Category Archives: World of Warcraft
Grinding Levels for Gold
Ding. Another 110.
Congratulations.
Yep, got another Death Knight to 110.
Uh, what? Don’t you have, like, six DK’s at 110 already? And most of them on the same server?
Okay first, I only have five Death Knights at 110. Second, I just leveled him up for the gold.
Again, I ask – uh, what?
Like in Warlords of Draenor, I strive to make gold with minimal time investment. This means having many alts set up in such a way that each can earn a bit of gold quickly, rather than one or two characters grinding for longer periods of time to earn gold. It all adds up, in both time and gold, and both are valuable.
In Legion, I feel like I’ve found the best way to make gold with minimal time investment. How? A mix of professions, World Quests, and Class Hall qualifications. Let me explain. No, that would take too long. Let me sum up. For each character –
- Cooking at 100 – World Quests with Bacon rewards. Bacon sells well.
- Gathering Profession (specifically Skinning, Herbalism, and Mining) – World Quest with a rare drop reward. This usually involves killing only one mob to get 1-5 of those rare mats. Those mats also sell well.
- Tailoring Profession – Make Hexweave Bags every three days. It’s like a recipe for printing gold.
- Enchanting Profession – Complete a World Quest with a purple drop. Disenchant drop, sell Chaos Crystal for muchos gold.
- Order Hall – Class Upgrade that allows for the ability to auto-kill one World Quest every 18 hours. Use that nuke to gain Blood of Sargeras, Resources, or Professions rewards (see above). Not all classes have class halls that provide this. Death Knights do, as do Warriors (AKA my two main groups of alts).
If I manage to get all of that done on a character, it can take about five minutes and net me mats that will sell for a grand or so in gold. Repeat every day, and that’s seven thousand gold a week, twenty-eight thousand a month. Multiply that by four and I’m damn near buying a token a month with not all that much time investment, all things considered. That’s all above and beyond what I earn just by playing World of Warcraft on my main.
While poking around on one of the servers I had an army of alts on but no longer really play, I found a DK with some potential. He was level 100, with maxed Herbalism. His garrison was also sound – Level 3 with enough followers to generate resources and the Pleasure-Bot for buffing my Tailoring Emporium. Coincidentally, I had just bought a couple of tokens and was flush(?) with Blizzard Bucks. So I thought, what the Hell. Level another toon up, transfer him somewhere I may be more active and plug him into the gold making routine.
So like I said at the beginning of this post – Ding 110. I’ve just unlocked World Quests, and finished the Broken Shore scenario on my latest addition to the family. Once I get him a little further along (geared to the point where he can survive the necessary World Quests), he’ll be yet another cog in the production wheel.
Only that wheel’s got some golden hubcaps, playa.
Addendum – I swear, being a shift worker messes with your concept of time. I had no idea it had been so long since I posted. Seems like only a week or two, rather than a month.
Tips for Newbie Tanks
I’ll get to the subject in a second, but first I’d like to play a little catch-up as far as what I’ve been up to in the past… well… ever.
- Work. Yeah, blah blah RL sucks. Pros and cons of course. I work twelve-hour shifts, so when I’m done I’m pretty much ready to either sleep or go to the gym/go for a walk. Active, get the blood moving.
- However, I’ve also been making gold. I’m not online often, so I’m using the tips from my last post and slowly but surely get another WoW token. Or two.
- I’ve also been leveling my Horde Warrior alt. I spent the gold to upgrade the plate heirloom gear, but I’ve only been using him when Invasions have been active.
Which brings me to Ding 110!
I did all my leveling as a Prot Warrior. After reaching 110, I wanted to complete his Warrior Campaign. Part of my OCD when it comes to leveling alts, I suppose. So when I had to run Maw of Souls, I did what I usually did. I queued up as DPS.
“What? Why?” you might ask. Why queue up as damage when I’ve leveled to cap as a tank? Actually, most of you might not ask that. I did it for the same reason most people don’t, despite leveling as a tank themselves.
Criticism.
When you’re tanking in a pug, you’re arguably the second-most important role behind the healer. It’s your job to pull, keep the mobs from attacking the squishy other characters, and keep the group progressing at a rate that’s fast enough for the DPS, slow enough for the healer to keep up, and just the right pace to be able to handle the adds. If you fail at any of those duties, in the eyes of others in the group, you’ll hear about it (and it won’t be in a format that most would consider “constructive”). Or you won’t hear about it at all and just find yourself kicked from the group.
So I took the easy way out. Wait time, 35 minutes.
“Screw it,” I sighed. I swallowed my fear/pride, braced myself for insults, and queued as Tank.
Boom. Right in the group.
Anyone who’s pugged knows that it’s usually very quiet. People just want to get through it. It’s not social. It’s a necessary evil that must be tolerated. So I looked for any kind of chat that popped up while I tanked. We went from start to finish without a single character death. We went at a decent pace. I finished the dungeon, got my drop for the Campaign, and didn’t get kicked.
It also gave me a bit of confidence. I didn’t need a pat on the head. I just didn’t want a kick in the ass. All in all, it was a successful experience. More importantly, I learned a few things that helped the experience. Maybe they can help you too, should you want to take the plunge yourself as a newbie tank.
- Know the dungeon. I had run the dungeon, most of them actually, as DPS. So I knew where to go, and what was coming. When I went through as a tank, I didn’t need someone to show me. I used past experience, as well as the map, to get through without a bunch of waiting around and trying the patience of the rest of the group.
- Know your limits. Maybe you’re twinked out a bit. Perhaps you have some crafted gear waiting for you at level cap. Even if you can jack up your iLevel to the point where you qualify for Heroics, stay in the shallow end of the pool. Run Normals. You’ll find them more forgiving for your first or second time as a tank. Even if you out gear the dungeon, you can still run it for the experience and confidence-building exercise of it.
- Know your add-ons. Deadly Boss Mods are great when you’re tanking because when the boss is about to do something, it’ll let you know so you can react to it. If adds spawn, it’ll tell you so you can deal with them. GTFO is good for letting you know that the crap you’re standing it is killing you, and you should GTFO of it before the healer smacks you.
- Be Honest. First, I’ll be honest. When I tanked, I didn’t tell the group it was my first time. I’d run the dungeon enough times that I made a judgment call. If I could navigate it, I didn’t feel the need to let others know it was my first time tanking in a group. However, if you aren’t overly familiar with a dungeon, be upfront about it with the group. They might be understanding. Or they might kick you. In either case, at least you’ll keep the criticism to a minimum.
I’ve got another DK that I’m considering taking some time to level. He’s only 60 or so, but I may strictly tank with him to get him leveled a bit quicker. Have you had any luck as a new tank? Let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for someone who is taking the tanking plunge.
Rokk Talk 