Long Time Coming

Greetings,

I am sorry for not posting for a long time.  No excuses.  I have been hard at work leveling.  However I have made some changes to the way I am doing this.  No toon will be leveling as anything but DPS.  I can no longer abide the dungeon finder and groups.  It is not my thing.  The idea of leveling through zones as one spec and going into the dungeons as another is too much work.  Having to carry two sets of gear and gearing for both is beyond my capability.  The idea was to get 22 toon through to 90 with the loremaster achievement which has nothing to do with dungeons.  So I am not doing it.

Since I last posted I got my first Alliance toon to level 90 with the Loremaster achievement.  He is the Worgen Feral Druid.  My wife named him Loopen. I will expand on him later.  He is an Alchemist.  This has proved more grindy (yes I know that is not a word) that I had realized.  I had to do some major grinding in Outland.  Still working on the Outland discoveries.

Currently I am leveling the Alliance Death Knight as 2H Frost.  I am not all the enamoured with her but I will do it anyway.  She is working her way through the Cataclysm stuff as I write.

More later,

Gnasch

 

Method to the Madness

Greetings,

My goal right now in WOW is to level one character per class per faction to 90 and achieve World Explorer and Loremaster.  I will also level each character’s primary and secondary professions to the level cap which is 600.  Any additional achievements that are earned are just gravy.

One of the reasons I like to do this is to learn the ins and outs of the class mechanics. While leveling Gnasch to 90 I had to research rotations, talk to other players in-game for help on mechanics, and play around with the class.  I really enjoyed doing this.  I found many web-sites to help me along.  WOWInsider led me to the Hunter’s Union and Mr. Robot for gearing.  WOWHead became a mainstay and Noxxic was also heavily used.

I finally came upon a method to make it all work.  I put together my progression matrix and followed it.  What follows is the general method I have used pre Mists.

I complete almost every quest in each zone in the old world.  I start out in all of the factions beginning zones.  These are not part of the Loremaster Achievement but the zones are part of the World Explorer Achievement.

I try to run the zones in order but it does not always work out that way due to logistics.  As an example, it is far more efficient to play through Arathi and then The Hinterlands rather than run through Arathi then go to Kalimdor to do Stonetalon. This way I can hit all the zones in a more efficient manner.

After I finish the old world I usually am about level 62.   I move on to Outland, then to Northrend then back to do the Cataclysm content.  What has happened in the past is that I usually ding 70 somewhere around completing Nagrand.  I will then move on to Northrend leaving half of Outland unfinished.  I ding 80 somewhere after running though the Boren Tundra, Howling Fjord and most of the Dragonblight.  I then will move on and do all of the Cataclysm content.  Finally I will come back and mop up whatever is left to net the achievements.

That is how I have done it three times now.  I am going to have to revise my plan this time around.  I will still run the old world in order and not move on to Outland before that is done.  This time around my plan is to run Outland and Northrend completely and then move on to Cataclysm and Mists.

With DPS I very rarely run dungeons at low level.  I am not a fan of dungeons and I would level too fast.  In the current class scheme I will be performing all three roles.  So as a tank and a healer I will have to run dungeons to learn how to perform each role.  I am sure I cannot learn to heal or tank just questing.  But when playing DPS I will probably skip most of the old ones.

Both Tol Barad and the Molten Front are on the progression list.  I am pretty confident that I will not be running those.  I have done the Molten Front 3 times for the mount (my favorite mount) and now that mounts are account wide I do not see any reason to plug away for 2-3 weeks to earn the Marks to open up the Molten Front stuff.  I will just have to wait and see.

That is how I will approach the challenge.  Next up will be my Gnasch’s history.

Yours truly,

Gnasch

Progression Matrix

Greetings!

This post is going to be low on commentary.  I am going to post my Progression Matrix.

A big part of how I achieve Loremaster and World Explorer is what I call Progression.  It is how I proceed through the game.  You can also see it as play style but I think of it as progression.  How did I come up with the matrix?  I am a big fan of WOWHead.  I would guess that some people see it as cheating but I think of it as a part of the game.  So here is the matrix.  I will explain it right after I post it.

