Level 80+ to gain only 10% experience from Wrath mobs
by Brian Wood 
Dec 7th 2010 at 12:30AM
This means that level 80 and higher characters will only get 10 percent of normal XP from Wrath of the Lich King mobs. Likewise, level 70 characters will get 10% XP from The Burning Crusade mobs, and level 60 characters will need to go to the Outland to get full XP for kills.
This change likely happened in the recent hotfix, since at that time, level-capped hunters noticed the XP gains of their pets plummet. Blizzard has acknowledged the problem with pet leveling and promised a fix for that soon. Full blue post with details after the cut.
NethaeraWe recently made a change to the way experience is calculated and wanted to take some time to explain this change in order to clear up some confusion some may be having in regard to their rate of progress. If you are currently at the maximum level that you can be for an expansion (or higher), killing creatures from that expansion will now grant 10% of normal experience.
Examples:
Level 60 or higher players get 10% normal experience for killing creatures in Azeroth ("Old world" content)
Level 70 or higher players get 10% of normal experience for killing Burning Crusade creatures.
Level 80 or higher players get 10% of normal experience for killing Lich King creatures.
Level 85 or higher players get 10% of normal experience for killing Cataclysm creatures.
What does this mean for those that have Cataclysm and are leveling up new characters? This means that you will gain normal experience through to level 60 and will then need to move on to The Burning Crusade zones until you reach level 70 and Wrath of the Lich King zones until you reach level 80. Once you reach 80, it is expected that you will be continuing your leveling adventures in the new Cataclysm zones and dungeons. We have made this change so that players will continue to progress through the appropriate content for their level versus grinding on quick re spawns in a less ideal location.
This change will also affect hunter pets and their leveling rate if the player is at max level, however, this is an unintended change that we will be addressing in the future.
Examples:
Level 60 or higher players get 10% normal experience for killing creatures in Azeroth ("Old world" content)
Level 70 or higher players get 10% of normal experience for killing Burning Crusade creatures.
Level 80 or higher players get 10% of normal experience for killing Lich King creatures.
Level 85 or higher players get 10% of normal experience for killing Cataclysm creatures.
What does this mean for those that have Cataclysm and are leveling up new characters? This means that you will gain normal experience through to level 60 and will then need to move on to The Burning Crusade zones until you reach level 70 and Wrath of the Lich King zones until you reach level 80. Once you reach 80, it is expected that you will be continuing your leveling adventures in the new Cataclysm zones and dungeons. We have made this change so that players will continue to progress through the appropriate content for their level versus grinding on quick re spawns in a less ideal location.
This change will also affect hunter pets and their leveling rate if the player is at max level, however, this is an unintended change that we will be addressing in the future.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Evelinda Dec 7th 2010 2:24AM
You know what? i think this is lame.
I personally dont stick around in old content any longer than i have to, with the exception of when i do my mag'har/kurenai grind, which i do on every char. then i tend to be in nagrand grinding ogres til 69-70. this is going to make that grind even more tedious :/
And those poor people who, god forbid, want to enjoy higher end of the fabulous zone redisign that we've received here... well, too bad, people!
I totally get the point when it comes to cataclysm levelling, realm firsts etc etc. But you know, this is a poorly executed fix for a limited time only issue, which will then have lasting repercussions for everyone levelling at every stage of content in the future.
zweitblom Dec 7th 2010 3:55AM
I really do not get that line of thinking: "And those poor people who, god forbid, want to enjoy higher end of the fabulous zone redisign that we've received here... well, too bad, people!"
What's keeping you from enjoying that? In fact, this change even allows you to enjoy it for much longer since you won't outlevel the content that quickly anymore. But - ah - you want to level fast, hu? So - what's it going to be: a race to 85 or a stroll taking in the sights?
Evelinda Dec 7th 2010 8:28PM
Well why can't it be both?
It was both until until what, a week ago? I can't remember hearing anyone complaining about the fact that people were gaining too much xp grinding mobs in winterspring and silithus. If you want to enjoy the old world content, or BC content for that matter, and still receive appropriate awards for that, why shouldn't you be able to?
The fact of the matter is that incentive to move on to new content was ALREADY there, in terms of better quest items and higher amounts of XP from quest rewards and mobs. There was simply no need to nerf the xp gains from mobs once you reach the "level cap" of that content.
Some people liked Vanilla better than BC; some people liked BC better than Wrath. These people may still want to level to 70, or 80, or 85. But now if they want to level with any sort of efficiency, they need to leave that content they prefer, and go to content that they may not. That's why people commenting here are disappointed. If they want to level, they have to do it in the same place as everyone else... Why?
Lipstick Dec 7th 2010 2:52AM
Nothing's stopping anybody from finishing whatever quests or zones they have remaining in the old world -- the amount of xp you get is just reduced, not non existent. A few dungeon runs and you can level right past hellfire and right on into zangarmarsh.
Spanner Dec 7th 2010 2:59AM
If people actually read all the blue posts in the thread before nerd raging they'd know that the 10% is only for killing mobs - quest XP will stay the same.
