Post by tanee on Oct 13, 2012 6:06:26 GMT -5
This guide is in progress. So much of it will depend on my memory. I'll go zone by zone telling you what I know about it & what to avoid.
MOP Perspective: You now get normal xp for being 60 & staying in vanilla, 70 and staying in outlands, 80 & staying in northrend, making leveling a lot more easier. In addition, as a hunter, you hit a lot more harder. You also have abilities that you didn't have before such as being able to instantly rez a dead pet. On the down side, you no longer have kill command so your pet's aggro keeping ability is poor. And your pet cant take the hits that he use to take. He's very squishy This means that it is even more important that you control adds. 1-60 is now more dangerous than before. This means that you will never sneak in to get to your mob. You need to clear on your way in & out & watch for pats. I did find that after 60, it gets easier. Forget the tank pet, he didn't work well. Better to have phoenix than last stand. I did hear a turtle might work nicely at lower levels. Experiment & find out. Also, the cat is worthless as a pet now. It now gives mastery which we don't benefit unless we pick a spec. Unfortunately I didn't realize this til 85. Use a wolf for crit or a ravager for increased damage.
Making a new toon, so the changes I'll do since MOP, I'll put in parentheses to indicate it's a change from my normal.
GETTING STARTED:
1. Hit "v" key. It will bring up a bar on mops. Yellow if they wont hit you or red if they want to smash your face. The helpful thing about this is you will see their bar b4 you r in aggro range. It will also show the opposing faction flight master as red so you don't go clicking it.
2. Change your interface so that you cant dismount in flight. If you ever died cuz you hit a wrong key while flying, you can appreciate this.
3. When you are mounting up, get in the habit of flying up b4 you fly out. This will save you from jumping off a cliff when you think you are mounted. It will also save you from a stealthed mop getting in a lucky punch that dismounts you just as you fly over a cliff.
4. You will ALWAYS clear getting to your mob. As a hunter, you will be hitting while backing up. You need a safe place behind you. And, should you get into trouble, you need a place that is safe to run to.
5. Buy mount training as soon as each level is available. This increases your survivability. The faster you can run or fly, the less likely a mob will dismount you and bring friends with him.
6. You are going to need a lot of gold. Not sure why, but low level gear seems to sell very well. More so than higher levels. I used underminejournal.com. A very helpful site that gives you the value of things to sell based on realm & faction. Playing the ah is very big pain, especially after you have done it 10 or 20 times. But its the only way you are going to fly. I made it my goal to have enough gold to buy all the skills when they became available. Don't go to outlands or northrend til you can fly in those areas.
7. Darkmoon Faire. Do the first aid quest for 5 skill ups (I saved it for the pain level of wool, which isn't as difficult now with mop) Also pick up the quest to get the 250 drops. With your tokens, buy bags. Vendor all except one. This will give you over 25g and a nice bag. This will take care of your first two mount trainings.
8. World events are very nice & safe quests. However, with this new cross realm, I wouldn't suggest you do any that will flag you pvp such as the enemy fires. There are just too many people in the zones now.
9. Train first aid. It will be extremely valuable at higher levels. Stun/trap target, heal up Mostly I use it as food to heal up after a fight, but there have been times where my pet had the aggro, giving me a few seconds to heal up. Our hp is so low that it almost acts as a pot. If you have the extra gold, it might even be worth it to buy cloth to train for higher levels.
10. If you have a dead toon, save him to test out unknown or tricky quests (to practice). If he doesn't have gray gear, go naked ;D
11. Casters hurt. Always send in your pet for the first hit. A mana bar does not always mean a caster, but better safe than sorry.
12. The pull: Hunter's mark, mend pet, pet attack, concussive shot, arcane shot/auto shot while moving backward. Mend pet & concussive shot as necessary. Sometimes I hit concussive shot first, while the mob is slowly moving towards me, pet isn't taking damage. Then once pet has aggro again, make sure concussive shot is up & use steady shot to get more focus. Make sure you are at the max distance b4 you engage mob.
13. Drinking a pot when you think you are vendoring is a very sad way to end your career. To help prevent this, when you r vendoring, make sure a little money bag icon shows over the vendoring item. Get in the habit of always checking for it. I know, its only a little yellow exclamation mark next to your name, and its a personal challenge and you know you clicked it away immediately, blah blah blah... But i have left up my toon up that did it as a reminder. BTW, i have done this mistake 3 times. Don't let it happen to you, always check for that money bag.
14. In the past, I have leveled with very little rest xp. For example, I leveled one toon 1-61 in 3 days. That's actual days, not play time. But probably pretty close This time around, because my ultimate goal is now 90, I plan on leveling mostly with rest xp. But I found that up to about level 20, at least, rest xp with really pointless.
15. Save the first aid and singing flower quests as they level with you. So do them at 84 if your goal is 85 or 89 if your goal is 90. (I have since learned that the singing flower quest is a daily. The closest fp is aerial peak, so it's probably not worth the travel time until u can fly)
16.Plan to spam trade for gear upgrades from Outlands, Northrend, Cata & Mop when you have the gold. Some say if you buy gear, u r not a real ironman even though u follow all the rules governed by this site. You decide.
This guide is based on pre-mop. With mop, I suggest you go into same level zone on the opposite continent before moving on to the zone I give you. The goal is to get to level 62 b4 outlands and 74 b4 northrend, and to hit 85 b4 cata. Should you decide to go beyond 85, you will need the cata content to get you there. And I believe Twilight is not doable as I don't think we can survive the opening quests. Same with mop opening quests.
17. These zones will make the most of your gear, gold & cloth. This was done without rest xp for the most part. I believe all other classes can follow the same route if you never quest without rest after you have hit level 20. Anytime you are going into a zone that you feel is too high for you, grind and/or do dailies until you are comfortable.
18. Alliance only quests are generally easier than Horde only quests. I chose a Draenei for the +hit since I didn't need the shadow meld.
19. Now that mounts are account wide, I suggest that you buy a Traveler's Tundra Mammoth in dal on your main and use it to vendor your trash. This solves 2 potential heartaches, a) the vendor moving just as you click on a pot, and b) thinking you have a vendor screen up when you and clicking on a pot or green gear. I have lost 4 or more ironman toons doing this. It's really sickening to do this at level 75.
20. When DMF comes to town, consider making backups & leveling them to 6 to buy the bag & get a little gold. No one has yet to make it on their first attempt, at least that I'm aware of.
GUIDE
Level 1-5 in your start zone
Level 5-11 go to Nelf start zone. The reason is it's a lot faster/easier, you get more cloth, and you will get all the bags you need. All rares are doable. I don't go into the cave there, only cuz i find it a pain. If you do go into the cave, be careful of the rare that likes to hang out near the boss mob. (I went in the cave this time because the quest reward was nice & I'm trying to get to higher levels in each zone than I had in the past. It was during the day, so the rare was gone. And I managed to get to level 13 before I left the zone.)
I have since changed my strategy here. Before going to Loch, go to the human start zone, including the level 1-5 part. By the time you have begun STV, you will have enough rep to buy a 16s bag with SW, and your riding/flying training will be considerably cheaper. But beware, this zone is considerably more dangerous than Loch. After you have finished, continue on to Loch.
A wonderful ez zone with a lot of rares (all doable). Go to IF to pick up bread crumb quest. You should b able to see the quest close to the fp. First aid trainer is also conveniently located. Do entire zone. (I went there at level 13 this time. In the past, it had always been level 10. A lot less xp, but probably worth it.)
Because of all the rares, this zone is best to do after midnight sever, which is the same time zone that blizz uses. That way, all the rares are yours.
As soon as you get to Farstrider Lodge, but a new bow if you are a hunter.
One quest you get will send you into a cave where there are mechanical mobs. There is a rare here that pats the entire cave. Kill the first mop, then sit & wait for him. If he shows up while you are fighting, you are likely to die.
WARNING: I don't do wetlands, but there is a starter quest in Loch that has you killing a few orcs & going inside a building to get a drop. DON'T GO IN THAT BUILDING. There is a rare there that likes to spawn or aggro after you have already pulled a mob. He killed me the first time I went there. The next two times, I made it my mission to get revenge on him. The pull is tricky should you decide to go after him. Send in your pet, then put pet on passive to bring mobs in the building to you. If you have "v" on like I suggested, you will b able to see the rare. If he isn't there, be careful, cuz he can spawn while you r there, like he did to me.
Fly to Lakeshire. You will only be doing this zone up to "This ain't my War" quest. You will not be doing "Weapons of War" or any other. Accept the quest to take you into Duskwood.
(As I suspected, rest xp up to this point was worthless. I only managed to get a few extra bars once I had completed this part. I'm at 22 1/2. The one advantage remains--mobs are easier to kill, so I am less likely to die.)
This is a change for me. I decided farming the one rare in Duskwood just takes too long. So, if you are a hunter, stay here until your are 24 (makes Duskwood a whole lot less scarier). All other classes should stay here until level 26.
DO NOT go after that jug in the Orc building. Even if it has just been cleared, you will have to wait for the jug to spawn again, and when it does, so do all the adds. This is the quest going from Loch into wetlands. It's ok to do the quest that has you kill 5 Orcs.
This is one of the more dangerous zones you will be doing. Remember to always clear. I'd recommend not going here til at least 22.
Buy bow from npc behind inn.
1. Stolen Letters quest: There are pats that you need to stop & wait for & then kill on your way to the letters. Also, there is a rare that can b sitting very close to the letters. The first time i got here, that rare killed me as I had just pulled a mob. So I had my mob, a pat & the rare beating my face in. So watch for the rare & pats.
2. Rotting Orchard: Every mob you need to kill here has his own stealthed rogue who pats. Take a step, wait for rogue, kill, rinse & repeat til you have done all you need to do here. Don't worry about the add that comes with your mob, he doesn't do any damage or attack you. You will not be backing up while you are killing the mob. It is far better that he beat on you than for your to back up into a stealthed rogue that has patted your way. So no kiting here in any form. I did find that coming here at peak hours was actually, for once, a little safer. This is pretty close to the most dangerous area you will be questing in. So patience is the key while you wait for the stealth rogues to appear. I once also found a roaming rare here, but thank god he was yellow.
3. Stitches: I always use to kill him even though he was tricky. I'd keep serpent sting up, auto shot & mend pet. He usually died at about the same time my pet did. But in mop, i used that stupid bear. He went down fast even with last stand. I ran out hoping to reset stitches. Lucky for me, i dropped aggro b4 he got to me. And luckier still, when i went back to him, his hp didn't reset & I was able to kill him with my now rezzed pet. But he is now sooo risky, I'd recommend not doing him. (Was able to kill him without trouble when I started zone at 24 & used a wolf. Make sure your back is facing the road so you have a get-away. I did have to use pheonix, but only cuz I concentrated on killing more than mending. For anyone without a pet, beware, he puts a dot on you that can kill you after you have killed him)
4. Catacombs: Not worth the effort. When you actually come to the area where the boss you need to kill is located, you need to send in your pet to grab the 3 mobs. BTW, there's 3 sets of 3 mobs. The problem is that I think that room is like a different zone. You pet wont go in. The only way is to dismiss your pet, go in, aggro, and quickly summon pet. I have done this pre-mop, and another problem was by me going in, I aggroed all 3 mobs. I had in the past done this quest 2 or 3 times, but later gave it up as too irritating. And now i think too risky. (Just did this one, wasn't as bad as I remembered. When you go through the doorway, take a baby step so you don't aggro the other 2 mobs. There is a mob on both sides of the boss. I put pet on passive so the mobs would run to me. I didn't want the boss being aggroed until they were dead. I also pulled the boss to me this way cuz there's an awful lot of adds behind him.)
5. The last quest in the zone is to kill an elite. He likes to pat near that hat you r suppose to get. He is doable so long as you have cleared the area. (a lot of things are doable so long as you are the one in control, meaning you pulled the mob on purpose & not with an accidental aggro) He's an ez kill & doesn't seem to hit hard.
6. There is a rare up at the NE area called Beggar's Haunt. He is an ez kill with a fast spawn. Any time you are in town, take a trip there to see if he has spawned. I think I killed him 3 or 4 times while I was in Duskwood. He's right behind the building of the quest giver. (Last time through, I came here at 22, then just logged on to kill this rare & then off again, repeatedly til i was 24. He gives about 2 1/2 bars xp each kill. His spawn time is about every hour. At 24, Duskwood was not so difficult
Until you go to The Cape of Stranglethorn, I've found it easier to keep my hearth at duskwood & just fly to NSV when I needed.
