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World of Warcraft Guide: Tying Up Loose Ends Part One
MMORPG.com World of Warcraft correspondent Sam Guss kicks off this series of articles designed to help prepare players for the eventual launch of Blizzard's next expansion, Cataclysm.
By Sam Guss on November 23, 2009
Welcome to "Preparing for a Cataclysm," a new series of articles between now and World of Warcraft's next expansion, aptly titled, Cataclysm. This series will focus on all things to do with and to prepare for this new expansion as well as express opinions and known updates about it. Currently the release date is speculated to probably be Q2, 3 or 4 of 2010. Blizzard has confirmed they are shooting for a 2010 release and Game Stop has a release date holder for November 2010. Chances are high that it will be released sometime between May and November of 2010. That's a large window to work with for now, but at best, I figure we have six months before the start of that window to prepare.
These articles are not designed for the hardcore player. Nor is it for just the casual WoW player. I classify myself as simply a "gamer" or a "hobbyist" gamer to be even more specific. That's somewhere between casual and hardcore, which I find represents a fair number of players. These articles are designed for you - that person somewhere between casual and hardcore. You like and experience endgame content, but that's not your sole drive. Neither are you in game to just fiddle around with friends or play an MMO as a first person RPG.
As a player myself, I was first exposed to WoW in Beta through a friend's account. I played a Troll Hunter and an Orc Rogue. It would be a little over a month after release before I got my own account and started playing seriously. I ended up playing a Night Elf Rogue, which is one of my main toons today. Not having much success at getting into end-game content on the server I was on, I ended up going to another server and played an Undead Priest. When Burning Crusade came out, I left the game for awhile. About half way through BC, I ended up coming back to the game and got both of these toons up to 70, but stopped playing Horde.
When Wrath of the Lich King came out, I continued to play the Rogue and left my Horde toon behind. However, when faction change came to WoW, my Undead Priest became a Draenei Priest. In addition to these two "main" toons, I have a Death Knight, a lowbie Dwarf Hunter, Human Warlock and Draenei Shaman. Throughout my days of playing WoW, I have been an officer, a guild leader and back in Classic, a raid leader. When Cataclysm comes out, in addition to reaching the new level cap of 85, I also intend on leveling a Worgen Warrior or Druid.
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Tying Up Loose Ends
As we prepare for Cataclysm, the first step I suggest is tying up loose ends. Once the new expansion comes out, we will be busy leveling to 85, playing with the new races and race/class combinations and experiencing new content, which will leave much of the content elsewhere even further in the background, much like what happened when WotLK and BC came out.
Tying up loose ends means getting the things done that have been on our back burners anyway. They usually fall into one of three categories:
- Leveling.
- Attaining tangible (in-game) items.
- Attain intangible (in-game) goals.
For some, you may have aspirations in more than just one of these areas, so you also need to decide which are more important to you. You're going to have to prioritize a little. You're also going to have to figure out some time management in order to get a lot done (if you have a lot to do that is).
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Leveling
Let's look at leveling. For starters, if you do not have a toon at level 80 yet, get one there! I am not saying rush through content and not enjoy the journey - indeed it is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game if you haven't leveled a toon to 80. That said, you will really want a toon at max level before Cataclysm comes out. It will be very easy to get side tracked with all the new content, or beginning a new toon as a Worgen or Goblin.
Many of you I am sure, like me, have at least one level 80 and probably another couple that are leveling along but not there yet. Mileage will vary greatly but you can expect that if you are putting a sincere effort into leveling, it takes anywhere from 10-15 days playing time to get from level 1 to level 80. Power-levelers and players with great time management can do it much faster, likewise us "slow" levelers can take even longer. With 240 hours to level to 80 from first level (10 days) and playing an average of two hours a day... that's four months to level a toon in real time.
Again, mileage may differ and of course many of us have toons well on the way to 80, so some time is spared. All in all you can still expect some significant time spent leveling your alts. I suggest doing so however. The reason is the same as for someone who doesn't have a level 80 yet. When Cataclysm comes out we will be leveling to cap again, perhaps starting one of the new race/class combinations, experiencing new content, etc. This means our alts who are not level 80 yet, will still not be level 80 and the chances of that happening will most likely decrease.
