Category Archives: World of Warcraft
Level Headed
There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
That’s a figure of speech and not an open admission of sadism. I feel like I need to clarify that sort of thing because this is the Internet after all and some of you are pretty twisted.
Not me, though. Nope. Right as rain here.
Of course, that gets called into question when I decide to level another alt to 110. To be fair, it didn’t start off that way. At first, it was just an experiment to see how much gold I could make on a new server. I had a boosted toon on a Horde server, but rather than level up yet another DK I decided that my farming toon would be a Demon Hunter. No twinking, no locking his level. Just run my farming route and let nature take its course.
Now my DH is 110 with an iLevel of 822. It’s been fun, so I’ll probably finish off his Class quest, get him his Slayer title, and then call the experiment complete. I have to admit, I actually enjoyed leveling this time around. Probably because I didn’t do it the way I did over the past four toons. I learned a few things, and if I level another character I may do this again.
What did I do? What did I not do?
- I didn’t follow the zone storylines. Been there, done that four times already. Wasn’t excited to do it for a fifth. Not entirely, anyway. My priority with my DH was as a farming character, and that’s what I did. Grinding mobs. Picking flowers. I focused on that, and every quest that did not involve doing something involving the lore/zone storylines. I did the Profession quests. Order Halls. Class quests. I snagged his other artifact weapon just for the XP.
- Zone storyline quests fill in the gaps. Two things suffer when you level outside the main quest lines – your artifact power and your gear. I got a little bit of each from completing the occasional random dungeon, but it wasn’t until I started doing the zone storylines that I started getting some meat on those bare bones. Mind you, I was already 108 when I started pushing zone content for the fifth time. But even those two zones that I did run were enough to get me a respectable iLevel by the time I reached 110.
- PVP paid off. I’d queue up for dungeons while I was leveling, but it wasn’t until level 108 before I even considered dipping my toe into queueing for random BG’s. I could select two that would not be up for random selection, and the wait time was shorter than dungeons. I was surprised by how much XP I was being awarded for winning. I didn’t pull exact numbers, which could be reason enough for me to lean this way if I level another character. The gift box at the end of the BG also had the potential to provide artifact power, gear, or gold. If and when I level up another character, I may start this a bit sooner and take note of the spoils of victory.
Like I said, I’m still working on Captain Demon Hunter. He’s not quite finished his class quest. But while he may not be a Slayer yet, he was killing the content in his own way. Get it? Slayer? Killing the content?
JOKES, people.
Also, Happy Holidays.
My Road to Gold
I have come to the point in the expansion that many of us arrive at when we hit the content like a starving person at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I’m stuffed. Full. Pushing myself away from the table, and the mere sight of food makes me queasy.
Same with Legion. I’m at the point where Blizzard’s normal carrots really aren’t that appealing to me. I don’t have a Legendary, but then I don’t feel I need one. My iLevel is 852 on my main, which is good enough for the World Quests and Heroic Dungeons that I run. I raid in LFR, and most of that gear isn’t really an upgrade. I’ve levelled four characters to 110, which has now burned me out on running any more toons through the content unless I absolutely have to.
This morning, I got this.
Next stop – Flight… eventually?
So now, the final motivational grind has been achieved, or at least the first part of it. The pinnacle of the PVE, non-raiding content has been conquered. So… now what?
Well, I did what many of us do when we’re in this kind of situation. I made shit up.
I decided to start a Demon Hunter on a new server, with no starting capital. I wanted to see how much gold I could make in a week. Levelling was not a major concern after getting his artifact weapon. Any XP gained was incidental, not intentional.
One of the main reasons I wanted to go with a DH was his mobility. When you’re running around killing things, the faster you can get around, the better. Also, by the time you finish running through your starting zone you’re level 100. Hit that current content, yo.
So after leaving the starting zone, getting his professions (Skinning and Herbalism), and picking up his artifact, I was ready to go. After setting up my grinding/farming route, I found that I could run in end-to-end in about 30 minutes. I selected spots that were either on (or very close to) flight paths to keep things moving quickly. I’d land, kill, loot, then mount up and continue on my way.
If I was fluent in Youtube, I’d make a video outlining the route. I’m passable with Paint Shop Pro, so I’ll make a map instead.
I won’t go into great detail since this might only help those with Herbalism and/or Skinning, but there are a few things here that help even if you don’t have those professions.
- Azurewing Repost: Leyblood (In the cave, kill the fishy-looking mana worm things)
- Starsong Refuge: Dreamleaf & Yseralline Seed (Herbalists, kill the plants and trees and Herb them), Mossgill Perch (Fish ’em up)
- Snowblind Mesa: Highmountain Salmon (Fishing), Stormscale (Skinners skin the lizards)
- Optional – Nesingwary: Plenty of animals there for skinning and meat. I tend not to go there simply because it’s a popular quest hub, which can mean waiting around for respawns. But it doesn’t hurt to stop there if you have the time.
- The Witchwood: Savage Leather & Big Gamy Ribs (Kill the boars, skin and loot)
- Shipwreck Cove: Foxflower (Herbalists), Black Barracuda (Fishing)
What makes this so valuable? Well, if you’ve got Herbalism you can pick up some very valuable herbs. If you have Skinning, you can grab plenty of animal skins on this route. If you have neither, looting things like Leyblood and Big Gamy Ribs can still be profitable as cooking mats that can be used to make valuable stat food. Same goes for fishing – stat foods, and not many people are doing it.
Does it work? It naturally depends on the server market, but I ran it for a week and managed to come away with about 23000 gold. Thirty minutes a day and I could make enough gold for a WoW Token a month.
Have you found a sweet farming spot you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below if there’s a spot you like to use to make good.
Rokk out!
Rokk Talk 