Breakfast Topic: The leveling curve (and bending it)
by Mike Schramm 
May 29th 2008 at 8:00AM
This forum thread talks about a person who dinged 70 while still back in Nagrand, and while I didn't finish off the run to 70 that early (he probably did lots and lots of instances), it is possible to bend the leveling curve a little bit, especially in Outland, where there are so many quests to go around.So how far have you bent the leveling curve? Early on, it's pretty clear where to go to level up -- there are only a few areas you can go into at each level, and while there are definitely more quests than you need to do (especially in the newer Dustwallow Marsh content), things are pretty laid out for you. In Outland, though, things get a little squished -- Blizzard really went overboard with quests, and so it's possible now to hit the last level without ever seeing one or two of the zones.
Fortunately, any XP that you would have gotten at 70 is translated back into gold on a quest reward, so even if you've finished early, there's still lots of reason to go back and see what's out there (and there is some must-see stuff later in the game). But how off has your leveling been? Anyone hit 70 even before Nagrand?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Breakfast Topics, Instances, Leveling
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
con-man May 29th 2008 8:07AM
I dinged 70 in Nagrand and I didn't instance a lot, I just didn't leave a zone till all the quests were done.
Clint May 29th 2008 1:23PM
Same here dinged 70 in nagrand, but have done most (~95%) of the quests in outland...there are a couple random/new ones I may have missed in shadowmoon or netherstorm.
rick gregory May 29th 2008 2:09PM
Same. I also used rest XP to my advantages throughout the early and mid-60s. And yeah, I did some instances. The key is to do ALL of the quests... this was an alt. My main I dinged 70 in SMV and this time I wanted the BEM, NS and SMV stuff around for gold... mm... gollldd....
Chris May 29th 2008 8:08AM
Terokkar Forest for 2 of my 70s. Then again I like to stay in Azeroth till 62 as I love the old level 60 stuff in the plaguelands. None of my characters have done more than a couple of quests in netherstorm or shadowmoon valley. I find myself getting a bit confused/overwhelmed by quests around blades edge.
Screwblade May 29th 2008 11:10AM
Both my 70's dinged in Nagrand. I'm somewhat of a self-proclaimed "instance junkie" so that helped my climb on those two.
Now if only I could get people to recognize my ret pally as a viable party member, I'd have three 70's. ; )
Yinxie May 29th 2008 8:14AM
I did a Hellfire Peninsula > Zangarmarsh > Terrokar Forest run, while I did instances in that zone, getting honored.
I left a zone when I had done all the quests and left the level cap.
(HP=63/64, Zangar=66, Terrokar=69) and I dinged with like 1 quest in Nagrand.
I never finished Nagrand, BEM, Netherstorm, SMV at all, done 0 quests.
Ofcourse, that was on my alt char (Yaina) who I went PvP with, so quest gear sucks anyway ;P altough Netherstorm would be better for 70-ish green/blue.
With Yinxie (my main), I dinged in SMV after Nagrand. in BEM/Netherstorm I did all the quests there were for money, and so I got my epic flying.
Yinx
Khanmora May 29th 2008 8:16AM
I went HFP to ZM to Nagrand and dinged 70. I still have Terrokar, BEM, SMV and Netherstorm for quest cash :)
Aigarius May 29th 2008 8:19AM
Same here, I mostly dinged 70 by doing all quests in HF, ZM and BEM and all instance quests. I only started doing TF, Nagrand, SMV and Netherstorm quests when I needed gold for the epic flyer, clocking in around 1000-2000g per zone.
For alts that did not instance too much I would aim to look up the quest reward for the big chains, especially in Netherstorm and SMV and do those chains for the gear before 70 to also get XP from it.
ninjasuperspy May 29th 2008 8:20AM
I stuck around in Azeroth until I was 63. I hit 65 in Hellfire the other day. I'll probably ding 70 in Nagrand or Terokkar. I didn't do a single instance until Hellfire, just loads and loads of rested XP.
This means tons of quest money, and not just from dailies. I don't know for certain, but I think this character may actually afford to get his epic flyer or buy his way to BFFs with the Scryers. Of course I'm repping up with Scryers so doing my SSO dailies should keep me in Signets and Tomes.
