Gnomeaggedon has
written up a great guide to something a lot of players (including me) haven't worried about at all in the past: min/maxing your gear before you ever hit level 80.
Aside from twinking, there seems to be almost no reason to worry much about gear before you hit the endgame -- you can level in almost anything these days, and by the time you hit 80, you'll replace it all anyway. Why bother? But Gnome makes a good point: he says you should put the minimum of effort in to max out your gear's power. Better gear will help you level faster, will help you play better, and I'll even add that it will help you learn your class better; figuring out early on which stats you want to choose over others will be a big help when you are dealing with all of the epics at level 80. You don't have to spend all your time choosing gear pre-80, as most of it will get replaced with regular quest rewards anyway. But it's good to put some thought into it.
So how's it done? Gnome's posts have some excellent tips on
browsing Wowhead for new gear,
using Rawr to
analyze where your character's at now, and
eventually looking ahead to what's next (I'll
throw Gear Wishlist in again, simply because that's helped me out a lot). There's so many great tools out there for choosing gear, and it's interesting to note that they're still helpful even pre-80. Taking a second to check your gear while leveling up might actually make that grind that much easier.
Tags: analysis, dungeons, gear, gear-check, gear-wishlist, gearing, gnome, gnomeaggedon, instances, level-80, leveling, min-maxing, pre-80, rawr, running, wowhead
Filed under: Items, Instances, Leveling, Guides
Dec 2nd 2009 at 7:00PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tardesh Dec 2nd 2009 7:17PM
As somebody that has leveled multiple warriors I can't stress enough the importance of 'min-maxing' your gear setup for leveling.
Casters have it a little easier, but warriors (and I would imagine rogues also) have to be at peak to not die before the mob they're trying to kill, kills them.
Tremelizzer Dec 2nd 2009 7:19PM
Ratingbuster is an excellent addon to help doing this while leveling.
Wulfkin Dec 2nd 2009 8:15PM
This.
Its a great addon for the endgame, but useful in all scenarios. Do a little reading up on a class before you level it, work out what stats you need and then let ratingbuster do the rest.
Also just learn from previous toons, or if you're new to WoW, then ask around. Some places like Scarlet Monastery absolutley should not be missed for the awesome loot they provide.
Also: always complete long quest chains as most (with a few notable exceptions) will have an especially shiny reward at the end.
alpha5099 Dec 2nd 2009 7:26PM
I'd say this is definitely a good idea, particularly when it comes to understanding how your class' play style works. I'm very glad that I had followed some theorycrafting on shamans while I was leveling, so I knew what gear I wanted and what my attack priorities are long before I got to 80. With just a little bit of research, you can have a pretty good grasp of what you should be doing. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to unlearn all the habits you got into on the way to 80 if you discover you've been doing it "wrong" the whole time.
You probably don't need to be shelling out hundreds of gold for the gear only twinks really need, but I make it a habit to hit up the AH whenever I'm back in a city learning new skills, just to see if there are any good upgrades available. Don't wanna be running around with a level 17 cloak in your 30s. Researching quest rewards is also a good idea; I knew a lot of the great quest rewards in Borean Tundra so I could make a beeline for getting some new gear, and I did a thorough search of everything in Howling Fjord when I started to assemble a resto set for my dual-spec, which I picked up around 71 or 72.
thehoodie Dec 3rd 2009 1:26AM
I did this exact same thing. Aside from making the levelling process easier, it also made the transition into heroics and raiding much easier as well.
All in all, a little research goes a long way.
elvendude Dec 2nd 2009 8:02PM
I religiously use Pawn while I'm leveling. If nothing else, it really helps me decide if it's time to replace something with a new quest reward. Now, choosing which scale to use is the real trick to that.
OIK2 Dec 3rd 2009 2:47AM
I use Pawn endgame, but where do you find scales(or how would u make one) that takes into account a partial list of talents and lower ability scores? I tend to use Ratingsbuster pre-80 and Pawn/Ratingsbuster endgame while ingame, and Lootrank(Now Guildox, and because of this change Gear wishlist isn't processing their stuff anymore it seems) outside the game with the same values I use in Pawn.
Would be nice if something like Atlasloot or Elkano's ItemDB could sort items based on Pawn score...it would be like Lootrank in game.
Tolkfan Dec 2nd 2009 8:04PM
I tried doing this, but it turned out that it actually made my leveling process longer :/ Checking the AH all the time (hey look, lvl 40 plate with +str +stam, only 100g ....), looking for upgrades from obscure and out-of-the-way quests on wowhead, playing with talent calculator... combine that with the horrible quest and zone layout (hello Feralas, when is that boat coming, I wanna hand in my quest).
I just load up on all the heirlooms I can get, put some nice enchants on them(+20 int on weapon, om nom nom) and don't give a crap about the gear I get from quests.
Of course, all this goes away once you hit outland, because the quest gear there is plentiful and itemized decently. Can't wait for Cata :]
curtisrutland Dec 2nd 2009 8:31PM
I think you went too far.
Focus your time on questing, but examine the gear rewards, and choose the most appropriate upgrades, and do some longer quest chains that you might have skipped for the good rewards.
