WoW Rookie: Loremaster, a completist's dream

For those of us who are leveling up or even digging into a fresh 80, there's never been a better time to fold in The Loremaster to the ol' to-do list. Flying your Loremaster title proves you've been around the block; it's not like The Explorer, which you can hoof your way through even at level 1. Earning your Loremaster title means grinding out literally hundreds and hundreds of quests over every step of your journey through Azeroth, Outland and Northrend, from level 1 through level 80. It's the completist player's dream, a title that shows you've paid your dues in every zone at every level of the game.
We're not bringing this up now as just one more item to chuck into your pre-Cataclysm bucket list; indeed, The Loremaster won't be going anywhere in Cataclysm. While none of the numbers of quests required for completion have been adjusted yet to accommodate Cataclysm material, Blizzard has assured players not to worry about it. The Loremaster quest count has been updated before, so we should be confident that it will be adjusted again.
Still, if you're playing through the old content anyway, it simply makes sense to run through quests that will be disappearing when the expansion cracks Azeroth apart at the seams. Sure, there'll be plenty of new quests to do -- but you'll never get the chance to run all of these particular quests again.
What's involved?
There are four parts to achieving the overall The Loremaster title:
Your reward: the Loremaster's Colors and the title Loremaster <Name>.

Before you even think about beginning, make sure you're up on the tricks of the trade when it comes to questing. Click that link right this very moment! We'll wait for you to get back.
OK, now that you're back ... If leveling up in a logical fashion is your first priority, your plan of attack will probably be different than that of players who're already at the level cap. There are many, many more quests in any given zone than you'll need to level up enough for the next area. Completing every single quest in every single zone along the way will leave you over-leveled for most zones and instances long before you reach them. Think ahead, keep an eye on your XP bar and the level ranges of upcoming zones, and make sure you don't ruin your own fun.
If you're not particularly worried about tackling every area (or certain areas) at a level-appropriate moment, then you're free to attack this achievement with zest. As you move into new zones with your pumped-up levels, you may find the XP a little less rich -- but the cash and cumulative XP will flow like wine.
Be sure to turn on low-level quest tracking on your minimap before you begin. Finish each zone before you move to the next. A questing addon (more details, below) can help you make sure you haven't missed anything. Stay organized, and don't head into any expansion material until you've completed everything from the previous portion of the game.
Sort out the details with addons
Keeping track of which quests you've done and which are available still to do used to be a nightmare. Unless you literally played with a notebook and pencil at your side, tracking every completed quest, you had no way of knowing where you stood. Today, the game keeps track of completed quests under the hood. All you need to do is install an addon that will show you what's done and what's left in an easy-to-read format.
The big name on the block these days seems to be EveryQuest; download it here, as well as this handy addition that shows all the quest givers and their available quests right on your map.
Another popular alternative worth investigating is Loremaster.
Know your lore
The entire Loremaster project will be even more entertaining if you can keep the storylines in context. Bone up! We've got a huge range of lore resources right here at WoW.com:
- Lore 101 How exactly do you find all of WoW's story elements when they are literally scattered across several different games, comics, manga and novels? How do you know what should be taken as official lore and what to throw away as mere speculation? We'll show you the ropes.
- Know Your Lore Our wildly popular series peers more deeply into the epic figures, key zones and movers and shakers of Azeroth, Outland, Northrend ... and beyond.
- WoW.com's Guide to the Lore of Warcraft Here it is: the lore of the WoW world, indexed and at your fingertips.
Happy questing – and may we see that new title over your head (relatively) soon!
Rookie tip of the week
Reader Rekoor is right -- it always pays to RTM.
With the new(er), built-in quest-helper mechanic in the game, it is easier than ever for players to just pick up quests and go without ever stopping to actually read the quests. However, there occasionally comes a time when just knowing where to go for your quest isn't enough. So before you go asking in general or guild chat, read through the quest to avoid chances of a public flogging. Not only will the quests provide you with further details you need, but each one has its own bit of story to follow along with and perhaps give you a greater sense of purpose as you progress through the world.
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Filed under: WoW Rookie, Achievements






Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Coco Aug 5th 2010 2:45PM
I have 2 quests left to finish the achievement (if you have any Blade's Edge tips...that'd be nice) and only downloaded Everyquest when I had 40 quests left in Kalimdor and EK had been completed. Super nice to have, but you can do it without addons if you're organized.
Now.. back to farming apexis shards, sigh.
Exodus Aug 5th 2010 2:46PM
Ive been working on Loremaster for a few weeks now and just downloaded Everyquest w/ lightheaded and tom tom, problem i seem to have with it, unless im doing something wrong is that it doesnt tell me where to find the quests i havent done yet...so i have no clue where to look.
Dragonrose Aug 5th 2010 4:40PM
If you're using Lightheaded, add TomTom to your addon repertoire, then you can just click the starting questgiver's name, a list of coords will appear and you can click them to automatically add a waypoint with TomTom.
Exodus Aug 5th 2010 2:50PM
So you say im going to have trouble finding Blade's Edge quests? I refuse to do those Simon Says quests!
niko Aug 5th 2010 3:26PM
Just get Ogri'Lazy to take the PITA that is the simon says game and turn it into ezmode:
http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/ogri-lazy.aspx
Thorall Aug 5th 2010 2:51PM
I hope we get some kind of Feat of Strength for Old World Loremaster. Maybe 'Old Loremaster' to Vanillia guys and 'Loremaster' to cata guys. Also they must allow current Loremaster's to be able to get both titls.
Anstasia Aug 5th 2010 2:57PM
My only advice is: Do Eastern Kingdoms first! Oh, if only I had known this.
Kole Aug 5th 2010 5:46PM
I am about to start the long haul I think...why do ya say this?
jaybs Aug 5th 2010 3:06PM
Maybe a good follow up to this article would be the eventual progression into getting the "Seeker" title?
GormanGhaste Aug 5th 2010 3:15PM
Pretty sure it's not possible to get loremaster without getting seeker first.
waycooler Aug 5th 2010 3:33PM
It is possible, if you leveled up without doing any quests, and haven't done very many since. I know for Alliance there's only around 2800 quests or so needed for Loremaster. If you leveled purely in the dungeon finder or battlegrounds, you'll have to go back and do extra quests (that probably don't count for Loremaster) if you want Seeker as well.
Thayer Aug 5th 2010 4:52PM
I did Loremaster on a brand new death knight. After doing the DK starting quests and all of Loremaster I was 5 quests short of The Seeker. I decided to take the zen approach and just let it happen when it happened. After working on Argent Tournament stuff I easily got my last 5 quests. For those that this doesn't help, just remember all the holiday quests count too, they just reset each year so you'll have to do them again if they've reset on you before you get The Seeker.
Philster043 Aug 5th 2010 6:49PM
I can confirm it's also around 2800 for hordies as well. I counted a while ago. Although I did get the Seeker title before the Loremaster title, it was only because I went on to do all the group quests and "leftover quests" after already getting a zone's achievement. Any true completist would do that sort of thing, after all.
bui Aug 5th 2010 3:16PM
Loremaster on my DK = pwn all other loremasters
AudreyR Aug 6th 2010 12:10AM
Or to put it more mildly, a DK has fewer quests that count towards Loremaster, since they don't get those nice dungeon set chains that other classes get. :)
Ophelos Aug 5th 2010 3:26PM
i loved doing loremaster for the second time.. I done it as i level an also rep grind.. But the coolest part of it i didn't hit outlands until i was level 66, but i could have gone alot higher if i done more rep grind. Almost finished off shadowmoon valley, but i got bored an hit up northrend at level 75. dinged 80 in Dragonblight.
All in all well i do loremaster for a 3rd time.. Damm right i would. "I loved the 1000's an 1000's of gold i made so far." I still got SB/Storm and Icecrown left to finish off..
Ayiano Aug 5th 2010 3:56PM
Been working on the Loremaster grind for a while now, and I have to agree, the addons EveryQuest, Loremaster, and Lightheaded have been invaluable. Just hit Outland Loremaster not too long ago.
One thing I'd like to point out is that EveryQuest and Loremaster benefit each other. I don't remember which, I think Loremaster, has the functionality to integrate with the other (EveryQuest). With both installed, Loremaster will add [L] in EveryQuest next to a quest to easily let you know if a quest counts towards Loremaster (not all do, like class quests). Really helps to save time by skipping extraneous quests, if you want.
Heeden Aug 5th 2010 3:47PM
My biggest problem with loremaster was trying to remember what quests I'd actuall done with my main. With 3 other characters over level 60 and one just entering the plaguelands I'd probably done nearly every quest on Azeroth at least once (many of them 2 or 3 times).
For example I could've sworn there was a quest-chain in Feralas that I did for the first time with my rogue, but tracing the chain I couldn't pick it up anywhere with my 'lock. Eventually I finished Loremaster in Tanaris with sodding Tooga's quest. I was screaming at that damn turtle to hurry the **** up.
Biggles Aug 5th 2010 3:49PM
Interesting - I was unaware you could freeze at level 1 (I thought it was at 10 like Bronwyn said) - I wonder if that's a change from before? In other words - did I *used* to be right?
My original question still stands - what level would you get to only thru exploration experience from doing "The Explorer" achievement?
Pyromelter Aug 5th 2010 5:38PM
Assuming you missed it on the front of the comment page. The answer is level 17. http://www.wow.com/2009/07/26/dwarf-levels-solely-by-exploring-gains-world-explorer-at-level/
Also, as soon as they did patch with the NPC's where you could freeze XP, you could turn it off at any level.