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I thought that flight paths were supposed to be -faster- since we can't actually fly,
? Flying from Ashran to Frostfire is rly slow
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There are some bugs we're working on. Also new flight path tech inc. to make any flight a direct A to B 'as the crow flies' path.
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Protection Paladins are performing well overall. However, their attuned stat, Haste, is underperforming. Considering some solutions.
3 days ago
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WoD seems to have old fashioned gear growth now, but with the next xpac, will it get squished?
3 days ago
There's a lot of appeal to upgrading gear and getting more powerful, and that means a natural inflation of item level over time.
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Mists of Pandaria: Jade Forest Preview and News Round Up
2012/03/26 at 8:15 PM
We were lucky enough to preview the start of the Jade Forest questline in beta before the zone was later closed! Here's a peek at the cutscene for the Alliance--as covered in our
Press Event
coverage, it's quite different than the cutscene for the Horde with a very angry Garrosh.
We've also got screenshots of the initial Alliance and Horde questing hubs in The Jade Forest, as well as some of the Temple of the Jade Serpent!
Be sure to check out our recent Mists of Pandaria beta coverage--this weekend alone we
updated our talent calculator
to have talents and abilities for ALL classes, including monks, as well as footage of redone
Scarlet Monastery
, and
Ragefire Chasm
Alliance Cutscene
"We have swept the wreckage for days, Your Majesty. There is no sign of Admiral Taylor or his ships."
"Five hundred ships at my disposal, yet the one that holds the key to the kingdom is missing. How can this be?"
"...west of the planned rendezvous...Horde airfleet......casualties! ...Thick fog bank to provide cover...retreat...uncharted land...hostile creatures. But the White Pawn is accounted for. Repeat: the White Pawn is safe."
"Did you hear? They're safe somewhere!"
"......immediate danger! Reuqesting rescue, requesting - "
"Sir, we can have the entirety of the seventh fleet on the scene within the month--"
"No time! We'll send a small team immediately. An elite force. Rescue the survivors, AND their precious cargo! You, meet up with Commander Nightwind at the harbor, immediately. Once the White Pawn is recovered, the full might of our navy can engage the Horde. On OUR terms."
Alliance Quest Hub
Horde Quest Hub
Temple of the Jade Serpent
Blue Posts
The Mists beta may be launched, but the blues haven't stopped posting! There are minor hotfixes from today, as well as clarifications on the European beta forums, the item squish debate, updated Scholomance, cosmetic glyphs, the lore of the Mogu and Zandalari, and Ghostcrawler addressing warlock tanking concerns. Click the cut to see the full posts.
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Mists of Pandaria 2012 Press Event: Full Monk Talents Revealed and More!
2012/03/19 at 2:00 AM
The NDA is lifted! We can now talk about the Mists of Pandaria press event we were invited to last week. From building your own farms to talents and specializations for Monks, we've got it all and we're ready to share.
Check out our exclusive interviews with Blizzard
the Mists of Pandaria official FAQ
for even
Here's some of the bigger points of interest:
Garrosh will be this expansion's final boss
Female pandaren were revealed
Eleven character slots
will let everyone try out a monk.
A new faction lets player have their own farms in-game
. They will be able to manage livestock and more all the while gaining reputation. Other factions will offer other activities, from raising a serpent to become your mount to defending outposts for dailies.
Cooking will have four specializations
allowing for customized food.
Prime glyphs have been removed
and many new vanity glyphs have taken their place.
The Lorewalkers will urge players to explore the world around them by providing cutscenes and rewards
. They will help flesh out archaeology into a more rewarding profession.
Monks had their auto attack added back in and were much more developed
--see our monk section!
Challenge modes will grant realm first achievements
for ranked completion times, in addition to the already planned transmogrification rewards.
Pet battles are WoW's first true minigame
. They will not count losses, will be light-hearted and anonymous, and they will have everything mentioned at BlizzCon including rare varieties of existing pets.
The Defense of the Ancients battleground concept was scrapped; world PvP objectives were added
. Control areas of Pandaria to increase your faction's conquest point weekly cap.
LFR will be available at level 90 for all fourteen boss encounters
. They will be tweaking loot rules and more.
The valor point system will be entirely revamped
. Players will augment their gear and upgrade levels using them.
Pandaria Overview
New Content
Dungeons and Raids
Pandaria Overview
This expansion, Blizzard wants factions in Mists of Pandaria to be more meaningful than just a bar that keeps growing. They're actively searching for ways to make them varied; taking the best experiences from their past expansions and also adding new ones. You will even be able to create your own farm with your own livestock, fields, and more to gain reputation for one of the factions.
Here are Mists of Pandaria's known factions:
Tillers and Anglers (Artisans)
: Located in the heartland of Pandaria, these will offer dailies in a 'farmer's market' type setting.
A special perk when gaining reputation with the
is your very own customizable farm. You will be able to acquire livestock, plant fields, and decorate your building as you gain reputation.
August Celestials
: Four ancestral spirits need your help in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms--Yu'lon the Jade Serpent, Xuen the White Tiger, Chi Ji the Red Crane, and Niuzao the Black Ox.
: Wandering faction of brewers looking for exotic ingredients--one of the factions that will offer Scenarios (such as defending a brewery from attackers.)
Golden Lotus
: Tied to the August Celestials. Order of pandaren priests and fighters, but there aren't enough to fight off the Mogu.
Each day, a different part of the valley is under attack and the daily quests will send you there.
As you gain reputation, you will be sent further afield. At first, you won't be right on the frontlines--it will be a process of exploration and slowly gaining trust.
: Rebel order of mantid lords who fear their queen has gone insane.
: Keepers of pandaren culture. Players who return artifacts from Pandaria will gain reputation and be treated to additional cut-scenes and lore content in their grand library.
Order of the Cloud Serpent
: Ancient order of flying warriors: will teach players how to train cloud serpent to become a mount (similar to Wintersaber grind) with enough reputation.
Several colors of mounts to choose from.
Training process will roughly be 20 days.
Racetrack with spectators cheering you on will surround this area--you will train and gain reputation partially by navigating this course.
: Guardians against the Sha--very disciplined. Created by the last Pandaren emperor to protect the empire against both the Sha and the mantids.
Must keep emotions in check--if they show fear, the Sha will get in and corrupt.
Armor rewards are promised to look 'especially cool'--but not available to preview yet.
Although BlizzCon gave a good amount of information on Pandaria's zones, this press event showed us two new zones! These zones have completely new terrain, not just large zones split in half.
Even more exciting--world bosses are making a comeback in these zones, and they'll all drop unique mounts!
New Zones
Krasarang Wilds
: Pandaria's southern shore--a coastal rainforest with grand M'ogu ruins. The M'ogu were the original rulers of Pandaria over 10,000 years ago and they really want their lands back. Part of the shore area looks unassuming, but it will be the location for future Alliance/Horde settlements in future patches.
Dread Wastes
: Ruled by the Sha of Fear--a mix of swamps and deserts.
Other Zones
Vale of Eternal Blossoms
: This is the sacred heart of the Pandaria empire and the original seat of the Mogu empire. Ancient majestic temples are still intact--lots of gold scrollwork and epic buildings here.
The Mogu are especially keen to control it again because they draw their power from sacred pools in the center of the zone.
Alliance and Horde player hubs are located here--they are really ornate, putting Dalaran to shame.
Lorewalkers, Gold Lotus, and Mogu'shan Palace are also located here.
Kun-Lai Summit
: Lowland plains, the home of the Yaungol, and high peaks, the home of the Shado-pan.
Jade Forest
: One of the level 85 questing zones, but also content players can do at level 90--training a Cloud Serpent mount. Players will meet the Jinyu and Hozen here, clashing in a terrible battle at the feet of a heroic ancestral dragon statue.
Valley of the Four Winds
: Heartland of Pandaria, with tons of farmland, as well as the legendary Stormstout Brewery. Chen Stormstout returns, happy to discover that the brewery was named in his honor, but he's dismayed at the trouble within. Decision was made to have the dungeon also be a building in the zone, so players could enter at earlier points while questing.
The conference gave us a little more insight to the bestiary of Mists of Pandaria. It sounds like they will be a memorable cast of both friends and foes.
Cloud Serpents
: Playful race of dragon-like creatures in a variety of striking cultures. While a handful have become corrupted, most are friends of the island and serve as companions to the Pandaren. Players who gain reputation with the
Order of the Cloud Serpent
can eventually obtain one as a mount.
: From the press conference--"14 year old boys running around the jungle with Horde machine guns--but monkeys. Nothing can go wrong with this plan." The Horde chooses to ally themselves with this chaotic race of monkeys, which are the bane of the calm
: A peaceful race of freshwater amphibians the Alliance befriends. The pandaren look up to them as a wise, yet overly strict, race of Elders. The upper caste of Jinyu consists of
, who can place staves into the river to learn its secrets and clues about the future.
: Pranksters and embodiments of nature. Many forest sprites' pranks – disguising themselves as stools to trip people, or throwing fruit and nuts at wanderers – seem harmless, but some have been tainted by the Sha.
: A newly-discovered descendent of Tauren, similar to the Taunka in Northrend. When Pandaria broke up, they were stranded and eventually developed into a visually distinct sub-race. They've been forced out of
Townlong Steppes
by the Mantids and ferociously want their lands back.
: Insect-like creatures that attack Pandaria whenever the new generation hatches. Very cunning both in solo and group combat. The Mogu built a huge wall as defense--thousands of years later, this still needs to be maintained.
: Founded the first empire of Pandaria through brute force and war. They are also skilled flesh-shapers, using this ability to create new races to do their bidding. Overthrown once the pandaren learned unarmed combat--some of their epic temples still remain, in ruins scattered about the continent. They are currently scheming to retake the pandaren empire and mostly reside in the Krasarang Wilds.
: A lizard-like race first created by Mogu flesh-shapers to be smart enough to fight well, but not function beyond that. Some escaped and eventually developed into a fully-functioning race.
: Lethal dark energy--absorbs hateful emotions and easily corrupts those who are unsuspecting. Negative emotions in a physical form. Of course, the Alliance and Horde escalating conflicts on Pandaria lead to even more Sha.
: A race of "evil crazy bunnies." They're a real problem for the pandaren, because they'll eat everything. Blizzard seems to have had some fun with their abilities--a boss virmen, Hoptallus, has
for an AOE and
Carrot Breath
for a conal effect. Trash virmen in instances carry hammers that players can pick up for more damage.
Everyone has been wondering since BlizzCon what the lore differences will be between Alliance and Horde pandaren--well, now we know!
We also learned that Garrosh will become the overarching villian of this expansion as he grows hungry and out of control. Mists of Pandaria's final patch will focus on taking him down, as all races unite to end his reign.
Alliance & Horde
The boxed product is intended to be an adventure without a supervillian. For example, in Wrath, everyone knew they'd fight Arthas just from looking on the box. Mists is meant to be more of a vanilla model, where players are meant to engage with new cultures and factions.
Fleets will arrive and claim Pandaria's southern shores, as the mists mysteriously part after thousands of years and the ships went off course, thanks to Garrosh's naval warfare. The Alliance and Horde will react to the clash, summoning forces for counter attacks.
The lightness and serenity of Pandaria are meant to be a contrast to the warfare to come--it will be a setting for tragedy and heroics. In later patches, fortress will be built in otherwise peaceful areas.
All the new fighting on Pandaria unleashes the full wrath of the Sha, a force that feeds upon negative energy. In addition, the strengthened Sha will infect the mantids, making their annual swarm even more potent than usual. Meanwhile, the ferocious Mogu will reunite with the Zandalari, their old friends, in an attempt to reclaim their kingdom.
