User:FuzzicalLogic/Guides/Power Leveling Guide

Introduction
Cataclysm has changed the dynamics of leveling dramatically. Not only has the entire quest progression for each zone been streamlined to allow for a more progressive feel, but the entire experience reward system has been tweaked in many ways. Among documented changes are:
 * The addition of many flight points in questing zones.
 * The acquisition and completion of dungeon quests directly to the dungeon they pertain to, in many cases.
 * The ability to accept or complete some quests "inline" without the need to find or return to a specific NPC.
 * The ability to gain experience from gathering professions.
 * The addition of Guild Experience from Quests.
 * Additional heirloom item with experience bonuses.

In addition to the above changes, there were also a number of undocumented changes. These combined changes significantly diversify leveling options. When used appropriately, this knowledge and techniques in this guide can significantly reduce leveling time, bringing more character within reach of endgame content at a quicker pace.

Unlike other guides, this guide teaches techniques that are useful regardless of faction, race or class and is, unlike many other guides, not zone-specific. This is not meant to be a walkthrough, but to allow players to choose where and how they level with the most options.

Getting Started
When first getting started with a new character, there are some things that are worth knowing that may significantly alter how quickly you can level. Deciding how you will progress your character will make certain things easier or harder depending on those choices. It must be made clear that it is no class, race, or spec are easier or harder in and of themselves. Each option has its ramifications. An understanding of how you will actually play your character is then necessary. Below are a list of the common choices that people make
 * Melee vs. Ranged
 * Healing vs. Damage
 * Unarmored (Light/Medium) vs. Armored (Heavy)
 * Quest vs. PvP
 * Solo-Leveling vs. Party-Leveling

Melee vs. Ranged
This is probably the most important choice that a person makes when choosing their character. The reason for this is because it dramatically impacts how one must play whether solo or in a party. Melee classes are able to take hits and are expected to be up in front. This is standard behavior and nearly every monster in the game will rush at you. Ranged classes, however, never have the survivability that melee classes do. This means that there are two ways that a ranged player must compensate. Either a)make sure the monster(s) are dead before they ever reach you; or b)make sure you can hold your own if they ever do. Chances are that the monster will reach you, because 70% of the monsters in the game are designed to run straight into melee. Melee classes, however, have to make sure they can take the hits. Melee classes will often have some way to heal themselves, but often with a large cooldown.

Melee classes should:
 * Make sure they are stocked up on potions.
 * Keep their armor up to date. Damage mitigation is much more important than DPS, especially while soloing.
 * Learn how damage is calculated and use abilities accordingly.

Ranged classes should:
 * Keep their weapons up to date.
 * Maximize damage early.
 * Have a panic button, in case things become too hard to handle.

Healing vs. Damage
This is the second most important factor when choosing how to play a character. An important emphasis is that it is not easier to play a damage spec than a healing spec. It's just a different style of play. Healing classes, when played appropriately, can have the distinct advantage of lowering downtime, and are by nature more survivable. Damage classes must steadily increase damage in order to be effective.

Healing classes should:
 * Keep small, simple damage rotations that are mana efficient.
 * Be relentless. Once a target is decided, kill the target even if you get low. Rarely change targets.
 * If soloing, kill melee targets first, almost always.
 * Be aware of difference between mitigation vs. healing. Power Word:Shield, for instance, is the best friend a solo-leveling healer can have.
 * Have a panic button!

Damage classes should:
 * Train whenever a new ability becomes available.
 * Be versatile. Sometimes it is advantageous to change targets.
 * Always try to be at the appropriate range for the highest damage output.
 * Be resource aware. Mages use mana, so mana efficiency is key; Warriors use Rage, so time is key.

Unarmored vs. Armored
This is a fairly obvious distinction. The ramifications are relatively clear at first glance... (expand)

Quest vs. PvP
With the addition of Call to Arms for battlegrounds, PvP is a viable power-leveling option. Questing, ever the staple for leveling, remains one of the best options for leveling. Rather than play style, this choice requires the player adjust minor behaviors for efficient leveling.

Questers should:
 * Minimize Travel time as much as possible.
 * Replace gear often (according to class type).
 * Repair only when necessary. Most zones have at least one vendor who can repair.
 * Learn your map and use it often. There are many kills that will provide more xp than the single best quest reward available at your level.
 * Find a way to sell quickly and reliably, or limit how often you must sell entirely.
 * Choose your battles. Avoiding a single kill may ensure that you have enough mana for your next kill.

PvP Hounds should:
 * Repair often.
 * Queue as often as possible. Target maps that you are comfortable with and skilled at.
 * Accept and complete every Call to Arms quest.
 * Enchant all gear.
 * Play the Auction House to maintain costs, or join a guild with a repair allowance.