All rares are doable til you get to that nasty yellow goblin rare towards the end of this zone.
All the troll areas are really risky & tricky. They can aggro behind walls. and they can even shoot you behind walls even though you cant shoot them. I made the mistake once of trying to get to the little island for a quest after doing the troll quest. I aggroed mobs behind the walls which made my pet go after him which aggroed more. There was no place to run or hide & I didn't have fd yet. So, I died. Thereafter, I made sure my hearth was off cd & always hearthed out.
Nasty goblin rare: I attempted him 3 times b4 I was finally able to kill. Broke my heart. Pre-mop he was ez. At this point I was still using a bear, so I'm not sure how a wolf will do with phoenix. Max Distance, hunter's mark, mend pet, pet attack, concussive shot, arcane shot, hit will moving backwards, when pet dies for the 2nd time, freeze trap goblin, rez pet & bandage as necessary, rinse & repeat. At this point you will have feign death, so if it's not going well, you still should survive. Just make sure not to use it except to get out of battle to reset mob. (Yippy!! I killed him using my wolf without any difficulties.
1. There is a quest hub just b4 entering booty bay called Fort Livingston.
Gorilla area: All the gorillas pat so be careful. There is also a rare in their mist. You don't want to engage this rare til you have cleared out the patting gorillas.
Zul'Gurub: "High Priestess Jeklik" is a quest to go inside Zul'Gurub to kill the bosses of Zul'Gurb, the first one being some princess I think. DON'T DO THIS QUEST LINE. For one, they are glitchy. Usually pretty ez, but prone to glitch. I've done these at least 30 times on all my toons. The last one of the chain has you near death & captive. You are suppose to grab a rope that has come down. The problem is, if you don't grab it fast enough or someone else is phased in with you, you will be hit for like 5 million. There's a funny post about it on Thottbot. Instantly wiped a group of 5 raiders that even had a tank & healer. One of the quests, you are not really suppose to take too much damage, but for some reason it glitched on me & I was taking a lot. If it hadn't been for fd, I'd have died. I think this quest is auto accept at a portal. It wont let you click not to accept. Just move away & it will go away. Also, while you are in this area, the zombies roaming the walls like to glitch. They hit you but you cant hit them. Just run away to reset.
Zul'Gurub: The quest taking you in there, "To be a Pet" or something like that, is risk free. If you get caught, they just take you to the beginning to try again.
One of the mobs in this area is the end of Hemit Nesingwary chain. Sorry that I cant remember the mobs name. But he is tricky & hard. He himself is ez. The problem is he has 2 side kicks that luckily die fast & ez. So when they start attacking, make sure u kill them off first. But to make matters worse, you will probably also b fighting a panther that had been stealthed. You can try trapping him, but he looks like the ez side kicks. So which one??? Its tricky, risky & hard. You might just want to skip this one.
There's also another troll village. A lot of close mobs & pats. Just clear on your way in. I save my hearth to get out. But the problem is there is a boss you have to kill. Its tricky, but not too bad. He pats a little, so just kill the caster mobs while he is patting away. Sometime you are lucky & its mdps mobs that can b pulled to you. What makes this very very tough is a rare likes to hang out there. The rare is also a caster. I have always managed to kill my boss, but you might want to skip him if the rare is there. (last time I was here, I went during prime time to make sure rare was not there. He's doable, but I really don't think he's worth the risk)
2. Booty Bay is ez quest hub. (Xayaqc says, While doing the pirate quests in STV, don't forget to buy the gun from the bloodsail gun vendor (best iron gun until Shadow Moon valley). The vendor is on the same boat & level as wailing Mary.
The last quest after coming back from the pirate ship quests you WILL NOT be doing. You do not want to phase bb. The quest is something about rum, bubblerum or something. It sends you to go get a jug of rum. If you accept the quest at the rum jug, you will be phased. I have never did this part, but I have heard it was an ironman killer. If you have phased it, you have 2 choices. You can either hearth out assuming your hearth isn't bb, or you can take the portal to plaguelands up near the fp. The problem with phasing & not doing is the boat taking you to Kalimdor will never b available to you. And you pretty much want to be able to take the boat back & forth. (So phasing BB is doable I'm told. I have never attempted it, and at this level, I'm not willing to take the risk)
There is a rare in the water. He is level 44 so at this point, you cant kill. But later on your way back, kill him.
I keep BB my hearth as I find it more convenient for going back & forth.
Make sure to pick up the bread crumb quest taking you to Ratchet. Once you turn it in, the npc will give a bread crumb quest for Dustwallow. If he doesn't, it's because you have one in your log. DELETE IT and get this one, which will give a flight to Dustwallow, and then take the flight to turn it in. It's now important to get the fp here because it is what opens up all your connecting flights to Ratchet.
Hazards: A pat of 5 coyotes that even can get you if you are afk on the road.
I start questing at Karnum's Glade. So I really don't have much experience in this zone. But this is where I go for a bit. (Last time through, I stayed til 38. Trying to turn my quests green. Not so ez when ocd wont let me accumulate rest)
Hazards:
1.Taking the road straight into the Horde town if you are alliance.
2. Stopping the ceremony of the Ogres. It can glitch, so I no longer do it.
3. One of the last quests to kill the dragon on the top of the peak. You are suppose to get heals, but sometimes you don't. If you can't fd, you could be in trouble. Also, don't ride your mount down as it's very ez to fall off.
If your are a lower level than you would like to be once you get here, you can farm 3-4 rares that are ez to get to from the flight plan.
1. Feathermoon: Ask fp to take you to the "Battle at the Ruins" The rare can be in anyone of the buildings. Just go to the center and /tar lady If she's there, you will target her. She can also be in the same building as the boss mob. Since you are here, run behind the boss mob building & see if there is a chest there. It's in the way back just behind him, and it doesn't look like a chest, so cursor over it if you see something. This rare is often her cuz she's hidden in a building that most don't know about. Even at level 43, I was getting 1.8k xp for a total of 3.6k with rest xp.
2.Tower of Estulan: Head south behind the hippogryphs. Sometimes Old Grizzlegut can spawn in this area too, but he's pretty rare. Continue all the way back cuz the rare, Antilus, usually spawns far back. Since most don't go that far, the rare is usually here. Hunters have the advantage of tracking cuz he's the only one that will show up red among all the green & yellow mobs. For others, his color is white.
3. Shadebough: There are 2 rares here, but one you have to fight to get to him, his spawn is near the boss, making him not usually there. That's the wasp rare. he's located near one of the entrances to the hive. The other rare you don't have to fight to get to him. He's located beyond the hive surround by the mountain giants. He's also the only red mob amongst yellow & green ones. He not always here cuz the mountain giants are quest mobs, but since his pat goes pretty far back, most don't need to go that far back, so they miss him
All rares doable. EZ zone.
"Taerar's Fall" has a tendency to glitch whereby you fail the quest even b4 you finish the fight. If this happens, just pick it back up b4 you finish fight & it will complete.
Just recently started doing this zone since Thousand Needles started to get difficult to complete.
Hazards:
1. Grimtotem: using your raptor bait near the windmill. There are 2 mobs there along with a pat. Make sure to kill pat first. The problem with the 2 mobs is they also spawn spirit dogs, which broke my cc. You might want to consider sitting there waiting for CRZ to clear for you. (these invaders prove to be helpful at times)
2. Murlocs are back, and they like to run and bring back friends.
3. The Deserters: area is full of close mobs that like to run when almost dead. The seem to have a long enough spawn time where my pally was able to complete the quest. Just be prepared for the flight.
(Got here at 42)
The pirate area is tricky. Make sure you wait for the pat. If a mob has a bird, send your pet after the mob for his taunt & you kill the bird. he goes down after 1 or 2 shots but if left up, hurts a lot. Make sure to clear in & out.
"Two-Tusk Takedown" this quest send you into the cave to kill two tusk. Make sure your pet always hits first after each time he hides in a chest. BTW, if you put up hunter's mark, you will always see which chest he is in. At one point when he pops out, he bring birds with him. If your pet hits first, the birds will attack your pet & not you. Be careful in healing pet as it will cause these birds to attack you. You only get one chance at fd. I haven't found it really necessary to mend pet at this point, but you might.
when you have to jump off the pirates ship, dismiss pet first or he just might bring adds.
Freewind Post: Sad to say when I went here in mop, the npc that is suppose to help you was bugged. I opened a ticket, hopefully it was fixed. Pre-mop, the npc started helping after I hit a mob. After mop, the npc didn't start helping til after I took a hit which was after my pet was dead. Since you are fighting multiple groups of mobs & elites, you really cant afford their hits. I was able to do most of this area, but I didn't feel it safe to hit one of the last elites up where the escort is. He has side kicks & later spawns adds. So sad to say, this ended Needles. No other quests can b picked up til this part is done. The rest of the quests are so ez. I was very disappointed to lose out. Of course at this point I was still using a bear. With phoenix, maybe its possible.
(I wanted to see if this was doable. The answer is yes, but I highly recommend against it. I had to put my pet on passive & turn off growl. Once the mobs hit me, then the npc would fight. One of the last bosses is an elite with 2 side kick. They hurt pretty badly. Had to bandage, fd, rez pet, pray. The serpent boss got a few whacks in b4 the npc stepped in to assist. Almost didn't survive these last 2 bosses. I don't plan on ever enduring this again until blizz fixes it. So I'd recommend going to another zone that you are familiar with to get to 45 b4 going to Tanaris)
(Got another toon here, didn't want to risk it. I did do a few at Freewind. The NPC wasn't behaving. I only managed to get to level 44, so the Tanaris fp isn't available. So instead, I went to Badlands. I'll hit Tanaris afterwords.)
Not being able to complete this zone forced me to change my route somewhat. I was lvl 44 when I had done all I could do, which was too low to have the Tanaris fp. So I went to Badlands first, then Tanaris, and then the Tanaris part at Valley of the Watchers. Those mobs were about 2 levels higher than I was, but they didn't hit hard, so I didn't have any trouble. This got me to level 48.
(Got here at 45)
Pirate area: This is when I first started using a cat (you should b using a wolf). I didn't want my pet aggroing other mobs. This is when I learned how much better a dps pet is.
Sad to say most of Tanaris is off limits. The first time I went on the pirate ship, I swear as soon as I got on, I saw all the mobs on the boat running for me. There was really no place to run. Not sure what happen, it was a long time ago. Had I not panicked, I probably could have survived. So your experience here may be better than mine. But after that one time, I never went back on that ship.
If you are a hunter, make sure you buy your lvl 45 Brigandine gear. And make sure you get mail shoulders regardless of the level of them. At level 50, you will get a 5% agility bonus for wearing all mail. Most probably this gear will be the best you will find till Outland drops.
Fly to Rachett, take boat to BB, kill rare (Rippa) in water, he gave me 3300 xp, fly to SW, pick up hero's call on board to take you to Badlands. (This last time, I was 47, so only Searing Gorge was available to me, so pick up this one if it's there) This quest will take you to EPL first. It might seem to be out of your way, but u will get about 2k xp for the quests & all the discovery that you pass over, so well worth it. In the past, I could turn the quest in at Light's Hope, but the last time through, she was in the beginning of EPL. In any event, go to Light's Hope & pick up "Fuselight, Ho!" This will give you a free ride to Badlands & your discovery xp.
Do not phase this zone!! The last group of quests you will b doing are "The day that Deathwing came". Turn in quests at Dragon's Mouth, but don't accept any other.
(Been re-thinking this zone. It's pretty tough. Those golem guys hit pretty hard & like to pat to make your life miserable. Last time I came through, I was 48 & dc'd in the middle of a fight with one & didn't live to tell about it. So as long as you are 48, I'd say go to Felwood and skip this zone. I've always done it b4, so it is doable, but might not b worth the risk.)
I only do the quests at Thorium Advance, the beginning of the zone. Be careful with the war golems as they are casters & cant be pulled. They also pat. It's easier to kill the boss mob on the east side as well as kill the draves on that side too.
When killing dark iron mobs to get Dig-Boss Dinwhisker to spawn, don't kill the ones near the elementals as it tends to aggro them in groups of 2 or 3. If he hasnt spawned once you've killed the rest, it's safer to wait for spawns. Keeping in mind he can appear about the same time all the other do too. This is the last quest I do in this zone b4 hearthing out.
(Since i lost close to 2 levels by not being able to finish up Needles, I did more here than usually to try and make up for some lost xp.)