As patches progress, the Alliance and Horde decide that Garrosh is a menace, growing even more power-hungry with each development. The final patch will be the Siege of Orgrimmar, where everyone unites to take him down.
Pandaren Faction Differences
Pandaren that join the Alliance and the Horde are considered to be very rare--they're a subset of the already-rare group that's decided to explore and live on The Wandering Isle. Most Pandaren remain neutral and isolated on the main continent. Pandaren that pick a faction do so knowing that isolate them from their previous world and family.
Pandaren live in the moment--while they're reclusive, everything they do is whole-hearted and intense, from farming to drinking to sleeping. They prefer meditation to combat--when they do fight, it's with their whole body. They are careful to show negative emotions, as that quite literally can summon a physical enemy.
Alliance Pandaren follow the path of the Tushui, focusing on justice and morality. Their leader is Aysa Cloudsinger, who firmly believes success in any endeavor never justifies immoral deeds.
Horde Pandaren follow the path of the Houjin, which are impulsive and pracical. Ji Firepaw is the leader, believing it's honorable to defend home and family no matter the cost.
, interactions with the Alliance and Horde were very rare. Chen Stormstout is one of the most famous explorers, taking part in epic events such as the Liberation of Theramore while always on the move for exotic brewing ingredients. He's back in
on the Pandaren mainland, investigating the problems behind his brewery.
New Content
With the prime glyph category removed, scribes are getting tons of new glyphs for vanity purposes to make up for the loss. From being able to turn into an Orca as a druid to a paladin's mount changing cosmetically, there are tons of glyphs and we have a small preview of them--expect many more to come!
Unfortunately, not too many other professions were covered yet.
General Changes
: There will be many new artifacts to discover in Pandaria, and the new
faction will allow you to learn about the Pandaren's culture in-depth--should make Archaeology feel like less of an impersonal grind. Players will present an artifact to the Lorewalkers in their grand library, and they'll be treated to a presentation on the library's stage. As for the existing races and artifacts, there are plans to tie the Lorewalkers into discovering these artifacts as well.
: Four specializations will be added for foods with distinctive stats. Dedicated players can learn all specializations for additional achievements.
: The Prime Glyph category is now removed. There will be more of an emphasis on cosmetic glyphs in the minor slots.
New Glyphs
Here's a list of some of the new glyphs we found at the press conference:
Glyph of Stars
: Moonkin Form ability is replaced with Astral Form, conferring all the same benefits, but now appearing as an astrally enchanted version of your normal humanoid form.
Glyph of the Chameleon
: Each time you shapeshift into Cat Form or Bear Form, your shapeshifted form will have a random hair color.
Glyph of the Orca
: Your Aquatic Form now appears as an Orca.
Glyph of the Stag
: Your Travel Form now appears as a Stag and can be used as a mount by party members.
Glyph of the Treant
: Allows you to shapeshift into Treant Form. The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of movement slowing effects.
The Moonbeast
: You can now cast Healing Touch, Rejuvenation, and Tranquility without canceling Moonkin Form.
Glyph of Righteous Retreat
: During Divine Shield, you can invoke your Hearthstone 50% faster.
Glyph of the Falling Avenger
: You slow fall during Avenging Wrath.
Glyph of Bladed Judgement
: Your Judgement spell depicts an axe or sword instead of a hammer, if you have an axe or sword equipped.
Glyph of Winged Vengence
: You grow larger during Avenging Wrath.
Glyph of Mounted Kings
: Mounting a paladin mount automatically casts Blessing of Kings on you.
Glyph of the Luminous Charger
: Your paladin class mounts glow with Holy Light.
Glyph of Fire From the Heavens
: Your Judgment and Hammer of Wrath critical strikes call down fire from the sky.
Glyph of Ice Lance
: Your Ice Lance now hits 1 additional target for 50% damage.
Glyph of Counterspell
: Your Counterspell can now be cast while casting or channeling other spells, but its cooldown is increased by 4 sec.
Blizzard originally proposed three new battlegrounds at BlizzCon, but has trimmed it down to two for Mists of Pandaria's release.
They are also trying to revisit world PvP to make the world more alive. The more locations players fight on and win for their faction, the more conquest points their weekly cap will allow.
Temple of Mogu
: Located in the middle of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, players vie to pick up and control an ancient artifact. This artifact gives the player a damage buff but also increases damage taken--the goal is to have the artifact constantly changing hands. Another twist is that different parts of the map award varying amounts of resources--holding onto the artifact in a risky area of the terrain will yield more resources per minute. This is intended to be a fast-paced BG in a new style from previous ones.
Silver Shard Mine
: Underground area with mineral-rich resources that travel in mine cars. These mine cars are capture points--think of EotS, but moving. The Alliance and Horde want to capture these mine cars before they get to the depot, and at various points on the rails, there are splits where the mine cars can go either way. Depending on who controls channel points, the cart can travel different ways.
World PvP
: Conquest point cap will increase as players win world objectives. For example, personally conquering Southshore and Tarren Mill back in the day would have been great for this dynamic.
Challenge Modes
Challenge modes remain similar to what BlizzCon said about them. However, they have hinted to having realm first achievements tied to them. It's possible this will be scrapped, but if it remains, expect a lot of controversy--and competition!
There are three levels of rewards:
: Achievements.
: Special transmog armor--example was gilded rogue armor with asymmetrical dragon shoulders.
: Access to a mount with unique look.
Once players have beaten all the gold achievements, they have access to a realm leaderboard.
Challenge-mode leaderboards allow players to filter by instance, time, and by guild.
Inspiration for challenge modes: timed Stratholme runs and the original Zul'Aman run for the Amani War Bear.
Intended to be competitive PvE without confrontation, and a way to foster community within guilds.
Player's UI will show medal tabulation, record times, rewards, and how much time mid-run until you hit the next bracket.
Several achievements for Challenge Modes were available on press servers. There were achievements at all levels for completing the instance, as well as 'Full' achievements for obtaining a medal in every instance. There were also Realm Firsts for Gold and Full Silver challenges (subject to change).
Scenarios are Blizzard's answer to dynamic questing that has been cropping up in many newer MMORPGs. It also replaces group questing. They will reward players with Valor Points.
Scenarios allow you to quest in a controlled location--meaning various groups won't be competing in a crowded area for objectives.
All factions will have associated scenarios.
Sample scenario shown: players are tasked to help a Brewmaster find a spice that's only useful when it rains. At first, players save some villages and buildings. You then help the Brewmaster create the lager as it's raining, while she's besieged by Sauroc. In the final phase, you defend the brewery while putting out fires--a giant Sauroc with a huge sword is trying to destroy the building.
Fights have a different feel than an instance that requires a tank and a healer--with all dps it's quick and unpredictably chaotic.
A "Scenario Finder" similar to the Dungeon Finder and Raid Finder will let players find groups easily. Queue times are expected to be low as there are no class requirements.
Completing scenarios will reward players with Valor Points and gear.
Pet Battles
We've heard a lot about pet battles and there's been a lot of hype in the community. As luck would have it, they are going well as planned. We got further clarification about how the system will function at tthe press event.
Purely optional activity, but WoW's first mini-game, a turn-based combat system.
Over 100 wild pets--some with special quirks. For example, some can be found only between 9pm-midnight, others only in the rain. TCG and Blizzard Store pets will work as well.
Players can customize pets by giving them names.
Pets will have the following stats: Attack, Defense, Movement Speed, Health.
As pets skill up, they will eventually unlock 6 different abilities. Three of these abilities will be chosen by the player for each pet battle.
Pets can fight against critters and specific NPCs that have pets for practice.
Pet Journal will include a list of current and unobtained pets, pet-specific achievements, and stats.
Sample pet battle presented at the Press Tour showed Arthas vs Illidan fighting with three pets each. (Illidan won.) The battle was fairly quick, and impersonal--no opportunity for players to chat or learn the other's name.
These decisions are intended to cut down on trash talking and 'the sting of defeat' after a match--problems that dissuade some players from entering into PvP.
Losses will not be tabulated.
Pets can be swapped out in battle for tactical advantages--some pets are natural counters against others.
Pet battles are meant to be light-hearted and quick.
Blizzard is hoping to achieve different questing and fix what went wrong with Cataclysm's linearity. They also are changing how quest achievements work.
Quest achievements will track progress by story lines, not by number of quests completed. One achievement was available:
Walk the Land
: Complete the following shorelines in the Valley of the Four Winds:
Thunderfoot Farms
Chen's Masterpiece
Zhu's Bastion
New Taurajo
The Hidden Master
The Salvation of Stoneplow
Mudmug's Place
The Stormstout Brewery
The Crane Temple
Farwalker Refuge
Nesingwary's Safari
The Jade Forest
We got to preview one zone, the Jade Forest, and see these new quests in action.
There's a return to non-linear questing in Mists of Pandaria, as well as a wider array of daily quests available to choose from.
The non-linear model was instantly apparent in The Jade Forest--it was possible to have up to 10 quests at the same time.
Goal of Pandaria zones is to have less-linear questing. Players aren't expected to complete all questlines when leveling for the first time, but it will be less repetitive on alts.
Initial quest rewards were ilvl 372 and ilvl 384, but not every quest rewards gear. Artwork for these quest items still in progress.
New common-quality drops from mobs included
Windwool Cloth
(possibly new tailoring cloth),
Four Wind Soju
(a weak alcoholic beverage), and
Boiled Silkworm Pupa
(restores 100k health).
The very first series of Horde quests sent the player salvaging a crashed airship, rescuing survivors, and putting the dead to rest. Finding each survivor opened up numerous other quest chains.
New takes on familiar quests--there's a really fun bombing quest where the player flies on a box and acid bombs enemies in the jungle.
Another quest chain teaches the player how to meditate and introduces pandaren beliefs and history. The player meets with Sage Speaker-Cho at four Carins, gradually learning how to remain calm and meditate, instead of getting distracted or taking a nap. Players get a meditation bar and have to use focus and relaxation buttons to keep the bar balanced at 50%.
Other quests address how the way of the Pandaren is different from the Alliance and Horde. One quest tells you to kill crocodiles that are trapping the Hozu--even though a gesture of kindness and dividend later is not the traditional way of the Horde.
Perculia transcribed all the new monk talents and specializations. She also took notes on what the lore differences are for Horde and Alliance monks. Additionally,
Ghostcrawler confirmed that monks had their autoattack added back in
Class Changes
Monks now use energy in Brewmaster and Windwalker specs, and mana in Mistweaver.
Chi is now simply light energy--Dark Chi has been removed.
Monks are intended to be a class where abilities are quickly used--instead of saving up Chi, players are encouraged to use abilities that only cost 1 or 2 Chi, unlike a rogue that would save 5 combo points for Eviscerate.
Their racials remained unchanged, but their talents and specializations were able to be previewed for the first time.
Monks were given very detailed and unique animations, even in melee. One ability encases the monk in a green bubble with runes, and then levitates them.
Lore Updates
Monks initially were those who brought hope to the oppressed Pandaren under Mogu rule through song and stories. Weapons were forbidden among slaves, so the Monks taught their fellow Pandaren how to fight by harnessing positive energy, or Chi. When the opportunity for revolution struck, they were well-trained to take control.
Pandaren get a cutscene with the Alliance and the Horde, showing the current situation and the personality of their faction leader.
: Garrosh is berserk that he's missing a fleet of ships, after using the floor in front of his throne to show animated versions of naval battles he's instigated and won against the Alliance. There were major victories off the coast of Tanaris and Tol Barad, with a supply root to Booty Bay established. He ends up strangling a goblin who brings him news of Alliance counter-attacks and reveals that a ship has been lost. He ignores advice to focus on the future instead of the past, and demands payment of debts from realms in his power. This clearly sets the stage for how Garrosh will spiral out of control later.
