WoW Levelling Improvements, New L30-40 Content
Monday, October 8th, 2007 - 5:06pm
It all comes when patch 2.3 arrives. Faster XP gains, new L30-40 content outside of Strangethorn.
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1155755572&postId=11552...
I'll be curious to see how much faster it feels.
Quote:
As many of you already know we've been working on changes designed to improve various aspects of leveling for those making their way to level 60. These improvements, available in patch 2.3 will come in many forms and should significantly contribute to a more fluid and enjoyable leveling experience .The first notable change was to simply reduce the amount of experience needed each level by approximately 15% between levels 20 and 60. Please note that when the patch is released, characters affected by this change will remain at their current level percentage. For example, if a character had exactly 50% of the current level's total experience before this change went into effect, the character would still have exactly 50% of the current level's total experience; only now fewer points would be needed to level.
Questing plays a very large role in World of Warcraft, especially while leveling and we felt that improvements to this front were necessary as well. Experience gained for completing quests (on average) between levels 30 and 60 is being increased. The increase becomes more substantial as you make your way towards 60. Additionally, many outdoor elite mobs will become non-elites, making many quests which were previously too difficult or required a group much easier and offer the same rewards (in some cases better!). A good example of this change would be Stromgarde Keep in Arathi Highlands, which will become a solo friendly environment when patch 2.3 goes live.
We've also added approximately 60 new quests in Dustwallow Marsh. This should help players who find themselves lacking quests in the 30-40 range. The Steamwheedle Cartel is building the new town of Mudsprocket in south-west Dustwallow Marsh, so you'll have to wait until construction is complete to learn more about these changes.
We're making other improvements to pre-bc leveling dungeons that players will likely find most agreeable. The level range for most every dungeon is being adjusted so that there is a much smaller range between the level of mobs found early in the dungeon to those found towards the end. For example, Shadowfang Keep is currently designed for levels 18-25 which means that right now, players who are towards the bottom of that range (18) will find it nearly impossible to complete the dungeon, while players towards the top of the range (25) will find most of the dungeon trivial. Using our new model (similar to what you'll notice with Burning Crusade leveling dungeons), Shadowfang Keep is being retuned for levels 18-21.
We also want to make running a leveling up dungeon more worth while. In addition to increasing quest experience for dungeon quests, we're also upgrading all pre-bc dungeon boss drops to blue quality items. Some examples are listed below:
Ragefire Chasm
Robe of Evocation old: +3 Stamina, + 4 Intelligence
Robe of Evocation new: +4 Stamina, +5 Intelligence, and +5 Spell Critical Strike RatingDeadmines
Smite's Reaver old: +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Spirit, 11.1 dps
Smite's Reaver new: +2 Strength, +3 Stamina, +2 Hit Rating, 14.5 dpsShadowfang Keep
Robes of Arugal old: +3 Agility, +5 Stamina, +9 Intelligence, +10 Spirit
Robes of Arugal new: +3 Spirit, +5 Stamina, +9 Intelligence, +12 Spell DamageAs you can see there is much in-store for the next major content patch, particularly a number of changes designed to benefit players who are leveling a character. Though we've given you a few examples of the things to come, we think everyone will pleasantly surprised when they see the full extent of the changes discussed above.
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Sounds like really good news, I may resub at some point to check it out.
XBox Live GamerTag: Boot Stackhead
It's nice to get some more details on the upcoming changes. 15% is nice but I guess I expected something more substantial. If they raise quest XP by 10% (they didn't give a number) then that would be a 25% change which is more what I expected.
The instance changes are cool too, but really after leveling four characters to at least 50 I don't run the lower ones much, especially since the population levels in "old world" are a lot less now and harder to find groups. On my latest character my first instance was a twink run in Strat.
The news of a new quest hub for 30-40 was a nice, unexpected tidbit. Here's hoping that there are more unhinted at goodies!
