Soloing up a Paladin

Levelling up my Paladin has not been fun. Level after level the going seems to get slower and despite good weapons and reasonable gear, the process has been very slow. I prefer my rogue. I do enjoy my feral druid when the mood suits despite her awful gear, but not so much the paladin. Why play one then?

First reason: I am a jack of traits and my ultimate aim is to have a level 70 of each class topped out in all the professions. (I fear that my engineering gnome mage may present issues here, but that's much further down the line.)

Second reason: DH plays a mage and our duo needs a tank to hold the aggro. My feral druid, even in days gone by when she had excellent gear, couldn't quite manage it and my rogue can't manage it at all. When playing his mage, I tend to spend my time running back and forth aimlessly, or so it appears. A paladin is ideal with the added bonus of healing powers, so it's the best gal for the job.

Third: Paladins are popular. There must be a reason why. I am determined to discover the way of the tankadin. I hope blindly that all will be revealed when she rides out on her shiny white horse at level 40. Rides out imminently, I should say. She's level 39 and three quarters.

My chief dislike has been the drinking. I dislike the waste of time between every single fight. She can take on a mob of three, which is nice, but then she has to drink. A lot. The drinking is costing me a fortune in and of itself. Both in the beverage purchasing department (an issue which will be resolved when she's old enough to play with DH's mage) and in the loss of time and time is money. I was at the verge of abandoning her all together, even though she's so close to a major landmark event, simply because I couldn't put up with how slow the leveling goes. Instead, I decided to try a experimenting a little more and alas, me thinks I have found a reasonable solution.

She can keep both her health and mana bar above 90% end fight if the following condition is met and her play style plays along. First: take on singletons that are the same level or a level or two lower than she is. Second: play to minimize expenditure. This can be done as follows:

• Use the Blessing of Wisdom buff and whichever aura is most appropriate.
  
• Start with 'Seal of Crusader' as she runs into melee range
• Hit Judgement, which is immediately followed by Seal of Justice
• Let her fight for 10 seconds whilst Judgment finishes its cooldown
• Judgment again, immediately followed by Seal of Wisdom
• Let her fight for 10 seconds whilst Judgment finishes its cooldown
• Judgment again, immediately followed by Seal of Light
• Let her fight for 10 seconds whilst Judgment finishes its cooldown
• Judgment, immediately followed by Righteousness (if there's time left)

Watch the health bar of the opponent. As soon as it gets to 35%, hit Consecration to hurry along the last bit. For things that tend to run at low health, use stun as soon as they start running, thereby keeping them inside the consecrated area and they're dead before stun has elapsed. At the end, my paladin is between 90 - 95% of both health and mana and can immediately go into the next fight. The fight itself is still a little long (32 - 48 seconds against a steady 18 -23 seconds for my rogue in a similar fight), but at least there's no 10 - 15 second wait inbetween. I plan to shorten this time by investing in an extremely good one-handed weapon whilst plunging talent points into one-handed weapon specialization. Watch this space to see how that goes.

Covering the territory

I tend to forget just how big Azeroth is. The first ten levels take place in the start-up area, the next ten in the nearest 10 - 20 (Auberdine for Night Elves, Bloodmyst Isle for Draenei and Loch Modan for dwarves and gnomes). From level 20 upwards, every 5 levels or so, it's time to migrate to a new region and it's only then that I am reminded that there is plenty of see and much to do. (For the early birds keen to fly the next, there is the opportunity to begin the area to area migration at level 15 by moving on to either Redridge Mountains in the Eastern Kingdoms or Stonetalon Mountains in Kalimdor.)

When soloing, I do find it convenient to level up in 2 - 3 similar level regions. It provides a little variety, more choice for farming trade supplies and the option to complete only the type of quests I like - kill quests, drop quests and courier quests. Personally, I tend to stay close to home until like most players, I favour the Eastern Kingdoms as an alliance player. That said, I do have a Kalimdor list as well, but I tend to wait until level 40 and a mount before racing through Kalimdor for key supplies and flight routes. This is my current strategy for questing, farming and picking up flight paths as Alliance. I have made it to level 44 and so far, so good:

• Level 20: Wetlands
  
• Level 28: Hillsbrad Foothills (20 - 30)
  
• Level 30: STV (Stranglethorn Vale), Arathi Highlands, Alterac Mountains
• Level 35: Dustwallow Marsh (Eastern Kingdoms) and Swamp of Sorrows
• Level 40: Feralas and Tanaris
• Level 45: The Hinterlands, The Blasted Lands, Searing Gorge
  
• Level 48: Aszhara, Felwood, Un'Goro Crater
  
• Level 50: Burning Steppes, Western Plaguelands,
  
• Level 53: Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring
  
• Level 55: Silithus, Deadwind Pass
  
• Level 60: Off to Outland!
  