: The Alliance scene is more subdued, taking place in Varian's war room. The generals calmly analyze the situation and decide to try to rescue their survivors and cargo. The cutscene ends with an epic shot of your character flying over the sea on an Alliance airplane.
Monk Talents
Level 15
: Your roll ability costs no Chi. This effect becomes inactive for 15 sec, after use.
: Your Roll ability will move you at a slightly longer distance, and at a slightly quicker speed.
: Everytime you Roll, you gain a stacking 10% movement speed buff. Stacks up to 3 times.
Level 30
Mystery Talent
: Coming Soon?
: Increases the amount of maximum Chi by 1.
Jiny'u Cider
1.5 min cooldown
Instantly restores all of your Chi.
Level 45
Deadly Reach
: Your
ability is now usable from 40 yards away.
Charging Ox Wave
1 Chi
40 yd range
A mighty Ox effigy rushes towards the target, stunning all enemies within its path for 3 sec. When the Ox reaches the enemy, they and all nearby enemies within 0 yards are knocked back a short distance.
Leg Sweep
1 Chi
25 sec cooldown
You knock down all enemies within 5 yards, effectively stunning them for 6 sec.
Level 60
: When attacked, your movement speed is increased by 3% and you cause all nearby enemies to move at 3% reduced speed within 8 yards. This effect can stack up to 6 times. Being attacked from behind causes two stacks of Beguile to be generated instead of one.
45 sec cooldown
You escape your physical form, dematerializing into the ether avoiding all damage for 3 sec.
Tiger's Lust
Melee Range
1 min cooldown
Instantly clears the target of all immobilizing and movement impairing effects, and increases their movement speed by 70% for 6 sec.
Level 75
Chi Bind
1 min cooldown
Binds yourself to your targeted statue with a tether of Chi energy, causing any friend or foe caught in its path to take x damage or y healing.
Chi Sphere
1 Chi
60 yd range
2 min cooldown
You summon a ball of Chi energy, dealing damage and healing all targets within its path within 60 yards.
While its traveling, you can discharge the Sphere, dealing x damage/healing to all targets at its current location and reducing/increasing all targets movement speed by 70% for 3 sec, but canceling the Sphere.
Level 90
Ring of Peace
2 min cooldown
Forms a sanctuary around you, causing all enemies to be unable to attack or cast harmful spells while within it. Lasts 10 sec.
Rushing Jade Wind
40 yd range
2 min cooldown
You encase the friendly or enemy target in a whirling jade tornado, becoming immune to all damage and healing and traveling at a quick speed in a distance in front of you.
Chi Cocoon
2 min cooldown
You encase the friendly or enemy target in a cocoon, shielding them from all outside damage and healing and causing them unable to attack.
Deals x damage to enemies and y healing to allies every 1 sec for 8 sec.
General Abilities
Crackling Jade Lightning
600 Mana
40 yd range
Channels Jade Lightning at the target, causing 2,172 Nature damage over 5.85 sec.
If the enemy attacks you within melee range while victim to Crackling Jade Lightning, they are knocked back a short distance. This effect has an 8 sec cooldown.
520 Mana
40 yd range
Instant cast
8 sec cooldown
Eliminates ailments from the friendly target, removing all harmful Poison and Bleed effects.
15 Energy
Melee Range
You attempt to disable the target's movement, reducing their movement speed by 25%. Stacks up to 2 times.
If you use Disable a third time on a target while they have 2 stacks, all stacks will be consumed and they will be rooted for 8 sec.
Expel Harm
400 mana
Melee Range
Instant cast
15 sec cooldown
Instantly heals the target for 11,421 and causes 100% of the amount healed to instantly be dealt to a nearby enemy as damage within 5 yards of the target.
Grapple Weapon
40 yd range
1 min cooldown
You fire off a rope spear, grappling the targets weapons and shield, returning them to you.
Depending on the quality of the weapon, your damage done, healing done, and damage reduction may be increased.
Healing Sphere
300 Mana
40 yd range.
1.46 sec cast
You form a Healing Sphere out of healing mists at the target location for 30 sec. If allies walk through it, they consume the sphere, healing themselves for 4,010.
Maximum of 3 Healing Spheres can be active by the Monk at any give time.
Legacy of the Emperor
40 yd range
You extol the words of the last emperor, increasing Strength, Agility, and Intellect by 5%.
If target is in your party or raid, all party and raid members will be affected.
3 min cooldown
Reduces all damage taken by 99% and redirects to you all harmful spells cast against your allies within 30 yards. Lasts 10 sec.
Being the victim of a melee attack will break your meditation, canceling the effect.
Melee Range
15 sec cooldown
You cause the targets muscles to contract, incapacitating them for 30 sec. If done from behind the target, the duration is doubled. Only one target can be victim to
at any given time.
Any damage taken will cancel the effect.
40 yd range
8 sec cooldown
You mock the target, causing them to rush towards to attack you an increased 50% movement speed.
If targeting your Statue of the Black Ox, you
all enemies within an 8 yard radius of your statue.
40 yd range
9.74 sec cast
Returns the spirit to the body, restoring a dead target to life with 35% of maximum health and mana. Cannot be cast when in combat.
Cast time reduced by 50% if target is in melee range.
50 Energy
Roll a short distance.
Spear Hand
30 Energy
Melee Range
30 sec cooldown
Requires Ox Stance, Tiger Stance
You jab the target in the throat, interrupting their spell cast and preventing any spell in that school from being cast for 5 sec.
If the enemy is facing you when cast, they are also silenced out of all schools for 5 sec.
Spinning Crane Kick
: You spin while kicking in the air, dealing Physical damage every 1 sec, to all nearby enemies within 8 yards. Movement speed is reduced by 30%. Lasts 6 sec.
Tiger Palm
: Attack with the palm of your hand, dealing 23 physical damage. Deals 12 additional damage if the target is above 50% health.
Touch of Death
4 Chi
Melee Range
1.5 min cooldown
Requires Ox Stance, Tiger Stance
You exploit the enemy target's weakest point, instantly killing the target.
Only usable on non-player targets who have equal or less health than you.
A sturdy brawler who uses liquid fortification and unpredictable movement to avoid damage and protect allies.
Avert Harm
Available Level 48
15 yd range
1 min cooldown
Requires Ox Stance
You reduce the damage taken by all nearby friendly targets with in 10 yards by 20% and cause half of all remaining damage they take to be re-directed to you. Lasts for 15 sec.
Avert Harm
is cancelled if you reach 10% or lower health.
Breath of Fire
Available Level 18
2 Chi
40 yd range
Requires Ox Stance
Breathes fire onto the target, causing 2.385 damage. Damage is multiplied by the number of
Drunken Haze
stacks of the target.
Brewmaster Training
Availalbe Level 72
You become adept in the ways of the Brewmaster, amplifying two of your spells.
Tiger Palm
: Increase the amount of your next Guard by 5%. Lasts 30 sec. Stacks up to 3 times.
Blackout Kick
: When you Parry, your next Blackout Kick will cost no Force and can be used on targets regardless of their health percentage.
Drunken Haze
Available Level 22
40 Energy
40 yd range
Requires Ox Stance
You hurl a keg of your finest brew, reducing the movement speed of all enemies within 8 yards by 15%.
Affected targets have a 3% chance to have their attacks misfire and strike themselves instead for 5141 damage. Stacks up to 3 times.
Elusive Ale
Available Level 34
1 Chi
45 sec cooldown
Requires Ox Stance
Increases your chance to dodge melee and ranged attacks by 50% for 45 sec.
Available Level 26
3 Chi
Requires Ox Stance
You Guard against future attacks, absorbing 38478 damage for 8 sec.
Any heals you apply to yourself while Guarding are increased by 30%.
Leer of the Ox
Available Level 24
Instant 20 sec cooldown
Requires Ox Stance
Your Ox Statue stirs hatred in the target, reducing their movement speed by 50% and causing them to attack the statue for 8 sec. The statue must be within 40 yards of the target.
Requires Statue of the Ox to be active.
Mastery: Drunken Brawler
Available Level 80
Reduces the damage taken by Stagger by 11.4% and increase the effect of your Guard by 11.4%.
Each point of Mastery reduces the Stagger damage taken by an additional 1.1%, and increases the amount you Guard by an additional 1.1%.
Available Level 56
Whenever you Dodge, you gain 5 Chi.
Available Level 82
2 Chi
Requires Ox Stance
You shuffle around, causing all melee attacks to be staggered. WHile shuffling, you cannot move, attack, or cast spells.
You shrug off attacks, causing 50% of the damage to happen instantly and the remaining 50% to happen 3 sec later.
Brewmaster Mastery reduces the after-effect Stagger damage taken.
Stance of the Drunken Ox
Available Level 10
Reduces damage taken by 20%, and increases your chance to
damage by 25%.
Summon Black Ox Statue
Available Level 70
40 yd range
5.85 sec cast
3 min cooldown
Requires Ox Stance
Summons a Black Ox Statue at the target location. Lasts for 10 min. Only one Black Ox Statue can be summoned at any one time.
The Black Ox Statue interacts with your
Leer of the Ox
Guard (On-Click Effect)
Allies can right-click the Statue to gain the
effect, absorbing 128256 damage. Any healing done by the Monk is increased by 30% while Guard is active. Guard has a 10 charges.
A healer who mixes traditional herbal medicine with Pandaren martial arts.
Cherry Mana Tea
Available Level 56
Requires Serpent Stance
For each 3 Force you consume, you gain a charge of
Mana Tea
Use Mana Tea to consume the charges. Each charge restores 5% of your maximum mana. Mana Tea must be channeled, lasting 1 sec per stack. Mana Tea can stack up to 50 times.
Canceling the channel will not waste stacks.
Chi Wave
Available Level 7
2 Chi
40 yd range
20 sec cooldown
Requires Serpent Stance
You cause a wave of Chi energy to flow through friend and foe, dealing 3843 damage or 3843 healing. Boucnes up to 5 times to targets with in 10 yards.
Internal Medicine
Available Level 20
spell now also clears all magical effects when used.
Jasmine Force Tea
Available Level 24
0 mana plus 1200 per sec
Requires Serpent Stance
You regenerate 1 Force every 2 sec for 6 sec.
Mastery: Gift of the Serpent
Available Level 80
You have a 20.0% chance when you heal to summon a
Solace Sphere
nearby an injured ally.
Each point of Mastery increases the chance to summon a
Solace Sphere
by an additional 3%.
Renewing Mists
Available Level 42
400 Mana
40 yd range
Instant cast
Requires Serpent Stance
You surround the target with healing mists, restoring 1406 health every 0.97 for 9.74 sec to up to 3 friendly targets within 8 yards.
Renewing Mists
travels from friendly target to target when it heals, up to $n times.
Available Level 78
1400 Mana
40 yd range
Instant cast
3 min cooldown
Requires Serpent Stance
You revive the targets spirit, temporarily resurrecting them for until cancelled with 50 % health and mana.
Revival does not count towards the combat resurrection limit.
Soothing Mists
Available Level 18
200 Mana, plus 200 per sec
40 yd range
Heals the target for 4,995 over 7.80 sec
If your healing done by
Soothing Mists
is completely effective, you have a 25% chance to generate 1 Light Force.
Summon Jade Serpent Statue
Available Level 70
1,200 Mana
40 yd range
4.87 cast
Requires Serpent Stance
Summons a Jade Serpent Statue at the target location. Lasts for 15 min. Limit 2 Statues. Only two statues can be active or summoned within a combat session.
Eminence (Passive)
: When the Monk deals damage, the summoned Jade Serpent Statues will heal the lowest health nearby target within 20 yards equal to 50% of the damage done.
