Breakfast Topic: What would you tell your level 1 self?
by Andrew Ross 
Oct 1st 2010 at 8:00AM
We were all once level 1 and new to WoW. Some of us migrated from a different MMO, while for others, WoW was their first MMO. Some of us started during vanilla WoW, some came in during The Burning Crusade and some started after Wrath went live. No matter when you first started WoW, you were a level 1 with no money or gear -- and if this was your first time playing an MMO, you more than likely had no idea what to do.
Fast-forward to level 80 and look at your character now. Are you raiding Icecrown on heroic? Maybe you're one of the gladiators in your battlegroup. How about a Seeker/Loremaster? Did you picture yourself doing the things you're doing today? Did you have a goal from Day One? I myself started with a gnome rogue. The thought of something so small popping out of the shadows was both funny and awesome. I rolled a hunter a week later, and the race to 70 was on. I hardly knew anything about the game at the time. I just knew that I wanted to hit 70 because that is what all the cool players were doing.
In Dragonblight, there is a quest where you meet the Future You at the Bronze Dragonshrine. The Future You helps you battle the Infinite Dragonflight and makes a few comments about your gear and how you fight during the encounter. Would you ask the Future You for any tips on your adventure to 80? What advice would you give yourself? I would tell myself that he doesn't know it yet, but one day he will be a great seeker, a hunter who not only loves his ale but his pets. Most importantly, I would tell him he will be a hero of the Alliance one day and to train hard, for he will face the Lich King.
What if at level 1 you met the future version of yourself? What if you could visit yourself in the past? What would you tell the level 1 you, or what would the level 1 you ask?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 14)
Drakkenfyre Oct 1st 2010 11:10AM
To make you feel better, the double exp would have only been a level and a half, so about an hour's worth at that level or so.
Joe Oct 1st 2010 8:03AM
"Roll Horde"
Aaron Oct 1st 2010 8:26AM
Bunch of friends kept talking about WoW so I downloaded the free trial on an off day. I looked over all the races and decided there is no way they would be Alliance, so I rolled an undead because they look so bad ass. I shot a text to one of my friends that I started messing around with the game and found out they all played Ally. :(
grimmeld Oct 1st 2010 8:28AM
i would tell myself: stick to horde, lvl up to 80 asap and FARM THE BONKERS out of stuff that's gonna disappear with patches.
jawn Oct 1st 2010 8:55AM
For the love of the light (or dark, if you're a warlock) DON'T RUSH. Enjoy the game. It has so much to offer and you miss it all by rushing to max level so you can sit in Dalaran between raids.
Jamie Oct 1st 2010 8:59AM
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Hierafel Oct 1st 2010 9:04AM
Funny, in my case it would have been "Roll Alliance"
kasapina Oct 1st 2010 10:33AM
If you roll Alliance, chances are you will meet Hogger.
So..roll Horde. Really.
cygnus Oct 1st 2010 1:30PM
I rather be dead by Hogger than spend a day as a horde. The problem is that it takes you all the way to lvl cap to see how depressing that faction is.
FOR THE ALLIANCE!!!!
cygnus Oct 1st 2010 2:38PM
Ok, I'm sorry, last comment was just lame. Let me expand on it. The horde faction in Drenden-US is very lethargic when comapred with the alliance in that same server. A lot of people with very negative attitudes croud the chats. Close minded, square and appatic players attack any attempt to build something in the general and trade chat. The players that are willing to help and participate have found a place in the few active guilds. No real horde community exist right now.
All of this compared with the Alliance in that same server.
My apologies for the previous pathetic comment.
Sean Oct 1st 2010 2:48PM
Things I'd tell my past self:
1) Pick a different server
2) Roll Horde instead of Failiance
MichaelBerean Oct 1st 2010 5:48PM
1.) Write down the character name, class, guild and server of every really cool person you meet. Make notes for yourself about the memorable kindnesses and fun times. If you have the privilege of knowing someone for a few months trade e-mail and IM info and keep in touch. You will make a lot of friends and meet some amazing people but it is hard to keep up with them unless you work at it as you go. Lasting friendships are the achievement that really matters.
2.) Get off the pvp server.
3.) Hit max level as fast as possible.
4.) Find a guild that is lead by friendly, mature, organized people. You will have to search for months but when you find the right spot it will all be worth it.
5.) Have big bags on all toons. Make a bank alt. Track highs and lows on the auction hall for your server and buy/sell at the right time. Store stuff by mailing it when necessary.
6.) Forget the paladin; Blizzard hates them in Vanilla but will eventually come around. Level a rogue herb/ench first and then a priest tailor/alch. You will have a better chance of getting into good raids and you will be much more powerful in pvp. Having the rogue and solid professions will keep you decently supplied with gold.
7.) Whenever you’re bored level up a toon of each class. The more max level toons you have the easier it is to make money. This is also the best way to be prepared for the way one class is always most powerful and another least as the wheel turns and patches roll by.
Frizzlefry Oct 1st 2010 5:54PM
learn to turn w/ your mouse first, no one told me i was doin it wrong till i got to 80
Xirifus Oct 2nd 2010 5:10AM
Thankfully, I was intelligent enough to roll horde, but instead of tauren hunter I would have told myself "Roll rogue. Any rogue"
Seriously, the best class (for me, at least) in the game!
Jamie Oct 1st 2010 8:04AM
Never go to Goldshire for anything other than questing, especially on an RP server.
Jamie Oct 1st 2010 8:06AM
I wish I could tell you that JimmyMcNab fought the good fight, and the people of Goldshire let him be. I wish I could tell you that – but the township of Goldshire is no fairy-tale world.
Gamer am I Oct 1st 2010 8:06AM
At level 80, I'd have to visit my level-one self naked, because I would always stop to admire people's epics back then, and this was in Vanilla. Image what I'd think if I saw the stats we have today; I would probably rush to the level cap even faster. Which is exactly why I'd have to be naked, because my advice for my level 1 self would be, "Don't rush it. Life at the level cap isn't any worse that the game is while you are leveling, but it isn't any better. Take your time, enjoy the scenery, relish all there is at this level, and focus on the journey, not the destination, because you can only go through this for the first time once."
Draev Oct 1st 2010 8:17AM
I would definitely tell myself to take my time. Soak up all the quests and adventures and take lots of screenshots. Then I would go into epic detail of the future triumphs over evils such as Hogger, Ragnaros, Onyxia, Nefarion, C'Thun, Kel'Thuzad, Illidan, Kil'Jaeden, Malygos, and Arthas. My poor little level one self would probably stare are my future self wide eyed and absorb every detail like the eager little noob I was.
Ati Oct 1st 2010 9:40AM
Yeah, y'know, I had a witty response to this topic...but now I think my comment to my level 1 self would be "don't download the leveling guide - find the next place to level, and the next quest, by yourself". I've never experienced anything from level 30ish up without having a guide tell me where I need to go. I mean, it was nice to hit 70 on my first toon on my birthday way back when, but...dunno. Would be nice to have floundered my way through the world that first time. I have enough alts I could still know the leveling guide backwards and forwards.
Luci Oct 1st 2010 9:47AM
Amen. It's never the same after the first time.