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1253376893?page=2#38
"Just to follow up. This will not affect quest experience gains." - Nethaera
zweitblom Dec 7th 2010 3:59AM
This game has bred a culture of complainipants like no other. They can not be bothered to read, to follow advice or - gods forbid - a strategy. As soon as something just appears to slightly hinder their ill-conceived stomp through the game world, they start wailing.
zweitblom Dec 7th 2010 4:06AM
Seriously - this is in the DAMN CAPTION of the article *and* mentioned _several times_ in the quoted text in the article itself - and still some people behave as if the sky was falling.
zweitblom Dec 7th 2010 4:07AM
Why do I reply to my own replies? *sighs* I need more coffee...
Evelinda Dec 7th 2010 8:09PM
You do realise that it still significantly affects the xp gains from a lot of quests though, right? your standard "go kill 10 guys i dont like" quest, which may have awarded 10000xp for the quest turn in, and 1000xp for each mob you killed, for a total of 20000xp, now only rewards you 11000xp. And of course, even quests that are "collect 15 things that are delicious" often had a large chunk of xp delivered while doing them thanks to having to kill the mobs that drop the items, or even just the mobs that are standing around the items on the ground.
Yes, i understand that it's only a nerf to xp gained from killing mobs. But it's still a nerf to xp, which at least in terms of older content is simply not necessary.
PS: Calm, rational dislike of something =/= nerdrage. i dont see a single comment along the lines of "OMG MY LEVELLING IS RUINED FOREVER I HATE YOU BLIZZARD!!!!11!ONE!". I just see people who are disappointed at the change.
Erich Dec 7th 2010 3:17AM
i need more death
Rob Dec 7th 2010 7:09AM
Probably not a good idea. They didn't document this at all. Further, it's going to make questing awkward. The way it worked before you could do a few more levels beyond 'cap', ie you can get to 62 or so in the old world, you could get to 70 ,maybe 71 in BC. Hope they really thought about the big picture; nobody cares if some guy wants to kill boars for 10 or 20 hours to gain levels (or at least I don't). But pretty much everyone is going to be affected by this.
Dameblanche Dec 7th 2010 7:41AM
Strangely enough I am pretty annoyed by this change. It's a kind of micromanagement meddling that makes me feel I am dropped back into kindergarten again.
"No Dame, you have to stop making a drawing, now we will all play with the dolls"
At the moment I have 7 level 80 characters. I know that once I have leveled number 5 to max level, I will be so bored with the Cata starting zones, that it will be fun to revisit Icecrown again to do some leveling. And what's the harm in that.
They already have my money from buying the Xpac, so who cares if I decide not to actually quest in the Cata areas for a while.
Comito Dec 7th 2010 8:30AM
Continued move so everyone leveling stays in there respective zones till max level, like AH and class trainers in those sanctuary cities too! Cool!
camilbar Dec 7th 2010 7:41PM
wow
Evelinda Dec 7th 2010 8:10PM
Well why can't it be both?
It was both until until what, a week ago? I can't remember hearing anyone complaining about the fact that people were gaining too much xp grinding mobs in winterspring and silithus. If you want to enjoy the old world content, or BC content for that matter, and still receive appropriate awards for that, why shouldn't you be able to?
The fact of the matter is that incentive to move on to new content was ALREADY there, in terms of better quest items and higher amounts of XP from quest rewards and mobs. There was simply no need to nerf the xp gains from mobs once you reach the "level cap" of that content.
Some people liked Vanilla better than BC; some people liked BC better than Wrath. These people may still want to level to 70, or 80, or 85. But now if they want to level with any sort of efficiency, they need to leave that content they prefer, and go to content that they may not. That's why people commenting here are disappointed. If they want to level, they have to do it in the same place as everyone else... Why?
Evelinda Dec 7th 2010 8:27PM
damn you, comment system... that was meant to be a reply!
dmberreth Dec 8th 2010 6:58AM
This seems very anti-Blizzard. Generally, aren't they the ones who tell us to enjoy the game they've set out before us? Play how you want... bring the player, not the class.. etc etc.
This is blatant hand holding, telling us that they want their game played a specific way and not any other way. There hasn't seemed to be any deep thought put into it either. So people decided they'd rather trash-grind to 85 and then quest later? So what? They still paid for your expansion. They still will see the content. Not every single one of us is out there for that OMG MUST BE MAXED NOW mentality, and these people grinding to 85 on old mobs really aren't going to phase us in the least.
Well, they weren't, anyway. Until Blizzard did a sweeping nerf on everyone, to combat a single play style.
I find this "fix" very disappointing, considering there wasn't a problem to be fixed in the first place.
Undra Dec 8th 2010 4:25PM
The only people this actually affects are expansion-level capped hunters and they are working on a solution for that. It's not effecting quests, finish every zone in azeroth before you trot to outland, you will have every point of XP from those quests.
Kroof Dec 9th 2010 3:56PM
Yes yes, I am quite aware that it is CREATURE xp that was nerfed.
However, if you have ever grouped with 5 people or a max level character for regular questing you will realize quickly that a large chunk of the xp in "questing" is tied up in the mobs you have to kill.
Many of the Kill ten things quest have you end up killing 13-15 mobs leaving you with as much xp as the actual quest itself.
As much as I hate Hellfire and all of Northrend I don't think the reduced speed of levelling will make it worth trying to hang back with quests I like.
Turlagh Dec 9th 2010 10:16PM
I still had a bunch of Dragonblight quests I was saving, now it's not worth bothering with.