Solo vs. Parties
This section applies to Questers as PvP Hounds are always in a party until they reach Arena level. Questing dynamics change significantly because certain quests are immediately faster just by nature of having a second or third party member. Certain others can be much longer if in a party, especially drop quests.

Solo Questers should:
 * Minimize downtime and travel time as much as possible.
 * If queueing for dungeons, quest while waiting.
 * Use General or Guild chat for quests they know they will have a hard time with.
 * Be willing to drop quests to make room for more efficient quests.

Party Questers should:
 * Become comfortable with Party Roles.
 * Be willing to pass on loot, especially for drop quests.
 * Pick a party leader to decide where to quest.
 * Sync selling times as much as possible.

Styles of Leveling
There are 5 primary methods for gaining experience for levels. Many people isolate or blend 1-2 of the methods. While this definitely gives a character more focus, it definitely limits the growth potential. There are ways to fit your character's primary play motivation and still maximize on your experience gains. This section highlights each style, the benefits and how it can be maximized and used with other styles of leveling.

Questing
Questing provides the most significant experience reward for a single task. Long quests will lower your experience efficiency, while short quests will improve it. This often will depend on the type of quests that you are undertaking, as well. Quest experience is based on your character's level in relation to the quest.
 * Quest color coding can quickly indicate whether or not that quest is worth your time.
 * Travel time can be a significant factor in determining the quest's worth. Questing for as long as you can in a zone will reduce travel time.

There are 4 types of quests. Each is described and "rated" according to efficiency.

Fetch Quests
The quest giver wants you to get something for them. It is often held by a single NPC and frequently requires a single kill to get it. The NPC will often, but not always provide experience for the kill. The is the 2nd fastest type of quest, with the a quest reward that is appropriate with the level of the quest. These quests should only be dropped if they are green (or too easy).

Note for Parties: In most circumstances, all party members will be able to grab the item from a single kill, making this ideal for parties. In some specific circumstances, it can require that each person kill independently. This is now rare, but should be noted.

Drop Quests
Arguably the longest quests in the game. These require to kill the same kind of monster over and over again in order to "harvest" a quest item from them. This is subject to drop rates and other random factors and in some cases can keep you on the same quest for as long as 45 minutes (in extreme circumstance). While you will get kill experience for the monsters, kill experience is often 1/10 - 1/25 of a quest reward (if solo). These quests should always be done after your other quest options have been eliminated. In parties, these quests can really lower efficiency, unless certain techniques are applied.

Note for Parties: If a party is doing drop quests, these quests are even more random and so is the time it takes to complete them. This can be mitigated, however. When starting this quest, everyone should be looting and killing. However, as a member completes the objective, if they pass on random loot, this will make the other members more likely to complete sooner (as if they were soloing). The money gains are negligible and should be ignored. And gear is not a factor when leveling that quickly, so this too should be ignored.

Harvest Quests
These quests require you to gather a good that is visible on the screen. Often they are guarded by monsters, but this is not necessary. These quests, like Fetch Quests can provide great rewards very quickly. Again, only drop these if they are too easy according to your quest tracker.

Note for Parties: This, like drop quests, can also inefficient for parties, but minorly so. A structure that seems to really speed things up is to work out an order of completion. If Joe and Bob are in a party, Joe will collect first while Bob backs him up. When Joe is complete, the roles reverse.

Kill Quests
A quest that needs a certain number of kills of a specific (or multiple) types of monsters. The efficiency of these quests varies widely and depends upon a number of factors. The number of kills is often the most significant factor. In other words, 5 kills is much faster than 50. The difficulty of the kill, also may affect these. Weigh each quest individually.

Note for Parties: In a party, this is the most efficient quest. Each party member's kill counts for everyone in the party. And the monsters are often easy enough to solo by most characters and their builds.

Zone Quests
These quests are not necessarily given by a specific quest-giver and sometimes not even turned in at one. They are either triggered by entering the zone, or by killing a specific monster. Since there is often less travel time associated with them, these quests are ideal for party members and solo questers alike. In all circumstances, they fall into one of the standard categories above.

Monster Kills
Kills are the most consistent, but least consistently rewarding way to gain experience. The amount of experience gained from monster kills is actually so small, that depending on level, it can take literally hundreds of kills to gain a single level. That being said, there are also special monster kills that are far more rewarding than even the quests can be. If this is your primary method of leveling, this can be a long arduous process. If not, then incorporating your kills into your leveling process can streamline your level gains.

In general, make sure of the following:
 * You are rested, as much and as often as you possible can be
 * You are always fighting monsters that are your level or higher, if possible.