Serpent's Salve (On-Click Effect)
: Allies can right-click the statue to instantly be healed for 3,786. 10 Charges.
Surging Mists
Available Level 34
1,000 Mana
40 yd range
1.46 cast
Requires Serpent Stance
Heals the lowest health friendly target within 40 yards for 12,514.
If cast while channeling
Soothing Mists
Surging Mists
will be instant cast and heal that target over all others.
Stance of the Wise Serpent
Available Level 10
Increases healing done by 20% and replaces your Chi resource to Mana.
Any ability which costs Chi will now cost Mana instead.
Teachings of the Monastery
Available Level 72
You become adept in the ways of the Mistweave, amplifying three of your abilities.
Surging Mist
: When you
Expel Harm
, the cast time of your next
Surging Mist
is reduced by 50%. Stacks up to 2 times. Lasts 12 sec.
Expel Harm
Expel Harm
no longer has a cooldown.
Spinning Crane Kick
: When you deal damage with
Spinning Crane Kick
while in
Stance of the Wise Serpent
, you heal nearby allies equal to 100% of the damage done.
Thunder Force Tea
Available Level 66
1 Chi
Requires Serpent Stance
You receive a jolt of energy, doubling the healing done by your next
Surging Mist
within 10 sec.
Available Level 62
2 Chi
Requires Serpent Stance
Instantly refreshes the duration of all of your
Renewing Mists
periodic effects on allies, and heals them for 3, 232.
Windwalkers are the melee dps specialization for Monks, using a potent mix of punches, kicks, and martial arts moves.
Available Level 26
When you kill an enemy while gaining experience or honor, you have a 50% chance to summon a
Healing Sphere
Healing Sphere
: You form a Healing Sphere out of healing mists at a the target location for 30 sec. If allies walk through it, they consume the sphere, healing themselves for 4,801.
Maximum of 3 Healing Spheres can be active by the Monk at any given time.
Energizing Wine
Available Level 34
1 min cooldown
Requires Tiger Stance
Regenerates 60 Energy over 6 sec. Can only be used while in combat.
Exploding Jade Blossom
Available Level 48
1 Chi
30 yd range
Requires Ox Stance, Tiger Stance
Deals 11,254 Physical damage to the first enemy target in front of you within 30 yards, rooting them for 2 sec.
Exploding Jade Blossom
travels further than 10 yards, the damage is increased by 50%.
Fists of Fury
Available Level 10
3 Chi
Melee Range
45 sec cooldown
Requires Tiger Stance
Pummel all targets in front of you with rapid hand strikes, stunning them and dealing 1 damage every 1 sec for 4 sec.
Flying Serpent Kick
Available Level 18
25 sec cooldown
Soar through the air forwards at an increased speed.
While traveling, use
Flying Serpent Kick
again to land yourself, dealing 300 damage to all enemies within 8 yards, and slowing them by 70% for 4 sec.
Legacy of the White Tiger
Available Level 66
40 yd range
You honor the White Tiger's legacy, increasing mastery by 5. If target is in your party or raid, all party and raid members will be affected.
Mastery: Combo Breaker
Grants a 13% chance for
to cause your next
Tiger Palm
to cost no force, or your next
Blackout Kick
to cost no force and be usable on targets regardless of their health percentage. Each point of Mastery increases the chance by an additional 1.4%
Muscle Memory
Available Level 72
Your fighting technique improves over time during combat. Anytime you
a target from behind, your chance to critically hit with
increase by 1% for 30 sec. This effect can stack up to 100 times.
Leaving combat or an encounter will clear your muscle memory.
Rising Sun Kick
Available Level 56
2 Chi
Melee Range
Instant 8 sec cooldown
You kick upwards, attacking the enemy twice for 888 weapon damage with a 30% chance to perform a third attack.
Available Level 42
Requires Ox Stance, Tiger Stance
When you are attacked by a melee enemy in front of you begin to spar their attacks, increasing your chance to parry by 5% for 10 sec. This effect has a 30 sec cooldown.
When you attack them back,
is amplified by an additional 5%. Stacks up to 3 times.
Summon White Tiger Statue
Available Level 70
40 yd range
4.87 sec cast
Requires Tiger Stance
Summons a White Tiger Statue at the target location. Lasts for 6 min. Limit 1 Statue.
Conjured Effigy (Passive):
When you consume 3 Force, your statue will conjure a White Tiger Effigy which travels towards the last enemy you attacked, dealing 561 damage.
If the effigy travels for 5 sec, it becomes lusted, moving at a greater speed and dealing 100% increased damage.
Tiger's Lust (on-Click Effect)
: Increases the damage done by the ally and the Monk by 15% for 6 sec. Limit 2 charges per statue.
Tigereye Brandy
Available Level 64
1 Chi
Requires Tiger Stance
Causes your
Tiger Palm
Blackout Kick
to also hit 3 additional nearby enemies within 5 yards when they deals damage for 20 sec.
Dungeons and Raids
General Changes
We found out some big details in our interviews. LFR will be available at level 90, but it will be reworked; valor points are changing; and the tier system may be reworked.
First tier of Pandaria raiding will have 14 bosses, available on LFR, Normal, and Heroic difficulty.
LFR looting will be reworked--individual-based rolls like in Diablo. Completing additional objectives in WoW--such as a number of daily quests--will give players a buff allowing them an additional roll (that does not impact other players).
Valor Points are completely reworked. They are no longer a currency for actual items, but something you use to (repeatedly) augment the ilvl of your gear. Details are still being worked out as to how many times players can bump up the ilvl, or what happens when players hold onto an ancient item for the stat combinations.
Monks will not share tier on Vanquisher tokens. In fact, the tier system may be completely revamped still.
Scarlet Monastery and Scholomance are intended to be quick instances that keep their character but remove their less-favorable components. Surrounding zones will not receive quest and lore updates--it just seemed logical to update these because players always loved them.
As you'd expect, it looks like mounts and 5-man achievements will be in-game at the expansion's launch.
In addition, most titles from achievements will be BoA--your alts can wear titles once they reach the minimum level needed to kill the boss/acquire the achievement. However, realm-first titles will probably not be BoA.
Show Me Your Moves!
: Defeat the terra-cotta army in Mogu'shan Vaults on normal or heroic difficulty without any member of the raid being hit by Devastating Arc, Stomp or Energizing Smash.
Stormstoud Brewery
: Defeat Yan-zhu the Uncasked in Stormstout Brewery.
: Bow to the Shadowpan Initiates when they bow to you after being defeated but before they full heal during the Master Snowdrift event.
: Gain three stacks of Resin Residue by defeating the Mantid Conscripts.
Cleaning Up
: Defeat the Sha of Doubt in Temple of the Jade Serpent while under the effects of Purified Water.
Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
: Kill Ook-Ook after assaulting him with 20 Rolling Brew barrels in Stormstout Brewery on Heroic Difficulty.
How did he get up there?
Find a way to get the Hozen Clingers to let go in Stormstout Brewery on any difficulty.
I am the Hopocalypse!
: Smash 100 vermin with a single hammer swing in Stormstout Brewery on Heroic Difficulty.
Ling-Ting's Herbal Journey
: Collect all 30 Golden Hoplings hidden around the Stormstout Brewery on any difficulty.
Rattle No More
: Defeat Rattlegore without allowing him to gain more than 5 stacks of Rusting in Scholomance on Heroic Difficulty.
: Defeat a Krastinovian Carver that has 99 stacks of Boiling Bloodthirst in Scholomance on Heroic Difficulty.
Soul Savior
: Defeat Lillian Voss without allowing Lilllan's Soul to reach 24% health in Scholomance on Heroic Difficulty.
Mosh Pit
: Get a combination of 8 players and Scarlet Defenders caught up in Armsmaster Harlan's BLades of Light on Heroic Difficulty.
Wild Side
: Take a ride with Armsmaster Harlan's Blades of LIght for at least 10 seconds and live to tell the tale on Heroic Difficulty.
Pool's Closed
: Defeat WIse Maru without touching Corrupted Water in Temple of the Jade Serpent on any difficulty.
Bombs while bomb
: Trigger 15 explosions within 15 seconds during the Saboteur Kip'tilka encounter on Heroic difficulty.
Shado-pan Monastery
: Defeat Taran-Zhu in Shado-pan Monastery.
The Obvious Solution
: Eliminate the remaining Sha imprisoned in the Sealed Chambers and then defeat the Sha of Violence in Shado-pan Monastery on Heroic Difficulty.
Hate Leads to Suffering
: Defeat Taran Zhu while every party member is at maximum hatred in Shado-pan Monastery in Heroic Difficulty.
Glintrok N'Roll
: Defeat Gekkan and his Glintrok entourage in Mogu'shan Palace on Heroic difficulty within 5 minutes of being spotted by the Glintrok Scout.
Scholomance was talked about at length during the event. It's obvious they want to give it the Deadmines treatment, but avoid the disappointment many fans felt when they remade other instances such as Zul'Gurub.
Goal of Scholomance is to keep the flavor of old instances while removing weaker sections.
Updates are clear from the start in animated heads that appear on the wall, with eyes that follow you.
Layout was strengthened: for example, everyone skipped the first room, so now its a focal point with a boss.
The central classroom was updated to have more benches, classrooms, candles, and creepy pictures--feels like a classroom instead of empty space.
Jancice Barov keeps her flavor and numerous shades, but her trash is less lethal with the toxic clouds, and it's easier to see around corners.
Similarly, the early room with the skeletons summoned from piles keeps that mechanic--but instead of trash packs, it's more interesting. Lillian Voss is fighting Darkmaster Gandling as skeletons spawn.
Darkmaster Gandling is still the final boss, but he's "really into fire now." Fire spins around the entire central room on both floors. The mini-bosses weren't previewed, but in fighting Gandling, you'll be ported to various rooms like you were in the original fight.
Intended to be more focused and quicker experience than the original dungeon.
Stormstout Brewery
Stormsout Brewery will be a light-hearted 5-man where players fight hozen (monkeys) that have broken into the brewery. Notably, there are several interactive items that you can pick up and equip to add flavor to the instance.
The hozen have invaded the brewery and are extremely drunk. Some are asleep and some are fighting because "monkey knife fights are amazing."
For the initial trash and rooms, players have to break up the party--tapping kegs, blowing up brews. There's fireworks, bouncers, and hone with party hats. After players clear enough of the room, the first boss encounter starts.
The second segment focuses on the virmen. The trash drop hammers, which players can pick up and equip for fun animations and more damage. The boss here is
, a gigantic evil bunny with themed abilities.
In the last section, you fight angry beer spirits that have come to life as beer elementals--sudsy, bubbling, etc. The final boss is a very upset spirit--
Zany the Uncasked
Temple of the Jade Serpent
Lore from Tankspot and Krelumian were able to run most of the Temple of the Jade Serpent--it seemed pretty cool watching them across the room! This instance was a shrine built for the last emperor, who defeated the Shaw ("similar to the slime from Ghostbusters 2") and bound them until heretic pandaren set them free to feed on emotions.
The first boss is surrounded by pools of water in a circular drainage and irrigation pattern.
In the first phase, the boss will periodically blow up random pools.
The second phase is mostly a tank and spank. There is a beam-style spout and the water ignites.
The second boss has three stances.
Fire Stance: AoE, sends waves of fire around the room.
Jade Stance: AoE, waves of fire now leave lingering trails.
Jade Dragon Stance: Fire breath ignites floor under players.
Another boss places a dot on the player which can be dispelled. It also summons shades which link to the player--when their energy bar hits full, it detonates and will heal the boss/damage the player.
There was another boss that seemed pretty tricky--it AoEd the party for a ton of damage and had an uninterruptible nasty ability.
