will remove all custom user interface add-ons, modifications, and Macros. Key Bindings and Chat, Video, Sound and Interface Options will be restored to their default values.

Exit the game. If any custom User Interface modifications or add-ons have been installed on the computer (even if you don't use them yourself), check their installation folders for uninstall programs and run them. Some add-ons and mods may not include uninstall programs. Find the WDB, WTF and Interface folders located in the World of Warcraft installation directory (default is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\). It is alright if you do not have an Interface folder. Rename or delete the folders. They will be recreated with default values the next time you run the game. When you re-launch the game be sure to use the WoW.exe program found inside the World of Warcraft installation directory, not any third party UI shortcuts.

Will I lose my chat settings if I reinstall the game?
Chat channel information and custom chat settings may change after reinstallation, as they are saved locally on your computer.

In-Game Support Issues


Because there is a Mature Language Filter, is it ok to use obscenities in chat?
No. The Mature Language Filter is only an extra means of protection from obscenities in chat channels, not an excuse to use them.
All players need to adhere to the World of Warcraft Harassment Policy at all times.

Can party chat be seen by the entire raid?
No, the raid has its own chat channel that all in the raid can see. The default command for this channel is /ra or /raid. You can still chat in party, but it will only go to your current party members.

Can we use more than one guild channel?
The only way to have more than one guild channel currently is to start a chat channel with the /join command. While this is not a guild channel only, it is an extra place your guildmates and friends can chat. Note: You can also assign a password to any channel you create by typing '/password <channel name> <password>'.

During combat, how do I see how much damage I am doing to the target?
When you deal damage to a target, it will display the amount of damage dealt above the target. It will also display the information in your Combat Chat Log (Default location is docked to the General Chat Window or in the bottom right hand corner of your screen). You can use advanced chat options to configure chat windows to display various kinds of chat and combat information to your liking.

How can I see a list of chat commands?
You can find a list of chat commands by typing /chat or /chathelp while in game. A list is also available later in this document.

How do I customize my chat window?
To customize the in-game chat features, simply hold the mouse cursor icon still over a chat window. Once the chat tab appears across the top of the window, right-click on the tab to view the available chat options. Advanced Chat customizable features include: Size, Color, Opacity, Chat Channels, Channel Text Color, and a variety of chat filters.

How do I join and leave other chat channels?
You can join channels by typing '/join <channel name>' and leave them by typing '/leave <channel name>' In addition to this, each channel is designated a hotkey number when you join it. You can replace the <channel name> with when you want to leave a channel by typing '/leave <channel number>'.


Example: /join Enchanting (This will place you into a channel called "Enchanting".)

Example: /leave Enchanting (This will make your character leave the channel called "Enchanting".)

Example: /leave 5 (This will make your character leave whatever channel has been designated as channel #5.)
How do I link an item?
To chat link an item so that other players can left click the chat link and see the item's properties, simply bring up whatever chat option you want (/yell, /say, /1, /whisper, etc) , hold down shift, and left click any item or item link. This will cause the item's name to appear in brackets, allowing players to click on the link to get information regarding that item. An example of what a chat linked item would look like is [Forest Mushroom Cap]. Any player can click on this name and get the item's properties.
**Note** While the item text will appear in the chat channel, players will only be able to click and view the stats of the item in the Trade, Say, Yell, Whisper, Party, Guild, and Officer chat channels. If you try to link an item in a channel that does not allow item linking, the link will only appear as normal text and players will not be able to click on it to see the item stats. More information about items can be found here.

How do I perform an animated emote action?
Only some emote commands have actual in-game animations. To find a good list of the emote commands that do have animations, simply click on the speech circle icon above the chat box arrow up button. Clicking on the speech circle icon will bring up a speech menu. Mouse over the emote command and a window will open showing a list of available emotes that have animations. Clicking on any of these emotes or using them via the /[emote] command will cause your character to perform the emote animation.

How do I reply if another player sends me a private message?
Pressing the letter 'R' will automatically open a private message (also known as a Whisper or Tell) to the last player who sent you a private message. You can also type '/r' and then your message. You can cycle through all players that have recently sent you a private message using the 'Tab' key. Private messages appear in purple text by default.

