Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

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Brenstel

Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#1 » 26 Nov 2010, 19:25

Would it be best to start questing from Mt Hyjal or Vashj'ir?

Is it best to level solo or in a group? (Wife and I are thinking about leveling our primaries with each other since we get more XP for the quest then from the grinding)

Should we bother with archeology while we level to 85?

What mats should we stock up on before the release date?

How often should we do the dungeons? is it a good grind for rep or is it only good for the few quest inside and then stay out and do the regular quest?

Thank you in advance,
Brenstel the Mohawked Gnome:)

Alrcari

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#2 » 26 Nov 2010, 20:18

Let me see if I can give you some information that may help out:

Q: Should we bother with archeology while we level to 85?
A: The answer I would tell you is NO. Wait until you've hit 85 and then work the skill. Most of the items from Archeology are for fun and not necessarily for leveling.

Q: Would it be best to start questing from Mt Hyjal or Vashj'ir?
Q: Is it best to level solo or in a group? (Wife and I are thinking about leveling our primaries with each other since we get more XP for the quest then from the grinding)
Q: How often should we do the dungeons? is it a good grind for rep or is it only good for the few quest inside and then stay out and do the regular quest?

A:
Average time it takes to reach level 85: 22-50 hours of solid questing, depending on your schedule. (Blizzard has stated that the leveling time will be eqv. to leveling from level 70-80 in WoTLK)

There are two main starting areas, much like WoTLK. These are Mount Hiyjal and Vashj'ir. Mount Hiyjal will be faster for most questers, as the quest hubs keeps you close to where they were given to you. Plus they are fairly straight forward in what they want you to do. Vashj'ir is a bit more spread out and is actually 3 separate zones under 1 name. Mount Hiyjal will more than likely be the most popular leveling area with the speed at which you can go through it, maybe 6 hours of total time if you can be constantly questing uninterrupted. Vashj'ir will be less crowed in my opinion, and you can get that complete in probably 7 hours.

Please Note: Your ICC ilvl 277 gear will most likely be outdated by level 83, as some of the new quest rewards (greens and instanced blues) from the level 82-83 quests/instances will be replacing the gear. So in short - Yes, there may be quest items that are better than your 277 raid gear from quests in Mount Hiyjal and Vashj'ir. The last quest chains in Mount Hiyjal and Vashj'ir are considered to be for the level 82 items (ilvl 280), and have better itemized stats for you. Your raid gear isn't itemized for Cataclysm unfortunately. The amount of stat contribution from hit, haste, crit on caster gear takes a significant decrease as you level. 1582 haste at level 85 is 9%, where it was 45% in WoTLK. Likewise your 289 hit rating the most casters have for raiding atm will also be a problem. You'll be able to at least hit mobs your level though, but boss mobs, and mobs that are higher level than you may pose a problem if you don't update your gear. Crit also gets crapped on. At level 83 I had 12% crit in my old raid gear that used to net 43%.


Next comes Deepholm. This is a 82-84 level zone with ample quests but pretty spread out as far as where things are and requires running around to get things done. Deepholm is a very pretty zone and lots of fun if you weren't rushing quests to read the story lines and such (but we can do that with alts later correct?). This zone will push you from 82 to 84 if you want, or just 82-83 if it starts to get crowded. Quests aren't bad, fairly easy to manage. Keep in mind that as you level your remaining i277 raid gear will continue to depreciated in this zone (Uldum and Twilight Highlands zones as well). The average mobs are between 65-85k health, and hit for 4-5k. Having someone else there to heal you would be great, and make your downtime a lot less. In all reality you can get this zone done in 6 hours, 8 if you want to push to 84.

This leaves you with one of the last two zones: Uldum and Twilight Highlands. Both have good quest hubs, and are generally good places to grind out that last level or two depending on the route you went with first.

ULDUM: Currently there is a bug preventing the full completion of some quest lines, but overall it's a good zone, quest hubs keep you close to where you need to go, and it's not an overly hard zone. You can grind out the last level and a half here in about 5 hours.

TWILIGHT HIGHLANDS: Very good quest hubs that keep you close to where you need to be for the most part, and quests aren't that difficult. Again, 5 hours for the last level and a half if you choose here.


