AoE, Grind Or Questing? Solo or Duo?

WoW Classic WoW Classic General Discussion
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What do you think is optimal for the current classic environment?

Under optimal conditions, solo AoE farm on a mage is obviously best but it’s very unforgiving on mistakes and nova resists and if you’re competing for mobs, the exp drops through the floor.

Regular grinding is possibly the most consistent as it can be done efficiently even when there are other players about but it’s way less max exp than AoE grinding.

Questing can give efficient exp but I’m finding it quite frustrating at the moment. There are a lot of chain quests that require you to kill named NPCs or acquire dropped items from mobs with slow respawns. I’ve had some levels take over 3 hours despite following an optimised questing route.

I also can’t decide on whether solo or duo is better. I did some single-mob grinding today with a mage buddy and it seemed really fast. You can shatter for each other and I would say the rate of killing mobs is close to double solo and the exp isn’t halved. You’re also very unlikely to die and are less of a target for ganking.

What are you finding to be the optimal method of gaining exp at the moment?

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I quest, solo of with friend, depends whos online, working on profs (no cooking nor fishing) doing my level dungeons for xp and for fun, right now im 28lvl, and less or more 1h for each lvl, also playing sham which is lnt fastest

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I’m not playing optimally but obviously solo AoE would be better, just need to git gud.

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Solo/Duo Aoe grind while questing.

/thread

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I’m really impressed that you’re managing a level per hour questing at the moment. I can’t get anywhere near that with all the quest mobs & items being tagged the hordes of other levelers.

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Idk, regular mobs respawn pretty fast, when it comes to named mobs, group up and grind while u wait for respawn, if u wait for 10 minuts and some1 else tag it, just leave, no mattrr quest or reward imho its not worth it, u will lose 20 minuts for 2k xp thst u can grind in like 5-10 minuts

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I think im at 4 hour average per level 26-29

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There has to be a better way! Some of my guildies are comfortably into their 40s on only 5-6 hours more played than me!

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Are they doing repeated dungeon grinding? I’ve only did a single run of RFC lol

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Solo/duo depends entirely on whether you have a friend or generally someone you enjoy playing with, OR whether you are in the mood to play with someone (e.g. too tired after work). So I’ll leave that one out.

As for the rest, this is what I do. Go to this website classicdb DOT ch (I can’t post a link) choose Quests/{Zone Name} and it will list all the quest rewards for you.

You basically just scroll through them and detect the quests that give you good rewards. You then ONLY go for those quests and spend the rest of the time grinding out mobs along the way or if you see them in big packs.

Don’t attack mobs +/- 3 levels (they give LESS xp and the higher level ones will resist your spells). Switch zones all the time. Go for other zones’ quests that give good rewards.

Remember, most quests are useless, they force you to run around for hours. Plus, I am the kind of person who really really dislikes being overly focused on too many objectives. So, at the end of the day I end up farming 50% of the time and the rest is doing important quests.

Now obviously if you come across a quest that is super convenient (close, lots of mobs close to one another), then go for it. But only if it is super convenient.

Also, regarding Blizzard aoe farming, I would stay away from it.

Reasons:

  1. It forces you to take a specific spec that lowers your PvP / single target potential.
  2. It is extremely tedious and requires surgical precision.
  3. Susceptible to RNG.
  4. You will feel forced to make the best out of every pull, because if you’re not using your AOE’s full potential, the whole approach is a waste.

Instead, just go for a regular Shatter spec. It’s great for PvP and single target, but it still allows you to pull 3-4 mobs whilst grinding. Just round them up, Nova, cast out Flamestrike and Cone of Cold (both will crit), then kite them around the fiery patch whilst spamming Arcane Explosion.

It’s a great break from single target killing, or questing. Plus, you’ll be able to mix it up with questing/grinding.

I believe that by following this approach you’ll get the most out of the game: Some single target grinding, some questing, some aoe grinding. As soon as one becomes boring, you switch to the other.

But the bottom line is: most quests are useless, keep that in mind.

2 Likes
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This, just consider if its worth it or not, like, im not rushing to 60, but i wont spend 30 minuts doing 1 quest where i just wait for respawn…

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I prefer solo questing since i can go on my own pace that way. But i love to look for people for Elite qs and dungeons. The world feels lively that way (retail is soulless af).

I wouldnt grind as fast as possible since you gonna sit alone in OG while other enjoy their adventure to 60^^

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I just saw a frost (?) mage try and fail to AoE grind 4 mobs at level 24.

It’s definitely faster to aoe grind, solo, as self-evident by Joker’s first Classic lvl 60.

But a lot of players (new to the vanilla world, perhaps) seem to not think this through…

Me, as a warlock, I’ll just solo/duo quest if possible. I don’t care much about speed to begin with, so. I’ll do the succy at lvl 20, felhunter at 30… I really am looking forward to finding out my demon’s name more than anything else tbh.

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Grinding almost always beats quests for levelling speed, but if you new to game - you should do quests and get familiar with lore, characters etc. It would be slow and pain, but would be better to get into all this wacraft thing.

For efficiency 30+ 5 man party dungeon grind is where the speed it, but eventually grind is dull, mindkilling and you must love the game enough to drag your brain trough it.

I am myself not most speedy, but still not slowest - I level with a friend to keep each other entertained, when we feel a bit numb, or when mean alliance comes to toy with us. By two in PvP realm is much safer - lone gankers generally either don’t try or get shown their place.

1 Like
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Also grinding provides more money, so if u feel like u need them…

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Im one of those plebs doing a little of everything. Bit of questing, bit of dungeoning topped off with a side of mob grinding.

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Hitting 20 tomorrow, will probably grind beasts for skins and that sweet gray loot because I will be needing money at level 40, might as well start now. Quests when I feel like doing them, although a good bunch of them are complete nonsense. I don’t think druid has that many AOE abilities.

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I see what you’re saying and agree on some points but the highlighted bit is wrong.

That rotation you suggested would blow an entire mana bar just to kill a 3-4 mobs. Additionally, shatter is still less mana and time effective than AoE blizzard pulls, even when questing.

Here’s an example, at level 28 you have frostbolt rank 5 which is 1.32 damage per mana. Rank 2 Blizzard is 0.68 so it only needs to be hitting 3 targets to be superior mana efficiency-wise. It’s also much faster to kill 3+ mobs this way than single target.

Where the AoE specs fall down are on elite killing. That being said, a hybrid between the two can be achieved so you can do all things effectively. Just drop talents like piercing ice and arctic reach for shatter and ice shards. Not quite as effective as the pure-AoE build but you can still farm easily. All you really need is Improved Blizzard and Permafrost.

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Personally I like to quest, group up with people when they’re around on the same ones, and run dungeons as you get to the right level and the zone quests lead you towards them.

This way I get the most fun out of the game, and learn about all the areas and stories. It’s always levelled me at a reasonable rate. Currently 41, almost 42 :slight_smile:

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