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September 3, 2010

Call for Submissions: Confessions of a noob

Filed under: Alts, leveling, seed, write-for-wow-dot-com — WoW.com @ 4:00 pm
We're having a great time sharing the voices of our readers on the site -- and readers seem to be thoroughly enjoying both writing and reading our regular guest posts, from articles such as Long exposure WoWtography and Northrend truckers: A tale of WoW OTR to the countless Breakfast Topics that help us blink our way through bleary mornings over a cup of steaming coffee.

This week, we're continuing the tradition with a new call for submissions about alts. Have you recently rerolled on a new-to-you class? Show us the other side of life as part of our "Confessions of a Noob: Class X" series, written especially by experienced players who are leveling a new class for the first time. Show us what you're learning about your new class. What has surprised you? Is there something about your class that you're having one dickens of a time remembering? How is your role in groups different? Have you gained a new appreciation for your new class -- or others?

We're not looking for narratives telling the story of what your character did while leveling. Instead, we're looking for opinions, comparisons and observations about the process of playing a class that may be very different from the one you're most used to. What are the facets of your new class that make playing this new character a compelling, enjoyable experience? Your title should clearly reflect the class of your new alt (for example, "Confessions of a Noob: Paladin"). Don't forget to provide perspective by explaining what class and spec you're most used to playing.

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Call for Submissions: Confessions of a noob originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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August 19, 2010

Breakfast Topic: Some day my ding will come

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

Your fingers ache from the constant play while sweat beads down your neck. Your eyes become unfocused, the colors and background blending together until they resemble something akin to a Monet painting. Clicking at a furious speed, you slay mob after mob, all the while watching the XP progress bar as it inches towards your final goal: the level cap. Time flies. You ask yourself, "Has it really been 13 hours? No, surely it couldn't have."

You open the drapes, staring at the stars and moon with a challenging look. Their day, too, will come. No matter. Neither man, murloc, nor the perpetual spinning of the earth about the sun will stop you this day ... er, night. Pixilated blood shoots from your prey. Their cries warm your soul, adding another notch to your symbolic belt.

Then, whether expected or not, it happens. Your character is engulfed a soothing light, and the game changes forever. You've done it. After days, weeks or months of work, you've hit the level cap. You can stare proudly at your once-lowly character and proclaim your might to all of Azeroth. You're the new tough guy on the block, and nothing can stand in your way.

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Breakfast Topic: Some day my ding will come originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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August 9, 2010

Spiritual Guidance: Cataclysm leveling so far


Each Sunday, Dawn Moore combines a bitterness for canned meat, the occasional groovy beat, and massacred references to classic literature into Spiritual Guidance, a healing guide for priests. Except she's not here this week! You get to deal with Matticus, the guy who writes Raid Rx, instead.

Oh it feels good to write a priest only column again, even if it is only temporarily. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed when looking at everything healer related or thinking "big picture". But when it the focus is just about priests, I can really go into some of the gritty stuff.

Anyway, I got a little treat this week. I've been spending a bit of time in Cataclysm. You don't need me to tell you this place looks awesome. In case you were wondering about leveling, check out the video I've attached. It's me destroying a bunch of mobs both as discipline and as holy. To the untrained eye, they wouldn't really know what to look for because leveling as discipline and holy looks practically the same!

If you haven't seen what Power Word: Barrier looks like yet, don't worry as it's all in here as well. Read more about my thoughts on the two non-shadow specs for leveling, Chakra, and what end game could feel like. I healed some Blackrock Caverns as holy, and I have to say, I do like the way the default healing UI is coming.

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Spiritual Guidance: Cataclysm leveling so far originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 29, 2010

WoW Rookie: Cataclysm changes to early and middle levels

New around here? WoW Rookie has your back! Get all our collected tips, tricks and tactics for new players in the WoW Rookie Guide.