THINGS OF NOTE
---------------------------------------------
YOU'RE IN A GUILD OF DECENT SIZE! Remember that you gain guild rep and levels as everyone is questing. You may be able to pick up the BoA helm and Cloak around level 82. The helm gives you 10% bonus experience from mobs and quests, and you gain 5% from the cloak. So 15% extra experience from mobs and quests will make a big difference in helping get you leveled up. You should be going to a capital city, Org, or Stormwind, at level 82 to train new talents to last you to 85 anyways. This will generally be between going from Mount Hiyjal or Vashj'ir to your next area, since that's what gives you the starting quest for the next area anyways.


5 MAN INSTANCES
---------------------------------------------
One thing people keep mentioning is that they plan to level via the 5-man Instances. If you think you will be able to level fast by doing this you are greatly mistaken. The WoTLK instances will award you experience and depreciate rather quickly as you level up. You might be able to squeeze out two levels, but at 83, it just isn't worth the efforts. As for the Cataclysm 5 Man instances:

1.) You need to find the instance entrances to be able to go into them.

2.) There are gear level requirements on all Cataclysm instances but the starting two instances - Vashj'ir dungeon and the Blackrock dungeon. You need an average item level of i311 to run the lvl 83-85 instances, leaving the Vashj'ir dungeon and the the Blackrock dungeon the only two you can enter to start with.

Following the list of required ilvl per dungeon(Patch 13117) as well as the ilvl of items that drop in them
Instance name |ilvl required |ilvl drops
Blackrock Caverns |xxx |279
Throne of the Tides |xxx |279
The Stonecore |272 |316
Vortex Pinnacle |272 |316
Grim Batol |305 |333
Halls of Origination |305 |333
Lost City of the Tol'Vir |305 |333
Heroic Instances |329 |346

QUESTING HELP (SPOILERS ALERT)
---------------------------------------------
During the beta several people put together guides of the questing in the zones during Beta. You can find a printer friendly versions of Arixan's Beta Guides listed below.
If you have trouble with the site, I took the time to print the guides to PDF files and upload them where you could get to them at. These links are also included below.

Arixan's Alliance Leveling Guide - Vashj'ir (80-82)[BETA]
http://www.wow-pro.com/book/export/html/2951
Alrcari Printed PDF Version location: http://www.mith.com/pdf/arixanvashjir.pdf

Arixan's Alliance Leveling Guide - Mt. Hyjal (80-82) [BETA]
http://www.wow-pro.com/book/export/html/2948
Alrcari Printed PDF Version location: http://www.mith.com/pdf/arixanhyjal.pdf

Arixan's Alliance Leveling Guide - Deepholm (82-83) [BETA]
http://www.wow-pro.com/book/export/html/3008
Alrcari Printed PDF Version location: http://www.mith.com/pdf/arixandeepholm.pdf

Remember to use your new map! The built in quest markers will do the job in 95% of the cases.

The built in Blizzard quest tracker has also been good with every zone I've quested in on Beta, in case you dont have another Addon for that. If you're wondering about a quest, look at the map, click the little box at the bottom that says 'show quest objectives' and that will show you the area you need to be in. You can also ask in general, since when things go live you should probably have hundreds of people in the zone questing, maybe someone knows the answer that was in the beta and can answer it for you. Obviously that wont work if you're in Uldum 15 hours after release and nobody else is there.


INSTANCES/PVP ZONE AND LEVELS
------------------------------------
You can find most of the instance information listed at: http://www.wowwiki.com/Portal:Cataclysm
To assist you further, here is a breakdown by zone, level requirements, and the link directly to that zone (which usually includes instance videos:
Video Compiling all of the Cata Dungeon Instance Locations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZUWPI4xmk


PVE INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------
* Abyssal Maw
Throne of the Tides (80-81)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Throne_of_the_Tides

* Blackrock Mountain
Blackrock Caverns (80-81)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Blackrock_Caverns

Blackwing Descent (10/25 raid)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Blackwing_Descent

* The Skywall
Vortex Pinnacle (82-84)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Vortex_Pinnacle

Throne of the Four Winds (10/25 raid)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Throne_of_the_Four_Winds

