Zero To Hero In World of Warcraft

We'll talk about going from level 1 to level 60 as a horde or alliance. You'll find out where to go, what to do, and just what you need to avoid in order to win the game.

On your first game play go it by yourself. In other words get the feel of the game, its characters and such. Don't worry about playing to win or impress anyone just play the game to enjoy it and get a feel for it. Take for instance the feeling of your first Griffin ride. Pick a PVE server on your first go round. It will basically allow you to team with others in quests, therefore giving you an idea of what to expect when you play to win next time.

Once your done, create another alternate one and begin to power level up, this is where it all starts to get bloody so to speak. This is where you will be playing PVP for real.

Here are some general principles for power leveling:

Always know what your XP per hour is. See power leveling is about rising from 1 to 60just as fast as you can. Therefore know your XP per hour is very critical for it will help you choose areas to grind in that provide the most gold for your effort. Use Cosmo's clock it shows the XP very easily. Try using the MFO WOW FAQ when using the Cosmos, Thottbott, WOW world map, or other help tips in world of warcraft.

You should bum cash or load your toon with twinking. Having alot of gold when you are level 1 is huge. It is also critical to get weapons and armor just as quick as you can.

Buff level 5 acts like a normal level 8 so get as much gear and always upgrade your gear also constantly. For this you might need to bum cash from your friends or send some from your other toon that you have.

If you don't have a cash influx, you'll waste a larege amount of time generating basic economy to upgrade spells - its a serious time sink if your trying to power level. About 1G minimum, preferably 10G or more to power you past level 20 quickly is what your trying for. The process of getting yourself uber gear or enchantments is called "twinking" and can work wonders (+100 health on chest and Fiery Weapon that hits for up to 200 damage per fight at level 25? are very nice).

Another power strategy - is to have an alt parked at the AH and use it to get equpiment for your power leveling toon (then use in-game mail, of course). This saves you from trekking back to the AH all the time and becomes very handy when your toon is not on the same contienent as the AH (starts to happen often around level 25).

Also know where you are going at all times. You don't want to be exploring or searching for quest locations. Know just exactly where the heck you are going. Two things make this happen:

(1) Always use the WOW world map (see our FAQ for a link) - it will show you all the areas, all fly points.

(2) Also always use Thottbot.com's quest search feature. It will help you pinpoint the exact location of NPCs and quests. Also use Cosmos's coordinate system in conjunction with Thott to get exact in-game locations as you play in world of warcraft.

Also Queue up the Quests When you are in the Barrens, for example, you could be doing 6 to 8 quests all at the same time. In addition to monster kill XP, you will gain a massive boost in your XP per hour by turning in quests fast and furious. Your mindset is key - you will have to be aggressive and working on many at once. If you only do one at a time, you are going to take way too long to level.

Be at +2 levels for Questing. If you want to sail through your quests, be +2 levels from the monsters in your quest areas. You will kill faster, take less damage, and motor through... Remember, its all about speed, not your ego.

Try and run as many instances as you can (once that is). If you can afford the sequential time (need to block out about 4 hours to assemble a team and complete an instance), then by all means do them! Good cash, quest XP, and item drops. If you can instance often, you will gain about 5 levels in your journey to 60, just on instances.

Don't be afraid to Grind for awhile. Remember "Grinding" is sitting in one spot and killing the same monsters for a period of time. If you are in a spot where questing is not overflowing with opportunities, you may have to just grind it out for a while. Of course you will be monitoring your XP per hour, so you can properly evaluate your grinding spots.