Battle for Leveling

It's been a few weeks since the release of Battle for Azeroth, and I have finally completed leveling my Horde and Alliance character. As with most recent releases, I usually take my time and try to read each quest and understand the story to the best of my ability. This was a special expansion for me, because it was the first time I decided to level up my Alliance character first. This decision came around because my initial thought was that I would enjoy those zones much more than the Horde zones. I definitely wasn't wrong, though both sides had some really enjoyable things and the not so enjoyable things.

I'll talk about my Alliance experience first. I quested in the order of Drustvar, Stormsong Valley, and then Tiragarde Sound. Drustvar was amazing and made me even more excited to have a Kul Tiran druid. The entire zone is spooky from ghosts to witches to scary pig men! Everything about the area was perfect, and I don't think I can say enough good things about it. Stormsong was beautiful, and I loved the quest line that brought you through the Tidesages story. One of my favorite random quests is located on a little island off the coast in this zone. It follows the tales of the drunk pirates Hook, Line, and Sinker. I won't spoil anything for you in case you didn't do it, but you do get an achievement for completing it. The only area I really hated here was Briarback Kraul as I thought it was a pain to navigate through and figure out what level you had to be on to turn in a quest.

Tiragarde Sound was my least favorite Alliance zone. I loved the intro with Flynn Fairwind, but toward the end of the zone I found the quest really tedious as you're just helping all the different settlements around the area. The Norwington Estate is a really beautiful place to hang out though. It has a beautiful view of the zone, and some fun quests that allow you to ride horses to gain the appreciation of the people at the party.

Sadly I wish my Horde experience was a bit better. I decided to go in the order of Vol'dun, Nazmir, then end with Zuldazar. While I've never really been a fan of trolls, I found myself very disconnected from the Zandalari and just the Horde in general recently. My experience in Vol'dun was alright. I didn't really hate or really enjoy anything about it. Meerah along with Dolly and Dot made it a fun experience. I also enjoyed the sethrak definitely more than I thought I would. This place had another of my favorite random quests. It's located in the Whistlebloom Oasis and has you helping out Rhan'ka to open up the Goldtusk Inn.

Nazmir was a lot more fun and definitely my favorite Horde zone. I loved visiting each temple and seeing the different Loas and learning about them. They were each unique and interesting, and I'm curious to see exactly what Bwonsamdi may want in the future. I saved Zuldazar as my last area, because I watched my boyfriend quest through it a bit, and I already knew I wouldn't enjoy it. Surprise, I didn't, and it was my least favorite zone out of everything. The most interesting part was the quests that send you to  the Amani and Sandfury tribe areas in the city where you encounter some bosses from Zul'Farrak and Zul'Aman. Another redeeming part about the area was it introduced me to Jani, the Loa of trash. I want to talk about him and some of the other Loa later on, so I'll dedicate a post to doing just that.

Out of the two major cities, I find Boralus easier to navigate. With Dazar'alor having way too many stairs, I often just find myself using slow fall and jumping off incorrectly, or just porting back to Dalaran to get my stuff done. As far as the Heart of Azeroth necklace goes... ok I guess? Azerite gear is also not that interesting to me nor is gathering up azerite power. I also don't like the command table as I don't feel any of the rewards are really worth it anymore. I hope these are two things that aren't going to keep following us forward. Sorry to all those who enjoy those things. *waves* I'm hoping as the expansion goes by I become more comfortable with it and find my place. Despite my critiques, I still have high hopes and look forward to what the next parts of the story bring to the table.

Blog Azeroth: Questing With Alts

A few weeks ago, I wrote up a blog post all about my alts since I never really talk about them. This week's topic on Blog Azeroth seemed to go hand and hand with that topic.

"What sort of method do you use for leveling the multiple alts? Do you follow the same quest chains each time, do you avoid a certain quest section, do you only dungeon, etc.?"

I've always said that I really do enjoy the leveling process. I've been enjoying it a bit more since I decided to level up my first Alliance character fully. I'm really excited to go back and do as many of the low level quests as I can, and complete the Alliance side of the Argent Tournament for the mounts. However, I have been finding leveling feeling more and more tedious with the more alts I have. I'm also not one to queue up for dungeons since random groups usually suck. I stay as far away as possible. Here are some of the ways I try to keep leveling fresh for myself.

Questing

I usually fully complete a character's starting zone. After that, I usually alternate between where I start to quest. If my previous character started in Kalimdor, then I'm heading toward the Eastern Kingdoms or vice versa. There aren't many areas that I skip simply because with the old world revamp many quest lines have become fun and many zones have a wonderful story. I suggest going back and fully completing Silverpine Forest and Stonetalon Mountains if you are Horde!

Heirlooms & Guild Perks

I used to be one of those people who didn't believe in using heirlooms, but my view has changed. Now I try to buy bits and pieces when I have enough Justice Points or gold saved up. They really do help out a ton. I also have my own level 25 guild so the perk Fast Track also helps a bit.

Darkmoon Faire

I also take advantage of the Darkmoon Faire when it's in town. The silly looking Darkmoon Top Hat can be a lifesaver! Too bad it don't stick around after the Faire is gone. If you don't have enough tickets to buy on or aren't lucky enough to get one in a Darkmoon Game Prize, you can ride the Darkmoon Carousel for a quick buff, but be warned... it doesn't last through death. :(

The "stylish" Darkmoon Faire Top Hat!

XP Potions

Lastly, I had no idea until a few months ago about the Elixir of Ancient Knowledge. I managed to get one randomly from killing Archiereus of Flame from the Timeless Isle. I ended up using it on my Warlock. After doing some research, I found out it also has a chance to drop from Krol the Blade in the Dread Wastes. He's pretty heavily camped on my server, but if I see him while I'm randomly flying around, I kill him. Sadly I haven't been lucky enough to get another one of these potions.

While these methods may not be the best for leveling up, they seem to work perfectly for me. I also use some Archaeology and Pandaria Lost Treasures. They don't give any boost to experience, but they do help me until I get a better item to replace it.

Ignore the pet battle junk.

I also like getting cloth and items to vendor while leveling up. Having a good bit of gold when you hit max level is always nice! As long as I have these little perks to help in the leveling process, I'll be alright to keep questing on!

Meet the Alts!

You all know Velgana by now. She's my main toon, alter ego, and my most favorite WoW character. I am getting close to having a full year played on her alone. What you don't hear me talk about often is my much lesser known characters - my alts! These guys and gals always get leveled and geared up much later in an expansion, but I still try my best. While I don't think they will ever take the place of Velgana (who knows, maybe someday), I still enjoy playing on most of them almost daily. Some are even still in the process of being leveled up.

This may be one of those posts that I update in the future to keep consistent with whatever new characters I may create. Until then, click below to meet my current family!