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Free to Play: Getting the Most out of Starter Edition Accounts
2011/08/14 at 12:07 PM
Last month, Blizzard introduced free-to-play Starter Edition Accounts. With these accounts, players could level up to 20--of course with some restrictions--and play for free indefinitely. It's an easy way for new players to test out the game, but it's also gained popularity among twinks who are looking for even more of a challenge with in-game restrictions. We've covered all the things you can and can't do on a trial account below.
Activating an Account
Players can get a Starter Account edition by visiting
the home page
, receiving a Recruit-a-Friend invitation, or through a trial key obtained from other Blizzard products.
Once signed up, you will be prompted to download the game, which can be played as the streaming client downloads data in the background.
Previous trial accounts made before 4.2, which had expired, are permanently reactivated. Characters level 20 and below on these accounts can be played again.
Upgrading an Account
Upgrade Online: Use
Battle.net Account Management
to upgrade to the full version online.
Purchase a boxed copy of World of Warcraft, either from a retailer or
. Use the authentication key to upgrade versions.
Trial Account Restrictions
From the
Starter Edition Account FAQ
The following restrictions are placed on all Starter Edition Accounts:
A level cap of 20.
A maximum of 10 gold.
Trade skills are capped at 100 ranks.
Unable to trade via the Auction House, mailbox, or player-to-player.
In-game access to public chat channels unavailable. Players are limited to communicating using only say, party, or whisper.
Characters will be unable to create or join guilds.
Characters are not able to send whispers to other characters unless they have been added to the characters' friends lists or have received a whisper from a character first.
Characters will not be able to invite other players into a party.
Characters will not be able to join parties with other characters above level 20.
Voice chat disabled on Starter Edition accounts.
Realms experiencing login queues will prioritize players who have full, paid accounts.
Starter Edition accounts are not eligible for character transfers.
RealID features are disabled on all Starter Edition Accounts.
In-Game Observations
Examining trial accounts in-depth, we found a few more things:
Players can access areas from The Burning Crusade. This means that they can be summoned to Shattrath City, as well as roll Draenei and Blood Elves. Their racial bonuses apply to professions. (How to get summoned to such places? A pay-to-play friend with
However, players cannot roll Worgen or Goblins.
While zones added in Cataclysm cannot be accessed, F2P players can zone/get summoned to Outlands and Cata areas--useful for accessing portals and doing some risky exploring.
Some secondary professions may be bugged; players can level past rank 100.
Players can learn
Apprentice Riding
at level 20.
Players can access banks and purchase bank tabs--the third tab costs exactly .
Players can equip tabards and benefit from reputation gains, eventually getting reputation-related achievements and access to items like
Darnassian Satchel
Players can learn abilities from trainers and spend 6 talent points.
Players can still visit Experience Eliminators in major cities if they wish to twink at a lower bracket. Upon hitting 20, players can continue to quest, but will not gain further experience until upgrading accounts.
While gold is capped, there is no cap on honor points. These can be converted slowly to Justice Points, which (in theory) could be used to purchase PvE heirlooms, providing massive stat boosts.
Characters can also communicate freely in Battlegrounds. In addition, level 20 players will be put in xp-off battlegrounds.
You cannot recustomize, race-, server-, or faction-change your F2P character.
Additional Resources
has made a special forum for Free to Play accounts, with lists of participating character names, gear guides, and profession tips.
Psynister covers how F2P twinks should min-max professions in his article
Trial Account Twinking: Professions
Cynwise elaborates on the pros and cons of trial account twinking at
Green Tinted Goggles
As Cyn states in his guide, gear lists and character profiles right here at Wowhead can help you plan our your character's course of action.
Character Enhancement
Starting at level 10, F2Ps can queue up for
Warsong Gulch
Arathi Basin
in the 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 brackets. PvPing in the 20-24 bracket will be a challenge since your F2P 20 will be up against level 24 maximized twinks. Expect 50 honor on average from a level 20 game, when planning your time to grind gear.
F2Ps will be too low-level for most gear available from the Honor Quartermasters in major cities; however they can buy items from
Illiyana Moonblaze
Kelm Hargunth
Caretaker's Cape
Battle Healer's Cloak
Honor Points
Lorekeeper's Ring
Advisor's Ring
Honor Points
Lorekeeper's Staff
Advisor's Gnarled Staff
Honor Points
Outrunner's Bow
Legionnaire's Sword
Honor Points
Protector's Band
Legionnaire's Band
Honor Points
Protector's Sword
Outrider's Bow
Honor Points
Rune of Duty
Rune of Duty
Honor Points
Rune of Perfection
Rune of Perfection
Honor Points
Sentinel's Blade
Scout's Blade
Honor Points
Sentinel's Medallion
Scout's Medallion
Honor Points
With enough honor, you can buy fun items like
Silverwing Battle Tabard
Stormpike Battle Tabard
It's very important to have a CC-breaking trinket:
Insignia of the Alliance
Insignia of the Horde
for 55
Honor Points
. However, there is a better version available for 2725
Honor Points
Inherited Insignia of the Alliance
Inherited Insignia of the Horde
There are also heirloom
with resilience for 2175
Honor Points
and heirloom
with resilience.
If you convert Honor Points to Justice Points (375 to 250 conversion), your F2P will be able to obtain heirlooms with PvE-focused stats:
, and
F2P players will need to accumulate all the materials needed for leveling professions on their own--they cannot rely on the Auction House, the mailbox, or friends trading supplies. So, if you try to level Leatherworking and Blacksmithing at once, you won't get very far. As Psyinister recommended, absolute F2P minmaxers will level and drop most professions in a specific order to reap multiple benefits and access crafted drops--storing the materials for the next profession in your three bank tabs.
Primary Professions
are all the recipes one can craft with skill level 100.
Many of these elixirs and potions are valuable, especially on the battlefield:
Battle Elixir:
Elixir of Lion's Strength
Elixir of Minor Agility
Elixir of Giant Growth
Elixir of Wisdom
Guardian Elixir:
Elixir of Minor Defense
Weak Troll's Blood Elixir
Elixir of Minor Fortitude
Minor Mana Potion
Minor Rejuvenation Potion
Lesser Healing Potion
Rage Potion
Swiftness Potion
Holy Protection Potion
Swim Speed Potion
requires a ton of materials--keep in mind that you only have three bank tabs to store materials and potions in, if you ever want to temporarily drop it.
is a list of all the items one can craft with skill level 100.
If you are a blood elf planning on leveling
, you should first make a
Silver Rod
so you can enchant your own gear later.
Thick Bronze Darts
is a good throwing weapon for some classes that value +strength--others will find
Sludge-Caked Throwing Knives
Throat Piercers
from Horde zones better.
Non-rogues will find the following temporary weapon enhancements useful:
Coarse Sharpening Stone
Coarse Weightstone
Rough Weightstone
Rough Sharpening Stone
. If you are planning on dropping the profession, these items will still work on your weapons.
are all the items one can craft with skill level 100.
Blood elves get +10 to
, meaning they have a few more options. With your
Silver Rod
, you'll need to craft a
Runed Silver Rod
Minor Agility
Minor Stamina
Casters absolutely need to get
Minor Wizard Oil
, a temporary weapon enhancement.
Other useful enchants include
Lesser Mana
Lesser Intellect
, and
Minor Dodge
If you've been leveling other professions, stockpile the greens so you have enough mats from
. Or level while questing, so there's an easy supply.
is a list of all
items one can craft with skill level 100.
Gnomes get a +15 bonus to engineering: of note is
Large Copper Bomb
Standard Scope
Helm options are in short supply:
Flying Tiger Goggles
is an easy investment.
Ez-Thro Dynamite
can be used by players after
has been dropped, so stock up on these.
Non-gnome engineers should use
Rough Copper Bomb
for the stun effect.
: 15 haste for 20 seconds and a heal. This is great for burst dps.
You'll need to pick up this profession if you plan on leveling
in the future.
is one of the stronger F2P professions.
are all the items players can make up to skill level 100.
Players can make a decent amount of glyphs, but cannot use them as glyph slots unlock at level 25.
Of particular note is
Mystic Tome
for casters, accessible at skill level 85. You can also make
Rogues Deck
repeatedly for some level 20 green gear--but these are better saved to later disenchant.
What makes
strong are the scrolls one can use even after dropping the profession. Players can stack two scrolls as long as they count as separate Battle and Guardian Elixirs. Keep in mind this means that you cannot use a Battle scroll and a Battle elixir at once.
Scroll of Strength
Scroll of Spirit
Scroll of Intellect
Scroll of Agility
Scroll of Strength II
Scroll of Spirit II
Scroll of Intellect II
Scroll of Agility II
Scroll of Stamina
Scroll of Protection
Scroll of Stamina II
Scroll of Protection II
is a list of all the gear one can craft up to skill level 100.
Draenei get a +10 bonus to
, meaning they can craft recipes up to skill level 110. Unfortunately, many of these additional recipes require the player to be above level 20. But
Heavy Stone Statue
can be used by a level 20, providing a channeled heal. Other races can use
Coarse Stone Statue
Rough Stone Statue
Even at low-levels,
offers some nice rings and necks, such as
Bronze Band of Force
is a list of all the gear one can craft up to skill level 100.
Most of the gear may be useful while leveling, but can be easily replaced by quest, instance and PvP drops.
Medium Armor Kit
isn't great, but it's the only item-enhancement option for Hands, Legs, and Feet, since F2P enchanting is limited.
Passive bonus:
, +3 stamina.
While mining on regular accounts is a great profession because ore always sells well on the AH, it's less good when you're stuck with a ton of ore, no way to sell it, and no real stat boost.
However, if you plan on learning either
, you will need to stockpile some ore.
Passive bonus:
, +3 critical strike rating. This is a solid passive bonus, especially for PvP.
If you decide to level
, you will need to have materials saved up from
are all the recipes one can learn up to skill level 100.
Tailoring will provide your character with a free source of
Green Woolen Bag
, but none of the gear is really optimal for a level 20. Plus, it eats up a ton of cloth. Even the bags are not particularly practical as there's the 16-slot faction ones,
Snakeskin Bag
from Wailing Caverns, and profession-specific bags from numerous vendors that cost .
Secondary Professions
Cataclysm addition: cannot learn this.
can currently be skilled up higher than intended, past the 100 cap. In case this gets hotfixed to be in line with other professions, here's the best recipes for skill level 100:
Seasoned Wolf Kabob
Crispy Lizard Tail
Redridge Goulash
Captain Rumsey's Lager
Murloc Fin Soup
Smoked Sagefish
Thistle Tea
. These recipes provide useful stamina buffs.
To a max level, it may not seem like much, but
Cooking Fire
gives 4 spirit.
First Aid
Again, this profession can be leveled over 100. In theory,
Wool Bandage
should be the highest item available, but with the bugged secondary professions,
Heavy Wool Bandage
Silk Bandage
will also work. Good luck finding silk though--it appears it begins to
around level 27.
is something people don't think much of leveling, but poisons become a deadly force in the 20-24 bracket.
Players of all levels can complete the
daily Cataclysm fishing quests
, which have a chance to reward
Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat
A better hat from
Lucky Fishing Hat
, awarded from
Rare Fish - Keefer's Angelfish
at the
Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza
If a pay-to-play friend summons you to a Cataclysm fishing zone, it's possible to farm the
Sea Turtle
When you create a new character, you're stuck completing that race's starting-zone for questing experience. Fortunately, these give similar rewards with the questing revamp in Cataclysm and you've got more flexibility in the level 10-20 range for zones. As you'll notice on the
tab, it seems that Alliance has an advantage when it comes to dungeon quest rewards. However, many of these Alliance dungeon rewards show up as Horde quest rewards from outdoor zones. Don't forget that you can do level 20+ zones as well for quests--but it will just be more challenging. Special mention to
Farewell, Minnow
Faded Wizard Hat
--a very cool vanity item Horde F2Ps can use.
