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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsWoW Rookie: How to get up to speed for heroics
by Michael Gray 
Feb 11th 2011 at 6:00PM
There is a normal, expected progression for characters in the endgame of WoW. You level to 85. You do instances at normal difficulty. And then, once you've got enough gear (an overall item level of 329), you move on to heroic difficulty. "Readiness" for heroic instances is determined by the random dungeon finder solely on your item level.
That can be a problem if you have raw, bad luck. You might never see the necessary items drop from bosses. If you do see them drop, it's possible you might not win the roll. Heck, maybe you just won't see the items drop from bosses fast enough to keep up with guildmates or friends.
With all that being the case, it helps if you have a battle plan to get your character to item level 329 as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Reputations
As we talked about a few weeks ago, Cataclysm reputations can provide significantly useful gear. There are 20 epic items available for purchase with reputations, all at item level 359. There are dozens of item level 346 items available.
Picking up these items as you level up your reputations will quickly get you ready for heroics (not to mention, improve your character stats significantly). Since you only need an ilevel 329 average, a few of these epic pieces will make a huge difference to your overall item level.
Each faction's tabards make it very easy to get your reputation up quickly. Pick out the epic gear that you want, and stay focused on that faction until you hit exalted.
Dungeons are cool
Normal difficulty dungeons provide item level 333 gear. It's slightly above what you need to get into heroics, so it will normally take a long time to hit your goal if you raise your item level only through dungeon gear. Still, normal instances are presumed to be the standard for improving your gear until you're in heroics.
While you're in dungeons, make absolutely sure you're wearing the appropriate tabard for your reputation efforts. Just as importantly, consider rolling greed on some drops that you might not use otherwise. For example, if no one else wants a pair of cloth pants that drop, even a paladin might consider rolling on them for the sake of raising his item level.
Of course, you should absolutely be polite about this process. Don't snake good gear from people who will actually use it to improve their characters. That's just not cool.
The gear that's rewarded from Uldum can be as high as item level 325. Sure, that's not enough to get you into heroics; it's just short of the required 329. However, if your extant gear is lower than 325, it can still help get your overall item level a little higher. Instead of burning time standing around, hoping to get into a normal dungeon, you can always keep working Uldum.
Auction house and professions
A lot of item level 359 gear is created from professions. There are at least a few pieces of epic 359 gear for every class and spec. Like reputations, picking up just a few pieces from the auction house or friends with appropriate professions can make a huge difference to your overall item level.
Also, not every gear replacement has to be straight to 329 or above. Since the required gear level is merely 329, one or two pieces of very sub-par gear could be keeping your item level too low. Even green gear that's closer to 329 could nudge your item level up.
Keep moving
In the end, if you're trying to get into heroics, you just need to keep playing. Work on your reputations, run dungeons, finish up Uldum, and pick up some crafted gear along the way. You will get into heroics fast enough -- just keep trying.
Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything you need to get started as a new player, from how to control your character and camera angles when you're just starting out, to pulling together enough cash for mid-level expenses such as mounts, to dungeoneering and travel tips for lowbies.Filed under: WoW Rookie
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Xaklo Feb 11th 2011 6:29PM
"Each faction's tabards make it very easy to get your reputation up quickly. Pick out the epic gear that you want, and stay focused on that faction until you hit exalted."
While the exalted epic quality items are great indeed, instead of grinding each faction to exalted individually, I would instead go the route of getting to revered across the board first.
It takes about the same amount of time to get 2 factions to revered as it does to get 1 to exalted. Because of this, it's generally better to have 5 revered factions (excluding the pvp one since there's no rep-gaining tabard) than 2.5 exalted and 2 honored factions.
TL;DR 5 revered = 5 ilvl 346 items
or 2 exalted = 2 ilvl 359 items + 2(/3) ilvl 333 items
Rob Feb 11th 2011 6:39PM
I agree with Xaklo, but would also add that you should figure out if the revered items are good for you. IF you do mount hyjal from beginning to end you will be over revered with them already. Most likely if you are doing something like earthen ring then getting from honored to revered isn't that bad.
