WoW Rookie: You're level 85 ... now what?

You just hit level 85. Congratulations! You've achieved the highest level possible. That's a very exciting thing to do, but now you're facing an even more daunting issue. It's pretty easy to feel like the game is over for you, but we promise ... you've really just started.
Take a look at this list and ask yourself if you're really done with everything WoW has to offer. Not all of these options will appeal to you, of course. The ones that do interest you, though, will provide nearly as much fun and challenge as the leveling process itself.
Finish your quests. The new Cataclysm options give you a lot of choice while you're leveling. Most folks skip either Hyjal or Vashj'ir, for example. Now that you've achieved the max level, you can go back and do those areas. There's a lot of lore and fun to be had in all the Cataclysm zones, and you shouldn't miss it. You probably even haven't finished Twilight Highlands or Uldum, and those zones are spectacular.
Do low-level content. In the same way you probably skipped some of the Cataclysm content in your journey to level 85, you almost definitely missed a lot of the non-Cataclysm content. Wrestling through those zones is a shared experience that provide a lot of camaraderie among WoW players. Take the time and try the other racial starting areas and visit all the zones you never saw.Gear up for heroics. New level 85 characters have a lot of gearing up to do before they hit heroics or raids. While you can take some shortcuts on the way to that level of gear, the process itself can be fun.
Tackle Tol Barad. The new world PvP zone is Tol Barad, and winning it isn't necessarily easy. The zone has a lot of quests for winners and losers alike, with a lot of achievements to people who are dedicated to fully mastering Tol Barad.
Build your reputations. Just like Wrath before it, Cataclysm has reputations that let you buy epic gear. There are even addons to help you out. As you tear up the heroics to build your gear, you can also grow your reputations at the same time.
Become a PvP legend. There's more to becoming a PvP legend than just entering Tol Barad. Mastering the art of player versus player content takes time, dedication, and a lot of deaths along the way. It can be a frustrating road to travel, but dominating PvP can be one of the most rewarding parts of the game.
Finish off your professions. Level 85 characters frequently never get to max level in their professions. That's because it takes time ... time you now have, since you're level 85. Once you've finished off your professions, you can turn those skills into gold by selling your products on the auction house.Learn to raid. Raiding endgame content is one of the assumed goals of hitting level 85. Raids have been more growing increasingly accessible, and you should be able to find 10-man groups by asking around your official forums. Browse our Ready Check column to get an idea of what will be expected of you.
Try out some alts. WoW is darn nearly a different game for each class you play. If you find yourself getting a little bored and you want to try something new, fire up a new character. Changing factions, races, and even something as minute as your spec can bring you a whole new experience.
Experiment with roleplay. If you've never roleplayed before, you can quickly find out that all the World of Warcraft's a stage. Roleplay can expose you to a whole different kind of game in which you take on the role of your character and write your own story. It's an engaging and exciting experience and will help you get the most out of an escapist experience.
Filed under: WoW Rookie






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mahgo May 5th 2011 9:18AM
Also, achievement hunting is always fun.
LynMars May 5th 2011 9:25AM
That's certainly one of the ways I eat my time, seeking out more pets, mounts, titles, and neat little lore things from achievements. And I like to see the shiny ding. Great way to make gold too, in a lot of cases; rolling old instances for rep, or farming items up, for instance.
Chetti May 5th 2011 9:45AM
The first level cap I saw when I started playing was 80, and this is exactly what I did once I got there. I maxed professions (because I saw there was an achievement for that) and secondaries (again, for the achievement).. and went to to figuring out what other achievements were attainable for me since it was my first toon, and I don't do heroics or raids. Got the Ambassador title, explorer title, went about looking for pets and ways to get mounts for those achievements. Closer to the end of Wrath, when the features/achievements that would be going away were announced, I went about getting what I could of the future feats of strength. Lemmie tell ya, the weapon skill one was a pain in the behind - especially the last 10 points of unarmed. Actually, achievement hunt is the first thing I did when the Shattering hit, exploring the places hit hardest by the Cataclysm. Unfortunately, Deathwing has not toasted me, on any character - and I've been everywhere. Now that I'm 85 on that toon, I'm working on that process over again.
LynMars May 5th 2011 9:22AM
About the last point: not that you have to be max level to RP, or should only RP at max level, as that can sound a little misleading in this article. There are a lot of folks who take a break from the leveling grind to do RP stuff with their friends/guilds along the way.
There are people who do only RP at max level (or will only RP with max level characters) but for the majority, level's an abstract game mechanic and not really required when having a drink at a tavern or while hanging out at a guild meeting or party. Heck, we've had RP instance/raid runs where a lot of the point was to help gear and level someone.
Sir SpankalotUK May 5th 2011 9:30AM
Thats kinda of where I am at the moment. My issue is the 3 sets of armour I need to do the various content. Kinda doing battlegrounds for honor points so I can kit out my resto shammy in pvp gear (nearly done). Then I going to continue with that whilst converting honor to justice so I can get my gear ready for pugs/raids. Then I need to gear my alt spec (enhancement) so I can do the questing/soloing in Tol Barad and other areas.
At least now I know what stats I need to stack for the most part, and I must admit I am enjoying the healing inside battlegrounds as its quicker with bigger heals, going to experiment with spirit link totem and see how that goes.