Horde Quests
Notable Quests
Northern Barrens
Mor'shan Caravan Delivery
Serena Bloodfeather
Mutiny, Mon!
Shore Leave
Fade to Black
The Conquest of Azshara
Silverpine Forest
Cities in Dust
The Traitor's Destruction
--also remember
Hillsbrad Foothills
Heroes of the Horde!
A Blight Upon the Land
Freedom for Lydon
Alliance Quests
Notable Quests
The Battle for Darkshore
Disturbing Connections
Bloodmyst Isle
The Unwritten Prophecy
Rise of the Brotherhood
Loch Modan
Protecting the Shipment
Redridge Mountains
Triumphant Return
The Cursed Crew
The Eye of Paleth
The Embalmer's Revenge
Deliver the Thread
is a contested zone in the level 20-25 range. Players will be able to complete some, but not all of the quests. Here's a
of the gear you can equip.
There are some Horde quests that balance out the Alliance quests in
Blackfathom Deeps
Rain of Destruction
Dread Head Redemption
Playing With Felfire
In eastern Ashenvale, many of the pre-Cataclysm quests remain untouched, especially those dealing with the threat of demons.
Never Again!
awards decent rings.
F2P players can queue for dungeons with the Dungeon Finder starting at level 15. If you have a friend under level 20 with a paid account, they can create a party and you can manually zone into the instance.
Queueing with the Dungeon Finder (DF) will reward players with
Satchel of Helpful Goods
, containing a random rare-quality cape or belt. This is awarded after every successful random dungeon completed.
Each instance will have quests that reward rare-quality items. In the following table, click on the zones to learn more about all the boss drops, or read up on the quests to see how to get guaranteed well-itemized gear. Remember that not all items are available to both the Alliance and the Horde--Alliance has the clear advantage here in terms of quest options, but equivalent items are found in most Horde-only quests, for balance. (There does not seem to be an equivalent to the Stormwind Stockade quest.) There are other available quests, but they only reward silver.
Level: Enter/DF/Suggested
Wailing Caverns
10, 15, 17-20
Cleansing the Caverns
Cleansed Pauldrons
Serpentis' Gloves
Cobrahn's Boots
Pythas' Vest
Anacondra's Robe
Blackfathom Deeps
15, 20, 22-25
Twilight Falls
Blackfathom Mace
Gift of the Enigmatic Tree
Aluwyn's Legguards
Nimbus Boots
Heartwood Girdle
Knowledge in the Deeps
Eventide Bow
Gloaming Band
Dusk-Stained Cloak
Sustaining Ring
Researching the Corruption
Shadestar Mace
Searching Wand
Band of the Skull Crusher
Blackfathom Villainy
Nightmare of the Deeps
Shield Against the Evil Presence
Thaelrid's Greaves
Blackfathom Leggings
Robe of Kelris
Ragefire Chasm
10, 15, 15-16
Taragaman the Hungerer
Searing Belt
Stone Guard Greaves
Hide Vest of the Shaman
Ragefire Leggings
Robes of the Doomed Ritual
Shadowfang Keep
11, 16, 18-21
Fury of the Pack
Sweet, Merciless Revenge
Breastplate of the Terrible Price
Packleader's Pauldrons
Shadowfang Spaulders
Sandals of Sacrifice
Godfrey's Britches
The Deadmines
10, 15, 15-16
Evidence Collection
Gregorky's Bracers
Worn Defias Bracers
Evidence Collection Gloves
The Defias Kingpin
Cookie's Meat Mallet
Cookie's Stirring Stick
Cookie's Table Cloth
The Stockade
15, 20, 22-25
The Gnoll King
Hogger's Shiny
Rifle Commander's Eyepatch
Shield of the Stockades
Riot Stick
Using the Auction House isn't a possibility: the following rare-quality items in this
are most likely out of the question unless you get lucky looting them on your own.
Cataclysm has added numerous rares to all zones. These rare mobs are guaranteed to drop something useful--whether it's a piece of uncommon armor you can equip, disenchant for leveling mats, or something to vend for a few more silver. We've included some mobs that are level 20+, as you may be able to solo these or get outside help from a nearby player. Some of the very low-level rares drop bags, useful when starting.
Branch Snapper
Rorgish Jowl
Lady Vespia
Mist Howler
Prince Raze
The Evalcharr
Lady Sesspira
General Fangferror
Varo'then's Ghost
Bloodmyst Isle
Fenissa the Assassin
Carnivous the Breaker
Firecaller Radison
Lord Sinslayer
Lady Moongazer
Flagglemurk the Cruel
Lady Vespira
Dun Morogh
Edan the Howler
Felweaver Scornn
Death Flayer
Captain Flat Tusk
Geolord Mottle
Carved One
Marina DeSirrus
The Unknown Soldier
Watcher Eva
Elwynn Forest
Gruff Swiftbite
Morgaine the Sly
Mother Fang
Thuros Lightfingers
Narg the Taskmaster
Eversong Woods
Dr. Whitherlimb
Hillsbrad Foothills
Lady Zephris
Loch Modan
Emogg the Crusher
Geoshaper Maren
Shanda the Spinner
Lord Condar
Boss Galgosh
Morick Darkbrew
Sister Hatelash
The Rake
Doomsayer Wiserunner
Enforcer Emilgund
"Pokey" Thornmantle
Northern Barrens
Sludge Anomaly
Foreman Grills
Humar the Pridelord
Sister Rathtalon
Engineer Whirleygig
Elder Mystic Razorsnout
Redridge Mountains
Seeker Aqualon
Rohh the Silent
Shadowfang Keep
Deathsworn Captain
Silverpine Forest
Thule Ravenclaw
Lost Son of Arugal
Aquarius the Unbound
Berard the Moon-Crazed
Krethis the Shadowspinner
Blackmoss the Fetid
The Deadmines
Brainwashed Noble
Marisa du'Paige
Tirisfal Glades
Fellicent's Shade
Ressan the Needler
Farmer Solliden
Lost Soul
Wailing Caverns
Deviate Faerie Dragon
Trigore the Lasher
Sergeant Brashclaw
Foe Reaper 4000
Master Digger
Rufus Darkshot
Gazz the Loch-Hunter
Leech Widow
Ma'ruk Wyrmscale
There are also chests scattered about the zones that contain uncommon and rare BoEs.
Upon hitting level 20, you will need to have saved up for
Apprentice Riding
and for a mount from your home city. Reputation discounts apply. Familiar players should have no difficulties making gold, but if you're new to the game, here are some ways to acquire it.
Many traditional ways of making gold are not possible with a F2P account. You cannot use the Auction House, mailbox, or trade to other players.
You can vend raw gathered materials or crafted items from your profession. Remember that if you amass a large amount of leather or herbs, you will not be able to sell these raw materials on the AH.
Questing in every possible zone will net you gold once you hit the xp cap, but eventually these quests will dry up.
You can level Fishing and vend the wreckage.
Vending all greys/greens from killing mobs helps. In addition, if your F2P gets to the point of needing no honor points, you can vend items from the Warsong Gulch Quartermasters, as their weapons resell for more than .
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Leveling 201: A Guide to More Enjoyable Leveling
2011/07/17 at 9:46 AM
Leveling in Cataclysm is easy; but with all the additions, there's bound to be something surprising, whether you're a veteran or on your first alt. For better or for worse, Cataclysm has streamlined questing--but has also featured alternative ways to gain experience if questing becomes tedious on your 5th alt. Personally, I've leveled toons numerous ways: a rogue to 85 through questing on the first day of the xpac, a warlock in legacy epics through mining, a priest in full BoAs primarily through instances, a rogue strictly through herbalism, and a DK questing in half-BoAs. I've got a mage at 62 that's currently done a lot of LFD, but outpacing the quests for particular zones drives her crazy with the lore and consistent plot lines. I have friends that wait for Alterac Valley weekend for leveling, another that leveled a toon through LFD with 0 quests completed on purpose, and some insane guildmates that have leveled multiple toons through Archaeology in the hopes of getting an elusive epic (cough,
Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds
) for their mains. Big thanks to Psynister for his expert leveling advice!
Once you hit 85, all the new Justice Point gear, Molten Front dailies, and Firelands rep farming await, so let's highlight all the ways you can get there--with some tips!
Experience Gains
To level, you must collect a certain amount of experience, which keeps increasing as you level further. As we've outlined below, pretty much anything grants experience. The leveling flow has been simplified a good deal in Cataclysm; if you stick to one path, you may find yourself outpacing your instances and quests. Always be ready to leave a zone if the quests are too easy, or switch to instances if a zone just isn't interesting.
Most every player will gain some experience by
killing mobs
. The color of the mob (green, yellow, orange, or red) will determine the amount of experience you receive and show how easy or difficult the mob is to kill. Mobs marked as grey give full reputation but no experience. If a mob has a skull instead of a colored level, this means you are probably too weak to kill it on your own. If you group up with a higher-level friend while killing mobs, your experience gained will be drastically reduced. Cataclysm has added many
rare mobs
to leveling zones--killing these will give large amounts of experience.
grant experience in a similar fashion to mobs--they use the same color-code. Grey quests give full reputation but minimal experience. Try to stick to quests that are yellow or orange. Some group quests, which grant additional experience, can be soloed by some classes.
There are also cooking, fishing, and profession dailies that will scale in experience as you level. If you're heading back to a major city before logging, consider doing these first. You'll gain cooking and fishing skillups for completing the quests.
It's not the fastest way to level, but every successful
dig grants experience and it's affected by rested and heirloom buffs. It's a relaxing alternative and possible way to get your account some more epics.
nodes also grant experience that scales with rested and heirloom buffs. The experience gained is based your level and the profession skill level required to loot the node.
are sub-zones that five players can party up and battle in. Players are eligible to queue up for random dungeons at level 15; at this point, a Dungeon Finder option will appear on your mini-bar (hotkey letter i). Queueing for a random dungeon will reward you with better experience and
Satchel of Helpful Goods
containing useful leveling gear--until queueing for Wrath instances. After this point, you will receive
Justice Points
and gold. Bosses in instances tend to drop better loot than you'd get from simply solo questing--make sure to pick up the
dungeon quests
as soon as you zone in. They grant good rare-quality rewards and lots of experience as well--but tend to die out once you hit Outlands. Another option is to have a high-level friend run your low-level toon quickly through an instance to save time and easily get specific gear.
In patch 4.0.3, new treasure chests were introduced throughout all zones that do not require
to open. These chests mostly contain rare BoEs and some coin, as well as granting experience. These are different from normal locked chests and those found in instances, which continue to grant no experience.
sub-zones will grant small amounts of experience. It's a nice perk but it won't get you to 85.
In patch 3.2,
were changed to grant experience. You will not get experience from killing other players, but rather from winning battles and collecting resources, depending on the game. For example, in WSG, you'll gain experience for wins and flag caps, while in Arathi Basin, you'll gain experience for collecting certain amounts of resources over time. Experience is increased on Call to Honor weekends. You can queue for
Warsong Gulch
at level 10,
Arathi Basin
at level 10,
Eye of the Storm
at level 35,
Alterac Valley
at level 45,
Strand of the Ancients
at level 65, and
Isle of Conquest
at level 75. Use the PvP tab on the minibar to queue up (hotkey is H), or speak to a
in a capital city. In addition, completing quests in
will grant experience.
Character Advancement
As you level up, your player becomes stronger, in addition to simply gaining base stats and unlocking new abilities.
Your character keeps learning more efficient ways to travel through leveling. (Note: the following costs do not take reputation discounts into account.)