Now hurry up with 2.3 - I feel like any time on my alts is stupid until the levelling buffs come through! Darn thing ain't on the PTR yet....
- Legion, taking "keeping it in the family" to a whole new level.
Xbox Live: Fedaykin98
Quote:
- Legion, taking "keeping it in the family" to a whole new level.
Xbox Live: Fedaykin98
The US CMs have been reporting 20% reduction in XP and 20% increase in xp per quest. It looks like xp/level reduction will be 15% going on this, but that's all going to be tuned before the patch even hits the PTRs. I doubt they're going to put in premade characters to test something like this, so it will likely be QA'd internally.
As for old world instances, I'm not a huge fan of finding groups for them, but I'll ask a higher level guildie for a run if they've got the time.
Coldstream wrote:
Still wish they'd add new content (not just quests -- new areas, mobs, etc) for the 20-60 game, but I have to admit that in lieu of that, these changes sound decent, especially making more areas/mobs into standard quality rather than elite.
The thing about adding new zones is that it's a lot of work. Same with new mobs.
Coldstream wrote:
Surely you jest.
[edit]
And just in case it didn't come across, I'm being sarcastic.
I'm ok with it being the same zones if you get through them 50% faster. Then you can basically choose your favorite zones instead of having to spend time in basically every one.
Now all that's left is 40-50 content and 50-60 content, because there ain't any worth spending time on.
Oh, and make all mounts free for every class and refund people's gold. Maybe then I'll resubscribe.
I never really had issues finding quests up until the mid 40s, early 50s on my horde toons. I dunno if this will help anyhow. As for the mount thing, they're practically free as it is if you're reasonably strict with your spending.
Coldstream wrote:
I'm not talking about the level 40 mounts alone.
Neither am I. The only time I've ever had issues with epic ground mounts is before the massive price cut on those. Even so, I have two characters above 60, and both have their epic ground mounts. My 70 has his standard flyer. I've had enough for the epic flyer twice now, and have spent it on other stuff.
As an aside, my alliance shaman, with no support from a personal 70 toon has had is lvl 40 mount money since level 26. I'm lacking on the funds for the epic ground mount, but that's my own fault.
Coldstream wrote:
Well, AnimeJ, not everyone is like you
I was quite the casual "smell the roses" player that avoided much of the grind. I did not have anywhere near the amount of money I needed for even the level 40 mount, so I had to (gasp) buy gold.
Frak that.
Two years ago, when the economy was different, it was hard getting level 40 mount money. I know with my first toon, I didn't get a mount until level 42. Now, if you just mine & skin as your professions, I think it'd be almost impossible to not have mount money by the time you hit level 40. I started a toon on Blackhand and with virtually no help beyond a couple of bags from the guild and 5g "booster" money, I had over 300g by the time I hit 40. I just turned level 53 and have over 840g now with about 100g of stuff in the AH. Needless to say, given that the level 60 epic mount is about 600g, I'm already working on the funds for my level 70 flying mount. At the rate I'm accumulating gold, that'll be a breeze and I should be about 1/3rd of the way to my level 70 epic mount by the time I hit 70.
And just a side note - I haven't found any world epics that made life easy. I've found 3-4 blues and a bunch of greens. So it's all been done with relatively small chunks of gold along the way. Just remember, raw materials sell better and for more gold than finished goods. In other words, it's more profitable to sell 20 mithril ore than 20 mithril bars.
I am so going to quote that out of context.
As for the leveling improvements, all I can say is sh*t. I'll hit 60 before 2.3 comes out.
I am so going to quote that out of context.
All this talk of new lowbie content finally convinced me to sign back up. Much to my surprise, I hadn't been pruned from the GWJ guild roster!
If you see a little lock named necrogenie running around, be sure to say hi. =)
XBL: necrocinnabon
Tetnis wrote:
If you give a new character two gathering professions, and sell the results on the AH then the level 40 mount is trivial. It was level 45 before my first char got her first mount, and I've never had more than 2500g. And a respec from frost to fire took care of most of that. Though I did powerlevel Jewelcrafting without Mining, so I probably deserve everything I get.