* Deepholm
Stonecore (82-84)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Stonecore

* Uldum
Lost City of Tol'vir (85)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Lost_City_of_Tol%27vir

Halls of Origination (85)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Halls_of_Origination

* Grim Batol
Grim Batol (85)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Grim_Batol_%28instance%29

Bastion of Twilight (10/25 raid)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Bastion_of_Twilight

* The Firelands (10/25 raid)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Firelands


* Caverns of Time
War of the Ancients (10/25 raid)


* Old-world dungeons gaining new 5-player Heroic mode
Deadmines (85)
Shadowfang Keep (85)


PvP INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------
* Battle for Gilneas
http://www.wowwiki.com/Battle_for_Gilneas

* Tol Barad (World PvP)
http://www.wowwiki.com/Tol_Barad

* Twin Peaks
http://www.wowwiki.com/Twin_Peaks

Q: What mats should we stock up on before the release date?
A:

AS FOR MATERIALS
------------------------------------------------------
This is hotly debated on the forums as to what you should or shouldn't save onto. I looked at all of my recipes for my professions. Determined which ones were yellow and orange and started stockpiling the items I needed to level up with. This way when Cata goes live, I can start gaining skill points and push me further into the skill levels for Cata.


I hope that helps -

-AL
Last edited by Alrcari on 26 Nov 2010, 20:51, edited 2 times in total.

Alrcari

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#3 » 26 Nov 2010, 20:30

Also forgot to add:

The new flightpath list that was used in beta. I haven't found an actual map for it, but I'm sure someone is/has put it together.

A - Alliance
H - Horde
X - Neutral/Combined
(New) - New to Cataclysm
* - Special Note


======EASTERN KINGDOMS======

Arathi Highlands
A - Refuge Point
H - Hammerfall
H (New) - Galen's Fall

Badlands
H (New) - New Kargath
X (New) - Fuselight
H (New) - Bloodwatcher Point
A (New) - Dustwind Dig
A (New) - Dragon's Mouth

Blasted Lands
A - Nethergarde Keep
H (New) - Dreadmaul Hold / Orc Camp
A (New) - Surwich
H (New) - Sunveil Excursion

Burning Steppes
A - Morgan's Vigil
H - Flame Crest
X (New) - Chiselgrip

The Cape of Stranglethorn
X - Booty Bay
H (New) - Hardwrench's Hideaway
A (New) - Explorer's League Digsite

Dun Morogh
A - Ironforge
A (New) - Kharanos
A (New) - Gol'Bolar Quarry

Duskwood
A - Darkshire
A (New) - Raven Hill

Eastern Plaguelands
X - Light's Hope Chapel
X - Acherus, The Ebon Hold (Death Knights only)
X (New) - Crown Guard Tower
X (New) - Corin's Crossing Tower
X (New) - Eastwall Tower
X (New) - Northpass Tower
X (New) - Plaguewood Tower

Elwynn Forest
A - Stormwind City
A (New) - Goldshire
A (New) - Eastvale Logging Camp

Eversong Woods
H - Silvermoon City
H (New) - Fairbreeze Village

Ghostlands
H - Tranquillien
X - Zul'Aman/Hatchet Hills

Hillsbrad Foothills (includes former Alterac Mountains zone)
H - Tarren Mill - town redesigned
H (New) - Southpoint Gate
H (New) - Ruins of Southshore
H (New) - Eastpoint Tower
H (New) - Strahnbrad
* Alliance FP at Southshore now gone due to takeover of zone

The Hinterlands
A - Aerie Peak
H - Revantusk Village
H (New) - Hiri'watha Research Station
A (New) - Stormfeather Outpost

Isle of Quel'Danas
X - Shattered Sun Staging Area

Loch Modan
A - Thelsamar
A (New) - Farstrider's Lodge

Northern Stranglethorn
A - Rebel Camp
A (New) - Fort Livingston
H - Grom'Gol Base Camp
H (New) - Bambala

Redridge Mountains
A - Lakeshire
A (New) - Camp Everstill
A (New) - Shalewind Canyon
A (New) - Keeshan's Post

Ruins of Gilneas
H (New) - Forsaken Forward Command - must do quests in Silverpine to get into correct phase

