Zhevra Mounted

Vanilla Completed!


   Well, this section has been an experience due to patch 5.0.2 dropping right in the middle of everything. I had Zen'Sera to level 54 when the patch went live, and it threw a serious wrench in the works.


   I was stuck on Zen'Sera before the patch, as low level Priests were the pits to level before; Shadow had crazy mana issues leaving Discipline as the leveling spec of choice despite its horrible, horrible dependence on nothing more than Penance and Smite spam. After a week long break the patch finally came out and I decided to log on to see if the changes made the Priest any less soul sucking. I was delighted to find that I was burning through mobs quickly, but soon realized something was amiss after a battle ground and an instance. Healers were massively over-tuned, easily out DPSing even the pure classes and mana couldn't even be dented. Great for Zen'sera. Baaaad for the rest of the girls.

    Zen'jie proved to be another stopping point for me as Shamans have always been a personal favorite class (Druids are tied, Hunters a close second) and upon logging in and looking over my talents I thought that surely there was a tooltip mistake on her spells. It took ages to kill anything as Enhancement, being so impotent that I wasn't even bothering casting Maelstrom Weapon Lightning Bolts as it was proving more efficient to just use it to keep myself healed. (Oh yes, did I mention we're squishier, too?) I was loathe to do it, as Enhancement is my lifeblood, but I made the switch to Elemental to see if things were better. She had 300 damage Lightning Bolts and Lava Lashes at 56,  which is just disgustingly low. Zenfi had 600 damage Fireballs at 50, for comparison. I was so upset over the changes that it took me several days to finish 56-60.
 
   Zen'fi was a much better experience, though still lower output than she had pre-patch, and I quickly got back in to the swing of things, finishing getting her to 60 in one day. (Note: I have bad habits of just leaving characters logged in when I walk away to cook dinner or whatever, so I don't have any actual slash-played times to share.)
 
   Zen'kazkah does perfectly good damage, but they hadn't yet tuned Hunter pets or Warlock demons correctly, so it was a real hassle to need to resummon my Felguard literally every two pulls. I ended up needing to use my Voidwalker, which is a sad day for a Demonology Warlock, who was still squishy. I can praise Blizzard in that the Demonology rotation is much more fun now, a lot of the clutter removed and being able to use Metamorphosis frequently and as a very decent utility.

    Zen'kikii did go through some changes, but nothing too massive, and did not suffer for them. She was a breath of fresh air after the previous problems, though I can admit that they still need to tune down healing. A Feral Druid should not be able to completely heal themselves with one heal. She was the only one that I went ahead and bought new glyphs for as I was really enjoying playing her and Druids did get some fun stuff. I love that we finally got the stag Travel Form that we have been begging for, for years now. And we can glyph to be a mount? Hells yeah! For curiosities sake I went ahead and tried out Resto for a couple dungeons, my Druid on my main server is Resto/Feral, and I have to say that I like the small changes.

   To speak in general terms, this would have been one of the faster sections to level as the zones are planned out better, with faster quests and I just generally enjoy the zones you go through. It was just bad timing to be in the middle of it all when the patch hit. Between some characters simply not doing the damage they should be, increased mob health pools, frequent realm restarts, and cross realm zones I was slowed down considerably. Blizzard is not known for getting releases right on the first try, but they do make sure to fix it and fix it quickly. Now I can only hope that they re-think cross realm zones, in the very least on when and where to utilize it. On the bright side, I can ride my Amani Warbear around on all of the girls. :)


Where to level from 50-60
   Adding a new section to each leveling chunk now that we're getting in to each bit being a full expansion, I hope this proves useful to someone.

• Start at the Flamestar Post quests in Burning Steppes. Follow the quests up until the quest from Eitrigg that requires to go in and kill the three generals. Unless you really want the blues from this quest it isn't worth the time invested. Complete the quest "Bogpaddle Bullet" to get to Swamp of Sorrows quickly and set your hearth. 
• Make your way to Felwood (I suggest going the Booty Bay-Ratchet route unless you are a Mage or Druid) and complete the quests in Irontree Clearing. These will be low level quests, but worth it because of their speed. Finish these and head up North to Timbermaw Hold, completing the very quick quests offered by the two Furlbog at the entrance.
• Winterspring has a small set of quests that can be completed from the Furlbog on the Winterspring entrance to Timbermaw Hold and the quests from Donova Snowden and the Witch Doctor in a small encampment called Snowden Chalet, a little South. Complete these and then head straight to Goodgrub Smoking Pit between Starfall Village and Frostsaber Rock.
• Hearth back to Swamp of Sorrows completely finish the zone. The quests will take you in proper order that is impossible to botch or question, this is a very rich zone. I hope you have Herbalism as you can finish out most of a level on Herbs alone. Be sure to queue up for Sunken Temple while here, it's fast, it's easy, and it rewards a lot of experience with the quests. 
• Time for Blasted Lands, this is the nasty part. The questing here is very tedious, I do as little of this place as possible and run screaming for the Dark Portal the second that I hit 58. I know some people swear by waiting until 60 to go to Helfire but I say "screw that".
• Wait until 59 to queue up for Ramparts so you can get the quests, this is a full level once completed. With Ramparts and the beginning Thrallmar quests you should see yourself at 60 in no time. Don't forget that there is now a portal to Orgrimmar in Shattrath.City.