The Big Plan
Everyone has different reasons for playing World of Warcraft. Some like to play casually and wander around and discover things on their own. Others play with graphics and looking “cool” by buying gear and vanity pets. Still others are all about getting rich in the game, while others like the professions. And there are those who want to do nothing except PvP.
Like a lot of other players, I am all about the End Game: getting to 80 and doing raids and instances and ending up with the best gear possible. For serious PvE players, this is the ultimate goal.
I know a lot of players who have the same destination in mind, but have no clue about how to get there; or worse, they doubt that they will be able to do so. Having gone through this process a couple of times, I thought I would share my road map. I jokingly refer to it as “The Big Plan.”
I think most serious and successful players have used the same plan in some variation or another; feel free to tell me in comments how your approach differs from mine, and maybe I will learn something new, too!
The Big Plan starts when I create my first toon on a server. I have no other toon to help out with cash, so it is the same as being a new player, except for the knowledge and experience.
Step 1. I begin by using any one of several leveling guides that are available. They are cheap, and they save me time in figuring out the most efficient way possible to get my toon to level. I know that many of these guides are written with the intent of getting to 80 in the fastest time possible, but I am not looking to break records or race someone to Level 80. I simply want to save as much time on the leveling process as possible.
Step 2. This is actually part of step 1, but it is important enough to state separately: I start a Bank Toon as soon as I have things to put in the Auction House. This saves me a ton of running around and flying to cities to use the Auction House. Also, if my main character needs something I don’t have to run to get it as my Bank Toon can just buy it and mail it.
Step 3. My main toon always starts with two gathering professions. I usually stick with Skinning and Mining because they have always worked well for me, but Herbalism is good too. This allows me to make the most money possible while I am leveling. I want to arrive at level 80 with a lot of money. Also, if I can manage it my Bank Toon will have Enchanting so as to be able to Disenchant “garbage” Green items that won’t sell.
Step 4. I usually don’t buy gear while leveling my Main as I won’t spend a lot of time at any given level, thus outgrowing the gear anyway. You can easily upgrade while questing. Instead, I spend money on potions or elixirs to speed up the questing process. Naturally, the potions or elixirs are almost always Agility buffs. I don’t go crazy with this, though, as I always want to have enough money for mounts and training expenses.
Step 5. I don’t usually do this anymore, as I already have plenty of experience, but if you do not then it would be a good idea to take some time out to do some instances at lower levels. This helps you get ready for the more serious instances and raids later on.
Step 6. Here is where a lot of players fail miserably. They reach the top level and have no idea what to do next, so they try raiding and fail completely. The next step is not to jump into raids, but to start the gearing up process. On my last toon, Cowtzetung, I had over 5000 gold saved up during my leveling. Instead of getting my elite flyer I bought the best player-made gear I could get. I was able to improve my damage output by nearly 40% this way, making me that much more effective for instances. I went to the WoW Armory and checked out my character, and used the “Find an Upgrade” option on all the slots to see what the “best” Created items were. I then went to the Auction House to see the price and whether it was available. Some I waited for, others were too expensive leading me to pick the next best item. It is not about maximizing at this point, just about getting better stats quickly.
Step 7. This is where I am at currently with the Main I am working on. Again, it is not time yet to jump into Heroics, but certainly Northrend instances at non-Heroic levels can be done. But what I am concentrating on at this stage is getting my Reputation up for the various factions. There are some great rewards available, including enchantments that are not available anywhere else. By the time you get to Exalted on all the main factions in Northrend you will have the best gear possible without getting PvP rewards and Heroic drops.
Step 8. Now it is time to start Heroics in order to get the best gear in the game. You can use Emblems to trade in or just look for drops; either one will get you some massive improvements.
So there it is, my Big Plan. This toon has taken me 3 months from starting on a new server to just the start of Step 7. Without this plan I would probably have taken several more months to get to this point; or more likely I would not have gotten here at all. It is not the only way to get to the “top”, but it is the one I like to use.
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