Parrin May 5th 2011 9:53AM
You forgot: Turn off your computer and get some daylight.
Shinae May 5th 2011 10:18AM
You sound like a troll, but I gotta say: If someone is only getting to 85 now, for the first time, they probably only play occasionally anyway.
dannyflorida May 5th 2011 12:25PM
Shinae:
I think we forget that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people starting to play WoW for the very first time *every* day. These rookie guides are good and necessary throughout the life of an expansion for this reason.
Check out the starting zones of the recommended-for-new-players realms. I did and was surprised at how full they were of new player-characters, so I whispered several of them. For the vast majority, this was their first time in Azeroth, and for many, WoW is their first MMORPG. It makes me feel good seeing this many WoW newbies because I know the wonderful adventure ahead of them.
By the way, this is why no one should be concerned about all the talk lately of old, disgruntled veteran players leaving the game. There are plenty of fresh faces taking their places all the time.
VioletArrows May 5th 2011 12:57PM
@dannyflorida
That just makes it sound like our concerns aren't valid. :|
Shinae May 5th 2011 1:03PM
@dannyflorida
Oh, I realize that there a lots of new players all the time; I was not discounting them.
It's snide for Parrin to imply that getting a toon to max level means that it was done all at once with disregard to doing anything outside (of the game), new player or not.
Samuel May 5th 2011 10:06AM
Repeating my guide from the last queue for gearing up for heroics:
Neck - jc crafted blue
Rings - 1 jc crafted blue, 1 Therazene revered reward (therefore get the therazene rep while levelling)
Trinkets: combination of darkmoon card, boe blue or epic, or profession-specifc crafted item (jc/achemy/engineering). This can be a tough slot if you don't have gold or the right profession
Relic - Relic-using classes can get a crafted relic from an inscriptionist. There is no tanking relic but the melee dps one will probably work for a while.
Hunter or dps ranged - Engineer-crafted bow or gun
2 pieces (either belt and chest for most or belt and pants for cloth wearers) - crafted epics. Engineers can make a third (helmet) as soon as they get a chaos orb.
2 pieces - justice points (hopefully you had saved 4000 by the time you levelled.
The rest of the pieces you need to use rep rewards or some lesser form of gear. Look and see which factions give you (1) a 333 honored reward that you can use, (2) a 346 revered reward, or (3) an epic exalted reward, and shoot for getting those levels of rep first. Use your justice points in slots where no rep reward is available. If no rep reward or other solution is available, you may have to use a crafted pvp piece or your old gear.
Particularly difficult slots are as follows:
Weapons: There are some 346 crafted weapons but they are ridiculously expensive to make - I would not even consider wasting the money unless it was a melee class that really needs the best in weapons (I made the 1-h axe for my rogue). There are several choices of 333 weapon quest rewards from the Crucible of Carnage line in Twilight Highlands, but you'll need to find a group, which can be a pain. There are also some weapons the can be bought with justice points. Warrior and Paladin tanks should consider using a 1-h dps weapon, especially one with stats like hit and mastery.
Wands: There are no blue or epic wands except from drops, and even the heroic drops are rare. Many on the Alliance side use a green wand from an early quest in Twilight Highlands. I don't know if the Horde has an equivalent.
Rogue thrown: You'll probably be stuck with a green for a while.
Warrior tank ranged: I don't know of any good options here (though I haven't geared a warrior tank yet). You may be stuck with a DPS piece for a while.
You will also want the head enchant from revered rep with the appropriate faction and the Therazene shoulder enchant (at least the honored level - another reason to target Therazene rep while leveling). As of now the head enchants are BOA, meaning you can buy them for alts that don't have the revered rep yet. The shoulder enchants are still BOP
Eridian May 5th 2011 10:29AM
Trinket-wise there are some great iLvL 333 ones available in Uldum. Unfortunately they're right at the end of the facepalm-inducing-what-were-they-thinking-fest that is the Commander Schnottz questline.
Mebh May 5th 2011 10:54AM
Good points, and apologies for being nit-picky: but a person doing Inscription is called a Scribe (not an Inscriptionist) :-)
Samuel May 5th 2011 12:38PM
Yeah, I know everybody says that. I think I'm going to keep using "inscriptionist," though. For example, in this content, telling a rookie where to look for crafted relics, the word "scribe" might be confusing to them - "inscriptionist" tells them just who to look for, since it clearly refers to a person doing inscription. If you don't like inscriptionist, I'd be ok with:
Inscriptioner
Inscriptionator
Inscriptionulator
Inscriptionster
Inscriptionador
Inscriptionista
Mebh May 5th 2011 12:40PM
Good point. I really like "Inscriptionista"! :-D
Cyno01 May 5th 2011 10:09AM
Everybody should get loremaster of cata, they really kudos themselves this time, and every zone ends in some awesome giant battle, really worth doing.
zweitblom May 5th 2011 10:35AM
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Jolly May 5th 2011 10:40AM
Inconceivable!
Cyno01 May 5th 2011 11:03AM
Autocorrect on my phone. Outdid became kudos somehow.
VioletArrows May 5th 2011 12:55PM
Quest ends in a giant battle, story drops off a cliff. >:/