Staying out of Outland
by Mike Schramm 
May 16th 2008 at 9:00AM
If you listen to me (or anyone else around here, it seems), the major consensus seems to be to head to Outlands right at 58, period. The leveling is faster, the quests are more interesting, and the money is plentiful, as are the drops. But cyanrose over on WoW LJ makes an amazing case for exactly the opposite: staying in old Azeroth from levels 58-60.She's been rolling around Hearthglen picking up items and XP, and from the way she tells it, things are almost as good there as they are in Outland. A dropped Orb of Deception (which was sold for a whopping 700g) didn't hurt, and there's lots of Rich Thorium around as well. Since old Azeroth is so empty, she hasn't had any problems with PvP, and apparently there's some good AoE grinding to do around there as well.
Great example of going against convention and finding your own way to play through the game. Outlands is there if you want it at 58 -- you can replace your gear in just a few quests, and get started on the new reputation grinds early. But don't let the popular opinion stop you from exploring the old world if you want -- there's lots of loot and fun to be had there, too.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Leveling, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Zhalseran May 16th 2008 9:05AM
Do both IMO. Go to Outlands at 58, pick up some quest greens, then go back to Azeroth and slaughter the remaining quests with superior gear.
Bob May 16th 2008 9:09AM
This is what I did on my last character. Do the first few Outland quests and you will have gear far superior to anything in Azeroth outside of the old endgame. Then go back and get the last two levels in Azeroth. With the increased XP from 2.3 you can get to 60 just as fast as you would in outland and you end up with more quests left over at 70 to make gold.
Dan B. May 16th 2008 9:12AM
Agreed - the first few quests in HFP can be brutal (at least on my not-so-well-geared warrior), so I did a couple of the easier quests, got some loot, got some help on the harder quests, then went back to work on the rest of the grind to 60 on Azeroth content.
Ametrine May 16th 2008 12:41PM
That, in my opinion, is the best way, because you can sometimes, with luck, hit 61 or 62 before having to head back into Outland, leaving you plenty of quests there after hitting 70 to just reap the gold from without needing to bother with dailies.
anonymoose May 16th 2008 4:08PM
"Do both IMO. Go to Outlands at 58, pick up some quest greens, then go back to Azeroth and slaughter the remaining quests with superior gear."
This is full of win imho. My last 2 70s did this and it was perfect. My favorite "finisher" zone is Silithus--no one around, and a bunch of "kill x number of y" quests. Also, if you are trying to get to 300 cooking before Outlands, you can do the desert dumplings quest from the Cenarion Innkeeper.
ninjasuperspy May 16th 2008 9:08AM
What Zhal said. Do the first few quests to get crazy loot, but you'd be psycho to skip the last few levels in Azeroth. I was 63 before I hit Hellfire, and I'm almost 65 now before I'm even done with the first zone. I'll probably ding 70 somewhere in early Nagrand or Terrokar leaving me with plenty of Outlands for flying mount money. Though the "No flying mounts until 77" has me reconsidering the Epic Flyer.
Bob May 16th 2008 9:15AM
Make sure to train up your professions in Honor Hold/Thrallmar as well. Most of the stuff you can gather/mine/skin/make from Azeroth won't go grey until at least 320.
Khanmora May 16th 2008 9:31AM
You can train professions at level 50 if you already have the requisite skill level. I always hitch a summon or portal to get that done immediately at 50 so you can level it while still in Azeroth. All of my professions have been able to gain nearly 25 points (sometimes more, go go gadget herbalism) in Az.
Andrew May 16th 2008 9:11AM
I've never leveled a character all the way through Outland. It's just butt-ugly (especially Hellfire). Hopefully they apply the leveling speed increase to 60-70 when Wrath hits, because I can't wait to get back to real fantasy and away from floating crystal space-rocks.
So, yeah, enjoy Azeroth as long as you can.
jbodar May 16th 2008 6:31PM
What's wrong with Nagrand and Terrokar? They are quite good looking and not at all "alien-homeworld-and-space-crystals" -- unless you count Shatt. I also think Zangarmarsh has its own charm.
Super Guest Man 9000 May 16th 2008 9:41PM
The leveling changes they made to Azeroth in 2.3 were to bring the 20 to 60 leveling up to par with Outlands leveling. I doubt they'll increase the leveling speed for outlands when wrath drops.
svenhoek Jul 30th 2008 10:21AM
Already said they would. OUtlands will get sped up, though not by as much as old azeroth.
JPN May 16th 2008 9:14AM
Isn't the Orb of Deception a world drop? Hardly a reason to stay in Azeroth....
BillDoor May 16th 2008 10:24AM
It drops from a few specific mobs, most notably the Dire Maul arena bosses.
Boobah May 16th 2008 10:35AM
It's also a world drop, and Azeroth is the world. About the only items I can think of that drop in both Outland and Azeroth is runecloth and a few herbs.
Zumwalah May 16th 2008 10:49AM
AMG! dire maul arena.. i totally forgot this existed, im goinna go back a check it daily like i used too, hes prolly much easier to solo now
anonymoose May 16th 2008 4:16PM
"Isn't the Orb of Deception a world drop? Hardly a reason to stay in Azeroth...."
It's an Old World drop. Until they radically change something in a future patch (and doubtful they will) Orb of Deception does not drop in Outland, like Eye of Shadow doesn't drop in Outland.
Speaking of which, WTB Benediction upgrade quest.
Jess May 16th 2008 9:26AM
I went to outlands at 58 with two of my characters and with one of them I actually ran out of quests I could do at 59 and had to grind a few pigs to get to 60 and unlock more quests. Not a big deal really. Thing is that you get started earlier you might end up in some tight spots but you get leg up on rep grinding and such.
Drakar May 16th 2008 9:20AM
I kept my shammy in Azeroth till he was 60. The main reason being I was leveling my mining. But the last two levels go so quickly it really wasn't that big of a deal. Did EPL and the levels flew by. However, I already have 2 70's so I really wasn't worried about cash or anything for his epic mount. For first time players, I'd say head to outlands at 58 although you may miss some pretty fun quests and lore by skipping ahead.
Lhock May 16th 2008 9:24AM
There's just not enough quests for 58-60 in Azeroth, and the ones that do exist are usually painful do to travel time. Most of the quests in EPL have so much travel back and forth that I wanna scream by the time I'm done.
Yea, on the upside, there's much less competition and pvp, but drops aren't worth it at all. I'd be much happier if Blizzard tweaked some of the loot tables from the old endgame instances like Stratholme so that maybe you could get a group going. Really, who wants to do the Strat quests when 1 run of Ramparts gets you xp and gear 3x better?