Aside: I tend to pick up Kalimdor flight paths and mats once I have a mount by running through Darkshore, Stonetalen Mountains,Thousand Needles and Desolace to reach Feralas as end destination.

[In]adequate gear

In five hours of play whilst 30 hours of real time has passed, my paladin has levelled from 22 to 26. It does leave me with a slight dilemma regarding gear. Should I be shopping for level appropriate gear and if so, when should I shop?

She has a blue weapon which was fantastic at level 16 when she received it, but now leaves much to be desired. I could make a green two-handed sword with 21.something DPS or I could engage in the endless quest chain which will reward a better blue 2H sword. She does have a looted blue slightly weird spec sword in the bank that requires level 31 - shall I go with the quest or with the homemade green one?

Her current armor leaves much to be desired. Here I hit a similar dilemma. I could make a blue chestplate requiring level 24, but by the time I have all the mats she'll be level 28. By the time she reaches level 31, I'll be able to make an even better blue chest piece, should I wait until then to upgrade? Or should I equip the 'required level 24' item now and hope it'll last until level 33-34 when I would be able to replace it?

The next dilemma is lack of ore. I hate mining. I hate hate hate hate hate mining. Unfortunately for me, I love crafting. I love making my own weapons and armor when I can. I love love love love love crafting. Although the skinning/leatherworking combo is my favourite, it seems like poor judgement to have all four of my alts stuck with those professions. I also have a feeling that I may enjoy it rather less if it becomes that repetitive. After all, how many leather hats can one make? I know that all characters does not need a craft, but I want 'em. I enjoy jewelcrafting and blacksmithing, I just don't enjoy mining for the mats. But that's my cross to bear and I accept that. However, there is never enough play time in the day to ore enough to even make the basic gear just for me. I currently have 10 iron bars in my bag, but I need about 32 to just make the gear I can already wear now. I also lack the additional 'bits', particularly the gems. Auction isn't great since I really prefer not spending gold on mats when I'm really saving up for 4 mounts at the moment...

Catch 22 - I need mats to make gear for myself so that I can easily and with pleasure farm the ingredients I need to level up my professions in order to be able to make my own gear. Without the mats, I don't have the gear and without the gear it's damn difficult to get the mats. (Mats btw is short for 'materials', took me a while to figure that one out)

As with all things in life, it's all about balance and compromise. Spend enough to have reasonable gear in order to be able to farm well enough to be able to make better gear. Where, oh where, is that mid-line though? The goal posts seem to shift with every 4 - 5 levels and I'm in a continuous state of being outdated.

As for loot, forget world drops. Decent drops seem to be few and far between and hardly ever appropriate. Looks like instances is the way to go, but I so wanted to solo up. I cringe at the thought of having to group up with people that I know are going to make life more difficult than it needs to be. Impromptu groups have failure and hassle written all over them.

Time to find a guild maybe? Maybe. I am just so reluctant to let go of my freedom and independence. I like soloing. I don't mind playing with Chris when his mage is available to do some major damage, but the thought of the responsibility that is other people is tiring. I do not play well with others. Particularly since I have great difficulty playing without decent breaks and the longest I can possibly manage in one go once in a blue moon would be around 90 - 120 minutes. And 30% of that would be break time. I can't think of anybody other than my darling husband who would put up with that. And then there's the small issue of potentially having to say: can we stop immediately? I have severe finger problems or the flashing lights of a migraine aura now...

It leaves me with the issue of inadequate gear and the head scratching required to work around it.

Level 35: Time to become an artisan

At level 35 your professions should be around 200 skill points if all is going well. I have just reached level 35 with my main character and are desperately digging around to try and locate all the trainers I need to see and can't afford. (I'm saving up for a mount, obviously). My logic is that my professions pay. Spending money on education has never been a bad thing and I think educated characters will make more gold than uneducated ones.