EZ zone. All quests are doable. There is a rare that can spawn SE of Emerald Sanctuary, so while you are killing bears & wolves, check to see if he's there. His other spawn point in near impy.
One quests has you killing the demons who are in combat with the druid bears. It seems that once you kill one, the next spawn runs after you. Last time through, I had 3 come after me. So just b aware.
There is a quest to kill Arch Druid Navarax at the top of the inn. He has a nasty kick back that can know you off this very tall building, so position your back to the wall.
The bear meat from here & Wintersprings can be very profitable. I have sold it in the past for up to 9g each. Might be worth putting it up on the ah. If you can aford it, it's nice to bring 50 runecloth with you for the rep quest in the cave just b4 you go into Wintersprings.
Irontree: There is a rare in the cave. He's not always on the same path taking u to the quest turn-in, so be sure to look for him. When it comes time to kill the goblins, know that they sometimes fear you, so it is better to clear out the slimes first.
Dont accept the quest from Nafein taking you into Wintersprings to speak with Donova as the one on the other side will give you considerably more xp.
Kill the Deadwood Furbolgs until the Deadwood Ritual Totem drops, giving you another quest.
(Got here at 53 this time around, woot)
Continue killing Winterfall Furblogs until you get 10 Winterfall Spirit Beads & an auto quest called Strange Life Forces. (Think I must have killed 30 b4 this quest popped up)
Each subsequent turn-in of 5 winterfall beads will give xp. At lvl 54, i was given about 3.6k xp.
Yeti cave: Dont let your pet attack the ice chuncks or you probably wont get credit for it.
The worm meat sells for a lot, so save it to list on ah.
Fly to Gunstan's Dig. There are a few ez Tanaris quests here that you can do to help boost you up in preparation of going to Outlands. So do them if you need the xp. I usually do them but this time around, I'm level 57 so not really necessary. Dont accept the Thunderdom quest.
Accept Tropical Paradise taking you into Un Goro
"Bouquets of Death" has you killing packs of 5 lashers. I was advised not to do this quest. I attempted it once. I was able to kill 2 groups, but both times since my pet had killed at least one without my help, I didn't get credit. Since an Ironman is not designed to be hit by a pack of 5, I was afraid to aoe, so I gave it up.
"The Fledgling Colossus" taking you into the bug cave says it's a group quest, but it's actually soloable. Just when he is casting his ability, run behind a pillar & you wont take damage.
"The Ballad of Maximillian" Do not do this quest. It has a tendency to glitch. Good ol' Max is suppose to take off his armor & empower you with it. But frequently, he fails to do so. In the mean time, you are running all over aggroing the entire Un Goro with an elite trying to eat your face with no ability to kill him. I survived this once by dismounting, fd, & sacrificing my pet. I looked it up on the forums & found it is a common, long-time glitch.
You could do Silithus first if you wanted. Not sure it makes any difference. There is an elite spider you will be killing, and he'd probably be easier on you if you did Silithus last. Whereas in Blasted Lands, there's really nothing too hard or risky.
Did every quest here. Whenever you go into caves, beware that a rare can be there. Before you leave the zone, buy 1 nethergarde bitter from npc in the building where the inn is located. You will need it for an outlands quest.
You can do silithus before or after Blasted Lands. I came here at 61, but if you feel comfortable skipping the zone, you can. There's a lot in Blade Edge and Netherstorm that I like to skip. I also skip Shadowmoon entirely. So the higher I am, the more risky quests I can skip. You are far better off working on green quests especially if your are any other class other than a hunter.
There is a quest to kill a female in the bug cave. My hunter could do it by first clearing and then killing her. She will take a very long time to kill as she heals herself, so you will first have to burn down her mana. One time a pat showed up, & that wench kept healing it too, so I had to fd to end the battle. I didn't try her on my pally because I was afraid she'd either burn down my mana or the mobs would spawn before I could kill her.
There is a quest to kill an elite scorpian. He is doable but a little tough, and this is another reason I like to save this zone for last. My pally was able to kill him, just make sure you have your back facing uphill. My monk was able to kill too, but with a lot more effort. When needed, I'd stun it then bandage. If my bandage was still on cd, I'd keep him stunned until it was off.
You will need 20 twilight texts. That elite running around drops 10 of them. Unfortunately she has 2 side kicks. She cant be trapped. The first time I tried, she blinked out of it. One of her side kicks can be cc'd. Take out the other side kicks b4 her. You really have to be careful with her. It may take you longer to kill her than your cc will last, so make sure to refresh it. Her pat, has a lot of pats. You don't want to fight her & get adds. You can just skip her, but the other mobs don't give up those texts so eaily. when you finally get 20, don't turn in on the repeatable quest. That's not where you will be using them. While you are farming the 20, just remember you are getting valuable xp.
Dont flag yourself. Those pvp quests you need to skip. With the cross realm, there are so many in each zone, that you just cant risk it.
Other than the elite & the pvp quests, the zone is pretty ez especially the level you would be.
With the higher xp we now get, I strongly recommend your don't come here til 62-64. 1) The higher your level, the greater your aggro range. 2) You will do more and take less damage (you have little to no hit). 3) You will reach 70 before you have to go into more challenging areas/quests. 4) You can begin doing dailies.
Do not come here til you can fly.
Rares are beginning to be pretty tough. Pick your battles carefully.
Discovery xp will decrease greatly as you level, so it might be worth it to get it all done as soon as you come here.
At level 70, the armor vendor at Telredor sells 2 pieces of mail, 2 pieces of plate, & a shield.
Hunters: There is a bow that you can buy in Blades Edge at Sylvanaar. Buy it. It is a considerable upgrade.
Mr. Fel Reaver is ready, willing & able to smash your face. To insure he doesn't put you into early retirement, always face the direction he will be coming from. He's close to 10 levels higher than you are so your feign death or shadowmeld is probably not going to fool him, and you don't want to be in a battle when he shows up.
"The Path of Anguish" I think the Horde side is safer, over near Thrallmar. The mobs seem to be spread farther apart & there's no worms to get you. And I think the Fel Reaver's path is a little more predictable.
"Disruption-Forge Camp: Mageddon" There is a spot on the NE corner that makes this doable. There are 5 mobs that are ez to reach without pulling aggro, although u will need to wait for them to spawn again in order to safely get the 10 you need.
"Enemy of my Enemy" There's only 1 canon thats safe to get & its at the NE part as well. This means u would b waiting for 3 spawns, but worth the wait.
Invasion Point: Annihilator" Skip. Too many mobs & too close together.
Pray Beads: You can dig them up but do not accept the follow up quest.
"Fel Spirits" Really only one safe place to stay put & wait for spawns. The mobs hit pretty hard & once they're dead, another one, his spirit, spawns. These mobs have a fast spawn rate & you don't want to be in battle when another spawns. So best to find the safe place & go slow & steady.
The Exorcism of Colonel Jules: Dont Do.
Nagas are worse than Mulocs.
Fly up pretty high as you enter the zone from Hellfire as one time I got flagged by a Horde NPC as I was flying over. I was just lucky he didn't dismount me. Of course, if you are Horde, feel free to skip this warning.
Your going to need 6 fertile spores later for sporegar, the fen striders drop these (as well as spore bats, but not young ones) so you might as well kill all you see til you have 6.
The quest "A Warm Welcome" requires you to kill 30 naga. There's no follow up so you might as well save it til you are killing naga for other quests including the one from Sporegar.
There is an escort quest in Unbrafen Village that is very ez to do. only 2 sets of 2 mobs spawn. Just let the NPC grab the initial aggro & then pull one at a time off her. Before starting the escort, clear the area around where she is located and you will be fine.
"Ikeyen's Belongings" There is an unseen mob right at her belongings in the cave who can beat you but you cannot see him nor hit him. At anytime you remain in battle after killing a mob, run as fast as you can to exit cave. Keep running til you are no longer in battle. Once you leave battle, it is safe to go back in and fight the boss mob as he is to your right of the fork in the road whereas the belongings are to your left.
"An Unnatural Drought" Keep killing the withered giants til the withered basidium drops. You will also need 6 Bog Lord Tendrils for Sporegar, so keep that that in mind. There are a few quests to kill Bog Lords, so these will probably drop while doing them.
"Diaphanous Wings" Kill the Bogflare Needlers in the northern part leading to Blades Edge for a chance at a pet drop. If it drops, your flight training woes will be over & you will never have to list another item on the ah. Keep in mind its very rare & i have never seen it drop, but certainly worth the attempt if you have to kill the mobs anyway.
"The Sporelings' Plight" You will need to be friendly with the Sporeggar in order to pick up a few quests there. To do so, you will need 50-60 spore sacs & 6 bog lord tendrils. Unless blizz fixed it, sometimes the spore sacs have glitched where you cant collect them. So far, they have never glitched if I've just left the "Natural Enemies" for the tendrils alone until after I have collected the sacs. Not sure if this is just a coincidence or a factor.
"It's Watching You" Naphthal'ar has a nasty knock back. Make sure you place your back accordingly so that you don't get knocked off the tower.
1. "Speak with Private Weeks" and the entire quest chain--be afraid, very afraid. Probably very helpful to wait until 67.
2. "Who Are they?" While you are wearing the disquise, u can't do any ability or it will fall off, and hunters can see through your disguise. I think they only pat counter clockwise.
a. Shadowy Advisor is in the building. Be careful cuz the hunters pat in there & there can even be 2 groups of hunters inside the building. Its best to wait near & watch for the pats so you will know where both hunters are located.
b. Shadowy Initiate is on the wood plateform at the at the water/pond, north side.
c. Shadowy Laborer pats, but i wait for him between the south building & the s.w. tower. He will stop at the tower for a bit. In the past, he had always been a dwarf, but this time he was a troll. I had to /tar shadowy laborer to find him cuz i wasn't looking for a troll. The only safe place in here is between this building & tower. Once you have spoken to all 3, you can go to that spot & mount up.
3. "Kill the Shadow Council" Even worse. Now you have to get inside the main building without a disguise The way to do this is to fly in at the top & perch on one of the wood beams. You may want to park it there until the hunter comes in & out. I have been known to pull more than I could handle, killing 1 or 2, fd & sacrificing pet. If you have to fd or shadowmeld or whatever, do so back on the beam so when you wake up your are not immediately in battle. Don't start fight on the beam as pet has a tendency to go the wrong way & possibly aggro another group in the building. I sit at the s.e. between the little building & tower to kill the rest of the mobs. its a long wait as I have to wait for spawns, but at least here, pats are not too much a problem.
Not sure if these quests are prerequisites for other quests in Terrokkar. You have to be able to handle at least 2 mobs either by cc'ing or taking the damage. And you have to make sure you don't pull both groups in the building where Shadowmaster Grieve is located. Would also be nice if you had a way to get out of battle incase something went wrong. If you've had trouble getting this far in ironman, you might want to consider skipping this chain.
1. "The Firewing Liaison" with this one, it is better to go in through the front door instead of the roof. los the 2 mobs near the door, then cc Lisaile Fireweaver, then pull/kill 1 at a time her 2 side kicks.
2. "Thinning the Ranks" a whole pack of Orcs can mysteriously appear at the entrance to the back. So just be aware & don't kill mobs there.
"Escape from Firewing" is an escort quest that I havent found too difficult. Just let the npc do the aggro or she wont stop and wait. As with all esocrts, let her tank while you pull one at a time off her.
"Tomb of Lights" and "Vengeful Souls" I wouldnt recommend doing til 68. When I go after the Vengeful Draenei, I only stay on the one level that has a left and right room. There's only one on each side, yet your need 5, so I just wait for spawns, and keep clear as mobs spawn.
Fumping: I have done this quest, but now mostly skip it. It isn't too bad if only one mob spawns, but one time, 3 spawned & that was very scary although I lived.
The Dread Relic: Last time I did this quest, I died (ouch). It is doable. I died cuz I didn't clear first & a shade found me just as I clicked. Boom, dead. If you want to do this quest, clear the area first. B4 you click, prepare to mount. The only way you will survive is to mount up b4 the mobs (millions of them) spawn. It's always worked for me b4 until I failed to clear. That being said, I plan to skip this quest in the future. With the xp we now get, I don't really think it's worth the risk. And should my xp fall short of what I want my level to b b4 going to Northrend, I'll just do some dailies to make up.
The Fallen Exarch: Doable & ez so long as you can handle 2 level 64 caster mobs or can cc one of them.