Honestly, spending any money in the AH on your toons while leveling is probably a bad idea unless you find a great deal. You're just going to replace it...take what you can get from quests and drops (and maybe bargains) but don't go dropping 100G for that new piece of plate you can now equip at lvl 40.
For example, the Wrathgate quest chain in Dragonblight. On the toon I'm leveling at the moment, I actually leveled up before I finished this chain. I could have moved on to Grizzly where the quests are higher level, but I know with just another hour's effort or so, I'm getting a nice blue leg drop that I won't replace for a long time. So I did it.
Bronwyn Dec 3rd 2009 12:30AM
Definitely hit up the AH, but also definitely don't spend too much!
And your example- level 40 plate- is actually going to be overpriced anyway. That's when the plate wearing classes get plate- I had major sticker shock when I checked to see what I could get for my paladin, only to find that almost every piece of gear in the early 40s was majorly overpriced.
Granddad Dec 2nd 2009 9:48PM
I don't go overboard when leveling, but I definitely look ahead on http://www.wow-loot.com and WoWhead to see what good quest rewards and drops may be coming up. Moving towards a piece of gear keeps me motivated. And with the new cross-server LFG coming up including teleporting right into the instance? I foresee a lot more people leveling in instances -- can't hurt to have good gear!
Karuna Dec 2nd 2009 10:46PM
Even though twinking has been murdered, I usually try aim to reach certain levels like 37 with like 75 % of a twinks gear and then slowly level to 40, then aim for another level to twink, maybe 60. Results in a stop start leveling process and maybe not entirely for the mcdonalds generation, but with people that know how to take their time and enjoy themselves it's a great way to level.
Fartmasterking Dec 3rd 2009 12:07AM
Karuna has the right idea!
anywho, I suggest that, EVERYBODY, every single smelly little person, once you hit 28, Get Into AB and kill some Horde/Alliance people! Get yoursel those 20 AB marks, and buy yourself a nice pair of "8% speed increase" Boots for yourself, EXPECIALY those like warriors and warlocks and priests and mages and rogues....i think thats it.
Paladins and Hunters have those smelly "walk 15%-30%" faster abillity/talents, smelly paladins and hunters.
I also Suggest, if you really like bg's or AV, get yourself those 40 AV marks and 28k Honor, and head over to your nearest bg weapon quartermaster and buy yourself a nice High Warlord/Grand Marshal weapon, they tend to be better then outland weapons till at least 65, depending on your class of course. High Warlords Battleaxe "A.K.A. Saurfang's weapon" lasted me till the level Northrend started...then I had to change, of course i didn't, who would pick a wooden paddle sword over a hulking skull covered Battleaxe of awsome? O, and Heirlooms, while helpfull and usefull in every way, Suck.
theguntress Dec 3rd 2009 8:22AM
Get the boots, then get the Mithril Spurs for them (unless you have a talent that increases mount speed already like a BM hunter or Ret pally). Faster mount speed, even by just a small amount, means less time traveling, more successful daring escapes, and being the first to cap farm/stables in AB if you are into that.
polar Dec 3rd 2009 12:11AM
I should add that once you hit L58, GuildOx Loot Rank will also show you upgrades to your current gear set.
http://www.guildox.com/wr.asp
analogkid Dec 3rd 2009 12:15AM
I've found quest rewards to be adequate for hopping into at least toc regular and then going into ToC heroic after you've farmed it a bit.
Don't use the AH, often times items are overpriced, and most of the stuff is up there at those prices because they know enchanters will buy it.
With the new LFG system coming out soon the time it takes to gear up a character for raiding, will be far less because you'll be spending far less time LFG.
Bronwyn Dec 3rd 2009 12:35AM
It really does help; As I've been leveling more and more alts I definitely look to try to get the best gear I can (also I find it helpful if you have a crafting profession to try to keep it at or ahead of your level, especially if you are crafting armor you can wear. Useful upgrades) as I level. It makes it much easier and the whole process goes smoother.
I browse the AH when I'm in town for deals- but only for deals! Don't think you have to spend hundreds of gold on items you are just going to replace, and don't buy anything that is only a slight upgrade (Unless it's really dirt cheap). You can usually find some decent deals on the normal "leveling" crafted items that people make a lot of. Don't be afraid to check WoWhead for quest reward items that might suit you, etc.
Tordenflesk Dec 3rd 2009 4:12AM
min/maxing IS pointless until endgame. Don't get me wrong, It's amazing getting a couple blue maces at 19, enchant them with +15 Str and auto-attack your warrior to well into your 30s, but unless you need to for example buy a couple two-handed axes too train up weapon skill at 60 for TG, it's just a rich-mans game to on-the-fly twink.
L33T15T Dec 3rd 2009 10:07AM
I agree. The way I see it is that the amount of time spent searching Websites for the best upgrades and then going in-game to get them could have been used to get two levels higher. If you're shooting for level 80, I think you should use your time to level. Otherwise TWINK it out.
Kylenne Dec 3rd 2009 1:22PM
I love when people comment without reading the link.
He's using "min-maxing" in an entirely different manner than the traditional meaning, and not at all advocating what you've said.