At level 20, characters train
Apprentice Riding
for , allowing them to ride non-flying mounts at 60% speed.
At level 40, characters train
Journeyman Riding
for , allowing them to ride non-flying mounts at 100% speed.
At level 60, characters train
Expert Riding
for , allowing them to ride non-epic flying mounts at 150% speed.
At level 70, characters train
Artisan Riding
for , allowing them to ride epic flying mounts at 280% speed.
At level 80, characters train
Master Riding
for , allowing them to ride epic flying mounts at 310% speed.
Players will need to train
Cold Weather Flying
, for , if they wish to fly in Northrend. It is available at level 68.
Players will need to train
Flight Master's License
, for , if they wish to fly in Azeroth. It is available at level 60.
As your
skill increases, the base speed of all your learned mounts increases as well. So, the 60% speed mount you learned at level 20 will become a 100% speed mount at level 40.
Talents allow players to learn new abilities and strengthen their existing ones. Players will gain a talent point starting at level 10, and then every odd level until level 81. From 81-85, players will gain a point every level. Talent points can be spent in talent trees--you must fill out a tree with 31 points before spending points in a different tree. When viewing the talent trees, players will see descriptions of the unique qualities of each tree, as well as special abilities. Choosing a talent tree grants a character a signature ability, like
for Assassination rogues, as well as two passive bonuses (
Improved Poisons
Assassin's Resolve
) along with a preview of that specialization's Mastery at level 80. You can always untrain and reset your talent points from class trainers, but it will become more expensive each time.
Glyphs are scrolls made by inscriptionists that permanently enhance an ability. Prime glyphs modify major abilities, increasing the damage or healing done. Major glyphs modify secondary abilities, sometimes with a trade-off. Minor glyphs are mostly cosmetic or convenient. As players level, they can use more glyphs: players can use one of each at level 25, two of each at level 50, and three of each at level 75. A glyph is learned forever once a player clicks on the scroll--they are 'activated' by dropping them into the circles in the glyph interface. If you want to swap out a glyph, you will need a
Dust of Disappearance
above level 80, and
Vanishing Powder
80 or below.
Dual Talent Specialization:
This becomes available at level 30 from your class trainer for the low price of . This allows you to toggle between two saved talent trees and glyph configurations without having to pay to respec. It's great if you are class that has multiple roles.
Armor Specialization:
At level 50, players using correct armor in all slots will receive a 5% bonus to their primary stat:
Plate Specialization
Mail Specialization
Leather Specialization
, for example. Cloth wearers have no other options besides cloth, so at level 50, they automatically get a 5% intellect boost:
. In previous expansions, gear for all armor types was not as well-itemized as it was in Cataclysm, and much grief was had when casters and healers of all types wanted cloth gear. Armor specialization is designed to discourage players rolling on multiple types of armor, although before level 50, there may be more of a temptation to.
At level 80, players can learn Mastery from class trainers. Mastery is based on your class and talent specialization--for example,
Mastery: Potent Afflictions
for Affliction warlocks vs
Mastery: Emberstorm
for Destruction. Mastery isn't really important when leveling that brief amount, but it will be a key stat for some classes when raiding at 85.
Experience Bonuses
From heirlooms to seasonal buffs, you can drastically speed up the leveling process with a little bit of research and effort.
Blessing of Auchindoun
is granted to the faction who controls all five towers in The Bone Wastes, available every five hours. It counts towards killing mobs, but not quests.
Brewfest Enthusiast
is granted twice a day by Mekkatorque and Vol'jin, roughly at 6:15am/6:15pm server time. After the faction leaders open a keg, they give a short speech which grants everyone within 100 yards this buff. Works on mob kills, not quests; also stacks with heirloom gear.
Essence of Wintergrasp
works in all Northrend zones and instances, granting 5% increased experience on mob kills. It stacks with heirloom gear as well. It also allows you to kill various elemental mobs in Wintergrasp, such as
Flame Revenant
, that have a 100% drop rate on crystallized elements.
Fast Track
are guild rewards for levels 2 and 6. This buff stacks with heirlooms and lasts until 85.
Grim Visage
are buffs related to the Wickerman Festival outside of the Undercity, for
Hallow's End
. Old quests like
Crashing the Wickerman Festival
are now obsolete, so we'll see what Blizzard has in store for the upcoming holiday.
There are three types of guild battle standards, that grant increased experience, reputation, and honor for guild members within 45 yards for 2 minutes.
Banner of Cooperation
requires Friendly and is unlocked by completing
Working as a Team
Standard of Unity
requires Friendly and is unlocked by completing
Guild Cataclysm Dungeon Hero
Battle Standard of Coordination
requires Friendly and is unlocked by completing
A Daily Routine
. The experience increase only works on kills and will not stack with nearby battle standards.
Honor Hold's Favor
Thrallmar's Favor
are zone-wide buffs in Hellfire Peninsula. They are granted through purchasing
Honor Hold Favor
Thrallmar Favor
Mark of Honor Hold
Mark of Thrallmar
, awarded for winning
Hellfire Fortifications
Hellfire Fortifications
and the repeatable version.
Juju Instinct
increases experience gained by 5% for 10 minutes in Winterspring. This buff is a component of
E'ko Madness
and has a chance to be given upon attacking
Learning by Example
increases quest experience gained by 10%. It's a possible buff upon using
Adventurer's Journal
, an item made from
If you dance around the maypole long enough during the
Midsummer Fire Festival
, eventually
Ribbon Dance
will stack to a one hour duration,
Reverence for the Flame
. This works with rested, RaF, Fast Track, BoAs, gathering, and archaeology.
Heirlooms are BoA (Bind on Account) items that can be mailed to any of your toons on the same server. As you level, the stats on these items increase, so you do not have to worry about constantly upgrading some gear. The experience bonuses on items all stack as well.
Tattered Dreadmist Mask
Preened Tribal War Feathers
Stained Shadowcraft Cap
Mystical Coif of Elements
Tarnished Raging Berserker's Helm
Burnished Helm of Might
, and
Polished Helm of Valor
are purchased from a
Guild Vendor
at Honored after completing
Guild Level 20
. They cost and increase experience gained from killing monsters and completing quests by 5% from 1-85.
There are two shoulder options available: PvP and PvE. PvE shoulders cost 2175
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 60
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament:
Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
Preened Ironfeather Shoulders
Stained Shadowcraft Spaulders
Champion Herod's Shoulder
Mystical Pauldrons of Elements
Burnished Pauldrons of Might
, and
Polished Spaulders of Valor
. Shoulders with resilience cost 2175
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermasters and Honor Heirloom vendors:
Exquisite Sunderseer Mantle
Exceptional Stormshroud Shoulders
Lasting Feralheart Spaulders
Aged Pauldrons of The Five Thunders
Prized Beastmaster's Mantle
Pristine Lightforge Spaulders
Strengthened Stockade Pauldrons
. Both types of shoulders increase experience gained by 10% from 1-80.
Ripped Sandstorm Cloak
Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak
Inherited Cape of the Black Baron
, and
Worn Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape
are purchased from a
Guild Vendor
at Honored after completing
Guild Level 10
. They cost and increase experience gained from killing monsters and completing quests by 5% from 1-85.
Heirloom chests cost 2175
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 60
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament:
Tattered Dreadmist Robe
Preened Ironfeather Breastplate
Stained Shadowcraft Tunic
Champion's Deathdealer Breastplate
Mystical Vest of Elements
Burnished Breastplate of Might
Polished Breastplate of Valor
. These items increase experience gained by 10% from 1-80.
Dread Pirate Ring
is a reward for winning
Kalu'ak Fishing Derby
in Northrend, held every Saturday at 2pm server time. It increases experience from killing monsters and completing quests by 5% from 1-80.
Swift Hand of Justice
Discerning Eye of the Beast
cost 2725
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 75
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament. These do not increase experience gained but scale in stats from 1-80 and restore health and mana upon a kill that grants experience. In addition,
Inherited Insignia of the Alliance
Inherited Insignia of the Horde
are available for 2725
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermaster and Honor Heirloom vendors.
There are many types of BoA weapons available; wands and fast agility daggers still prove elusive however.
Venerable Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge
Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver
Balanced Heartseeker
, and
Venerable Mass of McGowan
(note: inflated price from the Argent Tournament) cost 2175
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 60
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament.
Sharpened Scarlet Kris
Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver
, and
Battleworn Thrash Blade
cost 2175
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermaster and Honor Heirloom vendors.
Reforged Truesilver Champion
costs 3500
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermaster and Honor Heirloom vendors.
Bloodied Arcanite Reaper
Repurposed Lava Dredger
cost 3500
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 95
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament.
Upgraded Dwarven Hand Cannon
costs 3500
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermaster and Honor Heirloom vendors.
Charmed Ancient Bone Bow
costs 3500
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 95
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament.
Devout Aurastone Hammer
costs 2725
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 75
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament.
The Blessed Hammer of Grace
costs 2725
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermaster and Honor Heirloom vendors.
Grand Staff of Jordan
costs 3500
Honor Points
from Wintergrasp Quartermaster and Honor Heirloom vendors.
Dignified Headmaster's Charge
costs 3500
Justice Points
from heirloom vendors and 95
Champion's Seal
Dame Evniki Kapsalis
at the Argent Tournament.
In addition, there are datamined legs and rings, such as
Polished Legplates of Valor
Antique Myrmidon's Signet
, that have not yet made it to live. One can only hope!
Many of these heirloom items have namesakes in strangely-itemized gear from Vanilla. Odd as these items were, they were considered must-have for the time and became iconic.
RaF (Recruit-a-Friend) is a program that allows new players to level quickly. It can be set up from the Account Management page and lasts 90 days after creation.
RaF stacks with heirlooms, but not rested experience. RaF grants triple-experience to the original and recruited player, as long as they are within 100 yards, 3 levels of each other, and in a party.
The original player is granted one freebie level for every two levels the recruited player gains. This level can be granted to a new character on the recruited account, up until level 80.
The recruiter gains 30 days of free playtime for each recruit that upgrades to a paid account. The recruiter receives a
X-53 Touring Rocket
Swift Zhevra
) for every recruit that buys 60 days of playtime.
Rested experience allows players with limited playtime to stay caught up on leveling.
Rested experience is gained in capital cities and inns---a zzz will appear by your character's portrait and your xp bar will turn blue. Always make sure to hearth back to an inn before logging out.
You can earn up to 150% of your current level in rested experience, or 30 bubbles. One bubble is gained for every 8 hours resting.
Rested gives you double experience when killing monsters, mining, gathering, collecting archaeology fragments, and opening chests. As you gain experience, this uses up your rested experience. Not affected by rested experience are: Recruit a Friend, exploration, and questing.
Gear Enhancement
Rings and necks, especially at low levels, are always difficult to find because there aren't BoA options. However, jewelcrafters can create a decent series of
--at higher levels, these have sockets as well.
As there are no BoA legs yet, options from
, and
may be appealing.
If you're bored halfway through leveling, consider getting a friend to make some BoEs from instance patterns, like
Belt of Blasting
All this said, leveling is easy in Cataclysm--if you're using some outdated gear, it probably won't be noticeable.
Wrath-level Arcanums, covered in the
BoA items
tab, can be placed on heirloom helms, although they won't be activated until level 80.
Heirloom shoulders can be enchanted with BoA items from the Sons of Hodir, although they won't be activated until level 80, or Aldor/Scryer shoulder enchants that will be activated at level 70. It was possible to enchant these shoulders with Zandalar enchants that would activate at level 55, but these are no longer obtainable.
