So, 58 is the new 60. Nothing momentous happens anymore at 60, except you can get your epic land mount. It used to be back in the day (I feel old every time I type that) getting to 60 was the be-all, end-all. All of a sudden you were serious. People would consider taking you to Stratholme or Scholomance. If you were lucky and attuned, you might get to go to Molten Core. You had made it.
Not so anymore. Now, 58 seems to be the new thing people are striving for. Because at 58 you can go through the Dark Portal and start the long grind to the new level cap - 70. And everyone I see hitting the magic number of 58 dutifully runs, nay dashses, over to Blasted Lands to carry the fight against the Scourge to Draenor.
But not I. And here's why:
- Sometimes my trade skills aren't at 300. I did not want to walk all over the Outland seeing mineral nodes that I couldn't mine on my hunter. So I spent the extra time running around and doing quests. I did this on my new 60 rogue too (Gratz Bremmie!)
- I want cash. Waitaminit, I'm not suggesting I'm going to get rich from the straggly 55-60 quests in my log. But the fewer quests I need to do in the Outlands, the more I can save for when I'm 70 and need cash.
- While you can get a handful of beginning quests when you hit 58, they are going to be hard. And they'll be HARD if you're soloing. Luckily for me, I'm not soloing the rogue up, but I did solo both the warlock and the hunter. I was glad I had the extra two levels of stats and the skills from 60 when I finally tackled Outland.
- You can't buy your epic land mount until you're 60. If you're flush with cash, you'll be able to buy it before you head to the Outland. It's not a huge deal, but the extra speed can help you avoid some trash. (Yes, I know that once you hit Shattrath you can portal back to anywhere, but even getting to the city at level 58 is either challenging or a very long ride.
5 comments:
I completely agree. In fact, at one point Rathagos asked me if he should hit the outlands on his newly minted 58 pally and I said, "wait till 60". Apparently a lot of people in guild chat later shouted the suggestion down, but I still stand behind it. For starters, some quests aren't available at 58 and the quests that are available can be a bit of a slog to complete at 58. Where as, due to the new levelling changes, you can burn through two more levels in Azeroth and finish off areas like Felwood, Winterspring or either East/West Plaguelands.
Hmm, well, I think it depends on your circumstances, and I also think you can sort of "blend" things well...
For example, I went to Outlands at 58 and had very little problems. I was a hunter, the legendary afk leveling class, making solo play easier (heck I was grinding on the boars in Hellfire at 56), I was pretty well geared for my level, and my trade skills were all also pretty high. So heading to Outlands seemed like the natural course of progression for me; I like to keep things challenging.
However, I still kept the Plaguelands/Silithus quests in my quest log, and throughout the course of levels 58, 59, and 60 I went back and did them, because I didn't want to leave them unfinished... I was curious to see what happened next in the questlines!
I do think that some people will have harder times than others in Outlands. An example I can think of off the top of my head is a rogue in my guild who recently hit 58. He ran to Outlands, and within a few hours he'd gone back to Azeroth because Outlands was too difficult. And I don't blame him at all, it is hard.
But I think that some classes are better equipped to deal with the difficulties than others (as a hunter I dutifully raise my hand here) and I think that you can blend the old-world and new-world quests for a few levels too =)
I think it's up to individual talents. I know a few of my characters could hit outlands and blow through everything. The problem with that, is if you blow through everything, you're too low of a level for the next parts. And you have the choice of either grinding (bleagh!) or heading back to good ol' Azeroth for a few quests to finish up.
As for trade skills.. I've always been bad about that. I don't start to level that up the way I should until there's something I want down the line in it. Which then sucks because grinding trade skills is like pulling teeth! :) I SHOULD do it the way that's smart, and level it as I level. But what I SHOULD do and what I DO do are two entirely different things! :)
Yep, wait until 60. You may go through the portal at 58, just to see the other side, and just to said that you've been there. If you're at 300 on a certain skill, maybe visit the trainer (I know Leatherworking and skinning trainers are easy to get to). But don't start really working there until you've reached 60. Oh and don't go hog wild buying upgrades at the auction house either. Most of the quest rewards are better gear than you can buy at that level.
I about about to take my third toon to Outland. Level 58 warrior (3/4 to 59)
He has the best gear I could get (about 4.8khp and 6k armor) on a low population server (Zuluhed)
Two reasons for Outland straight away. He needs 100g to get his epic at 60, Outland is a cash cow. Upgrading of gear is easy.
Will be interesting to see how he handles the first entry level mobs, but I suspect he will be fine.
Post a Comment