Searing Gorge
X - Thorium Point
X (New) - Iron Summit

Silverpine Forest
H - The Sepulcher
H (New) - Forsaken High Command - quest-phased, must be unlocked
H (New) - Forsaken Front - quest-phased, must be unlocked

The Sunken City of Vashj'ir
X (New) - Sandy Beach (Air)
X (New) - Smuggler's Cove (Swim)
X (New) - Silver Tide Hollow (Swim)
H (New) - Legion's Rest (Swim)
A (New) - Tranquil Wash (Swim)

Swamp of Sorrows
H - Stonard
A (New) - The Harborage
A (New) - Marshtide Watch
X (New) - Bogpaddle

Tirisfal Glades
H - The Undercity
H - The Bulwark
H (New) - Brill

Twilight Highlands
A (New) - Highbank (Phased)
H (New) - Dragonmaw Port (Phased)
H (New) - The Gullet
A (New) - Firebeard's Patrol
H (New) - Bloodgulch
A (New) - Kirthaven
H (New) - Crushblow
A (New) - Victory Point
H (New) - The Krazzworks
X (New) - Vermillion Redoubt

Western Plaguelands
X - Thondroril River
A - Chillwind Point
X (New) - The Mender's Stead
A (New) - Western Andorhal
H (New) - Eastern Andorhal
X (New) - Hearthglen

Westfall
A - Sentinel Hill
A (New) - Moonbrook
A (New) - Furlbrow's Pumpkin Farm

Wetlands
A - Menethil Harbor
A (New) - Dun Modr
A (New) - Whelgar's Retreat
A (New) - Greenwarden's Grove
A (New) - Slabchisel's Survey


======KALIMDOR======

Ashenvale Forest
A (New) - Blackfathom Camp
A - Astranaar
A (New) - Stardust Spire
A - Forest Song
H (New) - Hellscream's Watch
H (New) - Silverwind Refuge
H - Splintertree Post
H - Zoram'Gar Outpost

Azshara
H (New) - Bilgewater Harbor
H (New) - Bitter Reaches / Northern Rocketway Terminus
H (New) - Southern Rocketway Terminus
H - Valormok

Azuremyst Isle
A - The Exodar - now inside city, next to bottom of main ramp
A (New) - Azure Watch
* FP at Exodar now connects via flight to Rutheran Village (Teldrassil)

Bloodmyst Isle
A - Blood Watch

Darkshore
A (New) - Lor'Danel
A (New) - Grove of the Ancients

Desolace
A - Nijel's Point
H - Shadowprey Village
X (New) - Thunk's Abode
X (New) - Karnum's Glade
X (New) - Ethel Rethor
A (New) - Thargad's Camp
H (New) - Furien's Post

Durotar
H - Orgrimmar
H (New) - Razor Hill
H (New) - Sen'jin Village

Dustwallow Marsh
A - Theramore Isle
H - Brackenwall Village
X - Mudsprocket

Felwood
A - Talonbranch Glade
X (New) - Ruins of Constellas
A (New) - Whisperwind Grove
X - Emerald Sanctuary
H (New) - Irontree Clearing

Feralas
A (New) - Dreamer's Rest
A (New) - Feathermoon - replaces Ruins of Feathermoon (Stronghold) which is gone
A (New) - Tower of Estulan
A (New) - Shadebough - replaces Thalanaar, which is now under water
H (New) - Camp Ataya
H - Camp Mojache
H (New) - Stonemaul Hold

Moonglade
X - Nighthaven - FP for Druids of both factions only
A/H - Moonglade Central - FP for all classes, Alliance near lake, Horde near tunnel

Mount Hyjal
X (New) - Nordrassil
X (New) - The Shrine of Aviana
X (New) - The Shrine of Aessina
X (New) - Gates of Sothann

Mulgore
H - Thunder Bluff
H (New) - Bloodhoof Village

Northern Barrens (formerly The Barrens)
X - Ratchet
H (New) - Nozzlepot's Outpost
H - The Crossroads
H (New) - The Mor'shan Ramparts

