Character towing

Character towing is a term used to describe the process of power leveling a character through the use of a second account and a character that is of a much higher level than the subject character. Character towing, executed properly, can net the subject character large amounts of experience, gold, and items within the shortest amount of time. Some older MMO players may refer to this process as "power leveling my alt with my (friend's) main", but it means the same thing as towing.

The goal of this guide is to help you level a character, through the use of a second high-level character that you already own, thus leveraging the time investment in your main character to create a second high-level character in the minimum time possible. This technique is feasible for either Alliance or Horde characters of any class.

Character towing is not considered an exploit by the Terms of Use, provided that you have no financial incentives such as selling the character afterward.

Experience formula
The experience formula for character towing is unknown at this time, but there is a point that the level difference between the towing character and towee character results in the towee only receiving 1 experience point per kill as well as an upper cap to the mob level difference that nets no additional experience.

The ideal level difference between the towing character should be enough that the mobs being killed are of a trivial (gray) level difference. This ensures that the towing character is absorbing the least amount of available experience from the Towed character.

The ideal level of mobs to tow a lower level character through would be no higher in level compared to the towee than the amount of levels below that character that they could get experience from on by killing on their own their own. The reason for this is that if you kill characters above this threshold you are slowing down the towing process, because these higher level mobs will take longer to kill while only granting a trivial amount of additional experience if any over what killing the recommended level difference mobs would net.

The minimum level for effective character towing is unknown at this time. Further research needs to be completed in this arena to come to a conclusive result. Please submit any information to this article for inclusion.

Overworld grinding
Overworld grinding involves putting the towed character on auto-follow on the main character and killing in the Overworld (non-instance) areas. There are several limitations on overworld grinding:
 * Competition - It is highly unlikely on older realms that you will be able to locate an area where there are no other players competing with you for spawns.
 * Separation - Mobs in the Overworld have a set patrolling area, but are generally much further spaced apart than mobs in instances.
 * Experience Yield - The amount of experience that is earned by killing Overworld mobs is not sufficient to justify this technique over the use of instance towing. What you gain in safety for your towed character you lose in experience gained per hour.

Instance towing
Instance towing is the same as overworld towing, but is strictly carried out via the use of dungeon instanced content in the game world. Instance towing is enjoyable and provides many additional benefits when compared to Overworld towing, while eliminating its limitations. A 2-character run, e.g. level 70 and level 30, through Scarlet Monastery, can net as much as 7900-9000 NON-rested experience, PER WING, and can be accomplished in as little as 10-15 minutes each, depending on class, spec, etc. Rested experience bonus would obviously double this. With roughly 40,000 XP required to level at L30, the ability to clear the instance quickly can have a massive impact on leveling speed, in this scenario. There are multiple benefits, especially when compared to overworld towing:
 * Experience Bonus - Killing mobs in a dungeon has an associated experience bonus when compared to killing the same level of elite mob in the Overworld. This over time nets a considerable amount of experience in excess of what could be obtained in the same about of time killing overworld mobs.
 * Coin Drops - Generally speaking, the amount of coin dropped by an elite mob far exceeds the amount dropped by a non-elites of the same level. This fact can offset the supply expenses associated with character towing such as equipment repairs and potions for use by the towing character.
 * Twinking Gear - Since dungeons are the place that you acquire the best items in the game, it would make sense to spend as much time in the instances as possible to maximize the quality of the towed characters gear. Where this fact really shines is in that since we are always clearing a dungeon that has mobs of at least 1 to 6 levels over that of the towed character, it is quite easy to supply your towed characters gear requirements. We achieve this by having him loot all blue off of the bosses and banking any items that would eventually be beneficial to that character. It is typical in this practice to be able to keep your character geared out in superior quality greens and blues during the entire leveling process.
 * Loot Surplus - Every dungeon provides loot of a superior quality when compared to drops of the same level from non-elite / non-boss mobs. This higher quality gear sells for a larger amount of coin when it is sold to a vendor. So any item drops off of bosses that do not fit with the character that is leveling that are flagged as "Binds on Pickup" can be sold to a vendor to cover the accelerated rate of training costs associated with character towing. "Binds on Equip" items should be sold at the Auction House to maximize profit, especially those that are blue or better in quality

Best towing classes
The following class types are the better classes to use in the towing process as the lead character.

