new player looking for answersFollow

Some generic stuff:

Wowhead has a good database for finding stuff.
Mmo-champion tends to be more news-related.
The official website should have some decent starter information.
We answer questions too.
Gathering professions insure a stable income if you're just starting, Inscription can also be good money.
Professions like Blacksmithing, leatherworking, engineering tend to be more expensive.
Random dungeon finder can be a caustic environment.
Low-level PvP is a tough place if you're just starting out, save it until you get a bit higher in levels.

and other stuff I'll think of later...

Welcome!

Not really. People abbreviate EVERYTHING in this game so it's often a matter of context.

(i.e. Is "DC" Deathcoil or Disconnect? Depends on whether you're talking about warlocks/death knights or your internet connection.)

Thank you for all the replies. Couple of quick questions

Once I get this starter status removed. I'll be partying up with my wife's character just so we don't have to redo all fights twice. I just hit level 11 and have the first 2 talent points and was asked to choose a path. I went with the ?protection? Pld just thinking a tank who can heal seemed best if it's mainly just me and my wifes Mage duoing stuff to begin with.

AH - havnt' found that yet and I think I was banned from it for getting the free starter. Currently converting to paid account, but I feel like a newb for having bare slots. Are accessories just rare/not worth having in the beginning? (rings, necklace, etc.)

I've been NPCing everything since I assume it has no value and I only have limited inventory space. Is there anything that sells on the AH that low level people come across?

All I have bought is the basic game, which includes Burning Crusade. Is there a reason to buy Wrath of the Lich King or Catalysm sooner rather than later.

EG in FFXI the Treasures of Aht Urgan expansion didn't have content for people lower than level 53-55 so was never recommnded for poeple just starting out.


http://tepogue.blogspot.com/

We rode on the winds of the rising storm,
We ran to the sounds of the thunder,
We danced among the lighting bolts,
And tore the world asunder.

Compared to FFXI, Wow is very forgiving. Don't stress the little stuff too much, especially at the lower levels. Just have fun playing the game.

-Protection is nice, especially since you can pull a big group of enemies and your wife can AoE them down.

-If you feel the absolute need to have a ring and necklace pick up jewelcrafting (and mining). Honestly though it isn't needed, you will be given the items you need later on. I would avoid glyphs for now unless you can find some for cheap. They tend to be overpriced, especially for a lower level character.

-I would keep an eye on how much various cloths go for on the AH. Pre-cataclysm wool was a hot ticket item. Also I would pick up mining at least. Sell all the ore you get on the AH and you should make some easy gold as you level. Greens tend to sell decently depending on the server you are on. Blues and the very rare purples tend to sell real good. Maybe it is the cheep skate in me but I try to sell any blues/purples I happen to run across on the AH simply because upgrades tend to happen fast. But yes, vendor any greys you happen to pick up. They are called vendor trash for a reason (heck there is even a fish you can fish up called Goldenscale Vendorfish).

-Wrath of the Lich King allows you to play as Death Knights once you get a character to level 55ish, allows you to pick up Inscription as a profession (pretty valuable profession), and access to Northrend (70-80 zone). Cataclysm will unlock Worgen and Goblins, level 80-85 content, and Archeology (very boring secondary profession).


My tip would be to start thinking about professions. This list may not be 100% complete, it has been a couple months since the last time I was in the game.

Blacksmithing - Weak to start out with but starts to become helpful the higher you get. Primarily just plate gear.
Engineering - Quirky profession. Can make things like mini-pets and goggles. Nice stuff from it but I wouldn't recommend it for your first character (especially if they are a prot paladin).
Alchemy - Flasks are a must have for raiding at max level, less useful at lower levels.
Enchanting - Enchants are nice at any level, a must have at max level. Expensive to level but nice to have on at least one character.
Inscription - Need Wrath of the Lich King. A very lucrative profession on most servers. Nice to have but can wait for an alt to pick up due to the expansion requirement.
Jewel crafting - A relatively 'meh' profession at lower levels it becomes very nice at higher levels due to the constant demand for various cut gems. It will be either an expensive or time consuming profession to level though.
Leather working - A nice profession to level with, not so nice to level later on. Creates leather and mail gear and leg enchants.
Tailoring - Obviously a profession that creates items for cloth wearers. Also makes bags and leg enchants.
Herbalism - Flower picking. Provides the materials for Alchemy and Inscription. Can be profitable depending on the market.
Skinning - Leather workers need their mats from somewhere. Not very profitable and would only pick it up if you have a leather worker.
Mining - Very profitable. Needed for Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Jewel crafting.