Training to become an artisan in the primary professions simply cost cold. It can be done at any of the usual trainers in the cities. However, training up in the secondary professions is not simply a matter of throwing money at NPC's. There's a little spending involved, but also plenty of legwork. The artisan trainers in fishing and first aid are both located in Dustwallow Marsh, whilst the cooking trainer is in Gadgetzan. Here's the skinny:

Fishing: The artisan fishing trainer, called Nat Pagle is located on an island on Dustwallow Marsh.

First Aid: The artisan first aid is achieved via a quest handed out by Doctor Gustaf VanHowzen in Theramore Isles, Dustwallow Marsh. It seems like a simple enough one to complete, so I'm not unduly concerned.

Cooking: The artisan cooking level is reached via a quest entitled 'Clamlette Surprise'. The 'go to' quest is on offer at the cooking trainer in Ironforge, Daryl Riknussun, who directs you to go see Dirge Quickcleave at the Gadgetzan inn. To complete the quest, you will need:

• 12 x Giant Eggs
• 20 x Alterac Swiss
• 10 x Zesty Clam Meat
  

At level 35, the cheese can be bought, the zesty clam meat could possibly be obtained from the level 37 lurking shark, but the giant eggs is an issue. I think this will have to be an auction house bid for both the eggs and the clam meat. Or it's wait until level 40 to complete the quest. Good hunting to the brave and/or stupid.

Leveling Professions whilst leveling up

I'm one of those people who love the professions in World of Warcraft. I find them useful, helpful and fun to level up. I enjoy fishing on a pretty shore whilst sipping on a hot cup of tea. I think the cooked food buffs are cheap and easy to come by and hence enjoy cooking. I have found that bandages comes in useful even for healers - there is always a time when you're both out of mana and health and 7 second bandages is a better alternative to 24 second food. Or maybe I just have a gathering personality. I'm not a collector or 'horder' in real life, but I think I may have been if I could find the energy, time and money to do so. Needless to say, I'm quite happy collecting things in Warcraft instead. It doesn't take much time, energy or money.

Professions are important. The secondary professions provide easy ways to markedly increase both stamina and spirit and the primary professions are great ways for fitting out characters, providing additional buffs and making money. Making your own gear also saves money on things you would have to purchase if you couldn't make it. Sold yet on leveling up all your professions?

I dislike going back to level up anything. The game is for the most part set up to provide all the material you need to keep your professions up to date without doing much additional work. The cloth required for first aid and/or tailoring are drops from humanoids of a similar level. The leather obtained from skinning is the same as that required for leatherworking at the same level.
And so on. So far, I have found that if I keep all my professions up to the same level as I am, I hardly need to do any additional grinding or farming. What are the levels? That's the easy part:

• Level 5 - Skill level 1
• Level 10 - Skill level 50
• Level 15 - Skill level 88
• Level 20 - Skill level 125
• Level 25 - Skill level 150
• Level 30 - Skill level 175
• Level 35 - Skill level 200
• Level 40 - Skill level 225
• Level 45 - Skill level 250
• Level 50 - Skill level 275
• Level 55 - Skill level 300
• Level 60 - Skill level 325
• Level 65 - Skill level 350
• Level 70 - Skill level 375

Practically speaking, all that is required from level 20 upwards is to make sure that with every level you go up, each profession also goes up by 5 points. That's really not all that difficult. The problem is that once you fall behind, you stay behind unless you catch up. Don't fall behind when it's so easy not to.

Level 7 - 10

Level 7 - 10 can be done within 30 - 45 minutes. The time-consuming acts at this point is learning your professions. There is usually a fishing, cooking and first-aid trainer in the first town you reach in the starting zone, i.e. Dolanaar, Kharanos, Goldshire, Azure Watch, The Ruins of Silvermoon, Brill etc. Oftentimes there are also a selection of primary profession trainers within the area as well as a class trainer. There are guards around that can be asked for directions to the various trainers in the area. No need to research anything, simply mouse over every guard you pass and if a the tool tip is a scroll, he can be asked for directions.

Hit the following points in town:

1. Pick up all available quests
2. Set your hearth stone to the local inn
3. Locate the fishing, cooking and first aid trainers and learn what you can
4. Locate the primary profession trainers and learn what you can
5. Locate your class trainer at level 8, if there is one, and learn all level 8 spells.
   

I have found no need to grind at this early a level. Simply picking up all the traveling quests from the start-up village to the nearest town and handing them in on arrival, combined by picking up and completing all the quests available in the town provides enough xp to level to 20. The quests are easy as well. You can, but there's no need to research the details on sites such as www.wowhead.com The quests are generally designed to form a circuitous route that may have to be repeated two or three times. Simply check your quest text for directions as the locations are generally given as north, north east, south, west etc. and thus easy to plot into a little circuit to run.

