Stages of becoming a better WoW player

Noobie

A “friend” introduced you to the game, and you swallowed hook, sink and line. In fact, they probably only got you into the game so they could get a Zhevra mount. During the following time you will find out just how good friends you are as you ask stupid question after stupid question, like “How do I trade?” or “Is this [random item] good for me?” In the end they will probably just direct you to some site so they can ride around Dalaran on their Zhevra mount in peace.

WoW.com (formerly WoW Insider before they went all snob) has a lot of basic noobie-friendly guides, and tries to keep up with the latest news for WoW.

Cutting cookies?

Talents? Wut? A quick stroll into the official WoW forums (eyes straight ahead, don’t talk to anyone) and the sticky posts yield some useful information like the most popular talent builds for your class. A lot of people can’t be wrong, right?

If you want you can post a question like “What does ability X do?” and silently sob into your pillow for all the helpful replies you will get.

Class specific blogs

There is no better way than asking your fellow class-mates about advice for your class, and if they have their own blogs you can bet they are filled to the brim with useful information – just for your class. Blogs are of course also filled to the brim with personal opinions and sometimes crude theorycraft, so information needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Blogs for your class is also a good way to keep up with news and blue posts that affect your class. For example, a useful blog for hunters is Warcraft Hunters Union.

Raiding?

You go to MMO-Champion to drool at the latest (as in data mined 5 minutes ago from the Test Server) loot from the newest instance. The huge two-handed sword with 287 in strength, or the one-handed mace with 865 spellpower. You want it, and the only way to get it is to raid. 5-man heroics don’t cut it anymore.

Raiding!

How much spellpower do I need to start raiding Naxxramas? Or how much defense? The Wowhead forums gives answer to those questions, and by using the wonderful Weight Scale system you can pull out a complete list of loot within your range, ordered from top to bottom. Just to go out there and collect the items on your shopping list.

Argh, raiding!

Wiped on A-nub? WoWWiki has all the information about bosses and tactics to put them down and claim your phat lewth.

Damage meters and beyond

You killed A-nub, but you find that your hunter is not doing as much damage as Lolegolas the night elf hunter, even though you have the same gear. Time to theorycraft and break down exactly what you are doing wrong. Elitist Jerks has all the information you need (and more) to maximize your DPS by improving your rotations, buffs, hit rating, armor penetration, and everything else that is needed to show that Lolegolas.

Elitist Jerks is a bit general, but there are more specific sites that deal with just as much theorycraft. Tanks for example have Tankspot where they can talk crap about DPS classes.