How do I see my hits on a target?
You can switch your General chat window to your Combat Log by mousing over your chat window, waiting until you can see the tabs, and clicking on Combat Log. If you do not have a combat log, you can create one by turning on Simple Chat in Interface Options. Disabling Simple Chat afterward will not remove the Combat Log.

How do I send a private message to other players?
To send a private message to another player, type in '/w <character name> <message>'. The chat field will change to display the name of the character and you will be able to type in your message. Alternately you can use /tell or /t in place of /w. Also, if you wish to reply back to the last player who sent you a private message, simply press "R" and type your response to reply back to that player.

How do I speak in another language I know?
Click on the "Chat Bubble" on the chat box tool bar, then highlight "Language" with the cursor. A list of which languages you know will appear. From there you can click one to choose which language you prefer to speak.

How do I talk in the common chat channels? (General, Trade)
To talk in the common channels, press /(channel number) for that channel. (Example: /1 will allow you to type in the General chat channel).


1 is the General channel.

2 is the Trade channel.

3 is the Local Defense channel.

4 is the Looking For Group channel.
By default, the General, Trade, and Local Defense channels will update as you move from one area to another, while World Defense will stay static as it covers all areas. If you create additional channels, they will be designated channel numbers in sequential order.
How do I talk to other player characters?
Press the "Enter" key on your keyboard to open a standard chat window, and begin typing your chat message. Depending on who you wish to chat with, there are a variety of chat channels available for players to use.


Say: Sends a message to all players within the local area of your character. (/S)

Party: Sends a message to all players in your character's party. (/P)

Yell: broadcasts a message to players in a very large area around your character. (/Y)

Guild: Sends a message to all players in your character's guild. (/G)

Whisper: Sends a private message directly to the player you choose. (/W)

Emote: Sends an Emote message to all players around your character. (/E)

How do I talk to the rest of my guild?
To speak to everyone in your character's guild, you first need to type /G to change your default chat channel to Guild chat. Once this is done, simply press the "Enter" key and you will see that your chat now starts with the text "Guild", indicating you are now talking in Guild chat.

How do I talk to the rest of my party?
To speak to everyone in your character's party, you first need to type /P to change your default chat channel to Party chat. Once this is done, simply press the "Enter" key and you will see that your chat now starts with the text "Party", indicating you are now talking in Party chat.

How do I type in personal emote text descriptions?
To type in a custom emote text description, simply type /e (your custom emote message) Example: If the character Hagger types '/e laughs loudly at the jest.' it will display this in the chat: Hagger laughs loudly at the jest.

How do I use the voice emotes?
Of the many emotes available to the player, there are a limited number that have a specific voice over. All you need to do to activate the voice emote is to type it in (/cry, /charge) or left-click on the dialog bubble on the lower left hand corner of the screen, mouse over the "Voice Emote" option and click the emote you wish to use.

How do I yell and what does it do?
Yell allows the character to speak to all of the players in a very large area around your character. To yell, simply type /y followed by the message you would like to yell.

How do people put links to their items in chat?
You can link any item in the game to your chat by holding down the shift button and left-clicking the item.

How does Advanced Chat work?
Advanced Chat allows you to create multiple chat windows in the game. It makes it easier for the player to view various amounts of chat information while playing in the game. You can customize each window to filter and display a variety of chat and combat information, as well as change chat color, resize chat windows, and adjust chat text. To access these options, just right click on the tab of any current window, and a list of options will come up on the screen.

What are 'emotes' and how do I use them?
Emotes are way to show your emotions to other characters in the game. There are two ways to show emotes in the game:


Open up your chat window and type in / (name of emote)

Left-click on the dialog bubble on the lower left hand corner of the screen. Select the emote you want to use.
You may also perform a custom emote by typing /em into the chat window. This will display your name followed by the text you typed. For example, if the character Arthas types: "/em does a spirited jig!" it will display "Arthas does a spirited jig!" .  .