If you're running a lot of instances as a dps,
Formula: Enchant Cloak - Subtlety
is a safe bet. There's also
Formula: Enchant Cloak - Superior Defense
Formula: Enchant Cloak - Stealth
, and
Formula: Enchant Cloak - Dodge
Greater Stats
is a solid option for all heirlooms at low levels. It's quite rare though, so you'll most likely find players with
Formula: Enchant Chest - Major Health
Formula: Enchant Chest - Major Mana
also work.
Formula: Enchant Bracer - Healing Power
is a good enchant for casters.
Formula: Enchant Bracer - Superior Strength
Formula: Enchant Bracer - Superior Stamina
work for melee.
Enchanting recipes that drop in Ahn'Qiraj are your best bet starting at low-levels:
Formula: Enchant Gloves - Fire Power
Formula: Enchant Gloves - Frost Power
Formula: Enchant Gloves - Healing Power
Formula: Enchant Gloves - Shadow Power
Formula: Enchant Gloves - Superior Agility
Healing power
is the best out of the bunch since it covers all types of magic.
Eternal Belt Buckle
, a Wrath blacksmithing item, can be used on some level 70 gear--making items like
Belt of the Long Road
overpowered with three sockets.
Due to rounds of nerfs, it's not possible to use high-level leg kits on low-level leg armor. But, you can use cheap leg kits like
Shining Spellthread
at higher levels and there are some lower-level armor reinforcement kits, if you're a completionist.
Minor Speed
is something you should put on any pair of boots you find along the way. Unless you have boots with built-in runspeed like
Highlander's Cloth Boots
; then you should aim for
Mithril Spurs
Healing Power
, from bosses in Molten Core, and
Mighty Intellect
, a reputation pattern with
Thorium Brotherhood
, are the best enchants for caster BoA weapons. For rogues and shaman, try
for hunters and feral druids.
is decent as well. Some hunters like
Iron Counterweight
on a two-hander to help with Focus regeneration.
Khorium Scope
can be attached to the BoA bow and gun, but requires level 55 to be activated.
Don't hold your breath hoping to discover these BoA low-level items, but if you do, it might be nice for your alt. Or, they might be problematic if you already have an heirloom for that slot.
Nifflevar Bearded Axe
is a Vrykul rare requiring level 71,
Queen Azshara's Dressing Gown
is a Night Elf rare requiring level 51, and
Headdress of the First Shaman
is an Orc rare requiring level 61.
Most Wrath and Cataclysm
are BoA, meaning one character with the required rep can buy this item and mail it to an alt. Sadly, Cataclysm shoulder enchants are not included.
From Wrath, requiring Revered on one toon with respective factions:
Arcanum of Blissful Mending
Arcanum of Burning Mysteries
Arcanum of the Savage Gladiator
Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector
Arcanum of Torment
. Shoulder enchants from the Sons of Hodir require Exalted:
Greater Inscription of the Axe
Greater Inscription of the Crag
Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle
Greater Inscription of the Storm
From Cataclysm, requiring Revered on one toon with respective factions (activated at 85 but if you're using BoA gear for actual instancing gear, it's useful):
Arcanum of Hyjal
Arcanum of the Dragonmaw
Arcanum of the Earthen Ring
Arcanum of the Ramkahen
Arcanum of the Wildhammer
Derided by some players, it's still nice to have a BoA
Celestial Steed
Winged Guardian
to take care of all your alt's mount needs, both ground and flying. They individually cost $25 from the Blizzard Store.
Tagging along on legacy clears is a great way to get some epic gear quickly. (Of course, if your max-level friends are after something specific, it's polite to pass.)
While gear from
Molten Core
probably won't help your toon out much with the strange itemization, you'll do pretty well in
Black Temple
Sunwell Plateau
, and
Icecrown Citadel
hardmodes because the gear was best-in-slot for the respective expansions. Some players were using Sunwell gear for the early part of tier 7.
Gear with sockets is highly sought-after because players can use higher-quality gems than intended in leveling gear: for example, epic Northrend gems in blue Outlands gear. There are still some restrictions though: Cataclysm gems require ilvl 285 gear.
Here are lists of quest rewards with sockets for
, and
. Dungeons also have numerous drops with sockets.
While the BoA heirloom helms have made the following somewhat obsolete--engineering helms allow players to get epic helms with meta sockets at lower levels (62 for an helm equivalent to level 70 epics,
Deathblow X11 Goggles
for example). If you don't have a BoA one, try to get a helm with a meta socket.
Whichever way you choose to level--quickly with a mishmash of gear or slowly with frequent breaks to complete green-quality quests--there's always a new tactic in case you get bored. You don't want to be "that person" wearing a BoA chest at level 81 or cutting Cataclysm gems for your Outland gear--but you'll probably have fun along the way. Always keep your end goal in mind--don't level strictly through herbalism, hit 85 in ICC gear, and then get discouraged that there are no available items from reputation vendors--like my alt rogue did. Most importantly, remember to be polite and mindful of your fellow players--you never know if it's their first toon. Happy leveling!
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New Ghostcrawler Blog: Cataclysm Talent Tree Post-Mortem
2011/06/01 at 12:33 PM
Ghostcrawler's back after a hiatus from posting his developer blogs and this time he wants to talk talent trees. A lot of us aren't a big fan of the new trees, especially because it feels foreign to take an entire tree without looking up; frequently a good spec boils down to a cookie cutter spec with 1-2 points in a different ability or two.
Then again, cookie cutters
always popular--even in vanilla. Cataclysm just
them. All in all, this is an excellent post-mortem into why Blizzard changed talents and how they feel about it currently, even if the system has its detractors. It's also a good examination into mastery and early leveling as well as endgame goals.
You may have noticed we changed class talent trees for Cataclysm. We changed not just the trees themselves, as you might expect for an expansion, but the entire structure of the trees and the way you choose talents. Now that the Cataclysm model has been in play for several months, the team has been discussing what we like and don't like about it, and I thought that might be of interest to some of you. As always with this series, this is design rumination, not a list of upcoming changes.
What Worked Well
The talent trees are simpler now, but without losing a lot of depth. Most of what we cut were passive talents that everyone took anyway, or really lame talents that did nothing.
Choosing your specialization at level 10 and not having to delay playing your character the way you want feels great. You can play your shaman as Elemental or Enhancement with the tools and bonuses to make either work.
Specs within a class feel different. This was a big challenge for the DPS warriors, warlocks, hunters, and rogues in particular. Nowadays those specs have different rotations, different strengths and utility, and a different flavor overall.
Mastery integrates into the trees well. We can delay the complexity until higher level, and we're at the point now where it's a competitive stat for many specs (though to be fair, not all yet).
There are some legitimate hard choices for many of the specs. Usually these come in two varieties: which talent you want before you can advance to the next tier of the tree, or where you want to spend those remaining talents after you've hit the bottom of the tree.
At the risk of catching flak for this statement, I feel that the game is as balanced as it's ever been. When you look back at the vanilla or Burning Crusade days there were many specs that were just jokes and the difference between the highest performing and worst performing specs was on the order of 30-50% or more. Nowadays, players worry about 5-10% differences. Those are differences we still want to fix, absolutely, but we've come a long way. The talent trees have helped us do that.
What Didn't Work
I'll admit there are still a few clunker talents -- those that are undertuned or just not interesting enough. There aren't many though, and they're relatively easy to replace.
On the other hand, the talent trees still have traps for the unwary. For example, a Fury build that skips over Raging Blow is making a serious mistake. That may seem obvious to current players but it's the kind of thing someone returning to the game after a hiatus might not understand immediately. (After all, you didn't robotically take Ghostly Strike just because it was a gold medal ability.) While there is something to be said for safe choices, it would also be nice if the talents we expected players to have were talents they always had.
Some players miss true hybrid builds. (Hybrid in this context means spending near evenly in two trees -- I'm not talking about the more common use of "hybrid" as a tank or healing class.) To be fair, these builds were either not very competitive or were just cherry picking a few powerful talents in order to create something that was likely overpowered, especially in PvP. In other words, the reality of the hybrid build never lived up to the myth. But it's fair to say that it's impossible now to have a hybrid build, and we understand some players want them back.
I said above that there are tough choices within the trees of many specs, but there aren't very many of them within each spec. Often it can come down to where to spend those last 1-3 talent points. While that was our goal, it would be even more exciting if there were more of those hard decisions. Hard decisions can be painful when you're faced with excluding an ability or mechanic that's fun to have. But overall we think hard, exclusive decisions are a good thing. They encourage experimentation and discussion and give players a chance to try out different things, all of which can help keep them engaged.
Even worse, one potential place to spend those points is in the first two tiers of the other trees of your class, yet those talents are extremely design-constrained. First, they have to be attractive to the main spec using that tree, so chances are you're not going to find much interest in the healing tree if you're a damage dealer (unless you want to improve your limited healing). Second, those top-tier talents can't affect higher level abilities since the talents are available at level 10. Finally, because those talents are available early, they should really be relatively simple to understand for new or returning players. You don't want to put complex procs with lots of exceptions and internal cooldowns that high in the tree. All of those reasons mean that it's rare that there's a true game-changing talent available in those first two tiers. This would be totally broken, but imagine you could spend those last 10 points anywhere in another tree. Much more exciting, huh?
This is a personal pet peeve, but I don't like the talents that have a 33/66/100% chance to do what you want them to do. That's just an awkward way of making a valuable talent cost more than one point. The new Cataclysm talent tree design didn't cause this problem, but it didn't fix it either.
The Future
This is the part where I'd really love to share our ideas for how we could address these problems, but some discussions are still a little too rough even for the dev watercooler. When we're a little farther along, we'll be able to share more. In the meantime, this is a great topic for further discussion. Players like to evaluate the talents in their particular class, but it's also useful to evaluate the talent tree system as a whole. It's an iconic design for World of Warcraft for sure, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved.
Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street is the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft. He once spent a summer capturing live radioactive alligators. True story.
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Bind to Battle.net Account Heirloom Items Coming in 4.1?
2011/03/30 at 7:11 PM
We were taking a peek at some of the
awesome Heirloom items
we discovered in today's PTR patch and noticed a majorly interesting detail: heirlooms will now
Bind to Battle.net account
! It seems that this feature has been added not only to the newly added heirlooms but to all previously implemented heirloom items as well! We have absolutely no idea how transferring these items between characters on different servers and whatnot will work, but we'll definitely update with any details we're able to find! Maybe we'll see a detailed Blizzard post on this real soon™!
We'll (of course) have our
PTR database
updated as soon as possible to support this change. :)
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News Roundup: Blizzard Posts on New Ink Traders, LFD, Tol Barad and more!
2011/02/03 at 5:51 PM
Yay for Blue posts finally starting up again! Unfortunately, it seems that most of the threads addressed today involve topics which have already been commented on in the past. However, further clarification from Blizzard on
is always appreciated!
Today's topics include:
Ink Traders Coming to Stormwind and Orgrimmar
Improving Looking For Dungeon Queues
"Linear" Cataclysm Leveling Content
Potential Tol Barad Changes
Improving Outland Leveling
Check out the full Blizzard posts after the break!
Continue Reading »
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News Roundup: Blue Posts, World of StarCraft, WoW in the Classroom
2011/01/24 at 1:55 PM
Not a whole lot of
info being provided by Blizzard, but still some interesting Blue posts today and over the weekend! Today's topics include:
Providing Detailed Raid & Dungeon Information In-Game
Using PVP Gear In PVE
Healing Being Hard
Leveling Fast in Outland
In addition, I've found some interesting World of Warcraft-related articles for you guys - one involving the creator of the now-infamous World of StarCraft mod that you guys
may have heard about
and another about a revolutionary "
WoW in School
" program shared between two middle schools! I wish I could have been playing WoW when I was in class... oh well, at least we had
SimCity 2000
Be sure to check out the full posts and article links after the break!
Continue Reading »
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