Looking Forward at Leveling Plans

Having taken my hunter to the beta level cap (87) and done every quest I am capable of (2 still undone because of bugs) in just a little over 5 hours I am left to believe that unless something changes that leveling in Mists will be even faster than leveling in Cataclysm was.

If all stays the same I am sure that I'll have every class already in the game to 90 faster then it took me to get every class to 85.  Who will be the second 90 is a fun thing to think about.  My hunter will be first of course, as that is my main, but what comes next is any ones guess.

After my little story time I will give a few tips for people that have many alts they plan to level to 90 and want to do it a little faster.

At the end of wrath I was using my druid for tanking and priest for healing and it was my intention to level them up to get one of each role to max as fast as I could but somehow my rogue managed to become my second 85.  How that happened I have no clue and I am the one that did it.  I hate being a rogue.  Not sure why it worked out that way.

So I will not plan ahead like I did last time when it comes to who I want to level second.  Who knows, my second 90 could very well be a hunter as well.  I have so many 85 hunters as is.  I even have three of them on my main server.  I might even do it based on professions.  Over the three 85 hunters I currently have they have herbalism, alchemy, skinning, leatherworking, inscription and jewelcrafting.

I think I have an idea of what might end up being the way I go, level gathering characters second, after my hunter.  If history does indeed repeat itself, gathering the first week of an expansions release is always a gold mine.  I remember the first day of cataclysm on my hunter.  I managed to gather over 2000 heartblossom while leveling in deepholm.  Heck, I never even went looking for it, I only picked what was where I was at the time.  By the end of my leveling process on my hunter I had gathered nearly 5000 herbs.  Gathering that first week is always amazing.

With good 'ol Hemet back you know that leveling a skinner will be paradise right there.  Which leaves me a few options.  I have a paladin skinner, a rogue skinner, a hunter skinner and a druid skinner on my main server.  All but the druid skinner are at max level.  The druid I do have at max level is mining and jewelcrafting.  That does not mean the other druid will not be 85 by then.  I could get it there if I wanted to.  That druid is a pure gathering character, herbalism and skinning.  That would most likely make for an amazing combo with a new expansion when it comes to getting materials, even more so seeing all the green lands and animals all over the place.  It means there will be lots of skins and herbs to be collected.

In the end, I wish to have my main, and all the characters with professions I will need, at max as soon as possible.  This means I need an alchemist for flasks, which is no problem as that is my main.  I will also need a jewelcrafter and an enchanter.  Which means, my druid and my priest.  The same two I had intended to get to 85 first after my main in cataclysm.  Yet somehow my rogue managed to take the second 85 spot.

If you are new to the world of alts and leveling many characters during a new expansion here are a few tips when it comes to choosing which characters you want to level up next from your stable of alts.

Log on to all Your Characters -
If you are at cap and a new expansion comes out it seems like you will not get any rested experience unless you log in first.  Even if you log in and out right away, do it.  So the ones you are not working on now can at least start building rested experience.

Level Enchanting and Jewelcrafting -
If you want to make a crap ton of gold, level these two professions.  Many people just power level and go back for professions.  Many people will also need these when they start heroics and raids and might not have them ready to go, so they will pay through the teeth to get them.  It also works the other way.  If you do not want to pay through the teeth, you should level these to save money.  Whenever new content is released with new gear these two professions make a boat load of cash, and a new expansion is new content.  Start the expansion filthy rich and make sure you level them quick.

Switch Characters -
Most alt-o-holics like myself tend to get caught up on one character and work it until it is done.  Others know how to multi task.  This is one of those cases it is better to multi task.  If you are leveling alts for support professions, or just to get a few classes up, you are better off rotating.  Play each until their rested is done and then switch to the next. 