I see Dead Draenei: Pick it up, do the ez part of the chain, finish it off later, about level 68. These lead to What Book? I Don't See Any Book to save for later.
The Skettis Offensive: I did this at 67. Its pretty scary. You need to b able to handle 3 groups of 3 birds attacking you. They have low hp, about 1600, so they do go down pretty fast. And there was a big enough delay between groups for me to regen my focus. I did this quest at 69 on my pally with no difficulties.
Torgos! (67-68) No longer an elite/group quest. Just remember to clear the area when you are collecting Trachela's Carcass cuz they pat & like to group up. So clear, clear, clear for both parts of the quest. (this did in my 69 pally. A mob feared me into 3 at the same time pats showed up)
The balance of the quests in this zone I don't do til after I am at least 68 and/or done with Nagrand.
Wow, finally a breather. Most of these quests are ez and with issues. All the ex-elites are even easier than some of the quests mobs. You just got to make sure to pull in a safe area without the risk of adds.
It's my understanding that the "Ring" quests are not soloable, so I have never tried.
The only ex-elite quest I don't do is one of the last ones that has you collection bones or something to summon the boss. I still have nightmares of it from BC where the boss's knockback through me off the cliff to my death. I don't have the achievement for this zone, so there are things I'm missing. Some of them start from quests originating in SMV.
Do not do any bird people quests. None, nada. There are too many of them, they are too close together, & they love to pat. I have done them in the past, so they are "doable", but at this point, not worth the risk or frustration and you don't need them to get to level 70-74. They have killed me twice. Once when I alt tabbed out and was found by a pat. The other time when I fell out of their tree house & landed into a flock of them.
Dont use the fp from Sylvanaar to Ruuan Weald. Unless they recently fixed it, it will flag you when it flies you over Circle of Blood. I'm not sure if it does the same on a return trip, and I don't want to find out.
Do not do the quest chain that has you collecting cloth for a disguise. I heard it's doable, but I still have nightmares from BC. I went there once to do it, aggroed a ton of adds at the cave entrance (not to mention an elite that pats in the area), fd, sacrificed pet, vowed never to attempt again.
Longtail is the Lynchpin: Safer not to fly through this cave. She is located towards the exit. Fly over the top and meet up with her that way. There is a pat there, so take them out first. She has a short pat herself, so just wait til she's close to you.
Quests I don't do:
You're fired at Forge Camp: anger
Meeting at the Blackwing coven and anything else to do with this cave.
Massacre at Gruul's Lair
My goal of this zone is NOT to do Toshley's Station. I have done them a few times, but they are not fun, and they are risky, irritating & frustrating. And I have been brought very close to death a few times.
Pick up the quest, Off to Area 52 on the bridge connecting Blade's Edge with Netherstorm. This one gives about 2k more xp than any other bread crumb quest. If its not there, you already have one in your log. Just delete it & grab this one.
1. Area 52
"Mark V is Alive" is a short escort quest. I did it at level 70 without any trouble. Just anticipate whats ahead of you and pick off the mobs b4 a pat shows up. If you are worried, try to do it after or while someone is clearing the area.
ShUtting Down Manaforge quests are easier to do if you wait til someone else is also inside them. One of them has an elite that pats and you have to wait for him to move so you can do the disguise part. When you are actually shutting down, he wont be near the area u are protecting. Manaforge Dura was ez, just kill the nelf and the anomalies despawn. Only need to clear arount the control panel. Mobs spawn one at a time and ear ez to kill. I don't do Manaforge Ara one.
Quests I don't do:
Wanted poster quests at Area 52
Dr. Boom
You, Robot
Sabotage the Warp-gate
Full Triangle
A Gift for Voren'thal
2. Town Square
Quests I don't Do:
Finding the Keymaster
Destroy Namerius!
When the Cows Come Home escort quest isn't too bad. Just clear her route b4 starting it. She's pretty tough and can tank while u single target any mobs. Another way to handle it is to wait til someone is questing & clearing those mobs. I was 72 the last time I did her, but I have done her at lower levels. One time I didn't clear, ended up fd & she died. So I restarted & luckily none of the mobs had spawned b4 I could complete the quest.
3. Eco Dome Midrealm: Pretty ez & uneventful
4. The Stormspire
Quests I don't Do:
In Search of Farahlite
Teleport This
5. Protectorate Watch Post
Quest I don't do:
Dimensius the All-Devouring
Secring the Celestial Ridge
Never quested here & never will. If my level is too low for me to comfortably go to Northrend, I just prefer to do some dailies on the island.
Level 72-74 The higher the better. Had a friend who didn't come here til 77 or so. She just remained in Outlands doing dailies.
Dont come here til you can fly here.
I'm told Borean Tundra is easier than Howling Fjord to start in.
Dont fly over Wintergrasp or u will b dismounted & die
"In Wine, Truth" Be very careful where u land in the water as there are 3 sharks & Calm Master K all close together. Land far enough away from them so u can pick off one at a time.
"Dedar, Lord of Rhinos" Dont kill lunch box at his spawn point. Last time I did, he spawned a twin b4 I was done killing him. I had to fd & start all over.
"The Culler Cometh" I no longer do this one. If u decide to do it, look it up on the forums for the best way to handle it. The last time I did it, I kited him away which seemed to work a little better.
The Nefarious Clam Master" Be very careful where u land in the water as there are 3 sharks & Calm Master K all close together. Land far enough away from them so u can pick off one at a time.
"Kaw the Mammoth Destroyer" I don't do this one.
That big old dragon in the sky would just love to smash your face. The trick to keeping her pacified is to not fly in her presence. So any time you hear her flapping or see her shadow, land quickly & she'll probably let you live.
"Cracking the Code" Dont do him. He casued my first death upon reaching Northrend. Even at level 74, I was unable to pull only 1 caster without aggroing him & a few others. He 1 or 2 shotted me.
(Here at 77 after finishing BT)
1. Explorers' League Outpost
a. "Lightning Infused Relics" I no longer do this quest. While being in the golem suit disguised as an Iron Rune Contruct, it has despawned on me while I was in the cave. Lucky for me, I only aggroed one mob and was able to kill him and then hearth out. A Level 80 friend of mine wasn't so lucky when it despawned on her after she had used the rocket jump & was flying high. She fell to her death, dieing on what was actually a gray quest for her.
That wooley mammoth that pats around wyrmrest...you know, the rare that you'd love to kill? Dont. He's not soloable even by quest geared toons. I tried him. He 1 or 2 shotted my pet. I had accidently hit fd & then moved so it was on cd. And I was next on his list. So I put on aspect, dropped and ice trap & a snake trap & ran like the wind, praying, "Lord, don't let me die, please, please, please" As luck would have it, the wow gods sometimes answer prayers, and I lived to tell about it.
1. Wintergarde Keep
"The Noble's Crypt" DO NOT go into catacombs. By not finishing this quest line, you will lose a lot of quests in Dragonblight, but you will live to tell about it. Most importantly if u do go in, don't click on the flesh-bound tome.
"My Old Enemy" I don't do this one.
"Escape From Silverbrook" There's a trick to this one. Mount up on the npc then immediately dismount & mount your flying mount. Follow the npc, flying above him. Just as he is getting to Amberpine Lodge, mount him again. I did this quest 2 times without any issues b4 I learned that it is one of those potentially deadly quests. Then I did it 2 times flying above the npc. Both those times once I got to Amberpine, all the mobs I had skipped were suddenly there to attack me. I fd & they despawned. Not sure what would have happened if I hadnt fd. This last time through, there were no mobs.
"Hour of the Worg" I don't do.
"Dun-da-Dun-tah!" I tried this once. I couldnt kill fast enough. So not doable.
"Free at Last" These elites don't hit hard. If Gavrocks Runebreaker doesn't work the first time, keep using it on the same giant and eventually it will work, hopefully b4 u kill him.
"Ursoc, the Bear God" You don't actually have to be the one who kills the bear, which u cant. If the bear is dead, just use quest item on the corpse & u will get credit.
"Zero Tolerance" Dont b afraid of this quest. Its very ez to do. Find a spot where a pats wont find u, mc a servant, and just use the 3 abilities when off cd. In the unlikely event the servant dies, just quickly mc another one. The forums said to first clear the platform and then fight when he is on the far side. This didn't work. The mobs would almost instantly respawn. But it didn't matter cuz they didn't join in. And the mob went down fairly quickly no matter where i engaged him.
"Betrayal" I don't do this quest.
"The Storm King's Vengence" I don't do this quest
"Hexed Caches" WARNING From what I read on the forums, these caches have a chance to pretty much one shot us if we don't have the drop from the warriors & use it fast enough. There were enough complaints to make me decide to pass.
"Where in the World is hemet Nesingwary?" WARNING! If you never turn in this quest, you will have an instant portal to Sholazar.
"Returned Sevenfold" Risky quest if you panic. If possible, i'd recommend practice on another toon. Most importantly, he does a channel spell called deathbolts that you must reflect back to him by clicking on the quest item. The quest item is channeled too, so if you panic & move, you will put it on cd & eath the deathbolts. He's not going to die with your dps. Its the reflected deathbolts that kill him, so feel free to run. He also does a reign of fire thats channeled, move. You have to pretty much move in a circle cuz he's ez to reset. In the past I have taken 2 hits & survived. After 2 hits, i'd suggest reseting him. If you elect to skip this quest, you lose an etimated 20 quests in Sholazar.
"Reclmation" I don't do this one.
The Drakkensryd: I no longer do this quest as it has killed me twice. Once when it pulled me off the drake but failed to land me on the next drake. The other time I was unlucky to target a drake that had no mob on it & it immediately despawned. Because I no longer do this quest, I lose the hodir quest hub and it's resulting dallies.
There's only one elite quest that I now do here and it's in Bouldercrag's Refuse. I don't have it's name atm, but it's done in the building very close. It has you target a mob inside the building, blow the horn, and npc's come to help you kill.
The Last Line Of Defense: I no longer do this quest as the last time I did, the elite you need to kill wasn't taking any damage, and when the canon exploded, it threw me into the pack of mobs. I researched it, and it appears that this is a known glitch. And at 82-83, I don't really want to risk dying to a glitch. Unfortunately this means I lose most of Ice Crown.
Occulus: If you find yourself taking on too much damage, just fly away to drop agro and bandage then go back and continue on. It's hp doesn't reset. If someone else is doing it while you are there, you will get credit when it is destroyed.
I do all the quests needed to open up The Shadow Vault dailies.
The Sum is Greater than the Parts: I don't do this quest. It's a mechanical/riding one. It's not gear dependent, but it most certainly is skill dependent. I tried it once & failed. Luckily after I feign death, the mobs all despawned. By not doing this quest, the Bone Witch quest & dailies do not open.
Where Are They Coming From: This is a very scary quest. You can click any of the 4 altars, but they are surrounded by a lot of mobs. The mobs go down easily. The problem for me was the caster mob didn't come to me, instead my pet went to her, aggro'ing more, at which time I dismissed pet & fd. I'd suggest you watch the altars, and when the mobs move away, especially the caster, quickly land, click & mount up. If a mob is aggro'ed, let him come to you to fight.
Destroying the Altars: Now you need to kill that caster. She drops loot that allows you to destroy the 4 altars. You can do this mounted, hovering above, just out of agro range of the mobs.
CATACLYSM
At 87, I opened up the Hyjal portal so getting to the daily there would be a lot faster. I started the daily there at 82 or 83. Since you one whack them, they don't do too much damage.
I started Vashjir first, but the zoned bugged on me about 1/4 of the way through, so I completed Hyjal first. All this only gave me about 1/2 level. I also started doing the dailies there. As a hunter, I can do the quests that have you killing normal mobs and a few that don't require killing. I don't do any of the boss mob dailies or the elite ones. And from what I read on wowhead, opening up the dailies in the cave is not ironman possible. At this point, I also started doing some TB quests. I even go to the top when my faction has TB for the croc daily & the one that has you killing 12 mobs. These dailies are tough & scary & take a blasted long time. But they give 69k xp as they're level 85 dailies. There's also the Pterodactyl quest in a cave that is pretty ez albeit annoying to me that doesn't require any killing.