Cooking - Pick it up. Level up with it. The food is easy to get and the buffs are very nice to have.
Fishing - Pick it up with cooking. A bit boring to level but it helps level cooking not to mention you can fish up a turtle mount in Northrend.
First Aid - Used to be a must have profession now not so much. I would level it if you find you have a lot of extra cloth and they don't sell well on the AH.
Archeology - Need Cataclysm. Very slow leveling profession. Can get various mini-pets, iLevel 359 weapons, various trinkets, and mounts. Going to stress again it is a very slow leveling profession.

Oh and here is a link to the list of the professions and it goes into more detail than I can/dare go into.

That's an excellent combo. Paladins traditionally excel at collecting and holding large groups of mobs (at first Protadins were strictly AoE tanks, and still have a lot of that flavor), and mages are good at AoE damage and can handle themselves if they happen to pull one or two off of you. They're both fine for soloing, but since they complement each other's relative weaknesses they'll be more than twice as effective together.


As others have said, some slots get filled later than others. I suspect that the original intent was that you should be able to see from just looking at a person's toon roughly what level they are (no armor, some armor, full armor, matched full armor, epic full armor). Don't worry, it's balanced with that in mind. One reason coming back to level an alt is relatively unsatisfying (beyond the fact that you've seen it all before) is that hand-me-down gear (especially heirlooms - available at max level, can be passed freely between all characters on the same account, and their stats scale to match the toon, so they're always as powerful as anything they could find on their own) diminishes the challenge even further.


Anything with grey text is useless and can be safely vendored (or dropped when something useful is found since they vendor for a handful of copper). Anything with white text is useful to someone, although not necessarily to you - crafting mats fall in this category, so do some non-bespoke quest items. Some white items sell very well, some not at all - check the prices for auctions already posted before listing.

Just remembered - one exception to my "no-AH" rule is BAGS. If you're running out of bag space and find yourself dropping non-grey items, a bag that doesn't bind to you is a fine investment (since you can sell it on when you "outgrow" it, often for as much or more than you paid).

Regarding professions:
- You can get Cooking, Fishing, First Aid, and (with the right expansion) Archaeology regardless of your other professions, and level them up as you go. No reason not to - even the tedium of leveling Fishing is maybe 1/4 of what it originally was. Food reduces downtime and gives buffs, even low-level food is useful.
- It's traditional to recommend two gathering (Mining, Skinning, Herbalism) professions to people starting out. They're good for income, provide a little extra XP as you go, and the crafting professions (Tailoring, Leatherworking, Blacksmithing, Inscription) can be frustrating gold sinks if you're not careful. If you're going to be leveling together, you might be able to bring off each having a paired set of professions (Mining/BS for you, Herbalism/Tailoring for her, maybe?). It will be tougher, though.
- Enchanting is a little different than the others since it's both a crafting and gathering profession. Disenchanting breaks down weapons and armor into the materials used to create enchants and enchanting scrolls. So it isn't necessarily a money sink to level (it's quite possible to even make a profit if you do your research, and should certainly be within a stone's throw of breaking even). And it's a great way to handle quest rewards you can't use.

*hugs*

I jumped in as a healer at lvl50 on my pally in nothing but quest rewards and didn't have a lick of trouble.



PvP on the other hand...

I spent about 300g and a good amount of honor (for a lowbie) getting my shammy ready to compete with people with heirlooms. All those enchants, all that blue gear, just to be competitive with the heirloom crowd for like 5 levels.

Well, yeah, a full set of heirlooms kinda helps.

Just tired of seeing players in Vanilla gear running dungeons in Northrend. I'm not saying people should buy new gear every level, just once in a while to avoid having less health than the Hunter's pet.

Edit: Also, you might not have noticed any issues because you got lucky with the healer/tank in the group. An undergeared tank and an undergeared healer in the same dungeon is a recipe for plenty o' tears.

Edited, Oct 4th 2011 1:48am by Mazra

If you'd like some more detailed information on the professions, I have a Tradeskill FAQ posted as a stickie in the tradeskill forum. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think it's pretty useful. I haven't quite gotten to the secondary professions yet (like first aid, fishing, cooking and archaeology), but all the important ones are taken care of.

I'll second Poldy's comment on skinning. My Shaman gets loads of gold from selling leather. Savage Leather sells for 70-100g a stack on my server. My Shaman can farm 20+ stacks in an hour.

Why would you need BC for Inscription when it was Wrath that brought it? I'm almost 99% positive that you need Wrath, not BC, for inscription.

I have a BC only Account with inscription, thats 100% positive that you don't need Wrath...What's wrong with you peoples?

I hate the "almost positive" comments, you know or you don't.

Edited, Oct 4th 2011 1:56pm by RAWDEAL

I have to ask... Why would anyone pay monthly for an account that does not support all current content. Your comment makes it sound as if you have more than one account why keep it if it is only basic WoW or if the toons mean anything to you would you not upgrade?