This will speed up the over all leveling process amazingly.  If you level your main first, even if you are a fast leveler, all your alts should have at least a reasonable amount of rested to start out well.  If you have many characters, rotating between them all, even if you are a heavy player that plays 5 hours a night, you will never be on a character that does not have rested and as anyone that levels a lot knows, rested is king for fast leveling.

Multi Task -
Speaking of multi tasking, make sure you make catch all characters.  For stuff you do not want to sell that you might need to level professions.  Usually this will end up being the first person you have leveling that specific profession.  But keep your professions up while level, send materials to the people that need them, keep track of who is where when it comes to questing and professions and maximize what you get into what you can get out of it.

Handling a lot of characters leveling at the same time and paying attention to all their professions and what they need can be a daunting task but it will also be a rewarding one in the end when everyone is capped at level and professions at the same time.

Do not fall into the common pitfall of trying to level three of the same crafting professions at the same time either.  Make a designated first to max person.  Send everything to them and when they pass a level of needing a certain item then can send it to number two on the list.

Don't Forget Dailies -
For alts that are not part of the current leveling process, or used their rested only the day before, do not forget to at least pop on and do their dailies.  They add up, and they are quick and easy.  There is no reason you should not be doing them every day.

Don't Let Rested Cap -
If you are going to be leveling 15 or so characters at the same time like me after my main is done or even if you have less, it is easy to let some characters get capped on rested.  Any time you sit around capped is wasted experience.  Get the most out of your experience, use your rested.  Even if you only log in for 15 minutes and go on a killing spree.  That can give you lots of experience because you are getting double per kill and it can eat a small chuck of that rested up so it is not wasted. 

If you happen to be a gatherer then make it work for you.  Skinners make sure you go on your killing spree with animals you can skin.  Miners make sure you go on a killing spree near mountain sides. Herbalists make sure you go on killing sprees in the grassy areas.  Everyone else, kill humanoid mobs only, cloth is the gathering choice of the non gatherers after all.

Let Yourself Fall Behind -
If you happen to fall behind on your leatherworking, alchemy or blacksmithing do not worry about it.  Once you reach 90 and can fly it will make farming a breeze, you can easily go back and catch up on them later with your gatherers.  Spending extra time looking for nodes is just not worth it.  If anything, use your "over rested" skinner/miner/herbalist as the one that gets you the stuff you need.  Do not waste your own time.  Not to mention, once leveled up you will start to get stronger making gathering even easier.

Have Fun With It -
Part of leveling alts is the fact it is fun.  Just because you are trying to get to max fast does not mean you can't have a little fun with it.  While we all will make our routes for what works best for us to level fast some characters might have an easier time in some areas and some gatherers might find some areas better to farm.  While sticking to a set questing path is a good thing, be willing to compromise your plans and remember to have a little fun with it too.

No Dungeons -
If you are looking for speed, keep away from dungeons.  They are great the first time you do them with all the quests in them.  They are great if you have full rested and that one dungeon is all you have time to do.  Any other time, they are a waste of time better spent elsewhere.  You will get more materials, more gold, more gear, more reputation, more everything questing.  Even if some people like to justify that you get better gear from dungeons people need to face the facts that anything you get leveling, from a reward, a drop or a dungeon, is going to be replaced faster than you can imagine.  The better dungeon gear while leveling is just not worth going out of your way to get it.

KISS -
Kiss stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.  We are getting new talent trees.  If you are a good player you can figure out what is best for you and roll with it.  Leave the theory crafting for level 90.  Just because you think a new rotation might work, don't worry about taking the time to maximize your leveling DPS, it just does not matter.  Does the mob die fast enough?  Are you never in danger of dying yourself?  If the answer to both is yes, you do not even need any of those new skills, so don't waste time with them yet.  Have a few simple abilities bound and that is all you will need while leveling.  Keep It Simple Stupid, use the kiss method.

Well, that's all for now.

I wonder who will be my second capped character this time around.  Any bets?  I sure hope it is not my rogue again.  I still wonder how the hell that happened.