Challenges in WoW

It's no surprise to anyone that I've way too many level 70 characters. It also might not be a surprise that my altoholism didn't stop with the fifth 70. In fact, of the 10 character slots on my realm, it breaks down like this:

• FIVE level 70's
• ONE horde hunter, level 63, will probably transfer him (see below)
• Level 53 Shaman
• Level 44 Shadow Priest
• Level 25 Paladin
• Level 28 Mage

Yes, that's all ten full (and no room for a deathknight, thus the transfer.

Anyway, I'm leveling the alts (yes all of them) with people also afflicted with serious altoholism. We're all good players, all have characters that regularly raid (at least to the point we're at in guild. That is, dipping the toes into SSC), and we've run every instance in the game more than we probably should have.

So, now, to keep the instances fresh, we're breaking the standard procedure for completing instances apart. We've run non-standard groups, we've done things under level. Recently we started our biggest challenge. Running things short people, under level and non-standard.

Sunday we four manned the bulk of Blackrock Depths (everything this side of the bar at least). We did it with four characters - Two 48s and two 52s. My cartographer suggests a level of 48 to 53 for BRD. Prior to Burning Crusade, I'd have not taken much less than a 52 in there at all. Even if the 52 was just filling a seat in an otherwise all 60 party. But, four of us did quite well and didn't have any nasty wipes. Okay, maybe an ankh or two was burned, but anything you can recover from isn't a wipe right?

Last night was the stiffest challenge to date. Wait for it..

Deadmines

Yeah, DM/VC. But here's the thing we had a group of 20 hunter, 24 hunter and 24 paladin. Wowwiki recommends a group of 18-23.

We cleared down to the foundry (about halfway in) when the 24 hunter had to go suddenly. The other hunter and I (obviously the paladin) decided we wanted to see how far we could get. We basically had only the hard half of the dungeon left.

Trash is trash, and I'm not going to talk about that. In fact, I'm not really even going to talk much about the how of what we did. I don't think it's really important what strategy we followed for dealing with Captain Greenskin. Or VanCleef himself.

What I'm thinking about now is breaking down some of my own preconceived notions. Five man dungeons take five men, right? Well, I'm beginning to think not. I certainly wouldn't recommend that a new player who was just learning the game and the instance attempt a two-man of the instance, but for us "oldbies" it really adds some additional challenge to what has become a stale instance.

Some of the things that really helped us out were our usable trade skills and classes. The hunter is an herbalist/alchemist (go figure) and my paladin is a miner/engineer. The buff potions and healing/mana potions that the hunter could pass out were indispensable. The dynamite and bombs allowed me to do damage while still healing, and properly placed target dummies saved my bacon on a number of occasions when my bubble was cooling down.

The frost trap on the hunter was a godsend. Even though level 20 hunter traps don't have a habit of hanging around forever, every little bit helps when Smite is laying the smack down. Seal of Judgment and stuns also helped with some CC and prevented running. And honestly, without a class who could heal, I wouldn't try it at all.

Thank god there is a forge and an anvil right in the center of the zone. It allowed me to turn tons of mined material and drops back into more target dummies.

Next time (and there will clearly be a next time somewhere), I'd probably pay more attention to my bags and what not. I ended up carrying around bits and pieces of in-progress quests and uncooked meats all through the instance. And I had a grand total of five mana potions. And they were the baby ones (i.e. restore 140 to 180 mana). Next time I do this I'm having a full stack of appropriate level potions and elixirs.

So, what's next? I have a quest hanging about in my Paladin's quest log. I need to hit both Blackfathom Depths and Shadowfang Keep. Wowwiki lists them as 18-25 and 20-27 respectively. The other thing to do would be hit the Stockades. That's like 23-28. And Wowwiki (again) suggests a team of well geared 27-ish characters.

So apart from end-game, I'm making the game challenging by doing things I shouldn't be able to. As time goes on, I'll probably keep trying new things to keep making WoW different.

Go West Young Man - To Theramore

It had been a while since I leveled an alt through the thirties. As my shaman approached the dreaded "Time to go to Stranglethorn" I remembered that 2.3 had added the new quest hub of Mudsprocket in Dustwallow Marsh. I decided to try it out and see if this was a viable path that allowed skipping of the Stranglethorn quests I knew so well.

