Originally posted by hogscraper

It came across to me as more like make sure you get whatever you want done before the expansion comes out because afterward its not likely you will. Maybe you want that rogue to finally get some levels in fishing but have been putting it off. Maybe there's that part of the map you've never seen but always meant to.

It would be great if that's what the article said, but it didn't.  What people want to read is a nice informative guide that explains something a bit more obscure than "level up because you'll get more out of Cataclysm." I think everyone is aware that generally, to explore the most content, you need to be a maximum level.  The post didn't really touch on things like, what you can do along the way, what you might want to try to do, and what you should definitely do before you get, or in lieu of not getting the expansion pack.

If that's what the next few articles become, then great, and I look forward to reading them and passing them along to people such as my significant other, who's a lot more new to the game than I. I just don't feel that this particular post did much to advance the goal of preparing people for cataclysm.

Seriously? You wrote a post telling people that to get ready for the expansion they should level up?  Does the next article tell them that to play the game they should log in? 

I'm sorry, but articles like this are why the correspondent program is getting shut down.  The only real content in the game is tied to leveling up, so a 1000+ word article telling people to do this is silly.  This could have been a paragraph in the article, no need to drag it out as a series.  I admit I'm biased;  I wrote an article describing things people could do in lieu of buying the expansion that was rejected. 

Hopefully you'll take these comments to heart for your next article.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

You know I get really sick of these stupid maximizing articles.  About all they do is explain the how to advance fast without learning how to play the game.   It just basically shows how clueless the writer is to the purpose of playing a MMO.

A challenging build teaches you how to play the game because you have to use your wits more.  Demonology warlocks are a dime a dozen and are generally horrible when they get to end game, they never bothered to learn how to play their class.

And what, pray tell, is the "purpose of playing an MMO?"

I think you misunderstand how to level the fastest-- it distinctly REQUIRES you to know how to maximize every aspect of your class.  If you don't know what you're doing, even following cookie cutter builds like this one will not get you there the fastest.

There's no such thing as a challenging build in WoW;  the game punishes creative builds most of the time.  There's a reason everyone relies on cookie cutter builds.  Some builds are better at different tasks than others.  Demonology warlocks are "horrible" (which I highly question if you even know their mechanics, if you did you'd understand that Demo is a good build for begining raiders who do not have the gear) at end game less because warlocks who level with them don't know what they're doing and more because Demo has less damage output in raids.  This has been confirmed by Blizzard. 

With that said, interesting article, but you should have posted an exact talent tree, or linked to a calculator.  I personally prefer drain tanking with an affliction succubus/felhunter build, and after leveling 3 warlocks, I'm of the opinion that it edges the felguard out slightly for leveling.  The felguard is, however, better at dealing with elites, and will ensure you can solo most of the quests on your way to 80.

What I've always liked about soul shards is the concept.  The idea of a warlock imprisoning the souls of his vanquished targets and using them against his enemies has always been a great flavor item.  I think that it's hard to tell know how good the changes will be, but as I said before, I think they're getting closer to feeling like they should.  I am, however, concerned that the aspect of imprisoning souls with drain soul will be completely downplayed in this system.

As for how SOON the expansion may be, My personal guess based on the time frames of previous patches, expansions, and information released, is next summer (2010).  I think we'll have one more major content patch (ice crown), maybe two, and then the expansion.  We seem to have settled into a 4 or so month development cycle for patches, so I expect ice crown in December or January.  I can't see them making players waiting for 6 months for more content, but I may be mistaken.  Either way, my guess is as good as anyone elses. 

 Anyone who's played warlock really can't say that giving out soul shards or soul stones, or summoning pets or players really counts as a way to weed out "noobs" from the good players.  At best the soul shatter ability can keep a good warlock alive when they accidently pull aggro.  Farming shards really isn't even a problem (I keep my bags toped off), but it's a far cry from being able to open a vendor window and buy 200 candles before a raid.  While the new system might make us feel more like death knights, I am hopeful that the new system will be more interesting, and more relevant to player skill.