Area of effect
Any character class that is capable of hitting multiple mobs at one time will produce the fastest results while towing as they can gather mobs and kill them at a rate that far exceeds other classes. The best towers can clear an entire lower-level instance in 1-2 pulls. As the level of the instance ascends, however, some AoE classes (especially the cloth-wearing ones) will have a harder time killing large groups of mobs before they get themselves killed. Further, with too many mobs attacking caster classes, casting even fast spells can take a very large amount of time without a shield of some kind (like Power Word: Shield).


 * Paladin - With AoE and reactive damage from an AoE grinding spec, Paladins are probably the most popular towing class. A paladin can gather up large groups of mobs and use Seal/Judgement of Wisdom with Consecrate to maintain mana while AoEing large groups of mobs.
 * Consecrate
 * Blessing of Sanctuary
 * Retribution Aura
 * Holy Shield
 * Holy Light
 * Flash of Light
 * Divine Protection
 * Druid - Moonkin Form (Balance Spec) can aggro everything within 35 yards with unglyphed Starfall which will kill most sub-level 50 mobs instantly. Barkskin prevents spellcasting interruption. Hurricane AoEs everything that reaches the Moonkin. Additionally -- and quite draining on the mana -- a druid can use instant-cast Moonfire to DoT a mob and keep going. Seconds later, the mob will die without the need for an additional spellcast.
 * Thorns
 * Moonfire
 * Starfall
 * Barkskin
 * Hurricane

While not a traditional AoE class, the feral druid posses an AoE in the form of Swipe. Since Patch 3.0.2, it hits everything in front of the druid and to either side. Depending on the spec, a druid can make an excellent tower. Specifically, a well-geared Feral-spec druid has the benefit of using Improved Leader of the Pack to continuously keep healing themselves while towing lower level characters through instances. A decently well-geared level 70 feral druid in bear form can pull large numbers of mobs and maintain nearly full health and rage simply through swiping continuously. Depending on the druid's gear, this can be done in instances up to Zul'Farrak, Maraudon, or even higher. In these higher level instances, if the druid has enough attack power, they can potentially outpace a Protection-spec Paladin while towing while avoiding the need for mana or normal healing.


 * Priest - With Holy Nova a priest can heal and AOE even at the same time (though since it causes no threat, this will not keep mobs off the towee).
 * Binding Heal
 * Flash Heal
 * Greater Heal
 * Heal
 * Holy Nova
 * Mind Blast
 * Power Word: Shield
 * Psychic Scream
 * Renew
 * Mage - Mages have many AOE spells that lend to fast towing of lower level characters.
 * Arcane Explosion
 * Blast Wave
 * Blizzard
 * Cone of Cold
 * Dragon's Breath
 * Flamestrike
 * Frost Nova
 * Warlock - I have a lot of experience towing character with a SL/SL lock (Aff would work great as well), and Ive found that for all instances before ZF the best way to for me to tow was to use siphon life and corruption and maybe CoA if necessary (sometimes only siphon life will do). Siphon life will out-heal the dps of most mobs before ZF, so you are constantly healing and able to life-tap at will. The strength of a lock for towing is that he is able to "AoE" via dots. SoC can also be very useful for pulls where lots of mobs are bunched together. If you get the timing down on the GCDs you can literally dot everything while running through only stopping for larger groups. The only drawback I can think of for this strat is the large repair bill. For my pet i just use imp for the stam buff until the I actually need to use VW to tank.
 * Shaman - Shaman have several spells and totems for dealing with more than one mob at a time
 * Chain Lightning
 * Fire Nova Totem
 * Magma Totem
 * Searing Totem