Let me say, Theramore is big fun! There's a whole line of Theramore deserters quests in the town itself which have you stopping deserters, confiscating propaganda, and redistributing that propaganda after some creative editing. There's a sea-monster to fight in Theramore (level 54 Elite and all) that's a nice diversion. And both the Defias and Grimtotem have set up a camp or three in Dustwallow. The area around Tabetha's farm has also been expanded with several quests. The famed zeppelin crash site also has a few new added things.

Eventually, you make it out to the town of Mudsprocket and deal with mostly raptors and dragons. I'm not finished in Dustwallow yet, although I think I'm getting close to running out of quests. At level 38, I've managed to skip the Northern Stranglethorn quests--including annihilating the wildlife for Nessingwary and his cronies.

As I approach forty, I'm wondering if I'll need to return to STV to fill a hole in questing later, but I don't think it'll be necessary. Which is good, because honestly with six characters that have gone through STV (one on a PVP server) I am mighty tired of that zone.

So, if you're leveling an alt up and are in your early thirties, check out Theramore and Dustwallow as an alternative path.

Tank School - Mob positioning 101

The best questions seem to come up when someone says to you, "Hey I just started a new (insert class). He's level 10. What gear should I look for and what skills should I take?"

While my favorite answer to most questions is "It depends," that doesn't really apply here. For any level 10 you should look for gear that is green. Beyond that avoid intellect if you don't have mana, and avoid agility if you primarily cast spells. Other than that, itemization isn't going to matter.

However, this did prompt a discussion that is worthwhile. A primary skill for any tank of any type is to be able to position a mob where you want it. Luckily you don't have to be level 70 and dressed in full epics to practice this.

Step 1: The Kite
Pick a place and kill some mobs. Only instead of fighting them where they stand, choose where you will kill them. A prominent rock, fallen tree, or dilapidated wagon work well for this selection. Now kill everything in the area, but not more than a few steps from your landmark. Do it with single mobs at first, then pull more. Pull as many as you can handle comfortably.

Step 2: Those Pesky Casters
Then find a similar (or the same) place and pull casters in the area to it. Casters are harder because you will need to interrupt their casts somehow or go out of line of sight. But its doable. Practice, practice, practice.

Step 3: C'mon Baby, Do the Twist
Now train (or kite) mobs to your chosen place. And this time position the odd kills (#1, #3, #5, etc) FACING TOWARD your landmark. Kill the evens, FACING AWAY FROM your landmark. Repeat until you can do this reliably.

Accomplished players know why I've asked you to do this things. There are a number of times in instances, where some one will ask a tank to tank this "right by the fire" or to "make sure he's not facing the party." The thing you absolutely do not want to do is learn those skills for the first time when someone asks. If you routinely practice these skills every few levels as you are coming up, it'll all be second nature.

Extra Points for the Advanced Student:
Just because this post is (ostensibly) about tanking & warriors doesn't mean you can't use it for your own class. Casters could try fights with less than full mana or by keeping an additional mob crowd controlled the whole time. Hunters could keep two mobs in combat, one who is being kited or chain trapped. Warlocks could perform similar things with a less favored minion. The important thing is you're using your skills in ways that help you later. And that you're remaining situationally aware.

What I did on my Christmas Vacation

Got the rogue to 70. Yes, that makes 5 of them now. Incidentally, it turns out that shaman/rogue combo levels incredibly fast. I'm guessing the only pair that could match would be rogue/druid, but not by much. Whatever Blizzard did to the leveling from 20-60 was sorely missed post 60. If I hadn't had the time off, this would've taken me too long to bear.

Went and said hello to BRK and the rest of the Aetherial Circle gang on Drenden. Still waiting on the concept nee idea.

Mucked around a bit on the shaman. 23 now.

Found out I was dead on right about Cenarion Rep. Never having entered a dungeon for CE rep on the rogue, I was revered at level 68 in Netherstorm. The last few points to tip me over the top were from the Night Elf just outside the Stormspire.

And made out well on the trip to the folks house. For something completely non-WoW.

Now What?

You’ve done it. You’ve completed everything you needed to do to just eke out the ding to seventy. You’ve trained your skills. You’re done right? You are so far from done that the light from done will take a million years to reach you.

First off, determine if the skills you leveled with are what you want to do in your end-game. Did you level feral and want to be affliction? Did you take on a DPS role when you really want to tank? At least read about what your chosen spec looks like. Do research. Read blogs. Read forums. Learn everything there is to be whatever you yearn to be.

