Back after a long break

[Kimbelmi]

Hi everyone, I'm back after a break of about a year. I left before because I really enjoyed raiding with the guild I was in, but due to the first-come-first-served raid sign-ups, I was often unable to go (this was pre-The Burning Crusade), and I did not have the time to devote to BGs to get decent gear that way. Also, it seemed that most PUGs were unaware of what I could offer to a group. I came back briefly after The Burning Crusade was released, but felt totally lost, and gave up after a month.

Now I'm back with a refreshed desire to play (I hope). My questions are many, but I'll try and keep this concise.

1. Has our image in the general population changed, or is group composition not as big an issue as it was seen to be in the past?

2. How has the honor system changed? I udnerstand that you now get honor points to spend on stuff. How much do you get for an average BG?

3. How long do the current endgame instances take? Heroics? Kara? I really enjoyed raiding, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time to devote to it for quite awhile.

4. How long does it take to get to 70? Just curious, I'm 61 at the moment.

Well I guess those are the big things that I can think of right now. My main concern is that I'll be able to find groups and such at 70. In the past I played a hunter and a rogue, and when I hit 60, it seemed like I was unwanted for groups. I'd like to avoid this again if possible.

Thanks,
Kimbelmi

[snackereen]

Welcome back (seemed like a good starter to your questions ;))

1. I don't really get what your want to know. There are some requirements to group setups like there were pre The Burning Crusade.

2a) Battlegrounds. You get honor for EACH kill now. An average AlteracValley (assuking that you win) will yield between 350-500+ honor per BG. Other BGs will give you less honor than that (so you get an impression)

2b) Arena: I can't say much, never really took part in it, so somebody else has to answer this

3. depends (I know, I hat that reply too). The first TBCs are done in way under 1h. The higher their level, the longer it takes. To nail it down to numbers, assume less than 2h for each instance <70. Kara (& the higher levels) take up to 4h with an experienced group and 2 days with an unexperienced group.

4. no idea

I hope I could clear things up a bit, all the others feel free to correct me if I gave wrong answers.

[Kimbelmi]

Thanks for the reply snackscreen. I guess it seemed like before The Burning Crusade, that most people didn't understand what warlocks can do, and it seemed like I had a hard time getting groups. I guess I was always frustrated by getting passed up for groups because it seemed like nobody had a clue what I could do. It was a little easier to take as a hunter and rogue because there were/are 5000000000000000 of them out there.

[Amsiroth]

I'll try to answer what I can, given the fact that I started playing shortly before the launch of The Burning Crusade and don't really know what pre-BC WoW was like.

1. Warlocks are heavily desired for our DPS and in some instances, CC. In 25 man raids its not uncommon for warlocks to be the #1 on damage out and DPS, above mages and rogues.

2. You play in BGs for honor, earn honor through victories, kills, etc. There are no rank restrictions on items anymore, but the newest PvP honor gear does have a personal Arena Rating requirement. You obtain this necessary rating by competing at a high enough level in rated Arena matches. My experience in terms of which BGs are the best is that in general, Arathi Basin gives the best honor, except when its Alterac Valley weekend, where you can earn upwards of 1k honor an hour.

3. The endgame instances I'd say with an ok group, 45 minutes to an hour. Heroics are about the same as long as the group is competent. Raids can vary greatly. Tier 4 raiding, which includes Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and Magtheridon's Lair, isn't that time intensive. Karazhan is by far the longest with 13 bosses. Once the guild knows the place though it can be cleared in about 3 hours. Gruul's Lair has only two bosses and a few trash mobs, so for a guild that has it on farm, less than 30 minutes would be appropriate. Magtheridon's Lair is akin to Onyxia--you just show up and Magtheridon, so for a competent guild its quick. Tier 5 raiding (Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep: The Eye) is longer, but guilds can still clear the places fairly quickly, about 3 hours each I think if they have it on farm. T6 raiding I'm a bit hazy on, but it takes a little longer I believe (not counting Sunwell Plateau, which not that many guilds have cleared last I checked). There are still guilds that raid on a "hardcore" schedule, but I'm seeing more that do it on a more casual schedule and still see end-game content. According to my friends, who raided pre-BC, The Burning Crusade raiding is a little more forgiving than that, as the raids are not as long and there are less people in the raid to gear up.

4. Totally dependent upon how much you play. I knew some people that did it in two weeks when BC launched. It took me longer because I leveled 1-70 and was really burned out those last few levels.

You will find groups when you hit 70. Not every instance is as favorable, but if/when you get geared up there will be someone that wants to take you.

[Kimbelmi]

Excellent news! This is the sort of stuff that makes me want to get going again.

[Absalom]

One thing to note is that once you hit 70 you still have room to grow. Granted, you don't get experience but there are a number of things left to work on. Reputation with multiple factions for access to gear/trade skill recipes/ etc...

With the BC heroic instances and raids you have access to "badges of justice" which are basically tokens used for gear upgrades. A lot of people farm heroic 5-mans or some of the easier raids (Kara for example) in order to get badges for better gear. I think the badge gear was introduced to help out those people that can't really commit to intense raiding but still give them something to shoot for. Just my opinion on that one though.

[Amsiroth]

Originally Posted by Absalom

One thing to note is that once you hit 70 you still have room to grow. Granted, you don't get experience but there are a number of things left to work on. Reputation with multiple factions for access to gear/trade skill recipes/ etc...

With the BC heroic instances and raids you have access to "badges of justice" which are basically tokens used for gear upgrades. A lot of people farm heroic 5-mans or some of the easier raids (Kara for example) in order to get badges for better gear. I think the badge gear was introduced to help out those people that can't really commit to intense raiding but still give them something to shoot for. Just my opinion on that one though.

I think the badge gear was also introduced to help gear up fresh 70s who are way behind on progression so to speak.

[Elricc]

A few things i didn't see other posters say-or i missed lol

Quests provide some gear & also reputation with the different factions- I didn't see before i started my post if you are horde or alliance- which means you can purchase some gear &/or items (enchant,jewelcraft,tailor etc patterns). You gain reputation with the factions by doing quests & also instances in the area- each area has its own instance hubs-hellfire peninsular is ramparts,blood furnace & shattered halls. There are quests to complete in these instances that provide good gear upgrades as well.When you reach level 70 doing quests no longer provide XP but cash (gold) instead.
4 zones have instance hubs-hellfire peninsular,zangermarsh,terrokar forest & netherstorm. there are 25 man instances as well but they are level 70.
Good luck as you level to 70 & take the time to enjoy the scenery

[feday]

Welcome back! I also came back after a long break, had old school instance gear on my lock from pre-The Burning Crusade.

4. I've consistently done about 7hour/level so far, including some gathering for my alchy. I didn't following a leveling guide or anything for this and didn't really 'hurry'. I can recommend your download and install 'questhelper' though, it's great.
I ran about 4-5 instances, and I'm halfway through questing in bladespire mountains now with about 1k gold (lvl69, 50% in). The beauty is that the leftover quests should be enough for my epic flying mount. In short, run a few instances when you can so you have quests (and therefor cash) left over for a fly mount.

[zenmonk]

Welcome back. I was in the same boat but now I am getting back into the game. After leveling for so long, there are so many new things that I don't know where to begin.

Great answers on this thread. Quite helpful!