If you're not a leveling player -- and sorry, but that does not include you wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am types zipping up your latest alts -- then as I tell my family when they're hovering around me when I'm trying to write, "I love you; now go away." Today's WoW Rookie is all about stuff that matters to players who focus on WoW's leveling game. If you've got the whole leveling thing down pat ... if leveling is just a chore to get to the end game, where "the game begins at 80" ... if your pre-80 character is just one among your entire stable of toons ... then move along, big guy. Your secret handshake didn't pass muster at this clubhouse.

For those of us gleefully picking our way through the levels, we're going to take another look this week at what's ahead for us in the expansion. First, I've got a lead to share on a friendly place to tuck into for companionable leveling. Then we'll round up a whole collection of facts and developments on how Cataclysm will change the game for players in the 1-60ish range. If you're an assiduous reader of The Queue, none of this will be new news; we've cherry-picked some recent goodies that apply to players in the early to middle levels.

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WoW Rookie: Cataclysm changes to early and middle levels originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 26, 2010

Spiritual Guidance: So you wanna play a priest, part 4, levels 41-70

Two class specs, both alike in dignity,
in fair Azeroth, where we lay our scene,
from ancient expansion to ICC,
here circles, bubbles, mischief all convene.
Spiritual Guidance updates each Sunday with all the essentials on healing as a priest
.

You would think that a priest could dispel bleeds. We can restore people from death and protect them from incoming attacks, yet we can't plug up one gushing wound? Seems a bit strange, doesn't it? Are we not masters of healing?

Anyway, today's column actually has nothing to do with dispelling or bleed effects (other than the author writing today's column while under the effects of a non-dispellable bleed debuff). It has to do with leveling a priest from levels 40 to 70. Hit the jump and we'll get to it.

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Spiritual Guidance: So you wanna play a priest, part 4, levels 41-70 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 23, 2010

Upcoming level and zone changes in Cataclysm

Nethaera (Blizzard community representative) has posted some new, interesting information about the leveling experience in Cataclysm. Mount Hyjal and Vashj'ir, the two opening zones of the expansion, will now require level 80 to enter and begin questing in. Betas go through a lot of balance and experience tweaking, and this new change hints at some issues with the previous leveling curve. In addition, creatures' health pools have been increased with the new level restrictions, and level 80 is required to use the dungeon finder for the opening 5-man instances of the expansion, Throne of the Tides and Blackrock Caverns.
Nethaera -- Upcoming Level and Zone Changes
In the next beta build the minimum level for entering and questing in Mount Hyjal and Vashj'ir will change from level 78 to level 80. All associated creature will have their levels increased to match the new flow.

Additionally, after careful review and consideration we've decided to increase the hit point values of level 80+ Cataclysm creatures. The new hit point values are roughly double their previous values.

Level 80 (OLD)
16400

Level 80 (NEW)
31000

Players will also now need to be level 80 in order to use the Dungeon Finder System for Throne of Tides and Blackrock Caverns.


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Upcoming level and zone changes in Cataclysm originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 22, 2010

WoW Rookie: The basics of dual spec

New around here? WoW Rookie has your back! Get all our collected tips, tricks and tactics for new players in the WoW Rookie Guide.

World of Warcraft is a game of specialists; even (and especially) the so-called hybrid classes end up playing in specific, focused roles in group and end-game content. The higher you level and the more talents you learn, the more specialized your character becomes. Your "spec" (specialization), determined by where you've distributed your points among the three talent trees available to your class, begins to define and inform your gameplay as you group with others more and more often.

At some point, you'll want to experiment with another set of talents -- that's time for a respec. (Look for talent recommendations in our leveling guides and our Class 101 series.) Soon enough, you'll be wishing you could switch between one set of talents and another -- and you can, with dual specialization.

Before we dig into the basics, we should note one of the more exciting changes for leveling players coming up in Cataclysm. The expansion will lower both the required level and cost of dual spec, giving players more flexibility for group and individual play than ever before.

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WoW Rookie: The basics of dual spec originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 18, 2010

Breakfast Topic: What is your leveling style?