Next, you should check your balance and determine if you can get your flying mount. It should be about 900 gold and can be purchased in Shadowmoon Valley. If you don’t have the cash on hand, it’s time for raising some cash. You should still have at least a whole zone of quests you can still complete. This time around though, the cash will be much better. You can also think about pure farming of things that sell for money. Motes are always good to collect but can be over-farmed. If you have a lucrative trade skill, it might be time to start selling your items on the auction house.

Next (or concurrently) you should start taking a look at the possible gear out there. What drops in instances? What are quest rewards of unfinished quests? What is craftable? What can be purchased? Is it a reputation reward? Is it buyable with badges? Is it a PVP reward? Make this list. You’ll refer to it often. It may even take the form of:

1. This is what will do
2. This is what I want
3. This is what I really want.

Run instances. Let the list above be your guide, but you should at the very least complete each instance (that you haven’t) twice. This will help you learn what to expect in each instance, give you more confidence in your role, and give you a shot at that equipment from your list. Don’t neglect heroic instances. Heroics are hard. And I’m not a fan of the heroic PUG, but I’ve done them. They offer badges for that gear that is only obtainable that way.

Look at your reputation with the various factions. Does the Cenarion Expedition have a cool set of shoulder armor you want? Does Lower City have an awesome trinket? You should start getting that reputation up to the level it needs. Some of this will be dungeon crawls. Some of it may be repeatable quests. Some of it will be normal or daily quests.

Examine your trade skills. Look at what you want to make and what you’ll need to do to get there. Are there rare bind on pickup recipes that drop from specific mobs? Go farm those mobs.

Think about enchants. What pieces of your armor need an enchantment? What enchantment is the best fit for each piece? Do you need glyphs or inscriptions? Continue working on the reputation to get you to the level you need.

If you’re dreaming of raiding Karazhan, start the quest for attunement if you haven’t already. At a minimum you’ll need to run the following dungeons

• Shadow Labyrinth
• Steamvaults
• Arcatraz
• Black Morass (requires Durnhold Keep completed successfully)

Get yourself ready to start running daily quests. Nothing increases your gold faster (okay, probably buying it does. I'm just sayin') and you'll go through a lot of gold.

Have you ignored your Cooking or First Aid or Fishing? First aid is always useful. The secondary skills offer some of the best, most easily renewable buffs in the game. If your other skills can be specialized, research what you need to do to complete that specialization.

Outland at 58? I say no.

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:

1. 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!)
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

There it is, why I eschew the Outland prior to hitting level 60.

What are the odds?

Warning: This article may contain math or have been produced in a facility that handles math. Severe allergic reactions could occur.

So, I took last week off from work. I got some time in to prep myself for the American Thanksgiving holiday, get some much needed time off from work, and of course play tons and tons of WoW.

I've been leveling Bremmie my little rogue with the companionship of a like level Shaman. We eventually got to the point where it was time to run Scarlet Monastery and since we didn't have folks on in the guild to run and neither of us wanted to pug the place, we traded runs on our 70s for the little guys.

I got to go first. Once Herod was down, I gleefully looted the Tabard of the Scarlet Crusade. This only drops off the newbies that Herod summons as he falls and at some point became a green. I've always wanted this piece on one of my toons and was so happy to get it.

Then it was the shaman's turn. Lo and behold, the tabard dropped for her too!

So, I got to wondering, what exactly are the odds? Allakhazam reports a drop rate for this bugger around 0.56%. I figure There are a dozen or so of the non-elites that can drop it (I didn't count, just an approximation). At 12 x .56, we get 6.72% chance for it to drop in a single run. Since each event is (presumed) independent, the probabilities are just added up.

But we both got it. On separate runs. So, those are also independent, but we multiply them in this case (since we have to hit that 6.72% twice) and come up with 0.45% chance for both of us to get the drop. Pretty lucky that it worked out like it did. If you ask me. Which you didn't.

I'm just saying is all.

Things I found out the Hard Way

There's a lot to learn about this game. Most of my learning comes with a diploma from the School of Hard Knocks. Here's a short list of some of the things I had to learn the hard way in this game.

