Alright, that was completely worth it
by Paul Sherrard 
Feb 5th 2007 at 2:45PM
Unlike most of you out there, I did not immediately rush into the Outlands with my level 60 whateveradin, slaying my way through Hellfire Peninsula in an unquenchable thirst for experience on the road to 70. Instead, I put aside that urge and rolled a Draenei Shaman.
Now, just shy of 3 weeks from the release of the Burning Crusade, I've hit 60 - thanks largely to Skew having infinite patience waiting for me to catch up to him in quests - and have made my first tentative steps into that which lies beyond the Dark Portal.
It's not that the Outlands are unfamiliar to me as a player, I spent a decent amount of time exploring them in beta, but there's a whole different vibe to them after slugging through every single one of Azeroth's zones in such a short period. To put it on a grand scale, it must feel the same way that seeing the new world felt to the first European settlers. To put it on a normal scale, it was really freaking cool.
All of Azeroth feels so far away now. I made it to Shattrath, actually got a tour of the place from one of Khadgar's servants, and chose my allegiance (to the Aldor, btw, though I'm sure the elf-lovin' Scryers are nice folk too). I now have a rudimentary understanding of what's going on in the Outlands - Illidan = Bad, everyone else = good - and feel like there may be a point to my questing.
To those still on Azeroth, I urge you to commit and level up to see the Outlands. Bountiful riches await you (every single drop is an upgrade), fantastic battles will challenge you, and the world itself will have you gaping in awe. For those of you in the Outlands now, don't forget to go back to the old world to see what a difference an expansion makes - and if you really want to see it from a new perspective, level up a Blood Elf or Draenei, so you can appreciate it all the more.
Have any of you done this, or are in the process of leveling up a new character without first taking a look into the Outlands with a 60 you have? What's your experience been like?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
James Feb 5th 2007 3:00PM
Yep, I have a Draenei hunter at level 37 who I rolled the night BC came out. I've been taking my time too. I had a 60 NE warrior who I was set on taking into Outland, and I did get as far as Shattrath with him, and I was reminded all over again just how much I hate, hate, hate playing a warrior. I burnt out back about the time I got him to 60...and I saw no reason to keep at it. And playing a hunter is about a 1000 times more fun. So, I've turned him into the world's highest level bank character, and I mine ore with him in places my hunter can't get to. I am working on getting outfitted in the entire twill cloth set too, just for when I go into town with him.
As for my hunter, I am very much looking forward to Outland, but it'll be a few weeks more.
Poxus Feb 5th 2007 4:03PM
Actually I am making an alt to level up but it isn't a Belf or Draenei, it's a regular old Orc Hunter.
I figure with my Warlock on the steps of 70 and working out Tailoring and enchanting skills, I'll make a Orc Hunter to do Jewelcrafting and be pretty much set as my guild has tons of Alchies running around.
Sylythn Feb 5th 2007 3:19PM
I'm having a blast experiencing life as a Paladin - and the blood elf zones were fantastic to level in.
I'm also finding a new-found love for hunters through my Draenai (again, a wonderful starting zone...the disguise-yourself-as-a-tree and furbolg language quests were my favorite). I'd never been able to get a Hunter past 12-13 before, but I'm really liking them now.
In my spare time, I'm hitting every quest I can find in Outlands with my warlock - and loving it...though the difficulty of soloing everything does mean I get tired of questing after a bit - but that's when I can switch back to my lowbies for some easier times.
Serenity Feb 5th 2007 5:31PM
I'm having fun on my Druid, just about to hit level 36. I rerolled on a server my friend plays on, since he was rerolling Draenei Shadow Priest...however..I'm not enjoying it all that much..he decided to leave me behind and is 57..and I'm a Hordie at heart...the Alliance population is just seriously too immature and..frankly, a bunch of noobs. BGs are hell, and though I have met some rather good players...I don't look forward to running instances...because I'll always get that tank who facepulls all the time because "It's my HP I'll do what I want with it"...or that healer that doesn't realize healing the person who is taking all the damage needs heals..or claims they are OOM with a full bar...
I'm waiting for a new server to come out...reroll BElf Rogue/Hunter and have fun there...I really don't see myself enjoying Alliance.
Ahzriin Feb 5th 2007 4:59PM
I've been doing exactly that. I have a level 60 rogue who I haven't touched since the expansion hit. Instead I've been playing a draenei shaman. I just hit 41, and I'm moving fast with limited playtime.
I'm trying to save all the Outlands as the proverbial carrot-on-a-stick. I tend to get really bored during the late 40's and 50's, so having the outlands to look forward to will help me push through those annoying levels.