Twilight highlands, you should absolutely do this zone. Skip Uldum at 84 and go to TH. It has the rep faction you want, and the profession unlocks that you need (if you have professions and care about maxing them). I'm not sure what the ilvl of the gear is from here, but it's enough to get into normals (which are really pretty easy, i had very few issues with them).
Heroics are a whole other ball of wax. You absolutely need to know what you are doing, how to play your toon the best way possible. Do the most damaage, know how to CC, etc. If you don't know how to play your healer you won't be able to let even a well-geared tank live without running OOM.
Also, you should definitely get used to the complete dickwads that infest the LFD heroic pool. I've seen some the worst lowlives in there. People who require you to link the achivement for the dungeon before zoning in. People who will kick you half way through just because. And if you are a tank? Get used to everything being your fault. Every. single. thing. Basically don't tank unless you really want to be punished.
Kuro Feb 11th 2011 7:05PM
> Twilight highlands, you should absolutely do this zone. Skip Uldum at 84 and go to TH. It has the rep faction you want, and the profession unlocks that you need (if you have professions and care about maxing them).
I think this all just depends on your class and your gear situation. As a holy paladin with two crafting professions, I wouldn't skip Uldum in favor of Dragonmaw. Uldum rep give a near regular raid BiS belt whereas Dragonmaw has no holy plate and a so-so 359 neck that's worse than some 346 blues for the class.
You don't need to do the entire zone to unlock the profession vendors. I don't know about the alliance, but for horde you just have to clear the entry chain to get the vendors unphased and then do a few more to unlock the dalies. There's no rep discount with them for the items they sell.
Boobah Feb 12th 2011 3:34AM
Doing all the quests in Twilight Highlands isn't about getting rep, although you do get a nice chunk of both Highlands and Earthen Ring rep for doing so. It's for the pile of 318 and 333 quest rewards you'll pick up.
As far as skipping Uldum, the rewards there are only a half tier or so behind Twilight Highlands, with 312s and 325s, IIRC.
jam Feb 11th 2011 6:54PM
I'm pretty sure you meant Finish Twilight Highlands, not Uldum.
Also note, there is some blue 333 gear that drops from the quests in TH. Especially the ring event.
Rolly Feb 12th 2011 12:55PM
I hear the Swedish Chef is locked up in the Finish Twilight Highlands. Hard quest to find though.
Matt Feb 11th 2011 7:03PM
Twilight Highlands gives lots of ilevel 333 gear from quest rewards, and you can even get ilevel 333 gear at honored level with several factions, but you didn't mention all this.
Julien Feb 11th 2011 7:18PM
In Uldum you can find gear at ilevel 333, such as
http://www.wowhead.com/item=66917 (True Archaeologist's Bracers).
Twilight Highlands has a multitude of quests available with blue 333
gear, including the crucible of carnage and 4 or 5 quests within the
quest chain, such as http://www.wowhead.com/item=63807 (Narkrall's
Leggings). Also, I find rep gear to be the most important; a lot of
blue rep gear is ilevel 346, which will greatly improve your average
ilevel, and completing the full quest chains in most zones will give
you a lot of rep for that zone's rep.
istaro Feb 11th 2011 8:23PM
PVP.
Just one normal BG win a day will give you at least 200 honor per day, netting you the Bloodthirsty shoulders and gloves in 16 days; less with some losses, the guild perk, and even judicious use of the guild banner.
At ilvl 352, according to the tier-and-a-half rule, Bloodthirsty gear used in PVE is roughly equivalent to ilvl 333 gear: better than the heroic minimum even without taking into account the sweet 70 int/str/agi bonus from having two pieces of the set. Another few weeks and you can have the four-piece set, with another bonus 90 int/str/agi. And/or use Bloodthirsty pieces to replace any remaining offset 318 greens.
This way you won't have to do a single normal dungeon if you don't want, which is nice since you're going to be getting tired of those dungeons sooner or later. Although you might want to run each once on normal before trying heroic, just to learn the basics of the fights. Also keep in mind that, although Bloodthirsty gear is equivalent to ilvl 333 for PVE, the actual ilvl is 352, and it's counted as such by your "average ilvl" readout, so you have to remember that you're not actually as geared as your average ilvl makes it look. Also if you plan on PUGging heroics a lot, be warned that you may have to explain to people that using PVP gear in heroics does not necessarily make you a noob.