• Trade skills are king! This is doubly true for the secondary skills like cooking, first aid and fishing. Although it gives you something to do once you reach the level cap, there are better ways to spend your time than killing level 6 boars for boar meat so you can learn to cook. Likewise for killing level 8 humanoids so you don't have to buy the linen cloth to level your abysmal first aid.
• Bind on Equip greens can sell for a lot of money. Or at least more than the vendor will give you.
• As soon as you finish an instance, repair. You never know when you'll go to your next instance.
• PVP servers are not for me.
• Battlegrounds are fun (see PVP servers)
• If you don't feed your hunter pet, it will get so angry it will eat you. (Okay, not really, it'll just slink off and find its own food. And don't even think about whistling for it again)
• Add-ons good. Trying to play a level 40+ character with default UI bad.
• There is no such thing as too much RAM.
• Don't live with bad choices in your skill tree. Respec.
• Sometimes doing the math and making all the "right" choices leads to less fun. Don't be afraid to be sub-optimal if you're having a blast. This is an entertainment medium.
• Sometimes people die. No matter how good a healer you are.
• No one EVER runs towards the tank when they have aggro. No matter how many times they've been told.
• Sometimes when the encounter just isn't working, it's better to call it.
• Leveling speed isn't a race. We all encounter the game at our own rate.
• Watch for upcoming patch notes and understand what they mean. Otherwise, you'll get a 250G deal on the plans for an Arcanite Reaper (retail a few weeks before the patch). In fact, you'll probably buy two and plan to sell one after "the price stabilizes." Instead, you'll be lucky to make 80G after the patch.
• Don't try to control the market -- no matter what Auctioneer says.
• Auctioneer can help you spot deals
• Auctioneer can help you lose lots of gold.
• Some people are just not nice.
• Sometimes people give you crappy advice (on spec, on talents, on spell rotations, on gear, on well...you get the idea)
• Always have an enchant on your gear if you are leveling an enchanter (or know one who is leveling)
• Always have potions of the healing and/or mana variety.
  
• Drink elixirs if you're leveling an alchemist (or know someone who is)
• Eat buff food.
  
• Sometimes things don't work the way you think they do.
• As long as the gear you have is allowing you to progress, don't take too much time getting better gear. All gear gets replaced eventually.
• Take more bullets than you need.
  
• Laugh more often. Sometimes it just isn't that serious.
  

Mounted!

Okay, well, not quite.

Bremmie did hit level 40 just a few minutes ago. It's been a grind, but I'm avoiding the long periods of grinding called for in my leveling guide.

It's also pretty cool how well a shaman toting a shield around and a stealthy rogue play together. Let the shaman pull the mobs, attack from stealth, stun the crap out of them while building combo points. Kill. Rinse and repeat as needed.

I've got roughly 2 more days to go. If I can keep up the 2-3 levels a day business, I'll be 45 by the time I go back to work. Of course, I'll have forgotten how to play all my other toons in that time as well.

Levelling Post 2.3

So, with the advent of 2.3 I've finally gotten around to dusting off an alt (or 3) that has over-stayed his (or her) welcome at your neighborhood inn. I tried to stay away from alts, because honestly what player really needs FIVE level 70 toons? It just gets sillier and more difficult to answer as the number rises above five, too. I'm just saying.

So, let me introduce you to Bremmie. One week ago, he was a lowly level 28 gnome rogue cooling his heels in the Duskwood Inn. I started playing him again a couple of days ago. And he's now about halfway through level 33.

When I concentrate on a character, its easy to get one or two levels a day--depending on other stuff that's going on of course. His leveling speed isn't over the top or anything, but he's moving along at a comfortable clip.

When I made the push to get my hunter up from 37, I followed Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide. The only thing I didn't like about the guide was some pretty serious grinding sessions lightly peppered throughout the guide. Quite often on the hunter's journey to 70, I'd go "off guide" and do some instancing or questlines I knew I liked from previous trips through the process.

As I continue to level Bremmie up (eventually to 70 we hope), I'll make a few posts. I'm hoping that the nasty grinding portions of the guide will be totally eclipsed by the more rapid rate of XP gain. I'm also really finding that leveling a toon is gratifying. It's been ages since I've been able to type "Ding!" in guild chat, and I'm kind of liking it.

However, I still no nothing about playing a rogue really. But I'm having fun!

P.S. I noticed when I was looking for the guide, that Jame has released the 60-65 edition of the guide. The final note in this chapter hints at the conclusion (for now) of the guide from 66-70 around December 10. I can't speak to the goodness of the new chapter, I've not read it in detail. But the first 3 volumes got me through the levels in a rapid fashion.