Silithus
X - Cenarion Hold

Southern Barrens (formerly The Barrens)
A (New) - Honor's Stand
A (New) - Northwatch Hold
A (New) - Fort Triumph
H (New) - Hunter's Hill
H (New) - Desolation Hold
* The flight path at Camp Taurajo (in live) is now gone due to town's destruction

Stonetalon Mountains
A (New) - Thal'darah Overlook
A (New) - Mirkfallon Post
A (New) - Windshear Hold
A (New) - Farwatcher's Glen
A (New) - Northwatch Expedition Base Camp
H (New) - Cliffwalker Post
H (New) - Krom'Gar Fortress
H (New) - Malaka'jin
H - Sun Rock Retreat
H (New) - The Sludgewerks
* Stonetalon Peak FP no longer exists as town has been decimated

Tanaris
X - Gadgetzan - FPs are moved inside of town walls
X (New) - Bootlegger Outpost
A (New) - Gunstan's Dig
H (New) - Dawnrise Expedition

Teldrassil
A (New) - Dolanaar
A (New) - Darnassus - FP next to pink teleporter
A - Ru'theran Village - FP moved next to pink teleporter
* Ru'theran Village now connects via flight path to Exodar

Thousand Needles
X (New) - Fizzle Pozzik's Speed Barge
H (New) - Westreach Summit
* Freewind Post FP no longer exists, town has been taken over

Uldum
X (New) - Oasis of Vir'Sar
X (New) - Schnottz' Landing
X (New) - Ramkahen

Un'Goro Crater
X (New) - Marshal's Stand
X (New) - Mossy Pile
* Marshal's Refuge FP is no longer in existence due to decimation of camp

Winterspring
X - Everlook

User avatar
Cremate
Visitor
Visitor
Posts: 2265

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#4 » 26 Nov 2010, 20:39

Where the hell is Mount Hyjal? I wasn't around before WotLK.
The Champ Is Here.

Alrcari

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#5 » 26 Nov 2010, 20:45

Cremate wrote:Where the hell is Mount Hyjal? I wasn't around before WotLK.


New Cata Zone - There's a portal from the garden in SW keep to take you there.

Brenstel

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#6 » 26 Nov 2010, 20:45

Dude this friggin awesome :D :D

Thank you for all the great reading material :D


Alrcari

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#8 » 26 Nov 2010, 21:48

MMO Champion released their "leveling" flow map. This should help reinforce the information I have already given you.

-Al


Image

Shaaria

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#9 » 26 Nov 2010, 21:59

Ok, love, I think they get the clue you know what you're talking about even you're not a raider... :D

Heh, ask and ye shall receive an overload, eh, Bren? LOL

Alrcari

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#10 » 26 Nov 2010, 22:12

Shaaria wrote:Ok, love, I think they get the clue you know what you're talking about even you're not a raider... :D

Heh, ask and ye shall receive an overload, eh, Bren? LOL



“”We are Ante Meridiem. Lower your shields and surrender your souls. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

and if that doesn't work - Watch some funny cats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IytNBm8WA1c

User avatar
Cremate
Visitor
Visitor
Posts: 2265

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#11 » 27 Nov 2010, 08:18

Alrcari wrote:and if that doesn't work - Watch some funny cats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IytNBm8WA1c


I was oddly drawn to watch all 8 minutes of this. <3 Cats
The Champ Is Here.

Brenstel

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#12 » 30 Nov 2010, 17:00

SAVE FOR CATA

I know i will be using this thread for future leveling

Flayz

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#13 » 01 Dec 2010, 18:40

Tyvm

Brenstel

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#14 » 02 Dec 2010, 17:16

so we cant use out JP's until we are 85...so my next question is Do you get JP for doing the non heroics leveling up or should we max our JP now and just wait until 85 to buy the stuff?

Flayz

Re: Hey Alcari, I have a few Cata Questions?

Post#15 » 02 Dec 2010, 18:40

Brenstel wrote:so we cant use out JP's until we are 85...so my next question is Do you get JP for doing the non heroics leveling up or should we max our JP now and just wait until 85 to buy the stuff?


I would think it would be like regular instances while leveling in the 70s, you get JP for the daily random but not for every dungeon. I could be wrong though but to be safe I'd say max it out

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