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

Are you a loner or a social butterfly? A turtle or a race car on a demonic speedway? There are as many ways to level as there are races and classes to play. With the release of Cataclysm drawing near, I am beginning to feel that old excitement of leveling up my toons to new heights. You know that feeling, right? The excitement you feel when delving into quests never done before. The rush of seeing your XP bar move up and up. The elation of dinging a new level. I love leveling up through new content. I think we all do -- otherwise, why are we playing this game, right?

But here is the real question: How do you like leveling up? Are you a solo leveler? Do you prefer to take your time and read each quest and then carefully plot your course of action? Or, like me, do you pick up all the quests you see and then later figure out what the heck you are supposed to do? Do you like leveling with a buddy, or in a group?

My own personal style is a mirror of my personality: a bit crazy, more than a little compulsive and headstrong to the finish. I go to a new area and pick up every single quest I can find. Then I read them all and figure out where to go for each one (this last bit having been made much easier with Blizzard's implementation of "Questing for Dummies" and the placement of little markers on your map where each quest can be completed).

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Breakfast Topic: What is your leveling style? originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 12, 2010

Spiritual Guidance: So you wanna play a priest, part 2

The word priest is derived from the Greek work presbyteros, meaning "elder." While Dawn Moore is neither Greek nor an elder, she has 300 days played between her various priests (two-thirds of which was probably spent AFK) and will do her best to relay the information learned in those days each week in Spiritual Guidance.

This week instead of one of my typical, eloquent (ha!) introductions, I am going to tell you a story. A story about a machine. The machine was an ancient treasure, crafted by the titans and unearthed by a young priestess. The machine was very powerful and was said to hold the answers to all questions, even the ultimate ones. The priestess honored this machine with her life and wished only to do good with it.

One day, while traversing the icy northern valleys of the Storm Peaks, the priestess crossed paths with a leopard. A snow leopard. The priestess slowly took guard, not wishing to agitate the beast. It seemed to be of no matter, however, as the beast was furious with hunger, and it leapt at her without hesitation. The priestess scrambled to her right, calling up a protective shield as the leopard came at her. It seemed she would have to do combat; she began to recite the words to a holy prayer aloud. Unfortunately, before she could finish her prayer, the beast broke her barrier and tackled her to the ground. As she fell, she panicked, thinking of the machine tucked carefully in her satchel. The sound of metal crunching and contorting split through the sounds of the leopard's growls. Or maybe it was just the sound of the priestess' heart? Whatever it was, the priestess screeched in anger, frightening the animal off of her as she called forth the shadows. A protodrake later dined on the leopard's broken corpse.

The priestess hurried to Mimiron, master tinkerer and watcher of the titans. She begged him to repair the machine but he shook his head sadly. The machine was ruined, and only the absent titans themselves could restore it. The priestess lowered her head solemnly.

Don't understand what that story is about? Don't worry about it. It's time for the second installment of my holy and discipline healing guide. Let's get started.

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Spiritual Guidance: So you wanna play a priest, part 2 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 10, 2010

Breakfast Topic: Way better than my first time

Filed under: Alts, altaholic, leveling — WoW.com @ 1:00 pm
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

I am leveling what will hopefully be my sixth level 80. It is my ninth character slot on my main server, leaving one spot for a worgen druid. I really like leveling. The term "altoholic" has been thrown around -- but once they get to 80, I stop caring about them. It's the leveling process that I really enjoy. It seems leveling gets better and better each time I attempt it. I light up every time I get level achievements, and I love that feeling of getting a mount for the first time.

For this alt, I have decided to level like it's my first toon with some semi old-school restrictions. My current alt is a 27 dwarf paladin, and I cannot use the dungeon finder nor run with heirlooms. I didn't give my alt gold or bags. I am not buying or training for riding skill until level 40 and epic at 60. I am trying to stay in the natural quest progression (I did run to Elwynn Forest to kill Hogger, but I didn't take the quests) provided by the game. This is incredibly hard. At 27, I have exhausted every possible quest in Wetlands at my level, and none of the quests have sent me on to another zone.

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Breakfast Topic: Way better than my first time originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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