So yeah, back in the day I skipped MoP (huge mistake). I’d love to get the Loremaster of Pandaria because I just absolutely love the place. However, it’ll be boring on a 120 character. I already tried.
So, I’m gonna roll a new character. A couple questions;
How long does it take to level from 1 to 80? Is dungeon spamming still the fastest way? I don’t think I’m gonna have heirlooms, unless they’re available with gold for cheap-ish
Is there any class that’s considered the most fun to play while leveling? The endgame doesn’t matter, I probably will never make it past 90. Or is there any class that’s absolutely horrible during 80-90?
Should I lock xp at 80? Or 90? Perhaps get 2 levels per zone and then lock it? Does any of this really make any difference?
I haven’t levelled a character since the start of Legion, but 1-60 is really fast, like one long play-session, or two more normal ones, especially dungeon spamming if that’s an option. Or you could roll a DK, get out at 60, and go from there. However, low-level dungeon queues are pretty bad for DPS, I hear, so going tank or healer is probably advisable if you’re relying on that. 70-80 slows down a lot.
.
No, not really. You’ll be questing a lot, so a sturdy class with fast burst is a plus. DK would be OK. I wonder how a DH would perform there at 100? … the Legacy Buff would not have kicked in until 101. All classes are pretty much complete at level 80 - just two more talents added at 90 and 100 - so how classes play at 120 is how they play at 80-90.
.
https://www.wowhead.com/pandaria shows the levels at which you get quests in various Pandaria zones. I’d just follow things through until 90, then lock. Questing in a straight line, that would be Jade Forest followed by a bit of Valley - you would pobably hit 90 around Halfhill. For a bit of extra oomph then, you could pick up Timeless Isle tokens and/or crafted gear from the start of Warlords and/or gear from the opening of Warlords quests in the Blasted Lands. Since the squish, they don’t have a lot of extra horsepower, but they will make the rest of your time smoother. Quest gear tends to lag level in Pandaria.
One thing you should know is that, more than most before it, the story of Pandaria was told at 90 rather than while levelling. The whole Operation Shieldwall/Dominance Offensive quest chain in 5.1 was a huge thing for the story, and then the Isle of Thunder unlocks in 5.2. The dailies from 5.3 are gone now, but you won’t miss them; they were just pick-up and gather quests for the Rebellion, but the Dagger in the Dark scenario that started 5.3 is key. (As is the Theramore scenario that launched Pandaria, now I think of it.) You can do those Scenarios on a 120 without much loss.
If you’re really doing Pandaria, it’s also worth making a Pandaren - not necessarily the character you level - just to see the Wandering Isle story.
Thanks for the great answers! Very helpful. Indeed, DHs exist too but I suppose it’ll be the same doing it on a 120 level character. Basically one-shotting everything. Not that I expect the leveling to be challenging even on appropiate levels, but at least I’ll have to throw in a few punches per mobs, which makes a huge difference for me.
Ah, yea I heard some people mention about some deleted content. Cloak questlines or something. But I can still experience pretty much the full story in the game? If not, well, I still want to go through the zones and I can fill the gaps with cinematics and whatnot. I even ordered the Vol’jin novel
And I’ll definitely be rolling a panda for that exact reason! Maybe even a monk, since I’ve never tried one.
One question I forgot to ask in the OP:
Does the faction matter? Is there a consensus about which faction has better writing?
Oh. I presumed you knew about The Cloak. Yeah, they removed the questline, which was a great pity. Removing the final reward was ok, but there was no need to cut the heart out of the rest of the endgame. However, you won’t really notice it, since it doesn’t cut across the story.
5.3 wasn’t The Cloak, though. Vol’jin is dubious about Garrosh, so Garrosh sends assassins to kill him. They wound him, but fail. That sets Vol’jin off to start the rebellion. The very basis of it was actually set in 5.1, with Anduin and the Divine Bell questline, and then in 5.2 on Isle of Thunder, Lorthemar and Jaina come to an understanding that both sides want Garrosh gone. Then in the removed quests of 5.3, we were just supplying Vol’jin with resources for his uprising.
I did think of mentioning it, but I don’t think I’m biased in saying that the Alliance has the better view of the story. Both factions see the same story while levelling, but then in 8.1 in particular, with Anduin, and Jaina going postal on the Sunreavers. Anduin will Drive. You. Nuts. in the hunt for him in Jade Forest, but it does all pay off later.
I assume this is for 120lvl characters. I can just do that on this one. I think I’ll roll a Horde then. Haven’t played one since Cataclysm. I’ve heard good things about Stonetalon Mountains (and how the story was tossed out of the nearest window), Ghostlands is an absolute nostalgia-trip (haven’t been there since… early WotLK?), etc.
Thanks for the answers! I’ll make a character right away.
Edit: And Dottie I imagined so. I’ll roll a Pandaren Monk and then clean the raids on this Paladin once I’m done.
Not for 120s, no. Without spoiling the whole thing, you were sent to Pandaria to find Anduin, whose ship went missing in a storm. When you find him in Jade Forest, he doesn’t want to come back until he has found the secret of Pandaria. You chase him. You catch uo with him later in levelling, when he has found at least part of the secret. Later, in 8.1, he gets involved with the Divine Bell.
