User:Yourbuddybill/Twinkage

UPDATE for Patch 4.0.1
No level one twinks for me right now. Moved on to level ten (10).

Level One Conclusion
I created Level One toons with experience turned off in Spring 2010. They were fun to test the limits of what a lowest level character could do. Getting upgraded armor and enchants was easy. Getting specialty items (discombobulator ray, energized crystals from Blades Edge,) was an adventure, and getting key buffs (like stamina from Booze and HIT RATING from holiday events) was about timing. These were the basis. The KEY to enjoying the experience, however, was in testing the limits. Like stepping into a new raid with prior tier gear, a level one twink cannot expect to simply faceroll and overpower the world. Oh no. Brain power is required, Using terrain, kiting, timing, LOS pulls, etc all come into play.

Patch Woes
This was made more difficult with patch 4.0.1, and patch 4.0.3 introduced another set back. While Hunters do gain a pet at level one, and the attacks for Paladin and Warrior may be better now, the other level ones got hit with the nerf bat.


 * Self Healing

The Herbalism spell Lifeblood was enhanced to grant Haste. Haste is nice for my Rogue, Warrior, and for Warlock's Shadow Bolts. But, Lifebloom was also crippled by changing the healing method. Instead of being a flat amount based on Herbalism Rank, it became a stat that scaled with both Herbalism Rank AND the player level. Pre-patch, a level one with 125 Herbalism Rank 3 could get a juicy 480hp in 6 seconds! With 250 to 300hp on a twinked level one, thats basically a HoT that could take you from 1hp to full, and restore 96 hp/sec while being pummeled. Alas with 4.0.1, it restores a base 4% ( thats 12hp if you have 300health, or 2.5% of what it used to do ). With this huge downgrade in self-healing, the time alive in combat for a level one was drastically reduced.


 * Abilities

The level to train some spells changed. Pre-patch, a Warlock level one could have an Imp, their trusty Shadow Bolt, a nice fiery DoT, and the protective Demon Armor. The patch however moved both Immolate and Demon Armor out of level one. This both reduced Warlock survivability, and damage output.


 * Honor

With these changes, being level one lost some of its fun for PvE, and the scope of challenges was reduced. I could no longer solo Hogger ... I would take damage faster, while doing less damage, and be unable to grab a second chance with the self-heal of Lifebloom.

The patch 4.0.3 introduced the change that would devalue level one PvP ... no honor for kills by or of characters under level five. The little Warlock who had slain 35 attacking Hordies level 1 and above (all in defense!) and gotten 16 "kills" while defending Stormwind, would no longer be able to accumulate honor kills.

Hello Level Ten
So, I now have level ten twinks. A side benefit is being able to learn professions like Engineering and Fishing. Yet I am not sure how far I can push them. Many more quests and holiday events are open to them, but they really are not that much more powerful than at level one. NOBODY is gonna queue for Warsong Gulch at level ten with XP turned off, so limited world PvP is possible.

Level One Twink Time (OLD)
Inspired by articles, using info from places like Level_1_twink and Twink Info, Twink Guide. I am experimenting with some level one twinks.

Twinking at this bracket, is all about showing what you're able to, achieve what some people would say, was impossible. Doing the impossible, takes dedication, hard work and patience. What describes twinking better? reference


 * Droplet (Blood Elf Rogue)


 * Choplette (Orc Warrior)


 * Implette (Gnome Warlock).

Goals for them are to get as many achievements (world events, yeah!), faction rep, and honor points as I can, while having fun and confusing lots of people.

Highlights:
 * PvE: solo Hogger at will; Warlock can also do 2 or 3 adds with careful DoTs and running/jumping.
 * PvP: took out level 19 Paladin and level 19 Mage; with 4xHallow End hit candy, was able to get a critical hit on a level 39, who then stopped laughing and 3 shotted me dead :)
 * PvP: in Ork/Troll starting zone, helped them kill their scorpions and boars. yes I was flagged, but did not attack them.  Once they hit ME ... well then it was on.  In 2 out of 3 "battles", took out a trio of level 5 who were getting pretty good really, was fun fights kept me on my toes.
 * PvE: in Mulgore, took out several of the rare/elites while picking flowers. IMHO they are tougher than Hogger.

Hit or Miss, thats the Challenge
Level one twinks will usually be going up against toons and monsters of a higher level. This means HIT rating is important (see also MISS. See Hit Analysis.

The four current (WotLK) permanent ways of gaining Hit at Level 1 are the following:


 * Enchant Boots - Lesser Accuracy +13%


 * + 2.6%


 * + 2.6%


 * + 2.6%

NOTE: In Cataclysm, appears that the Guild Bank Vendor will grant access to Head and Cloak items. The Leather, Mail, and Plate head gear appear to grant +1 hit (2.6%) at level one. This suggests that a Stave wielding Druid, Hunter, Warrior, or Paladin has the best access to +9 hit (23.4%)

Gear to Wear
Twink level 1 target Gear items.

NEW IN CATACLYSM -- Head and Cloak BtA items

Weaponry
For dealing damage, weapons are handy. LOL. OH, visit battered Chests for goodies too

Provisions
Various useful permanent and temporary enhancements to use.

Situational Melee Weaponry
Ok, using info from this article on Twink Info this seems to dictate your Melee arms selection for what yer doing. The 'Tank' goal includes soloing.