New player to Warmane

Hello everyone.

I just joined Warmane server and community, i come from years of retail since Pandaria, i also played recently both vanilla and tbc classic, i have left retail for several reasons mainly the fact that yes retail is packed with people but also with bots and all of the GDKP stuff going on, i never played on a private server so this is going to be my first experience. I also never experienced Wrath of the Lich King, i don't know if Warmane is as close as it used to be back then but i will give it a go.

I have searched and listened to some advice and videos and everyone talks about Warmane, that it's a good server and packed with people, since i'm looking for an experience close to retail i will be playing on Lordaeron i think that one has blizzlike xp if i'm not wrong? Also how well is the scription on the server regarding quests, npc dialogues and so on? Is the server staff active with the community, bug fixing and so on?

I have heard things about the toxicity on the server, i guess i will make my own mind over time and to each their own in my opinion but i bet that one can also find decent people here.

One more thing, i know that the game has a store that has given this server a somewhat p2w branding, is that store available in all the realms or only in some and are the items exclusive to the store or also obtainable in-game as well?

Does Warmane client accept addons? If so which ones are recommended for a new player? The use of a vpn like exitlag is it bannable offense or allowed to use?

One more thing and i apologize for all the questions and the long post. Is there a discord for this private server Warmane and where can i find good guides (leveling, talents, etc) for Wrath?

Warmane currently has 4 realms - Onyxia, Icecrown, Blackrock and Lordaeron. Onyxia is a progression realm so it started from Vanilla and will be progressed gradually to WOTLK. Blackrock is a custom pure PVP realm. Icecrown and Lordaeron are both WOTLK realms - the key differences between the two are as follows:
1. You can donate for items (including BIS) in Icecrown but you cannot do this in Lordaeron
2. Icecrown's rates (XP/Drop/Profession levelling etc). are higher (up to 7x XP and 3x for other rates) while Lordaeron is "Blizz-like" with no adjusted rates
3. Lordaeron's raid bosses are buffed to be harder

Warmane accepts addons (you can search the forum for commonly used ones like DBM, Elvui, Omen etc. depending on your needs). Using free vpns often lead to temporary IP bans as they have been long used and abused by other players to carry out sketchy activities. Using paid vpns should be fine - I personally have been using a paid vpn for the longest time.

You can find all kinds of good guides on Warmane's forum. As far as discord, I believe there is but the last I check, it wasnt exactly active or relevant. As you get into raiding, you might stumble upon new discord channels set up by players which may be more interesting to you.