The hard part here is deciding which alt(s) you want to focus on first to get to level 80. I've personally made the mistake in the past that I could level them together and for some that may work. I have found that focusing on one toon at a time for leveling works better for me. Whichever toon you decide to level to 80 first though should be one that is furthest along the way to begin with and one that you do enjoy playing. Using myself as an example, I have my level 80 Rogue and my Priest is 79. I want to get the Priest to 80 first, and then I have a level 74 Death Knight and a level 31 Hunter as my next highest level toons. If you gathered that I would level the Death Knight and then the Hunter, give yourself a gold star. Time-wise it is feasible to get the DK and the Hunter to level 80 before the expansion comes out. My other two alts, the Shaman and the Warlock I "may" have time for one of them to level but with my play style I have to be honest with myself and know I won't be able to do both.
In a near-future article we'll take a look at some leveling strategies, heirloom items, how our mains can assist our alts and other ideas to speed the leveling process for our alts.
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Conclusion
In part two of this article we'll look at the tangibles and intangible goals of our characters and how all of these goals fit together in our estimated timeline until the release of cataclysm.
The link doesn't seem to work.
Linky no worky.
Not working your link is...
computer says no
/bump...
Link Fixed.
Enjoy :)
nope still broken :(
Hmmm. Its working for me across all browsers, and on three other computers in my house. I cant see anymore that I can do unfortunately :(
www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/15/feature/3757/World-of-Warcraft-Tying-Up-Loose-Ends-Part-One.html
There's the direct url for anybody who is still having trouble with the link.
Still broke cold fusion error. fire your developers.
And this is what I get...
http://img18.imageshack.us/i/mmorpglinkbroken.jpg/
I'm getting the same database error now.
Just hold tight I'm sure it will be back up and running shortly.
I am getting this
http://tying%20up%20loose%20ends%20part%20one/
connection issue????
No problem for me on Firefox.
Looking forward to part two as i have 2 alts at 70, only 1, a warrior, at 80...
Hmm... link seems to work fine for me on FF... maybe they've fixed it since the other posts.
In any case.... interesting, if odd post. I thought the title pertained to things Blizzard would be doing in Cataclysm... But it seems like a "what you should do to prepare for Cataclysm, and what you should do when it's out" - which seems like an odd thing to post about. I mean, this is Blizzard's 3rd expansion and even the article pertains to people having characters at 80, or working on getting there.
People typically will have their own goals very well defined, or are quick to do so once the expansion is released. I mean, they've done so for 2 expansions now already... BC introduced new areas and two new races, leaving people with the priority of either continuing on to the new level cap or starting a new Dreanei or Blood Elf... Do they try out the new tradeskills or stick with what they have, etc... People seemed to get along just fine. Lich King introduced Death Knights, leaving players the options of either continuing on to 80 with their existing characters and going through all the new content, or rolling a Death Knight and going that route first...
In all, I'm not sure why the author of this article felt it was necessary. Do they presume people won't be able to figure out their priorities on their own?
I'm not trying to bash the author here, as I'm sure their intentions are good.. But it just seems to be a very odd idea for an article - much less an ongoing series of them.
Doesn't work for me on FF here.
works fine for me on FF and IE. Good article.
Same here.
Agreed what was the purpose of this article? Get to 80? I mean are you serious?
Mouseover the hyperlink, you'll see that it is incorrect. This is what you'll see:
http://www.mmorpg.com/www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/15/feature/3757/World-of-Warcraft-Tying-Up-Loose-Ends-Part-One.html
Similar error to whatis on this page:
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm?loadnews=15580&utm_campaign=MMORPG%20News%20Alert%20Email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=MMORPG&bhcp=1
The link at the bottom shows:
http://tying%20up%20loose%20ends%20part%20one/
when you mouse-over it.
Maybe Skynet is correct in that it should eradicate the human race based off of the number of errors that humans make?
Nice article, btw.
Maybe the article is for people who can't level from 70 to 80 in 13 hours or less. Yes, you heard me, 13 hours. Of course, once he reached 80, a GM stepped in and banned him for exploiting a poor game mechanic design.
Because he did.
Your persistent use of the word "toon" makes it hard for me to take anything you say seriously.
Link worked for me just fine, thanks, using Firefox.