Be patient. At this level, a lot of running is required. Take your time, look around new areas, appreciate the amount of work that has gone into creating Warcraft - that is after all the main the reason why there is so much running early in the game. Alternatively, if you know the area well, it's easy enough to multi-task. In-game: Sort the contents of your bags whilst running, review your quest log, familiarize yourself with your spells and think about the keys you are using and changing those to suit your play style. If you have a laptop sitting next to you, check out the Wow sites and do a little research. Decide which primary professions suit you and your character, begin to look at your character's talent tree and just read up on the general background of the game.

If you are soloing, leave the group quests for last, abandon them altogether if you dislike venturing into dungeons or think about joining up with other players to complete. During the start up phase, it's easy to join up with others by simply standing at the entrance and asking politely when others arrive if they would like to group up. This early in the game, most players would be quite happy to have a little additional help and even if they decline, there's no harm in asking.

On reaching level 10, check that you have done the following:

• Researched the talent tree and decided where you will be spending all your points
• Spent your first talent point
• Learned all three secondary professions
• Learned your two primary professions or know that the trainers for the professions you want to learn are located in the capital city

On reaching level 10, make your way to the capital. Look around, you're done with the start-up area, it's time to move on to bigger and better things...

Level 1 - 6

The first six levels truly are for newbies. They are designed to teach, via assimilation, how to play the game: how to move, how to fight, how to use your bag, how to train, how to quest, how to explore and how to have fun whilst doing all these things. New to just about everything, I found them invaluable. The first time I logged in was as a night-elf druid in Shadowglen. It was nerve wracking. I admit to suffering from a little stage fright until I realized that I wasn't on stage.

There's a time and place for everything in Wow and the start-up areas are generally secluded villages surrounded by high mountains that instantly illicit a warm and fuzzy feeling. It's a safe and very forgiving place with very few gawkers. It took about 2-3 hours of interrupted game time the first time to get to level 6. I was keen to log out often and despite a voice over from Chris sitting next to me on where to go and what to do, it remained a stressful event. I was new and everybody could tell. It felt as if the world was staring at me. Only, it wasn't. Mostly, there were only NPC's.

My second start-up was a Gnome Rogue beginning in Coldridge Valley. It took about 45 minutes to level through to six. The dwarf paladin came next and since it was also in Coldridge Valley, it was a mere 30 minutes to reach level 6. I still enjoy spending the occasional 45 minutes leveling up a new character. There is a sense of security to be had from the definite familiarity of repeating the same process regularly.

First there's the start-up video - gotta watch the video. I first shuffle my keys so that all similar buttons for different characters are in the same spaces. Attack in the middle, intro spells on the right and finishing spells on the left. I pick up the first couple of quests - usually kill quests right next to where you're standing and take out 50 - 100% more than the quest requires.

Around level 3-4 there's usually a delivery quest to somewhere else in the valley. I take it and pick up any quests offered along the way. As I go along, I equip any loot or quest reward items that is superior to what I have as well as all and any bags. There's also a 'find your trainer' quest thrown in around level 4. If you loot and sell stuff to vendors from the get go, you will have plenty of money to pay for any training by the time you reach your trainer at level 4.

The last quest of the start-up valley is usually a group / 'dungeon' quest. By this point, if you've killed a little more than was asked you're already at level six and can with a little care solo the group quest within a few minutes. As soon as the quest is finished I hearth-stone out.

At level six, I find a repair person where I repair all gear and sell all junk, I visit my class trainer for the last time and learn all spells up to level six. It is time to say goodbye to the safe little valley that now feels like home but will soon be forgotten. If you're sentimental, take a screen shot as a souvenir, it will be a long time - if ever - until you lay eyes on this little town again and begin the long and winding road to the nearest town. Either in the start-up valley or along the way, there will be delivery quests directing you toward the town and there's usually at least one - such as stealing ten pumpkins if you're undead or fighting through the pass if you're a dwarf or a gnome - that allows you to collect additional xp. Take it. Take it all. By the time you reach the town, you'll be level six and three quarters.

On reaching the town, have a quick run around. Talk to all vendors, find any trainers and finally make your way to the inn. Set your hearthstone to the inn here and settle in, you're done.