Preparing for Cataclysm

Preparing for Cataclysm Checklist.

1) Gold:

- You will be making a lot of gold from leveling but you will surely want extra on hand for little surprises that might pop up.  I suggest 5K per level 80 that you plan to level to 85. 

2) Achievements:

-ZG is going to be gone, get the achievement now.  Rep from the tribe "might" be gone as well, we still do not know but you should seek it out now.

-Rumor has it that Argent Dawn rep will not be as easy to grind as it is now and it will be needed for the faction mount from guild specials.  Get that rep up now.

-Ruins of AQ is being changed from a 20 man raid to a 10 man raid.  The achievement for that might change as well.  Get it now while you can.

-Glory of the Hero.  While I have not heard or seen anything about this anywhere I am lead to believe that the red drake you get from it will be gone even if the achievement is not based on past changes.

3) Rare Items:

- The Baron's mount will be gone so if you feel like running for it, do it now.

- If you are a set whore then make sure to get your tier sets now.  Many, if not all, old tier sets will be no longer attainable.

4) Stockpiles:

-The Good:  Mid level things like goldthorn, heavy leather, etc will most likely skyrocket in price for a while shortly after release as people are leveling their new worgen and goblin alts and need to power level skills.

-The Bad: The days of frozen orbs selling for 30g and cardinal rubies selling for 120g will be long gone.

-The Ugly: For hoarders like me it is really time to clean house.  Get rid of current end game stuff and maybe pick up some earlier stuff.

5) Professions:

- Get them maxed out now, or at least close.  If the past shows us anything you will want to be able to level them fast and it is better then trying to play catch up.  The first people with the maxed professions can be instant millionaires so to speak.

- Stockpile items now.  Many professions have things you can make that are still red.  This means you can easily get to 460 or maybe even 475 right off the bat.  It will really be to your advantage to do so.

6) Learn to play without Addons:

- You are going to be questing, not raiding, so while addons are nice they are really not required.  So prepare to use only your main skills for a while as the mod makers update their programs to work on Cataclysm.  Be prepared to wait as long as a week for some and longer on others.

- Be willing to accept that some addons you have used for the last year or longer will never be updated.

7) Check up on your Class:

- While it might only take you 15-20 minutes to get a hang of the chances it might be harder for some.  Knowing what to expect will really help.

- For classes, like my Hunter, that are going to be completely different, this becomes more important.  Be willing to accept that nothing you remember is the same any more.

8) Getting ready to quest:
-  Some people love it and others hate it but you will need to quest.  Prepare ahead of time.  Stack up on consumables you know you might need ahead of time as the prices might be a bit high to begin with from people looking to get them at the last minute just as they head out to quest.
- If you have the ability to make gold, make it now and buy your epic flying.  Yes, there are still people that do not have it and they need it.  Epic flying makes questing a whole lot faster.  Even people that like to quest like faster questing.
- Clean out your bags.  Remember what it was like when you where questing?  Bags get full very fast.  All those "toys" you have been carrying around being you really did not need a lot of space will be taking up valuable space you are going to need. Bank them, sell them, ditch them, just clean up your bags.
- If you have a gathering profession and ditched your gathering bag like many do when they hit 80 and do not gather as much then go out and get one again.  You will be gathering a lot again.  Having that extra space that sorts itself is going to come in handy.  You can ditch it again once you reach level 85 if you want to.

9) Getting ready to group:
- Be prepared to not steamroll content like you have become used to.
- Find all the zone in area's for all dungeons ASAP. You can no longer get into a dungeon unless you have actually found it.
- Be ready to check your ego at the door.  You might have been the ideal of epic leetness back in WotLK but you are just a noob like everyone else now while learning new content that is supposed to be harder.
- Remember your role.  Everyone wants to level to 85 as fast as possible but pulling extra packs for the tank could cause a wipe which will actually end up wasting more time then if you did it in 2 smaller pulls.  If it is not your job to pull, don't.  You will reach 85 a lot faster if you play your role.
- Same for healers DPSing in heroics.  Don't.  This is new content for everyone.  Just make sure everyone stays alive.  That is all that matters.

10) Things NOT to do:
- Do not buy dual spec unless it is absolutely required.  The price is being lowered from 1000 gold to 100 gold.  Buying it when you do not really need it is a stupid waste of gold.
- Do not give up on current content just because the gear will be easily replaced soon.  You did not pass on the roll for an item you needed in ICC 10 because you knew there was something better in ICC 25 so why would you not get the ICC 25 gear if you know it will be replaced by a level 83 green?
- Do not forget to have fun.  There is still a fair, albeit small, amount of time that you can enjoy WotLK for what it offers so enjoy it while it is still the end game.

There is only a limited amount of time left to get what you wanted to get done in this expansion so as Nike would say, just do it.