Great article, and great idea for a series. I fail to understand those who "fail to understand" why such a series or topic deserves coverage. Not everyone plays at the same level, does the same research, etc. No need to call them names, either. I have run with quite a few 80s who don't know the ins and outs of gearing their toons, what gear is best for them, what reps they should work up, etc. ...and then they try to jump into a 25 Naxx or Ulduar group because "hey, I'm 80, isn't that all I need??". These players aren't stupid...they just haven't had the time, the benefit of guidance and/or research that you may have had.
If you know one of the above, instead of wondering what the purpose of the article series is...point them to it. It might not help you, but it may help someone else who made 80 but is a little overwhelmed by all things Icecrown.
Well if it's intended specifically for those who wouldn't know what to do otherwise, then I can understand it. But as a general article, it just seems a bit weird to me. -shrug-
Also, I mean... It's WoW. It's not a difficult game to get around in, and certainly not a difficult MMO to find info on, via forums, guides, etc. etc. That's not bashing the game, that's addressing it for exactly the kind of game Blizzard has intended it to be.
I will say, if someone's gotten to 80 and doesn't have a decent grasp of the game yet, then.... yeah... something's wrong with that picture to me. Will they know enough to be an uber end-game raider? Maybe not. But should they at least be *aware* of what the different options are by then, and have an idea of what would interest them? I would say yes, they should... You pick up on those things by simply *playing* the game.
Anyways... To each their own.
The article may also give some good ideas that we may not think before, maybe a more fun way to level etc...
You're being overcritical, and expecting that everyone has the same ability to manage their time as well as you do or think is ideal. In reality, which I've learned, many people are terrible at time management or never learned how to prioritize. Many people have a problem with disciplining themselves to work for something good. For example, there are plenty of people who don't have a level 80 yet, because as you level up the rewards for leveling up take longer to get. Some people become accustomed to getting gratification faster than later levels can grant it, so they get side tracked by something new that promises faster gratification, such as a new alt, offering a new playstyle.
You're also working off of the assumption that most people have been playing since before BC and has had to make certain choices you've obviously made, so project onto others as making themselves. So the article is a nice way to put into perspective things that people need to get done, have been meaning to get done, but for one reason or another haven't gotten it done.
You may look down on these people, and think they're not worth addressing in an article, but as I said already, I've learned that many people have problems with time management. I meet them every day. While it annoys the hell out of me dealing with these people, it's a fact I've learned to except. While this article isn't important to you, or is useless for you, it may be very helpful to other people.
Try to understand that and be less critical.
Your article, whilst not badly written, appeared to be a very, very, very long winded way of saying,
"the next expansion is due up soon, get levelling your alts"
A large portion of your multi-paragraph monologue was you waffling on about your own alts. Without seeming to sound rude, you're some dude I don't know that posts on a web site, I don't care about your alts!
This article lured me in with an intriguing title but left me feeling empty. Sorry.
This. I stopped reading when one of the goals was to get to 80. And with WoW you can find everything to need to know about anything with a simple google search within seconds. This whole people might not have time blah blah blah is a bad exuse.
Wow is easymode carebearland and this article just proves that point.
So.... You felt the need to make a big new Story, running it like some major MMO information on a site where most people (absolutly not all) have years of experience with MMOs, and all the whole goddarn colums says:
"Hey guys? Level your character"
Yeah, I see now how mmorpg.com as ESSENTIAL as THE place to pick up solid and competent information about MMOS from some of the best in the field!
Or not... Please, try for a second maybe even a full minute, to find a writer that knows a little bit more than how to boost his "writer" (using the word in its broadest sense) ego.
I expect there to be a good deal of rehash about existing games over the next 6-9 months as there certainly isn't any major new title waiting around the corner that is going to really steal limelight. We are in a sort of 'dead-zone' for new, creative titles that actually have decent gameplay attached to them.
Anyhow, I think it may have been a much better if the suggestion had been to think about getting your alts to 60+ rather than saying level to 80. There may be a few people out there that haven't heard that the expansion will reshape some of the Azeroth zones. Along with this, I would expect characters that are still working the 1-60 progression may find quest chains they have in their log as no longer existing. Makes sense to tidy that up a bit ahead of time.
Also, if you are a quick progression alt-leveling type, you may want to get clear of the reshaped world as it is sure to alter the method of progression you have used previously. If you don't care about speed progression or partial quest chains you cannot complete, then you are already prepared for the expansion insofar as leveling goes. Congrats!