I didn't come here til level 87. I just did dailies until then. With rest xp, the mobs were giving about 300 xp. Sad, sad, sad. I did do the first quest that Thrall gives. It's o
MOP Perspective: You now get normal xp for being 60 & staying in vanilla, 70 and staying in outlands, 80 & staying in northrend, making leveling a lot more easier. In addition, as a hunter, you hit a lot more harder. You also have abilities that you didn't have before such as being able to instantly rez a dead pet. On the down side, you no longer have kill command so your pet's aggro keeping ability is poor. And your pet cant take the hits that he use to take. He's very squishy This means that it is even more important that you control adds. 1-60 is now more dangerous than before. This means that you will never sneak in to get to your mob. You need to clear on your way in & out & watch for pats. I did find that after 60, it gets easier. Forget the tank pet, he didn't work well. Better to have phoenix than last stand. I did hear a turtle might work nicely at lower levels. Experiment & find out. Also, the cat is worthless as a pet now. It now gives mastery which we don't benefit unless we pick a spec. Unfortunately I didn't realize this til 85. Use a wolf for crit or a ravager for increased damage.
Making a new toon, so the changes I'll do since MOP, I'll put in parentheses to indicate it's a change from my normal.
GETTING STARTED:
1. Hit "v" key. It will bring up a bar on mops. Yellow if they wont hit you or red if they want to smash your face. The helpful thing about this is you will see their bar b4 you r in aggro range. It will also show the opposing faction flight master as red so you don't go clicking it.
2. Change your interface so that you cant dismount in flight. If you ever died cuz you hit a wrong key while flying, you can appreciate this.
3. When you are mounting up, get in the habit of flying up b4 you fly out. This will save you from jumping off a cliff when you think you are mounted. It will also save you from a stealthed mop getting in a lucky punch that dismounts you just as you fly over a cliff.
4. You will ALWAYS clear getting to your mob. As a hunter, you will be hitting while backing up. You need a safe place behind you. And, should you get into trouble, you need a place that is safe to run to.
5. Buy mount training as soon as each level is available. This increases your survivability. The faster you can run or fly, the less likely a mob will dismount you and bring friends with him.
6. You are going to need a lot of gold. Not sure why, but low level gear seems to sell very well. More so than higher levels. I used underminejournal.com. A very helpful site that gives you the value of things to sell based on realm & faction. Playing the ah is very big pain, especially after you have done it 10 or 20 times. But its the only way you are going to fly. I made it my goal to have enough gold to buy all the skills when they became available. Don't go to outlands or northrend til you can fly in those areas.
7. Darkmoon Faire. Do the first aid quest for 5 skill ups (I saved it for the pain level of wool, which isn't as difficult now with mop) Also pick up the quest to get the 250 drops. With your tokens, buy bags. Vendor all except one. This will give you over 25g and a nice bag. This will take care of your first two mount trainings.
8. World events are very nice & safe quests. However, with this new cross realm, I wouldn't suggest you do any that will flag you pvp such as the enemy fires. There are just too many people in the zones now.
9. Train first aid. It will be extremely valuable at higher levels. Stun/trap target, heal up Mostly I use it as food to heal up after a fight, but there have been times where my pet had the aggro, giving me a few seconds to heal up. Our hp is so low that it almost acts as a pot. If you have the extra gold, it might even be worth it to buy cloth to train for higher levels.
10. If you have a dead toon, save him to test out unknown or tricky quests (to practice). If he doesn't have gray gear, go naked ;D
11. Casters hurt. Always send in your pet for the first hit. A mana bar does not always mean a caster, but better safe than sorry.
12. The pull: Hunter's mark, mend pet, pet attack, concussive shot, arcane shot/auto shot while moving backward. Mend pet & concussive shot as necessary. Sometimes I hit concussive shot first, while the mob is slowly moving towards me, pet isn't taking damage. Then once pet has aggro again, make sure concussive shot is up & use steady shot to get more focus. Make sure you are at the max distance b4 you engage mob.
13. Drinking a pot when you think you are vendoring is a very sad way to end your career. To help prevent this, when you r vendoring, make sure a little money bag icon shows over the vendoring item. Get in the habit of always checking for it. I know, its only a little yellow exclamation mark next to your name, and its a personal challenge and you know you clicked it away immediately, blah blah blah... But i have left up my toon up that did it as a reminder. BTW, i have done this mistake 3 times. Don't let it happen to you, always check for that money bag.
14. In the past, I have leveled with very little rest xp. For example, I leveled one toon 1-61 in 3 days. That's actual days, not play time. But probably pretty close This time around, because my ultimate goal is now 90, I plan on leveling mostly with rest xp. But I found that up to about level 20, at least, rest xp with really pointless.
15. Save the first aid and
16.
This guide is based on pre-mop. With mop, I suggest you go into same level zone on the opposite continent before moving on to the zone I give you. The goal is to get to level 62 b4 outlands and 74 b4 northrend, and to hit 85 b4 cata. Should you decide to go beyond 85, you will need the cata content to get you there. And I believe Twilight is not doable as I don't think we can survive the opening quests. Same with mop opening quests.
17. These zones will make the most of your gear, gold & cloth. This was done without rest xp for the most part. I believe all other classes can follow the same route if you never quest without rest after you have hit level 20. Anytime you are going into a zone that you feel is too high for you, grind and/or do dailies until you are comfortable.
18. Alliance only quests are generally easier than Horde only quests. I chose a Draenei for the +hit since I didn't need the shadow meld.
19. Now that mounts are account wide, I suggest that you buy a Traveler's Tundra Mammoth in dal on your main and use it to vendor your trash. This solves 2 potential heartaches, a) the vendor moving just as you click on a pot, and b) thinking you have a vendor screen up when you and clicking on a pot or green gear. I have lost 4 or more ironman toons doing this. It's really sickening to do this at level 75.
20. When DMF comes to town, consider making backups & leveling them to 6 to buy the bag & get a little gold. No one has yet to make it on their first attempt, at least that I'm aware of.
GUIDE
Level 1-5 in your start zone
Level 5-11 go to Nelf start zone. The reason is it's a lot faster/easier, you get more cloth, and you will get all the bags you need. All rares are doable. I don't go into the cave there, only cuz i find it a pain. If you do go into the cave, be careful of the rare that likes to hang out near the boss mob. (I went in the cave this time because the quest reward was nice & I'm trying to get to higher levels in each zone than I had in the past. It was during the day, so the rare was gone. And I managed to get to level 13 before I left the zone.)
I have since changed my strategy here. Before going to Loch, go to the human start zone, including the level 1-5 part. By the time you have begun STV, you will have enough rep to buy a 16s bag with SW, and your riding/flying training will be considerably cheaper. But beware, this zone is considerably more dangerous than Loch. After you have finished, continue on to Loch.
LOCH MODAN
A wonderful ez zone with a lot of rares (all doable). Go to IF to pick up bread crumb quest. You should b able to see the quest close to the fp. First aid trainer is also conveniently located. Do entire zone. (I went there at level 13 this time. In the past, it had always been level 10. A lot less xp, but probably worth it.)
Because of all the rares, this zone is best to do after midnight sever, which is the same time zone that blizz uses. That way, all the rares are yours.
As soon as you get to Farstrider Lodge, but a new bow if you are a hunter.
One quest you get will send you into a cave where there are mechanical mobs. There is a rare here that pats the entire cave. Kill the first mop, then sit & wait for him. If he shows up while you are fighting, you are likely to die.
WARNING: I don't do wetlands, but there is a starter quest in Loch that has you killing a few orcs & going inside a building to get a drop. DON'T GO IN THAT BUILDING. There is a rare there that likes to spawn or aggro after you have already pulled a mob. He killed me the first time I went there. The next two times, I made it my mission to get revenge on him. The pull is tricky should you decide to go after him. Send in your pet, then put pet on passive to bring mobs in the building to you. If you have "v" on like I suggested, you will b able to see the rare. If he isn't there, be careful, cuz he can spawn while you r there, like he did to me.
REDRIDGE
Fly to Lakeshire. You will only be doing this zone up to "This ain't my War" quest. You will not be doing "Weapons of War" or any other. Accept the quest to take you into Duskwood.
(As I suspected, rest xp up to this point was worthless. I only managed to get a few extra bars once I had completed this part. I'm at 22 1/2. The one advantage remains--mobs are easier to kill, so I am less likely to die.)
WETLANDS
This is a change for me. I decided farming the one rare in Duskwood just takes too long. So, if you are a hunter, stay here until your are 24 (makes Duskwood a whole lot less scarier). All other classes should stay here until level 26.
DO NOT go after that jug in the Orc building. Even if it has just been cleared, you will have to wait for the jug to spawn again, and when it does, so do all the adds. This is the quest going from Loch into wetlands. It's ok to do the quest that has you kill 5 Orcs.
DUSKWOOD
This is one of the more dangerous zones you will be doing. Remember to always clear. I'd recommend not going here til at least 22.
Buy bow from npc behind inn.
1. Stolen Letters quest: There are pats that you need to stop & wait for & then kill on your way to the letters. Also, there is a rare that can b sitting very close to the letters. The first time i got here, that rare killed me as I had just pulled a mob. So I had my mob, a pat & the rare beating my face in. So watch for the rare & pats.
2. Rotting Orchard: Every mob you need to kill here has his own stealthed rogue who pats. Take a step, wait for rogue, kill, rinse & repeat til you have done all you need to do here. Don't worry about the add that comes with your mob, he doesn't do any damage or attack you. You will not be backing up while you are killing the mob. It is far better that he beat on you than for your to back up into a stealthed rogue that has patted your way. So no kiting here in any form. I did find that coming here at peak hours was actually, for once, a little safer. This is pretty close to the most dangerous area you will be questing in. So patience is the key while you wait for the stealth rogues to appear. I once also found a roaming rare here, but thank god he was yellow.
3. Stitches: I always use to kill him even though he was tricky. I'd keep serpent sting up, auto shot & mend pet. He usually died at about the same time my pet did. But in mop, i used that stupid bear. He went down fast even with last stand. I ran out hoping to reset stitches. Lucky for me, i dropped aggro b4 he got to me. And luckier still, when i went back to him, his hp didn't reset & I was able to kill him with my now rezzed pet. But he is now sooo risky, I'd recommend not doing him. (Was able to kill him without trouble when I started zone at 24 & used a wolf. Make sure your back is facing the road so you have a get-away. I did have to use pheonix, but only cuz I concentrated on killing more than mending. For anyone without a pet, beware, he puts a dot on you that can kill you after you have killed him)
4. Catacombs: Not worth the effort. When you actually come to the area where the boss you need to kill is located, you need to send in your pet to grab the 3 mobs. BTW, there's 3 sets of 3 mobs. The problem is that I think that room is like a different zone. You pet wont go in. The only way is to dismiss your pet, go in, aggro, and quickly summon pet. I have done this pre-mop, and another problem was by me going in, I aggroed all 3 mobs. I had in the past done this quest 2 or 3 times, but later gave it up as too irritating. And now i think too risky. (Just did this one, wasn't as bad as I remembered. When you go through the doorway, take a baby step so you don't aggro the other 2 mobs. There is a mob on both sides of the boss. I put pet on passive so the mobs would run to me. I didn't want the boss being aggroed until they were dead. I also pulled the boss to me this way cuz there's an awful lot of adds behind him.)
5. The last quest in the zone is to kill an elite. He likes to pat near that hat you r suppose to get. He is doable so long as you have cleared the area. (a lot of things are doable so long as you are the one in control, meaning you pulled the mob on purpose & not with an accidental aggro) He's an ez kill & doesn't seem to hit hard.
6. There is a rare up at the NE area called Beggar's Haunt. He is an ez kill with a fast spawn. Any time you are in town, take a trip there to see if he has spawned. I think I killed him 3 or 4 times while I was in Duskwood. He's right behind the building of the quest giver. (Last time through, I came here at 22, then just logged on to kill this rare & then off again, repeatedly til i was 24. He gives about 2 1/2 bars xp each kill. His spawn time is about every hour. At 24, Duskwood was not so difficult
NORTHERN STRANGLETHORN
Until you go to The Cape of Stranglethorn, I've found it easier to keep my hearth at duskwood & just fly to NSV when I needed.
All rares are doable til you get to that nasty yellow goblin rare towards the end of this zone.
All the troll areas are really risky & tricky. They can aggro behind walls. and they can even shoot you behind walls even though you cant shoot them. I made the mistake once of trying to get to the little island for a quest after doing the troll quest. I aggroed mobs behind the walls which made my pet go after him which aggroed more. There was no place to run or hide & I didn't have fd yet. So, I died. Thereafter, I made sure my hearth was off cd & always hearthed out.