Corvus Feb 5th 2007 4:34PM
With the release of BC, neither my wife or I could resist the pull to sign back up. I had put down WoW for quite some time, leaving my level 47 Gnome Rogue to gain quite a lot of rest and while I wait for my wife to catch her Level 33 Gnome Warlock up to him, I'm playing a Draenei Shaman (currently at 22) and a BE Rogue (level 15). We're in no huge hurry and are slowly getting ourselves back into the flow of things. Eventually we'll make it to the Outlands, which for this PVE RP'ing CareBear is a far more compelling destination than raids and other insane instances.
Eric Feb 5th 2007 4:11PM
Hit 58 and hopped through the Dark Portal just this morning on my Draenei Mage.
DECLANATOR@SURAMAR Feb 5th 2007 4:16PM
HOW DO YOU LEVEL A CHARACTER SO QUICKLY! aND i PLAY ALL THE TIME AND A 50 LOCK IS HAS HIGH AS i HAVE GOTTEN
Apocolipto Feb 5th 2007 4:17PM
Maybe im super noob but how the heck did u get to 60 so fast, I mean yeah id like the adventures and crap but i dont have the time to play like some people, Im lvl 30 BE lock i rolled when BC came out,
Xristafer Feb 6th 2007 10:33AM
I guess I'm probably the most casual player who even reads this website. My Gnome Mage is only lvl 61 and my new Draenei Warrior is lvl 14 after 6 hours of play. Good times though. I think it's 50/50 whether they'll both be 70 by the time the next expansion comes out, heh.
Sam Feb 5th 2007 4:44PM
Good grief... 3 weeks?? I dont know how you people do it. I have a 34 night elf rogue that I've been questing for 3 months.
Slag Feb 5th 2007 5:08PM
I rolled a Draenei Shaman on Blade's Edge (original, huh? Probably Jewelcrafting, too, right?) and I vowed that I would 1) not seek outside assistance from any of the myriad websites for help with quests or 2) play that toon more than two hours per week. I'm doing great with No. 1 and it has actually re-sparked my interest in the lower levels and just wandering for the sake of exploring. Which is why No. 2 is not working so well ...
Rich Feb 5th 2007 4:58PM
lol on our server (Laughing Skull) we have several 70's running around as well as a 70 Draneni Shaman..... damn alliance... Im not sure if we have a 70 BE but im sure they are not to far away. As for me im at 64 with my Tauren warrior and loving every minute out there. Nothing like standing there with axe and shield in hand yelling "BRING IT ON BITCH" to the giant bosses of the new instances (thank god I roll with a sweet priest.) But being I was only 54 when BC dropped, I think im moving along at a pretty good pace. After I get Apa to 70 thats when Ill roll my BE lock and I also have my Tauren hunter named BigBlack, with my pet Meaty
Guernia Feb 5th 2007 5:17PM
37 BE pally, as I was a little tired of being a squishy UD priest (not to mention burning out on priests a little by doing almost nothing but PvP from 2.0.1 until BC - if I ever do decide to level him up to 70 he'll at least have a kick-ass set of PvP gear to help him on his way).
I also have a 60 hunter I'm neglecting while I level the pally.
As yet, neither 60 has set foot in Outland, and I don't intend to - I'm saving that as a reward for getting the pally up to 58. It's a great incentive.
And it was also a good way to experience the *other* new content that came out with BC - the new belf areas - the way they were intended (ie. not with a high level going back for rep). I know that, if I ever have to level a new toon again, I'll be going up to 20 in the Ghostlands. Smaller than the Barrens, better rewards (including the Tranquillian rep rewards) and not so overplayed that I'm burned out on it.
I dabbled with a squidface, but the noobzone was untidy, cluttered and crowded beyond belief, not to mention full of fools, so he's at level 3 and languishing in Alliance hell, which is probably where he'll stay.
Skew Feb 5th 2007 5:29PM
Man, it was so worth it to power grind with you, Paul. In two days of outlands, I have gear far better than my T1-2 Orc Shaman, which is kinda sad, but at the same time its amazing. Also, I hope you weren't too pissed at my constant push-push-push during the grind.
For everyone who's amazed at how we did it so fast (/played 7d at 60) the answer is easy. We quest as fast and as hard as possible. My first character was a leisurely pace to 60, with a /played of about 15 days total which took about 3 months to do. Now that was taking my time to fully explore areas, read up on quest lore, fish for hours and hours, etc. It was a far different story for my 10th (yes, thats right, 10th) level 60 character, Kraezei, the Draenei Shaman.