DPS
DPS classes are the next best choice to an AoE class for character towing as their high damage output can outpace a bad pull when fighting lower-level mobs.
 * Hunter - The ability to use a pet to hold aggro, utilize traps (CC and AoE) and feign death can help greatly when towing a lower level character. Hunters can use several forms of "minor" AoE to speed up the towing process.
 * Explosive Trap
 * Snake Trap
 * Multi-shot
 * Volley
 * Rogue - Rogues possess the ability to rapidly kill or stun mobs in the game. Their abilities lend themselves well to towing a character up to a high level.
 * Fan of Knives - A fresh level 80 character may not find it very efficient anywhere but Ragefire Chasm, but this skill can be used to pull aggro away from the character in tow. A geared level 80 Rogue dual-wielding enchanted high item level daggers, such as Webbed Death, can effectively pull large groups of mobs in instances of much higher level. Activating Blade Flurry and Adrenaline Rush after gathering the mobs (Sprint, Cloak of Shadows, and Evasion lend themselves well to survivability) can allow you to quickly kill whole rooms of Scholomance with Fan of Knives.

General tips

 * Level Range - Care should be taken to avoid using mobs that are more than 5 to 6 levels over the towed character, as this will only slow down the leveling process by requiring more time to kill them, while netting no additional experience.
 * Supplies - Killing large numbers of enemies quickly will require more resources and consumables than one would expect to consume in the same amount of time in high level solo play. The reason for this is that you will be moving as quickly as possible and want to minimize your downtime to maximize the experience returned to the towed character.
 * Emergency Supplies - If the towing character is a cloth wearing class, it is advised to take along the highest level of healing potion that you can use. The reason for this is that fighting lower level mobs in droves would be more potentially draining to your health reserves than your mana pool.
 * Partying - Contrary to popular opinion, adding additional party members at a similar level to the towee will give a certain amount of bonus experience on each kill. This is often easy to achieve when the instance run is advertised as being done by a higher level, and/or free loot in the process.

Essential

 * A Follow Towing Character Macro
 * /follow
 * A Mount and Follow Macro
 * /cast
 * /stopcasting
 * /follow

Suggested

 * An assist and attack macro - While the damage contributed to the fight might seem insignificant, over the long run it will save you time to have the towed character attack the mobs that you are fighting.
 * /assist
 * /attack
 * Bandage self / Drink healing potion macro - This macro is used to make the lower level character target themselves and bandage / drink a potion
 * /cast [target=player] /

Note: It is possible to make a macro that will bandage if the towed character does not have aggro, or drink a healing potion if he does. Conditional selection macro in process.

Pluses

 * A macro to cast any beneficial buffs that the lower level character has that might benefit the higher level character during the towing process (IE: Battle Shout, HP Buffs, AP Buffs)
 * /target
 * /cast Bloodrage
 * /cast Battle Shout

Best places

 * Level 11 - 18 Ragefire Chasm. At level 11 two characters were receiving at least half a level per run.
 * Level 18 - 28 Wailing Caverns. At level 18 two characters received almost a level per full run. Don't have them loot anything, just run through it all and you should be fine.
 * Level 28 - 40 Scarlet Monastery: Cathedral. At level 28 two characters received a full run per level. On a Mage you can do it in *1 - 3 pulls, taking no more than 10 - 15 minutes per run. Only loot bosses and even then upgrades.
 * Level 38+-46 - Zul'Farrak. This can actually take longer than other instances due to how large the zone is, and the fact that Blizzard made it impossible to do large pulls while using mounts in here. Make sure you pull all of the graves too, its easy and extra XP.
 * Level 45+-55 - Scholomance or Stratholme. If you have the key, Scholomance is preferable over Strat beacuse it yields faster loot and faster XP. However, Strat can yield more XP in the long run if you can do huge pulls (IE: Hobbs 1-pull of Strat UD+Live).
 * Level 55-60 - Hellfire Ramparts. Since you can't go through the Dark Portal until 58, get a port to shattrath at 55 and run out to Hellfire Ramparts. At 55, with no rested XP and no RAF bonus, you can still level mad fast in here. If you have a paladin or similar class that can do the entire zone in one pull, then you will be gaining a level roughly every 20-30 minutes non-rested.
 * Level 60-63 - Blood Furnace. Very quick pulls and a ton of XP. Watch out for mines as enough of them will kill a geared level 80.
 * Level 63-65 - Slave Pens. Big big pulls and a fairly short instance.
 * Level 65-68 - Shattered Halls. This requires a key, so if you have it or even if you don't (The quest starts with Smith Gorlunk who spawns on top of Black Temple) complete the quest and go here. It can yield a ton of XP, and great loot.
 * Level 68-72 - Utgarde Keep. Here you may need 2 towers if you want to kill Prince Keleseth, as he can be hard to solo without a paladin's Frost resistance aura or something similar. You can alternatively skip him and just kill trash.
 * Level 72-80 - Azjol'Nerub. It has been proven that this is the best and quickest XP from 72-80, so get used to running this zone over and over again.