Despite all the above caveats though, I really recommend using PVP to supplement your gearing for heroics, since you can start whenever. Start at level 70 and you'll easily cap honor and be able to pick up that two-piece Bloodthirsty set the instant you ding 85.
AutumnBringer Feb 11th 2011 8:39PM
I know there's been a bit of criticism already, but I think what would be really great for an article titled "How to get up to speed for heroics" would be a guide summarizing or linking to the bosses encountered and the ability differences between heroic and non-heroic. Or perhaps how to best use certain class abilities that are not often used in easier encounters. That's what I thought I'd see here.
That would be of course a lot more info, but rather than just saying "get higher level gear", tips on what to expect would better prepare those needing to get up to speed. I think the gear part is a given.
graptickn Feb 12th 2011 2:01AM
Interesting stories. But I want to know that how can i download this game in my PC. I am not aware about of downloading procedure.
http://www.articlespeak.com/leanspa-cleanse-review/
Sarabande Feb 12th 2011 8:47AM
While Gearscore will get you in, I'd say also understand the stats you need and you various class abilities. Because otherwise, you'll get in and . . . than what? It's kind of like getting into a job with a padded resume or something. You can get through the door but you may be hampering the group. I don't mean go in being an expert . . . . it takes time for everyone to learn the mechanics. But unfortunately, some people still equate gear with skill.
I've had friends tell me that I was ready for heroic or raids or whatever. I said "Well . . . . .my GEAR is ready to go in, but it would do better without me in it." Gear helps, yes. It will help with survivability and damage, but it won't teach you how to crowd control or interrupt or move out of stuff on the ground. Not sure I want to see a ret paladin come in with int. bracers, tanking neck piece and whatever odds and ends he was able to win in rolls, just because of the i-level.
Also, if I may add, remember to enchant, gem and glyph your gear (head and shoulder pieces are available from rep vendors). Leg armor and spellthreads can also be affixed to leg pieces. They will not only add to the stats you need but show your group that you are willing to put in the effort to bring your best.
Auden Feb 12th 2011 12:55PM
I got a paladin to 85 yesterday and the first time I looked at my average ilvl, it was 329. I'm sure I didn't have 329 at the exact moment I hit 85 (or even the exact moment I equipped all the level 85 rep items I already had in my bags), because I did some Twilight Highlands quests after that (including Crucible of Carnage), but we're talking a few hours of questing at most.
That wasn't true of my other two level 85s, who took a bit longer to reach 329, and I'm trying to figure out what I did differently. I have no PvP gear. I have a few crafted items but not epics - the best one is ilvl 333. I got both the healer and dps necks (ilvl 346) from the holiday bosses. I have some honored and revered rep items but no exalted reps yet. I have the 333 weapon from Crucible of Carnage. But I still have some 312/318 greens and even a few under ilvl 300.
I finished Vashj'ir first, then Deepholm. I've done maybe half of Uldum and Twilight Highlands (I haven't even unlocked the TH dailies yet). I haven't done any of Hyjal yet. So I'm revered with Earthen Ring and Therazane, and honored with Ramkahen.
So, what did I do differently? This character is in a level 14 guild. I think the guild was already at level 12 by the time I reached 80, meaning I had +10% to rep gains the whole time I was in Cataclysm content. It's possible this was the biggest factor, by getting me those reps a little bit sooner. Other than that, I think I did a few more normal dungeons while leveling, but not a lot; this character still hasn't set foot in the three level 85 dungeons. And I guess when your highest ilvl is 346, getting even one more - the neck from the holiday event - counts for a lot.
TL;DR: Rep gear is very important in reaching 329 quickly, so I guess do your Cata leveling in a guild of level 12 or higher? And focus on Twilight Highlands as soon as you're 84, because there are several ilvl 333 quest rewards.
And WoW Insider, please, please edit this article to make it clear that cheesing the item level like this is only for people who are going to start heroics with a group that knows you're doing it and is willing to carry you.
ibad Feb 13th 2011 8:08AM
mmmmmmm cheese....