Congratulations. You have just explained what WoW is/has become. Get to max lvl and than wait for/buy our new expansion. In a nutshell.
By the way, the link works from the homepage, but not from the forums (firefox 3.5)
I dont understand whats the point of the article. It would make sense if I were someone that play WoW as a full-time addict. Besides, I do not raid. I just do normal quests and PvP in BGs. Perhaps on next article there would be something interesting to read about.
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.
I'm a 53 yr old woman who plays WoW, and I liked the article subject and anticipate getting some good reading from it. It may even help me, lol. I have a Tauren at 74, and I've been playing since the first day. Haven't been in any hurry to level, though I'm seriously working on it now :) I also have a 68 Alliance and several alts on both sides--none are 80. I am enjoying the game though, in my way.
Some people are wondering "what's the point?" For me, I play very casual, and even stopped playing altogether because of all the stuff about "gear" which took all the fun out of the game for me. But now I am playing again mostly by myself, which means no raids and all that, and my gear isn't all that either. But I was looking at some gear (demon stalker) on a vendor in Shattrath and all of it was unusable to me. So I decided to find out why, because there was no note about rep or certain 'currency' needed to purchase this gear.....so I looked it up on wowhead. And I still don't know why I can't get it! lol. It says which instance to get each piece in, but since it's on the vendor I would have thought I could 'buy' it without going to all those instances. Just an example of my experience. I'm hoping to get some consolidated ideas of how to proceed from where I'm at.
There's so much info out there that it is a bit overwhelming, especially for someone like me, who isn't really that into gear and being the most 'uber' player, but just wants to have some fun in the game. I just recently went to Wintergrasp I think it was, and decided that was GREAT fun, lol. But I really had NO idea what I was doing other than killing alliance, or how we won.......I know, pitiful, but I'm not going to let that keep me from doing something I enjoy, just because I'm not as good as some other players!!
Anyway, looking forward to the rest of the articles
What's wrong with calling them "toons"? Everything in WoW is car"toony" and I wouldn't expect toons to be called anything else there. I am not bashing the graphics in WoW here either they work just fine for that type of game and I found nothing wrong with them while getting 2 toons to 80 and several in their 70's. Would it be better to call them electronic dolls?
The problem I have with the article is that it doesn't have much of a point to it, other than pointing to the obvious in how to proceed in preparation for Cat. To me it's just about informative as saying to prepare for Cat you should press the power button on your PC.
What you guys call obvious might not be so to some. The point that sticks out is that to new players, when a new expansion comes out your old goals generally are forgotten about. It doesn't matter that you think the article is centered around 'get an 80'. 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. I agree that maybe this article is a few months ahead of its time, but new people come to this game every day and not every article posted is meant to satiate your ego concerning how long you've played a game.
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.
Since the link is still DoP (dead on post). I'll just wing it....
Make ONE character your main, trying to gear multiple characters to equal status is not only frustrating but down right boring....same raid content over and over.
As for Cata...just get to 78 and move to the next alt. I'm pretty sure that even though this next expansion is only going to be 5 extra levels that Blizzard isn't going to require us to BE level 80 to start questing.
And I read from one of these posts about rolling a new character to try the new prof out? Just roll and worgen or goblin. Remember when TBC came out? Draenei and Blood Elves both have bonuses to JC, which was the new prof. I bet the same thing will be true for Archeology (though I thought it was suppose to be a Secondary Profession??). Makes since...the Worgen looking through ancient knowledge for a cure....goblins because they're like gnomes......ALWAYS getting into stuff; plus they're more or less treasure hunters looking to turn a profit.
Set your goals...stick with them; this game is no less challenging than learning to tie your shoes......the rabbit goes around the tree and through the hole.
Considering that they will rebuilt the whole world of level 1-60 in cataclysm I would suggest only leveling the alts which are 60+. Should be more fun to visit the new old world with the other ones ;)
And in "preparation" of the expansion I would suggest to gather all achievments or reputation that you want and that might be impossible after the expansion. If you don't care about this things, not much preparation will be needed because everything will be reset like in BC and Wotlk.
You are right, its a secondary profession which is linked to or required by the new "Path of Titans" character improvement. Every char will be able to take this profession.
Why? That's the term WoW players use for Avatar.