Certain instances (e.g. Undead Stratholme) are both excellent for towing and result in enormous amounts of dropped Runecloth from the trash mobs, which is useful for rep for the towing toon. Some max-level toons will be happy to tow someone through these instances on the condition that they keep all the Runecloth.

Another method of instance towing is as follows:
 * Level 11 - 16 Ragefire Chasm.
 * Level 15 - 22 Shadowfang Keep. The entire instance can be killed without the lower level moving from the zone in spot
 * Level 21 - 41 Scarlet Monastery. After the towee (character being towed) reaches level 28 stop doing Graveyard, and move to Library. After level 34 move to Cathedral. As a bonus in Library, the towee doesn't have to move from the zone in point.
 * Level 38 - 45 Stratholme: Main Gate.
 * Level 42 - 53 Stratholme: Service Entrance.
 * Level 52 - 55 Sunken Temple.
 * Level 54 - 58 Blackrock Spire (upper and lower).
 * Level 58 - 60+ Hellfire Ramparts.

Experience per kill observed towing
The following table shows the approximate amount of experience that the towed character will receive if a mob was killed of the level difference shown. Please note that the level differences are always the amount that the mob's level exceeds that of the towed character.

Any help filling in these numbers is greatly appreciated and may lead to the discovery of the exp formula for towing.

Tips when trying to record data for the chart:

It should be noted that Retribution Aura from a Paladin seems to "steal" experience from a kill, i.e., if you are being towed by a Paladin using Retribution Aura, and the aura ends up dealing damage equal to 20% of a mob's total health before the mob dies, you will only get 80% of the experience from the kill. Other damage shields such as a Shaman's Lightning Shield have the same effect.

Also be wary of "entrance" mobs, or mobs that are encountered early in the instance and may yield slightly less experience than the mobs who occupy the main portion of the dungeon. An example of this would be the Scarlet mobs in Scarlet Monastery: Graveyard, who yield slightly less experience than the same level Undead elites found later in the instance. Also, Scarlet Monastery: Armory has the "Training Grounds" first room, where mobs yield slightly less experience than same-level mobs found throughout the rest of the Armory.

Reverse towing
Another strategy that can be effective in certain situations is Reverse Towing. In this scenario, the low level towee quests normally, with a high level tower keeping them alive. This has the following benefits:


 * Downtime due to death is dramatically reduced
 * The towee can take on fights that are riskier than they would attempt solo, knowing that the tower can help out if necessary
 * The towee gains full experience from the mobs, as the towee and tower are not in a party (but should have each other focused)

This approach works best when the tower is a healing class, as they can focus on keeping the towee(s) alive to minimise downtime. Ideally the towee should be in DPS or tanking spec to enable rapid mob clearing.

Due to XP mechanics, a healing-only contribution from the tower seems not to affect the XP gained by the towee. This can make for very rapid XP gains and quest completion.

Reverse Towing also works well when multiboxing. The load on the tower is often quite low, for example requiring the use of only one HoT and one emergency quick heal. Simply put the tower on follow, press those heals when necessary and play the towee more aggressively that you would normally.

Reverse towing does not work particularly well in instances, due to the time it takes to kill elite mobs with an at-level towee. In these cases, it is recommended to switch back to a more traditional towing arrangement.