THE CAPE of STRANGLETHORN
Nasty goblin rare: I attempted him 3 times b4 I was finally able to kill. Broke my heart. Pre-mop he was ez. At this point I was still using a bear, so I'm not sure how a wolf will do with phoenix. Max Distance, hunter's mark, mend pet, pet attack, concussive shot, arcane shot, hit will moving backwards, when pet dies for the 2nd time, freeze trap goblin, rez pet & bandage as necessary, rinse & repeat. At this point you will have feign death, so if it's not going well, you still should survive. Just make sure not to use it except to get out of battle to reset mob. (Yippy!! I killed him using my wolf without any difficulties.
1. There is a quest hub just b4 entering booty bay called Fort Livingston.
Gorilla area: All the gorillas pat so be careful. There is also a rare in their mist. You don't want to engage this rare til you have cleared out the patting gorillas.
Zul'Gurub: "High Priestess Jeklik" is a quest to go inside Zul'Gurub to kill the bosses of Zul'Gurb, the first one being some princess I think. DON'T DO THIS QUEST LINE. For one, they are glitchy. Usually pretty ez, but prone to glitch. I've done these at least 30 times on all my toons. The last one of the chain has you near death & captive. You are suppose to grab a rope that has come down. The problem is, if you don't grab it fast enough or someone else is phased in with you, you will be hit for like 5 million. There's a funny post about it on Thottbot. Instantly wiped a group of 5 raiders that even had a tank & healer. One of the quests, you are not really suppose to take too much damage, but for some reason it glitched on me & I was taking a lot. If it hadn't been for fd, I'd have died. I think this quest is auto accept at a portal. It wont let you click not to accept. Just move away & it will go away. Also, while you are in this area, the zombies roaming the walls like to glitch. They hit you but you cant hit them. Just run away to reset.
Zul'Gurub: The quest taking you in there, "To be a Pet" or something like that, is risk free. If you get caught, they just take you to the beginning to try again.
One of the mobs in this area is the end of Hemit Nesingwary chain. Sorry that I cant remember the mobs name. But he is tricky & hard. He himself is ez. The problem is he has 2 side kicks that luckily die fast & ez. So when they start attacking, make sure u kill them off first. But to make matters worse, you will probably also b fighting a panther that had been stealthed. You can try trapping him, but he looks like the ez side kicks. So which one??? Its tricky, risky & hard. You might just want to skip this one.
There's also another troll village. A lot of close mobs & pats. Just clear on your way in. I save my hearth to get out. But the problem is there is a boss you have to kill. Its tricky, but not too bad. He pats a little, so just kill the caster mobs while he is patting away. Sometime you are lucky & its mdps mobs that can b pulled to you. What makes this very very tough is a rare likes to hang out there. The rare is also a caster. I have always managed to kill my boss, but you might want to skip him if the rare is there. (last time I was here, I went during prime time to make sure rare was not there. He's doable, but I really don't think he's worth the risk)
2. Booty Bay is ez quest hub. (Xayaqc says, While doing the pirate quests in STV, don't forget to buy the gun from the bloodsail gun vendor (best iron gun until Shadow Moon valley). The vendor is on the same boat & level as wailing Mary.
The last quest after coming back from the pirate ship quests you WILL NOT be doing. You do not want to phase bb. The quest is something about rum, bubblerum or something. It sends you to go get a jug of rum. If you accept the quest at the rum jug, you will be phased. I have never did this part, but I have heard it was an ironman killer. If you have phased it, you have 2 choices. You can either hearth out assuming your hearth isn't bb, or you can take the portal to plaguelands up near the fp. The problem with phasing & not doing is the boat taking you to Kalimdor will never b available to you. And you pretty much want to be able to take the boat back & forth. (So phasing BB is doable I'm told. I have never attempted it, and at this level, I'm not willing to take the risk)
There is a rare in the water. He is level 44 so at this point, you cant kill. But later on your way back, kill him.
I keep BB my hearth as I find it more convenient for going back & forth.
Make sure to pick up the bread crumb quest taking you to Ratchet. Once you turn it in, the npc will give a bread crumb quest for Dustwallow. If he doesn't, it's because you have one in your log. DELETE IT and get this one, which will give a flight to Dustwallow, and then take the flight to turn it in. It's now important to get the fp here because it is what opens up all your connecting flights to Ratchet.
DESOLACE
Hazards: A pat of 5 coyotes that even can get you if you are afk on the road.
I start questing at Karnum's Glade. So I really don't have much experience in this zone. But this is where I go for a bit. (Last time through, I stayed til 38. Trying to turn my quests green. Not so ez when ocd wont let me accumulate rest)
FERALAS
Hazards:
1.Taking the road straight into the Horde town if you are alliance.
2. Stopping the ceremony of the Ogres. It can glitch, so I no longer do it.
3. One of the last quests to kill the dragon on the top of the peak. You are suppose to get heals, but sometimes you don't. If you can't fd, you could be in trouble. Also, don't ride your mount down as it's very ez to fall off.
If your are a lower level than you would like to be once you get here, you can farm 3-4 rares that are ez to get to from the flight plan.
1. Feathermoon: Ask fp to take you to the "Battle at the Ruins" The rare can be in anyone of the buildings. Just go to the center and /tar lady If she's there, you will target her. She can also be in the same building as the boss mob. Since you are here, run behind the boss mob building & see if there is a chest there. It's in the way back just behind him, and it doesn't look like a chest, so cursor over it if you see something. This rare is often her cuz she's hidden in a building that most don't know about. Even at level 43, I was getting 1.8k xp for a total of 3.6k with rest xp.
2.Tower of Estulan: Head south behind the hippogryphs. Sometimes Old Grizzlegut can spawn in this area too, but he's pretty rare. Continue all the way back cuz the rare, Antilus, usually spawns far back. Since most don't go that far, the rare is usually here. Hunters have the advantage of tracking cuz he's the only one that will show up red among all the green & yellow mobs. For others, his color is white.
3. Shadebough: There are 2 rares here, but one you have to fight to get to him, his spawn is near the boss, making him not usually there. That's the wasp rare. he's located near one of the entrances to the hive. The other rare you don't have to fight to get to him. He's located beyond the hive surround by the mountain giants. He's also the only red mob amongst yellow & green ones. He not always here cuz the mountain giants are quest mobs, but since his pat goes pretty far back, most don't need to go that far back, so they miss him
All rares doable. EZ zone.
"Taerar's Fall" has a tendency to glitch whereby you fail the quest even b4 you finish the fight. If this happens, just pick it back up b4 you finish fight & it will complete.
DUSTWALLOW
Just recently started doing this zone since Thousand Needles started to get difficult to complete.
Hazards:
1. Grimtotem: using your raptor bait near the windmill. There are 2 mobs there along with a pat. Make sure to kill pat first. The problem with the 2 mobs is they also spawn spirit dogs, which broke my cc. You might want to consider sitting there waiting for CRZ to clear for you. (these invaders prove to be helpful at times)
2. Murlocs are back, and they like to run and bring back friends.
3. The Deserters: area is full of close mobs that like to run when almost dead. The seem to have a long enough spawn time where my pally was able to complete the quest. Just be prepared for the flight.
Thousand Needles
(Got here at 42)
The pirate area is tricky. Make sure you wait for the pat. If a mob has a bird, send your pet after the mob for his taunt & you kill the bird. he goes down after 1 or 2 shots but if left up, hurts a lot. Make sure to clear in & out.
"Two-Tusk Takedown" this quest send you into the cave to kill two tusk. Make sure your pet always hits first after each time he hides in a chest. BTW, if you put up hunter's mark, you will always see which chest he is in. At one point when he pops out, he bring birds with him. If your pet hits first, the birds will attack your pet & not you. Be careful in healing pet as it will cause these birds to attack you. You only get one chance at fd. I haven't found it really necessary to mend pet at this point, but you might.
when you have to jump off the pirates ship, dismiss pet first or he just might bring adds.
Freewind Post: Sad to say when I went here in mop, the npc that is suppose to help you was bugged. I opened a ticket, hopefully it was fixed. Pre-mop, the npc started helping after I hit a mob. After mop, the npc didn't start helping til after I took a hit which was after my pet was dead. Since you are fighting multiple groups of mobs & elites, you really cant afford their hits. I was able to do most of this area, but I didn't feel it safe to hit one of the last elites up where the escort is. He has side kicks & later spawns adds. So sad to say, this ended Needles. No other quests can b picked up til this part is done. The rest of the quests are so ez. I was very disappointed to lose out. Of course at this point I was still using a bear. With phoenix, maybe its possible.
(I wanted to see if this was doable. The answer is yes, but I highly recommend against it. I had to put my pet on passive & turn off growl. Once the mobs hit me, then the npc would fight. One of the last bosses is an elite with 2 side kick. They hurt pretty badly. Had to bandage, fd, rez pet, pray. The serpent boss got a few whacks in b4 the npc stepped in to assist. Almost didn't survive these last 2 bosses. I don't plan on ever enduring this again until blizz fixes it. So I'd recommend going to another zone that you are familiar with to get to 45 b4 going to Tanaris)
(Got another toon here, didn't want to risk it. I did do a few at Freewind. The NPC wasn't behaving. I only managed to get to level 44, so the Tanaris fp isn't available. So instead, I went to Badlands. I'll hit Tanaris afterwords.)
Not being able to complete this zone forced me to change my route somewhat. I was lvl 44 when I had done all I could do, which was too low to have the Tanaris fp. So I went to Badlands first, then Tanaris, and then the Tanaris part at Valley of the Watchers. Those mobs were about 2 levels higher than I was, but they didn't hit hard, so I didn't have any trouble. This got me to level 48.
TANARIS
(Got here at 45)
Pirate area: This is when I first started using a cat (you should b using a wolf). I didn't want my pet aggroing other mobs. This is when I learned how much better a dps pet is.
Sad to say most of Tanaris is off limits. The first time I went on the pirate ship, I swear as soon as I got on, I saw all the mobs on the boat running for me. There was really no place to run. Not sure what happen, it was a long time ago. Had I not panicked, I probably could have survived. So your experience here may be better than mine. But after that one time, I never went back on that ship.
If you are a hunter, make sure you buy your lvl 45 Brigandine gear. And make sure you get mail shoulders regardless of the level of them. At level 50, you will get a 5% agility bonus for wearing all mail. Most probably this gear will be the best you will find till Outland drops.
Fly to Rachett, take boat to BB, kill rare (Rippa) in water, he gave me 3300 xp, fly to SW, pick up hero's call on board to take you to Badlands. (This last time, I was 47, so only Searing Gorge was available to me, so pick up this one if it's there) This quest will take you to EPL first. It might seem to be out of your way, but u will get about 2k xp for the quests & all the discovery that you pass over, so well worth it. In the past, I could turn the quest in at Light's Hope, but the last time through, she was in the beginning of EPL. In any event, go to Light's Hope & pick up "Fuselight, Ho!" This will give you a free ride to Badlands & your discovery xp.
BADLANDS
Do not phase this zone!! The last group of quests you will b doing are "The day that Deathwing came". Turn in quests at Dragon's Mouth, but don't accept any other.
SEARING GORGE
(Been re-thinking this zone. It's pretty tough. Those golem guys hit pretty hard & like to pat to make your life miserable. Last time I came through, I was 48 & dc'd in the middle of a fight with one & didn't live to tell about it. So as long as you are 48, I'd say go to Felwood and skip this zone. I've always done it b4, so it is doable, but might not b worth the risk.)
I only do the quests at Thorium Advance, the beginning of the zone. Be careful with the war golems as they are casters & cant be pulled. They also pat. It's easier to kill the boss mob on the east side as well as kill the draves on that side too.
When killing dark iron mobs to get Dig-Boss Dinwhisker to spawn, don't kill the ones near the elementals as it tends to aggro them in groups of 2 or 3. If he hasnt spawned once you've killed the rest, it's safer to wait for spawns. Keeping in mind he can appear about the same time all the other do too. This is the last quest I do in this zone b4 hearthing out.
(Since i lost close to 2 levels by not being able to finish up Needles, I did more here than usually to try and make up for some lost xp.)
FELWOOD
EZ zone. All quests are doable. There is a rare that can spawn SE of Emerald Sanctuary, so while you are killing bears & wolves, check to see if he's there. His other spawn point in near impy.
One quests has you killing the demons who are in combat with the druid bears. It seems that once you kill one, the next spawn runs after you. Last time through, I had 3 come after me. So just b aware.