Nick May 29th 2008 8:20AM
I followed a similar route as fellow players. I didn't head to outlands until 60 (unless to get some training), and then didn't leave a zone until I had finished all of the quests. I actually did this intentionally so that the quests that would lead to the most gold post-70 would still be available.
Gessilea May 29th 2008 11:32AM
I've done the same thing on my more recent 70s (I'm at 69 on #4). The gold rewards from clearing out BEM, SMV and Netherstorm at 70 is going to pay for epic flying. It's not hard at all to have SMV and Netherstorm open when you hit 70 - have a friend help you with all the elite quests, never leave a zone until you've finished everything, and try and get a couple of instance runs in to do the quests in Ramparts and Bloodfurnace. Putting in a bit of time grinding for Aldor/Scryers rep stuff can be helpful as well.
Jason May 29th 2008 8:22AM
Same here. I stayed in Azeroth until level 61, since I really do not like the Star trek theme of Outland. I became 70 in that horrible place called Blade's Edge mountains.
Warlock May 29th 2008 8:26AM
I'm currently doing quests in Terrokar and i'm 51% into 65, and I have only stepped foot into one instance, gaining only 20% of 64 from it.
I leveled to 60 in the old world since I do enjoy the plaguelands, and once I hit 60 I went and did my epic mount quest which gave me half of that level. So going into outlands i was 60.5, and 2.5 zones later i'm 65.5. I could easily see myself hitting 66 before i leave terrokar, probably 68 or so in Nagrand, not sure after that.
I can see two reasons why people hit 70 so fast. 1) they do a lot of instances, as you mentioned. or 2) They don't play every day until they hit 70, there are breaks between playing sessions. Rest XP builds up really quickly in these levels, so much so that a casual player can spend the majority of 60-70 with rest xp, and Blizzard didn't design the quests to take you through every zone with rest xp. While it may seem like a small bonus, it really adds up considering how many mobs you kill for quests in Outlands.
NeSuKuN May 29th 2008 8:32AM
went to HfP as soon as I dinged 58 and became 70 on nagrand with my two 70s I did a few instances only, those needed to complete quests. I just did every single quest.
moink May 29th 2008 8:32AM
I dinged in Blade's Edge. Finishing off BEM, then Netherstorm and Shadowmoon got me about 2000 gold towards my epic mount. I grinded out about 1000 more, borrowed the rest, and paid it off quickly doing the Netherwing dailies (this was pre-SSO dailies).
Wiedmaier May 29th 2008 8:36AM
I did Hellfire, Zangarmarsh, Nagrand, and dinged in Netherstorm. I did a few BEM and Shadowmood quests for gold, but I've never been to Terrokar. I shelved my character for a while at level 63 and from 63-70 I never left rested XP.
Wiedmaier May 29th 2008 8:38AM
Oh, I even started in Hellfire at 58.
Sinthar May 29th 2008 8:44AM
I dinged 70 with my main in Nagrad. I had never been to BEM, Netherstorm, SMV or even outside Shattrath at that time. I DID do it with lots of rested XP, and didnt leave Azeroth til i was at 62 (cos i was waiting for friends to ding so we experienced the 'new' content together). I remember wandering into Nagrad, starting grinding anything i could see and kill, and then getting a /w to do the ring of blood. I dinged when i handed in the last q and got (finally) a decent staff
Loudfiero May 29th 2008 8:42AM
I dinged 70 in Underbog. I followed 7 of the top 10 Lazy Alt's rogue quests for gear. Only did Ring of Blood and the Trampoline quests in Nagrand. For the dagger and cloak. Moved onto SMV for some sweet rogue gear. Then back to Zangramarsh at 69 to get honored rep with CE for the PvP helmet and dinged in the instance.
Working on PvP gear now...
arb May 29th 2008 8:42AM
My most recent 70 dinged 58 in Azshara, having never bothered going to Burning Steppes, Un'Goro or Silithis. He dinged 70 in Netherstorm 3 weeks ago and has only been to Shadowmoon Valley once, to buy his Epic Flying Mount.