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When your soul is in my soul's stead;
And I will friend you, if I may,
In the dark and cloudy day.
- AE Houseman, trailblazing XBL user
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It's pretty easy to make 2000g just questing and Netherstorm and Shadow Moon Valley. If you do the group quests you can earn another 1000g so getting epic mount money isn't as painful as it could be.
The key I think is avoiding the AH at all costs. There's just too many goodies that suck money from your pocket.
Shoot, with the way the economy is now, I had over 100g by 40 on my char created in August just selling greens and the 2 blues I found before 40. And this was with sinking money into leveling Engineering. Get and use Auctioneer so you don't make huge mistakes and sell to the twink crowd
.
Grumsh, Troll Mage on Blackhand
Kroe, Tauren Hunter on Blackhand
Khoram's Workshop
I'm not that great when it comes to cash in any MMO, but I didn't find it particularly hard to gather up the cash for mounts on any of my characters. By the time Vel hit 40, I had just enough gold to grab her standard mount. I think I had to grind for a few days for her epic ground mount, but this was right as Burning Crusade was being launched, so it didn't take long at all. The standard flyer was a bit of a grind, but still not too bad. And by the time Syl hit 40, I could easily farm 90g on Vel in about an hour. Her epic mount will be a bit of a pain though.
For the most part, like they say, the gathering professions will bring in far more money than you need for mounts alone. Skinning/mining is probably your best bet, since herbs are only used heavily in alchemy, and the other two have multiple professions that they're important to.
Yeah, if I make it back before 2.3 is released, then Syl will just miss out on the improvements (55 at the moment). If I don't, I'll probably level her up to 60 in the old world if I find it's easier. My current plan was to get her to 58, respec her to resto, and heal Ramparts PUGs a lot... It'll depend on how much easier those last few levels will be, and I can always mix in old world quests between instance runs.
Besides that, I'm now looking forward to taking a few of the other alts I have up to at least 60. I think I might go for my druid or warrior next just so I have a DPS (mage), healer (shaman), and tank (druid/warrior) on my account, but I might switch to the hunter or warlock for a "pet-class" character. And having something substantial in the 30-40 grind will be very appreciated.
IronClad Online: PurEvil
That was you? Well, welcome back, my slimy friend!
Now is truly a really great time to be WoWing with the GWJ crew.
Quote:
- Legion, taking "keeping it in the family" to a whole new level.
Xbox Live: Fedaykin98
Time to get the warlock alt to 20 and then put him back to bed for a bit.
"If Blizzard announces a subscription fee for Diablo III we will have to build a second Internet to make room for all the complaining." - muttonchop
To be fair, I must say that there's no sign or clear indication that players should take mining and skinning when you first start playing WoW.
In fact, as a newbie to MMORPGs when I started with my wife, we did what we thought made sense: I took blacksmithing and mining, she took herbalism and alchemy. We explored, quested, bought a few items here and there, leveled up our professions as we went along, etc. People treat others as if they were fools for doing this, but, honestly, it really seems the way you should do it when you first start out.
So, doing it that way, by the time we hit 40 with our first toons, money was tight. In fact, if I hadn't gotten into the habit of prospecting on the AH to supliment our income, there's no way we would have had the money for mounts.
It reminds me of the Reputation working you need to do at 60+. The second time around, I know better to save quests, hit instances hard, do the repeatable turn-ins, and so forth, before hitting quests and such... but that's not very intuitive. In truth, it seems to go against the intent of the game.
So, yeah, it's easy to make gold and prosper in WoW, if you are a veteran and work the system the way it seems like you almost have to, but if you played the game as intended, it's not so easy.