There is a quest to kill Arch Druid Navarax at the top of the inn. He has a nasty kick back that can know you off this very tall building, so position your back to the wall.
The bear meat from here & Wintersprings can be very profitable. I have sold it in the past for up to 9g each. Might be worth putting it up on the ah. If you can aford it, it's nice to bring 50 runecloth with you for the rep quest in the cave just b4 you go into Wintersprings.
Irontree: There is a rare in the cave. He's not always on the same path taking u to the quest turn-in, so be sure to look for him. When it comes time to kill the goblins, know that they sometimes fear you, so it is better to clear out the slimes first.
Dont accept the quest from Nafein taking you into Wintersprings to speak with Donova as the one on the other side will give you considerably more xp.
Kill the Deadwood Furbolgs until the Deadwood Ritual Totem drops, giving you another quest.
WINTERSPRINGS
(Got here at 53 this time around, woot)
Continue killing Winterfall Furblogs until you get 10 Winterfall Spirit Beads & an auto quest called Strange Life Forces. (Think I must have killed 30 b4 this quest popped up)
Each subsequent turn-in of 5 winterfall beads will give xp. At lvl 54, i was given about 3.6k xp.
Yeti cave: Dont let your pet attack the ice chuncks or you probably wont get credit for it.
The worm meat sells for a lot, so save it to list on ah.
Fly to Gunstan's Dig. There are a few ez Tanaris quests here that you can do to help boost you up in preparation of going to Outlands. So do them if you need the xp. I usually do them but this time around, I'm level 57 so not really necessary. Dont accept the Thunderdom quest.
Accept Tropical Paradise taking you into Un Goro
UN'GORO CRATER
"Bouquets of Death" has you killing packs of 5 lashers. I was advised not to do this quest. I attempted it once. I was able to kill 2 groups, but both times since my pet had killed at least one without my help, I didn't get credit. Since an Ironman is not designed to be hit by a pack of 5, I was afraid to aoe, so I gave it up.
"The Fledgling Colossus" taking you into the bug cave says it's a group quest, but it's actually soloable. Just when he is casting his ability, run behind a pillar & you wont take damage.
"The Ballad of Maximillian" Do not do this quest. It has a tendency to glitch. Good ol' Max is suppose to take off his armor & empower you with it. But frequently, he fails to do so. In the mean time, you are running all over aggroing the entire Un Goro with an elite trying to eat your face with no ability to kill him. I survived this once by dismounting, fd, & sacrificing my pet. I looked it up on the forums & found it is a common, long-time glitch.
BLASTED LANDS
You could do Silithus first if you wanted. Not sure it makes any difference. There is an elite spider you will be killing, and he'd probably be easier on you if you did Silithus last. Whereas in Blasted Lands, there's really nothing too hard or risky.
Did every quest here. Whenever you go into caves, beware that a rare can be there. Before you leave the zone, buy 1 nethergarde bitter from npc in the building where the inn is located. You will need it for an outlands quest.
SILITHUS
You can do silithus before or after Blasted Lands. I came here at 61, but if you feel comfortable skipping the zone, you can. There's a lot in Blade Edge and Netherstorm that I like to skip. I also skip Shadowmoon entirely. So the higher I am, the more risky quests I can skip. You are far better off working on green quests especially if your are any other class other than a hunter.
There is a quest to kill a female in the bug cave. My hunter could do it by first clearing and then killing her. She will take a very long time to kill as she heals herself, so you will first have to burn down her mana. One time a pat showed up, & that wench kept healing it too, so I had to fd to end the battle. I didn't try her on my pally because I was afraid she'd either burn down my mana or the mobs would spawn before I could kill her.
There is a quest to kill an elite scorpian. He is doable but a little tough, and this is another reason I like to save this zone for last. My pally was able to kill him, just make sure you have your back facing uphill. My monk was able to kill too, but with a lot more effort. When needed, I'd stun it then bandage. If my bandage was still on cd, I'd keep him stunned until it was off.
You will need 20 twilight texts. That elite running around drops 10 of them. Unfortunately she has 2 side kicks. She cant be trapped. The first time I tried, she blinked out of it. One of her side kicks can be cc'd. Take out the other side kicks b4 her. You really have to be careful with her. It may take you longer to kill her than your cc will last, so make sure to refresh it. Her pat, has a lot of pats. You don't want to fight her & get adds. You can just skip her, but the other mobs don't give up those texts so eaily. when you finally get 20, don't turn in on the repeatable quest. That's not where you will be using them. While you are farming the 20, just remember you are getting valuable xp.
Dont flag yourself. Those pvp quests you need to skip. With the cross realm, there are so many in each zone, that you just cant risk it.
Other than the elite & the pvp quests, the zone is pretty ez especially the level you would be.
OUTLANDS
With the higher xp we now get, I strongly recommend your don't come here til 62-64. 1) The higher your level, the greater your aggro range. 2) You will do more and take less damage (you have little to no hit). 3) You will reach 70 before you have to go into more challenging areas/quests. 4) You can begin doing dailies.
Do not come here til you can fly.
Rares are beginning to be pretty tough. Pick your battles carefully.
Discovery xp will decrease greatly as you level, so it might be worth it to get it all done as soon as you come here.
At level 70, the armor vendor at Telredor sells 2 pieces of mail, 2 pieces of plate, & a shield.
Hunters: There is a bow that you can buy in Blades Edge at Sylvanaar. Buy it. It is a considerable upgrade.
HELLFIRE PENINSULA
Mr. Fel Reaver is ready, willing & able to smash your face. To insure he doesn't put you into early retirement, always face the direction he will be coming from. He's close to 10 levels higher than you are so your feign death or shadowmeld is probably not going to fool him, and you don't want to be in a battle when he shows up.
"The Path of Anguish" I think the Horde side is safer, over near Thrallmar. The mobs seem to be spread farther apart & there's no worms to get you. And I think the Fel Reaver's path is a little more predictable.
"Disruption-Forge Camp: Mageddon" There is a spot on the NE corner that makes this doable. There are 5 mobs that are ez to reach without pulling aggro, although u will need to wait for them to spawn again in order to safely get the 10 you need.
"Enemy of my Enemy" There's only 1 canon thats safe to get & its at the NE part as well. This means u would b waiting for 3 spawns, but worth the wait.
Invasion Point: Annihilator" Skip. Too many mobs & too close together.
Pray Beads: You can dig them up but do not accept the follow up quest.
"Fel Spirits" Really only one safe place to stay put & wait for spawns. The mobs hit pretty hard & once they're dead, another one, his spirit, spawns. These mobs have a fast spawn rate & you don't want to be in battle when another spawns. So best to find the safe place & go slow & steady.
The Exorcism of Colonel Jules: Dont Do.
ZANGARMARSH
Nagas are worse than Mulocs.
Fly up pretty high as you enter the zone from Hellfire as one time I got flagged by a Horde NPC as I was flying over. I was just lucky he didn't dismount me. Of course, if you are Horde, feel free to skip this warning.
Your going to need 6 fertile spores later for sporegar, the fen striders drop these (as well as spore bats, but not young ones) so you might as well kill all you see til you have 6.
The quest "A Warm Welcome" requires you to kill 30 naga. There's no follow up so you might as well save it til you are killing naga for other quests including the one from Sporegar.
There is an escort quest in Unbrafen Village that is very ez to do. only 2 sets of 2 mobs spawn. Just let the NPC grab the initial aggro & then pull one at a time off her. Before starting the escort, clear the area around where she is located and you will be fine.
"Ikeyen's Belongings" There is an unseen mob right at her belongings in the cave who can beat you but you cannot see him nor hit him. At anytime you remain in battle after killing a mob, run as fast as you can to exit cave. Keep running til you are no longer in battle. Once you leave battle, it is safe to go back in and fight the boss mob as he is to your right of the fork in the road whereas the belongings are to your left.
"An Unnatural Drought" Keep killing the withered giants til the withered basidium drops. You will also need 6 Bog Lord Tendrils for Sporegar, so keep that that in mind. There are a few quests to kill Bog Lords, so these will probably drop while doing them.
"Diaphanous Wings" Kill the Bogflare Needlers in the northern part leading to Blades Edge for a chance at a pet drop. If it drops, your flight training woes will be over & you will never have to list another item on the ah. Keep in mind its very rare & i have never seen it drop, but certainly worth the attempt if you have to kill the mobs anyway.
"The Sporelings' Plight" You will need to be friendly with the Sporeggar in order to pick up a few quests there. To do so, you will need 50-60 spore sacs & 6 bog lord tendrils. Unless blizz fixed it, sometimes the spore sacs have glitched where you cant collect them. So far, they have never glitched if I've just left the "Natural Enemies" for the tendrils alone until after I have collected the sacs. Not sure if this is just a coincidence or a factor.
TEROKAR FOREST
"It's Watching You" Naphthal'ar has a nasty knock back. Make sure you place your back accordingly so that you don't get knocked off the tower.
1. "Speak with Private Weeks" and the entire quest chain--be afraid, very afraid. Probably very helpful to wait until 67.
2. "Who Are they?" While you are wearing the disquise, u can't do any ability or it will fall off, and hunters can see through your disguise. I think they only pat counter clockwise.
a. Shadowy Advisor is in the building. Be careful cuz the hunters pat in there & there can even be 2 groups of hunters inside the building. Its best to wait near & watch for the pats so you will know where both hunters are located.
b. Shadowy Initiate is on the wood plateform at the at the water/pond, north side.
c. Shadowy Laborer pats, but i wait for him between the south building & the s.w. tower. He will stop at the tower for a bit. In the past, he had always been a dwarf, but this time he was a troll. I had to /tar shadowy laborer to find him cuz i wasn't looking for a troll. The only safe place in here is between this building & tower. Once you have spoken to all 3, you can go to that spot & mount up.
3. "Kill the Shadow Council" Even worse. Now you have to get inside the main building without a disguise The way to do this is to fly in at the top & perch on one of the wood beams. You may want to park it there until the hunter comes in & out. I have been known to pull more than I could handle, killing 1 or 2, fd & sacrificing pet. If you have to fd or shadowmeld or whatever, do so back on the beam so when you wake up your are not immediately in battle. Don't start fight on the beam as pet has a tendency to go the wrong way & possibly aggro another group in the building. I sit at the s.e. between the little building & tower to kill the rest of the mobs. its a long wait as I have to wait for spawns, but at least here, pats are not too much a problem.
Not sure if these quests are prerequisites for other quests in Terrokkar. You have to be able to handle at least 2 mobs either by cc'ing or taking the damage. And you have to make sure you don't pull both groups in the building where Shadowmaster Grieve is located. Would also be nice if you had a way to get out of battle incase something went wrong. If you've had trouble getting this far in ironman, you might want to consider skipping this chain.
1. "The Firewing Liaison" with this one, it is better to go in through the front door instead of the roof. los the 2 mobs near the door, then cc Lisaile Fireweaver, then pull/kill 1 at a time her 2 side kicks.
2. "Thinning the Ranks" a whole pack of Orcs can mysteriously appear at the entrance to the back. So just be aware & don't kill mobs there.
"Escape from Firewing" is an escort quest that I havent found too difficult. Just let the npc do the aggro or she wont stop and wait. As with all esocrts, let her tank while you pull one at a time off her.
"Tomb of Lights" and "Vengeful Souls" I wouldnt recommend doing til 68. When I go after the Vengeful Draenei, I only stay on the one level that has a left and right room. There's only one on each side, yet your need 5, so I just wait for spawns, and keep clear as mobs spawn.
Fumping: I have done this quest, but now mostly skip it. It isn't too bad if only one mob spawns, but one time, 3 spawned & that was very scary although I lived.
The Dread Relic: Last time I did this quest, I died (ouch). It is doable. I died cuz I didn't clear first & a shade found me just as I clicked. Boom, dead. If you want to do this quest, clear the area first. B4 you click, prepare to mount. The only way you will survive is to mount up b4 the mobs (millions of them) spawn. It's always worked for me b4 until I failed to clear. That being said, I plan to skip this quest in the future. With the xp we now get, I don't really think it's worth the risk. And should my xp fall short of what I want my level to b b4 going to Northrend, I'll just do some dailies to make up.
The Fallen Exarch: Doable & ez so long as you can handle 2 level 64 caster mobs or can cc one of them.
I see Dead Draenei: Pick it up, do the ez part of the chain, finish it off later, about level 68. These lead to What Book? I Don't See Any Book to save for later.
