Matticus' powerleveling tips for shooting to 80
by Mike Schramm 
Nov 21st 2008 at 1:30PM
Our good friend Matticus is one of the WoW Insider bloggers who's already gotten up to level 80 (we've got three or four of them floating around), and over on his own site, he's shared a few powerleveling tips for those of you who'd really rather just get right on back to the endgame again.A lot of it is common sense, but it's mostly "go fast, and go big." Get as many quests as you can, and do them all at once. Pop all your cooldowns whenever they come up, and even while you're looting something, be looking for the next quest target or the next thing to kill. Professions are out the window, of course, and reading quest text will just slow you down, so just click accept, and read what you're supposed to find while you're running out to find it.
In case you're wondering, no, I don't recommend playing the game like this (it's fine to be a slow leveler), and even Matt admits that you'll miss out on pretty much everything pre-80, including all of the lore and story Blizzard's baked into the game this time around. But if getting to 80 is your only goal, his tips will help.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, How-tos, Virtual selves, Leveling, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gobus Nov 21st 2008 1:47PM
QUESTHELPER!
'nuff said!
Moody Loner Nov 21st 2008 1:49PM
Looks like you Slashdotted Matticus.
And yeah, Questhelper. I'll read lore at work while the server installs run.
Flairy Nov 21st 2008 1:55PM
I hate it when people say that fast levelers miss out on all the lore and storyline. I got to 80 by Sunday night and I didn't miss much. I missed Boring Tundra, and that's about it. I got all the quest achievements for all the zones, unlocked all the cinematics like Wrathgate, watched the Muradin surprise, etc.
Just because you level fast doesn't mean you miss everything.
joerendous Nov 21st 2008 2:13PM
i think they're getting at seeing the proverbial forest but not appreciating the proverbial trees.
*'not appreciating' in terms of 'missing out on the niceties of'
Khrono Nov 21st 2008 2:21PM
I think the point is more that people who level really fast don't really take the time to read every quest description thoroughly. A lot of story comes from reading the quest descriptions and not from merely doing them.
Flairy Nov 21st 2008 2:24PM
That's untrue. I read the quests. Lumping everyone in by using words like 'all' or 'everyone' or 'none' are not appropriate here. Case in point: myself.
joerendous Nov 21st 2008 2:32PM
just as a note, i don't see where he lumps everyone that powerlevels into a group. he does lump all the lore and story background into a collective whole, which i'm sure may be true that one may miss out on. even for slow levelers. blizzard jam packed each of the zones with side stories, and drama aside from the over-arching lore.
Omestes Nov 21st 2008 2:40PM
I really don't understand the rush to 80. Yes, my main is only 74, and yes a slew of my buddies who raid are already 80. But i just don't see the rush. I'm enjoying the terrain, and leveling a DK at the same time.
I suppose I enjoy leveling more than endgame since the last 2 times I hit cap, I ended up quitting a month later because I got bored. I like to hop into the raiding scene when everyone else is a bit better geared than me, so it gets more laid back, and less dictatorial. PvP, in Wrath sounds atrocious, since there is no way to get gear without doing arenas, I HATE arenas.
I suppose I lack the competitive streak.
I really don't see the difference if I hit 80 now, or 80 a week from now.
Hank Nov 21st 2008 2:41PM
I did the Fjord and worked my way thorough Dragonblight, and dead-ended because I was a few xp short of 76 for Sholozar Basin. So I made my way to 77 in Borean Tundra, and I have to agree, it's the most boring place to quest since Barrens.
Kevin Nov 21st 2008 2:22PM
So you read every piece of quest text? Somehow I doubt it. At any rate most power levelers don't read the quest text. And guess what? That's where the lore and storyline is. If you haven't read it you've missed it.
Will Nov 21st 2008 2:32PM
a combination of using quest helper or carbonite and following Jame's Guide - which shows the most efficient quest "order", gets me about 500k exp an hour.. also ensuring you have:
1. most efficient leveling talents/build
2. best leveling glyphs for your class
3. cheap consumables (flasks which don't go away on death)
AND you experience about every quest in wotlk.
I go into more detail on my blog. http://www.wowconfidential.com
flythebike Nov 21st 2008 2:36PM
I am enjoying going at my own pace. I hit 74 night before last. I took a day off of leveling in my 1-2 hours of playtime yesterday to level blacksmithing over 400, explore Dalaran, do the cooking quest, and clean out my bags of old paladin spellpower tank gear. I have engineering at 410, and I'm gassing over the boot enchants. I did some fishing. When I started leveling again today I had 5 or 6 bars of rest xp.
To each his own, but I have enough rat races in my life already, I don't need to turn my recreational time into one more rat race.
For sure you should burn your cooldowns every time they are up, stuff like that is just plain good advice, but I really think it is worth stopping and smelling the roses.
Thander Nov 21st 2008 5:07PM
Matticus himself extensively played during beta, so he of course wouldn't care about the quest text the second time through on live.
Everyone who did not do beta should be taking their time. Otherwise, they are pretty much wasting their $40.
dlar3 Nov 21st 2008 7:01PM
Get real people. Those of you that want to argue that you power leveled to 80 in a couple of days and say that you did not miss any lore or content are just plain full of bs. Mathmatically speaking you could not have leveled that fast and seen most or read most of it. Grats for leveling so quickly, i wish i could, but get too easily distracted. (Ohh look at that....) Now go to your endgame or pvp and pwn somebody.
Flairy Nov 21st 2008 7:18PM
lol nerdrage!
Wasuremono Nov 21st 2008 10:21PM
I don't read the quest text AND I level slowly. So there!