Rare Monster Kills
These special kills are unlike normal kills in almost every respect. Experience rewards are based upon the level of the monster, rather than the level of the toon. In almost every circumstance, these monsters will provide the same amount of experience whether the monster is orange, yellow or green. That makes them always worth the kill. Additionally, these monsters are worth anywhere from 1.5 - 4 times the experience of a quest reward of the appropriate level. Finally, they are subject to experience bonuses from rest or heirloom items. Before entering each zone for questing, it is advisable that you find out which monsters in the zone provide these rewards. To make this easy, there is a Rare Spawn Locations list, organized by zone.

Dungeoneering
While dungeons, themselves, have the potential to provide massive experience gains, often they are less efficient than actually questing. In order to make dungeons effective, several things should be true. First, you get the most experience from a dungeon when there are quests for that dungeon, i.e. the first time you do it. Second, being rested doubles most the the experience you get from a dungeon, since most of it is kill experience. Finally, the lower level (in the appropriate range) you are, the more benefit a dungeon will be.

This is all contingent upon your ability to complete the dungeon, however. Being too low level can under-power the party, making it more difficult. This can be offset by partying with people that you know to be well accomplished. Dungeons also add fun to the play, again provided that the party can be successful and play well together.

If Dungeoneering is your primary method of leveling, then you will want to make sure you are always rested, and always queued. Traveling to take care of some level appropriate rare kills will queued can dramatically increase your experience output. Additionally, queueing is an optimal time to gain exploration experience, further increasing the rewards. Finally, if you have a gathering profession, that can also be taken care of when queued.

The biggest issue players face when doing dungeons is bags getting too full too quickly. Consider purchasing a [Guild Page] (or [Guild Herald]) for quick selling in a dungeon. The cooldown is long, but if you are questing with other guildies, then you can coordinate so that everyone is beneficial. Inscriptionists have a particular advantage here as they have "reduced" hearth cooldowns with their Scrolls of Recall. This means they can Hearth over and over again to sell. Mages also can particular power here, as their portals give them the ability to train and sell without limitation.

Dungeoneering can also be a great supplement to leveling style without taking the focus. The best way to take advantage of this is to queue for specific dungeons, rather than random ones. Do a dungeon when it first comes available and only the once. Complete all of the quests associated with that dungeon, and then go back to normal leveling. Also, if you have a Tank class, consider being a Tank to reduce queue times. This will give some good play experience for later dungeons and make you more valuable. Regardless of your dungeoneering practices for leveling, it is a good idea to read up on party roles and dungeon practices, or be familiar with them in your guild, to make the process as simple as possible.

After level 70, Dungeons can take an even greater role in developing your character. At the very least, do your random once per day, as the Justice Points you will need after you hit 85 will be crucial to getting you into higher level dungeons and raids. Harvest the points until you are 85. If you are PvP, these can be converted one-to-one for Honor Points for even better PvP gear.

Harvesting
In Cataclysm, it is possible to gain experience by gathering Herbs and Mining. The experience gained is based on the "level" of the Herb or Ore. In general, the experience is 3x a kill of similar level, making this an awesome way to supplement experience gains. Additionally, they are subject to rested rewards and other experience bonuses. If the goal is to level quickly, taking one or both of these and gathering "in-line" with your questing/killing can produce very favorable results. It is important to make sure that you gather until you can gather the next level, however, otherwise this will cease to be useful as you enter more powerful zones.

Exploration
An often undervalued method of gaining experience is exploration. Exploration can gain you experience enough for many levels, if done in the appropriate way. It is also easily supplemented with any of the other styles of leveling. Exploration can be difficult and death ridden, so there are some important things to consider. If exploring, only repair when you are at a pausing point, especially if in a higher level area. Always have the fastest mount that you can. This will limit how many monsters can actually chase you. Harvest, if you have a harvesting profession, but never let it take you too far out of line. Find the rare monsters in the area and kill them for a quick boost, if you are appropriate level. Exploration is even faster when treated like a puzzle. Try and start from a single point and move from zone to zone in a way that gets you next to an unexplored zone.

Additional Tips

 * Always end your session in a city. This will allow your character to gain some additional rested benefits.
 * Farm the rare spawns that apply to your level on your way to your questing location. These additional kills can get you a quick level or two, (especially if you are rested) before you even resume questing and often take just a few minutes.
 * Don't wait for the rare spawns! The spawn time is so long that there is no way to reliably tell when someone has killed it.
 * Consider using a griffon instead of your hearthstone. This may allow you to get some additional rare spawn kills.
 * Consider getting a quest or map supplement (such as Carbonite or Quest Helper). Some will allow you to place custom marks on the map for quick reference and many have pointers to take you directly to your quest objectives.

Resources

 * Rare Spawn Locations