He has minimal tradeskills which are far under-par, he had starting capital of 250g, and he's on a second account so my epic-clad mains could easily help on quests or instance runs that were too hard for the Shammy duo.
It also helps to know exactly where everything is, how to get there the fastest, which quests are clumped in a certain area so you can overlap your efforts, and what mobs give the best exp to grind on.
If you're worried about why your character is not 60, but you've been playing for 3 months, check a few things. What is your total played time? (type "/played" in a chatbox and the game will tell you.) Paul and I hit 60 at just about 7d in 3 weeks. Thats 168 hours in 21 days, which is an average of 8 hours a day. He and I both hold down full time jobs, too, so we averaged 6hrs a night on weeknights, and 12hrs a day on weekends. Thats a hard feat if you have any kind of social life, or family comittments. Next, do you spend a lot of time working on tradeskills? If you're going out and mining for 3 hours, then blacksmithing for 1, then fishing for 2, you've lost 6 hours that could have been spent grinding. I'm not saying that the tradeskills aren't important, but I am saying that its not the fastest way to grind to 60. We basically killed mobs from start to finish every day, and never stopped. We were maintaining 1.5 levels a day progression from lvl 45-60.
The best advice I can give, is if you're working on your first character, take your time! If you're in a race, start looking for levelling guides; but if you want to experience the game then just enjoy it.
Paul Sherrard Feb 5th 2007 5:31PM
Leveling to 60 can be fast, and a little painful. I recommend finding a good leveling partner. You maximize xp and quest-completion speed with 1 buddy. Any more than that and you lose XP, and can lose time with waiting and whatnot.
Next, experience. Knowing what to do and where to go really helps. If there are quests that want you to turn in items that are on the AH, then buy them ahead of time. XP > money.
Finally, dedication to the cause. I leveled Wyahld (the 60 draenei shaman) in 6 days 21 hours and 37 minutes of /played. That's 165 hours in 20 days, or 8.25 hours a day. That, on top of 2 jobs, and a put-on-pause social life can be quite taxing. This was the fastest I'd ever leveled a character. My previous best was 1 month and 7 days 22 hours of /played.
As always, I recommend Jame's Alliance leveling guide (google it, you'll find it on WoW Pro) for levels 31-60. Hit Outlands with a friend at 58, and the last 2 levels will take about 2-3 hours each.
Finnicks Daerkhiv Feb 5th 2007 6:10PM
There's something about the Alliance quests that always stuck me as sub-par. Despite several attempts (Seven at last count, two in humans, gnomes, and night elves and once in dwarves) I have attempted to get a character past level 20.
It never worked, because the Alliance starting zones are boring. The quests are tedious and seem pointless, the zones are boring, and some of the quests, mostly those in Nightfall, send you all around the entire zone on huge wild goose chases, killing 100+ boars for just 10 usable snouts.
Enter the Draenei. Their starting zones blew me away. Amazingly fun. Interesting. The zones themselves are stunning. I had no problems at all getting from level 1 to 20 on my Draenei mage, doing every single quest along the way.
Then it was time for me to leave the islands and venture forth into Wetlands, Duskwood, or Ashenvale.
And all three, unfortunately, live up to the original starting zones. The quests are boring. The zones are not only supermassive but not that impressive. The quests are "meh". And I swear I got so sick and tired of Saltfin Oracles a level under me healing themselves fully then calling for four adds, resulting in my quick death, very, very disheartening. Not to mention that the Alliance GYs in most zones are so poorly placed. I died five times against those freaking Oracles, four times I popped all the way back in ASTRAANAR, and the fifth time I popped in the southern part of DARKSHORE. What. The. HELL?
Serenity Feb 5th 2007 6:17PM
Finnicks..I feel the same way...I suppose that's why my near-36 druid is my highest level Alliance to date...and will probably stay that way. I guess some people are masochistic and can submit themselves to that torture...I don't think I can anymore.
Hugh Feb 5th 2007 8:07PM
Oh man, I feel the same way about the Alliance! I'm stuck earning 100g for my horse and spells for my AF Hunter. I borrowed the money from a friend and promised to pay it back. Once I get my 100g, its back to the Horde...
Dan Bradley Feb 5th 2007 9:20PM
For all those asking "How do you do it so quickly?", it's just simple math... It will take most people somewhere between 200-400 hours to hit 60, though it's been done in less (~125 is the record I'm aware f). If you play twelve hours a day it will obviously take you less calendar time than someone only playing an hour a day.