Ideally, you should be able to do both. There really should be a way to take something like engineering or blacksmithing from day one, and sell-back crafted items for a modest profit - smithing quests that improved skill, netted a profit, and played into the role... not the boring and gold draining necessity to create 20 crafted-for-loss bracers.
4E D&D Campaign: Valley of Shrouds
Steam Community: ShadeRaven
These changes make me so happy. It'll be so much easier to get my shaman up. I'll be able to finally have something to farm with, because my resto druid can't kill anything right now...
WoW-Dark Iron: Cuberen(80 Druid), Spacecube(70 Shaman), Deathcube(60 Deathknight)
Incidentally, the original post is now on the US forums.
"If Blizzard announces a subscription fee for Diablo III we will have to build a second Internet to make room for all the complaining." - muttonchop
Goddamit...I've been clean for months now. With winter coming I don't know if I'll be able to resist the juice...
Xbox Live: hubbinsd
It's almost like they punish you for lvl'ing quickly from 60-70. It takes much more time lvling by just doing instances.
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
There is a way, I posted about it above. I started brand new in August (I played for about 2-3 months in open beta and at release, but that was ages ago and on another server), leveled engineering and mining from level 6 or so on, and had money to buy a regular mount at 40 with money to spare. It is possible now, because of the inflated economy where people with multiple 60+ don't even think about dropping 2g on some mace with +5 int for their twink lvl 20 priest. I think they have also massively tweaked drop tables, because I never saw a blue drop on my 8 <25 chars 2.5 years ago, and now every char I've levelled above 15 has seen at least 1 by 20-25 (my wife's characters, too). Those are an easy 5-30g right there, depending on your luck. I made all my money just selling greens and blues in the AH. I also didn't buy anything (but weapon upgrades when absolutely needed) from the AH from about level 22-40. Everything else was either a drop that was an upgrade or from quests. Which did lead to the sad state of being lvl 40 with clvl 12 items, but that was quickly rectified with leftover gold after the mount was purchased
I wouldn't give up tradeskills just because some people, even a consensus of people, say you should. What can I say, I'm a tradeskill junkie. Heck, I leveled jewelcrafting in old-world EQ, for crying out loud
(that may just make me a glutton for punishment, though, so perhaps I shouldn't be listened to)
Grumsh, Troll Mage on Blackhand
Kroe, Tauren Hunter on Blackhand
Khoram's Workshop
I highlighted the key word.
Yeah, our definitions of "fun gameplay" definitely differ. After giving it a modest try I abandoned WoW's "professions" as a means of "making money". Yes, I am aware that some things sell really well. Wool cloth seemed to be quite popular on the server I was on, for instance. But that is the time from my REAL LIFE spent toward HAVING A BORING-ASS JOB INSIDE A GAME.
A boring-ass job. Inside a game I paid $15 per month to PLAY.
I already have a boring-ass job. It pays ME real money to sit in front of the computer and do mind-numbingly mundane tasks. Therefore, in my gaming time, I like to NOT WORK.
Like I said, bring on the free mounts.
No, I don't think you got the key word because I don't have any job in the game. I'm not sure if you're being purposely obtuse or you just missed the point entirely. As I'm out questing and as I run by a mine, I mine it. As I'm out questing and I kill something that has a skin, I skin it. I'm not actively killing low level mobs for wool, or grinding ogres for mageweave or anything like that. I'm questing, killing and having a good time. Simply put, WoW is the only MMO I've seen where it's possible to get a small fortune without either getting very lucky in drops or working your ass off on tradeskills. If you have a hard time with money in WoW, then perhaps all MMOs aren't your thing (in which case, why are you in this thread?).
As such, I'm "working" on getting my epic mount like I'm "working" on getting my SimCity 4 city to 150,000 people, "working" on beating Guitar Hero on hard and "working" on beating Civ 4 BTS. Without effort, there is no reward. It sounds like you'd just like to get a level 70 toon with epic gear and an epic mount the minute you log in. If that's the case, what's the game for?
I am so going to quote that out of context.