The Skettis Offensive: I did this at 67. Its pretty scary. You need to b able to handle 3 groups of 3 birds attacking you. They have low hp, about 1600, so they do go down pretty fast. And there was a big enough delay between groups for me to regen my focus. I did this quest at 69 on my pally with no difficulties.
Torgos! (67-68) No longer an elite/group quest. Just remember to clear the area when you are collecting Trachela's Carcass cuz they pat & like to group up. So clear, clear, clear for both parts of the quest. (this did in my 69 pally. A mob feared me into 3 at the same time pats showed up)
The balance of the quests in this zone I don't do til after I am at least 68 and/or done with Nagrand.
NAGRAND
Wow, finally a breather. Most of these quests are ez and with issues. All the ex-elites are even easier than some of the quests mobs. You just got to make sure to pull in a safe area without the risk of adds.
It's my understanding that the "Ring" quests are not soloable, so I have never tried.
The only ex-elite quest I don't do is one of the last ones that has you collection bones or something to summon the boss. I still have nightmares of it from BC where the boss's knockback through me off the cliff to my death. I don't have the achievement for this zone, so there are things I'm missing. Some of them start from quests originating in SMV.
BLADE'S EDGE
Do not do any bird people quests. None, nada. There are too many of them, they are too close together, & they love to pat. I have done them in the past, so they are "doable", but at this point, not worth the risk or frustration and you don't need them to get to level 70-74. They have killed me twice. Once when I alt tabbed out and was found by a pat. The other time when I fell out of their tree house & landed into a flock of them.
Dont use the fp from Sylvanaar to Ruuan Weald. Unless they recently fixed it, it will flag you when it flies you over Circle of Blood. I'm not sure if it does the same on a return trip, and I don't want to find out.
Do not do the quest chain that has you collecting cloth for a disguise. I heard it's doable, but I still have nightmares from BC. I went there once to do it, aggroed a ton of adds at the cave entrance (not to mention an elite that pats in the area), fd, sacrificed pet, vowed never to attempt again.
Longtail is the Lynchpin: Safer not to fly through this cave. She is located towards the exit. Fly over the top and meet up with her that way. There is a pat there, so take them out first. She has a short pat herself, so just wait til she's close to you.
Quests I don't do:
You're fired at Forge Camp: anger
Meeting at the Blackwing coven and anything else to do with this cave.
Massacre at Gruul's Lair
My goal of this zone is NOT to do Toshley's Station. I have done them a few times, but they are not fun, and they are risky, irritating & frustrating. And I have been brought very close to death a few times.
NETHERSTORM
Pick up the quest, Off to Area 52 on the bridge connecting Blade's Edge with Netherstorm. This one gives about 2k more xp than any other bread crumb quest. If its not there, you already have one in your log. Just delete it & grab this one.
1. Area 52
"Mark V is Alive" is a short escort quest. I did it at level 70 without any trouble. Just anticipate whats ahead of you and pick off the mobs b4 a pat shows up. If you are worried, try to do it after or while someone is clearing the area.
ShUtting Down Manaforge quests are easier to do if you wait til someone else is also inside them. One of them has an elite that pats and you have to wait for him to move so you can do the disguise part. When you are actually shutting down, he wont be near the area u are protecting. Manaforge Dura was ez, just kill the nelf and the anomalies despawn. Only need to clear arount the control panel. Mobs spawn one at a time and ear ez to kill. I don't do Manaforge Ara one.
Quests I don't do:
Wanted poster quests at Area 52
Dr. Boom
You, Robot
Sabotage the Warp-gate
Full Triangle
A Gift for Voren'thal
2. Town Square
Quests I don't Do:
Finding the Keymaster
Destroy Namerius!
When the Cows Come Home escort quest isn't too bad. Just clear her route b4 starting it. She's pretty tough and can tank while u single target any mobs. Another way to handle it is to wait til someone is questing & clearing those mobs. I was 72 the last time I did her, but I have done her at lower levels. One time I didn't clear, ended up fd & she died. So I restarted & luckily none of the mobs had spawned b4 I could complete the quest.
3. Eco Dome Midrealm: Pretty ez & uneventful
4. The Stormspire
Quests I don't Do:
In Search of Farahlite
Teleport This
5. Protectorate Watch Post
Quest I don't do:
Dimensius the All-Devouring
Secring the Celestial Ridge
SHADOWMOON VALLEY
Never quested here & never will. If my level is too low for me to comfortably go to Northrend, I just prefer to do some dailies on the island.
NORTHREND
Level 72-74 The higher the better. Had a friend who didn't come here til 77 or so. She just remained in Outlands doing dailies.
Dont come here til you can fly here.
I'm told Borean Tundra is easier than Howling Fjord to start in.
Dont fly over Wintergrasp or u will b dismounted & die
BOREAN TUNDRA
"In Wine, Truth" Be very careful where u land in the water as there are 3 sharks & Calm Master K all close together. Land far enough away from them so u can pick off one at a time.
"Dedar, Lord of Rhinos" Dont kill lunch box at his spawn point. Last time I did, he spawned a twin b4 I was done killing him. I had to fd & start all over.
"The Culler Cometh" I no longer do this one. If u decide to do it, look it up on the forums for the best way to handle it. The last time I did it, I kited him away which seemed to work a little better.
The Nefarious Clam Master" Be very careful where u land in the water as there are 3 sharks & Calm Master K all close together. Land far enough away from them so u can pick off one at a time.
"Kaw the Mammoth Destroyer" I don't do this one.
COLDARRA
That big old dragon in the sky would just love to smash your face. The trick to keeping her pacified is to not fly in her presence. So any time you hear her flapping or see her shadow, land quickly & she'll probably let you live.
"Cracking the Code" Dont do him. He casued my first death upon reaching Northrend. Even at level 74, I was unable to pull only 1 caster without aggroing him & a few others. He 1 or 2 shotted me.
HOWLING FJORD
(Here at 77 after finishing BT)
1. Explorers' League Outpost
a. "Lightning Infused Relics" I no longer do this quest. While being in the golem suit disguised as an Iron Rune Contruct, it has despawned on me while I was in the cave. Lucky for me, I only aggroed one mob and was able to kill him and then hearth out. A Level 80 friend of mine wasn't so lucky when it despawned on her after she had used the rocket jump & was flying high. She fell to her death, dieing on what was actually a gray quest for her.
DRAGONBLIGHT
That wooley mammoth that pats around wyrmrest...you know, the rare that you'd love to kill? Dont. He's not soloable even by quest geared toons. I tried him. He 1 or 2 shotted my pet. I had accidently hit fd & then moved so it was on cd. And I was next on his list. So I put on aspect, dropped and ice trap & a snake trap & ran like the wind, praying, "Lord, don't let me die, please, please, please" As luck would have it, the wow gods sometimes answer prayers, and I lived to tell about it.
1. Wintergarde Keep
"The Noble's Crypt" DO NOT go into catacombs. By not finishing this quest line, you will lose a lot of quests in Dragonblight, but you will live to tell about it. Most importantly if u do go in, don't click on the flesh-bound tome.
"My Old Enemy" I don't do this one.
GRIZZLY HILLS
"Escape From Silverbrook" There's a trick to this one. Mount up on the npc then immediately dismount & mount your flying mount. Follow the npc, flying above him. Just as he is getting to Amberpine Lodge, mount him again. I did this quest 2 times without any issues b4 I learned that it is one of those potentially deadly quests. Then I did it 2 times flying above the npc. Both those times once I got to Amberpine, all the mobs I had skipped were suddenly there to attack me. I fd & they despawned. Not sure what would have happened if I hadnt fd. This last time through, there were no mobs.
"Hour of the Worg" I don't do.
"Dun-da-Dun-tah!" I tried this once. I couldnt kill fast enough. So not doable.
"Free at Last" These elites don't hit hard. If Gavrocks Runebreaker doesn't work the first time, keep using it on the same giant and eventually it will work, hopefully b4 u kill him.
"Ursoc, the Bear God" You don't actually have to be the one who kills the bear, which u cant. If the bear is dead, just use quest item on the corpse & u will get credit.
ZUL'DRAK
"Zero Tolerance" Dont b afraid of this quest. Its very ez to do. Find a spot where a pats wont find u, mc a servant, and just use the 3 abilities when off cd. In the unlikely event the servant dies, just quickly mc another one. The forums said to first clear the platform and then fight when he is on the far side. This didn't work. The mobs would almost instantly respawn. But it didn't matter cuz they didn't join in. And the mob went down fairly quickly no matter where i engaged him.
"Betrayal" I don't do this quest.
"The Storm King's Vengence" I don't do this quest
"Hexed Caches" WARNING From what I read on the forums, these caches have a chance to pretty much one shot us if we don't have the drop from the warriors & use it fast enough. There were enough complaints to make me decide to pass.
SHOLAZAR BASIN
"Where in the World is hemet Nesingwary?" WARNING! If you never turn in this quest, you will have an instant portal to Sholazar.
"Returned Sevenfold" Risky quest if you panic. If possible, i'd recommend practice on another toon. Most importantly, he does a channel spell called deathbolts that you must reflect back to him by clicking on the quest item. The quest item is channeled too, so if you panic & move, you will put it on cd & eath the deathbolts. He's not going to die with your dps. Its the reflected deathbolts that kill him, so feel free to run. He also does a reign of fire thats channeled, move. You have to pretty much move in a circle cuz he's ez to reset. In the past I have taken 2 hits & survived. After 2 hits, i'd suggest reseting him. If you elect to skip this quest, you lose an etimated 20 quests in Sholazar.
"Reclmation" I don't do this one.
STORM PEAKS
The Drakkensryd: I no longer do this quest as it has killed me twice. Once when it pulled me off the drake but failed to land me on the next drake. The other time I was unlucky to target a drake that had no mob on it & it immediately despawned. Because I no longer do this quest, I lose the hodir quest hub and it's resulting dallies.
There's only one elite quest that I now do here and it's in Bouldercrag's Refuse. I don't have it's name atm, but it's done in the building very close. It has you target a mob inside the building, blow the horn, and npc's come to help you kill.
ICECROWN
The Last Line Of Defense: I no longer do this quest as the last time I did, the elite you need to kill wasn't taking any damage, and when the canon exploded, it threw me into the pack of mobs. I researched it, and it appears that this is a known glitch. And at 82-83, I don't really want to risk dying to a glitch. Unfortunately this means I lose most of Ice Crown.
Occulus: If you find yourself taking on too much damage, just fly away to drop agro and bandage then go back and continue on. It's hp doesn't reset. If someone else is doing it while you are there, you will get credit when it is destroyed.
I do all the quests needed to open up The Shadow Vault dailies.
The Sum is Greater than the Parts: I don't do this quest. It's a mechanical/riding one. It's not gear dependent, but it most certainly is skill dependent. I tried it once & failed. Luckily after I feign death, the mobs all despawned. By not doing this quest, the Bone Witch quest & dailies do not open.
Where Are They Coming From: This is a very scary quest. You can click any of the 4 altars, but they are surrounded by a lot of mobs. The mobs go down easily. The problem for me was the caster mob didn't come to me, instead my pet went to her, aggro'ing more, at which time I dismissed pet & fd. I'd suggest you watch the altars, and when the mobs move away, especially the caster, quickly land, click & mount up. If a mob is aggro'ed, let him come to you to fight.
Destroying the Altars: Now you need to kill that caster. She drops loot that allows you to destroy the 4 altars. You can do this mounted, hovering above, just out of agro range of the mobs.
CATACLYSM
At 87, I opened up the Hyjal portal so getting to the daily there would be a lot faster. I started the daily there at 82 or 83. Since you one whack them, they don't do too much damage.
I started Vashjir first, but the zoned bugged on me about 1/4 of the way through, so I completed Hyjal first. All this only gave me about 1/2 level. I also started doing the dailies there. As a hunter, I can do the quests that have you killing normal mobs and a few that don't require killing. I don't do any of the boss mob dailies or the elite ones. And from what I read on wowhead, opening up the dailies in the cave is not ironman possible. At this point, I also started doing some TB quests. I even go to the top when my faction has TB for the croc daily & the one that has you killing 12 mobs. These dailies are tough & scary & take a blasted long time. But they give 69k xp as they're level 85 dailies. There's also the Pterodactyl quest in a cave that is pretty ez albeit annoying to me that doesn't require any killing.
MOUNT HYJAL
I didn't come here til level 87. I just did dailies until then. With rest xp, the mobs were giving about 300 xp. Sad, sad, sad. I did do the first quest that Thrall gives. It's o