• Azuremyst Isle (A)                 Kal      (1-10)
  • The Exodar (A)                       (1-90)
• Teldrassil (A)                          Kal      (1-10)
  • Darnassus (A)                         (1-90)
• Durotar (H)                             Kal      (1-10)
  • Orgrimmar (H)                        (1-90)
• Mulgore (H)                            Kal      (1-10)
  • Thunder Bluff (H)                  (1-90)
• Dun Morogh (A)                     EK       (1-10)
  • Iron Forge (A)                         (1-90)
• Elwynn Forest (A)                  EK       (1-10)
  • StormwindCity (A)                (1-90)
• Eversong Woods (H)              EK       (1-10)
  • SilvermoonCity (H)               (1-90)
• Tirisfal Glades (H)                  EK       (1-10)
  • The Undercity (H)                  (1 -90)
• Bloodmyst Isle (A)                 Kal      (10-20)
• Darkshore (A)                         Kal      (10-20)
• Azshara (H)                             Kal      (10-20)
• Northern Barrens (H)              Kal      (10-20)
• Westfall (A)                            EK       (10-15)
• Loch Modan (A)                     EK       (10-20)
• Ghostlands (H)                       EK       (10-20)
• SilverpineForest (H)               EK       (10-20)
• Moonglade (C)                        Kal      (15-20)
• Redridge Mountains (C)         EK       (15-20)
• Ashenvale (C)                         Kal      (20-25)
• Duskwood (C)                                    EK       (20-25)
• Hillsbrad Foothills (C)            EK       (20-25)
• Wetlands (C)                           EK       (20-25)
• Stonetalon Mountain (C)        Kal      (25-30)
• Arathi Highlands                    EK       (25-30)
• Northern Stanglethorn (C)      EK       (25-30)
• Southern Barrens (C)              Kal      (30-35)
• Desolace (C)                           Kal      (30-40)
• Cape of Stanglethorn (C)        EK       (30-35)
• Hinterlands (C)                       EK       (30-35)
• Dustwallow Marsh (C)           Kal      (35-40)
• Feralas (C)                               Kal      (35-40)
• Western Plaguelands (C)        EK       (35-40)
• Thousand Needles (C)                        Kal      (40-45)
• Eastern Plaguelands (C)          EK       (40-45)
• Badlands (C)                           EK       (44-48)
• Felwood (C)                            Kal      (45-50)
• Tanaris (C)                              Kal      (45-50)
• Searing Gorge (C)                   EK       (47-51)
• Burning Steepes (C)                EK       (49-52)
• Un’Goro Crater (C)                 Kal      (50-55)
• Winterspring (C)                     Kal      (50-55)
• Blackrock Mountain (C)         EK       (50-60)
• Deadwind Pass                       EK       (50-60)
• Swamp of Sorrows (C)           EK       (51-55)
• Silithus (C)                              Kal      (55-60)
• Blasted Lands (C)                   EK       (55-60)
• Hellfire Peninsula (C)             Out      (58-70)
• Zangermarsch (C)                   Out      (60-63)
• Terokkar Forest (C)                 Out      (62-70)
  • ShattrathCity                         (1-90)
• Nagrand                                  Out      (64-70)
• Blade’s Edge Mountain (C)    Out      (65-70)
• Netherstorm (C)                      Out      (66-70)
• Shadowmoon Valley (C)        Out      (67-70)
• Howling Fjord (C)                  NR      (68-72)
• Isle of Quel’Danas (C)                        EK       (70)
• Boren Tundra (C)                    NR      (70-72)
• Dragonblight (C)                     NR      (71-80)
• Grizzly Hills (C)                      NR      (73-75)
• Zul’Drak (C)                            NR      (73-77)
• Sholazar Basin (C)                  NR      (75-80)
• Icecrown (C)                           NR      (77-80)
• The Storm Peaks (C)               NR      (77-80)
• Crystalsong Forest (C)            NR      (80)
  • Dalaran                                    (1-90)
• Mount Hyjal (C)                     Kal      (80-82)
• Vashj’ir (C)     
  • Kelp’Thar Forest         EK       (80-82)
  • Abyssal Depths           EK       (80-82)
  • Shimmering Expanse  EK       (80-82)
• Deepholm (C)                         Mal      (82-83)
• Uldam (C)                               Kal      (83-84)
• Twighlight Highlands (C)       EK       (84-85)
• Tol Barad (C)                          EK       (85)
• Molten Front (C)                                 (85)
• The Jade Forest (C)                 Pan      (85-86)
• Valley of the Four Winds (C) Pan      (86-87)
• Krasarang Wilds (C)               Pan      (86-87)
• Kun-Lai Summit (C)               Pan      (87-88)
• Townlong Steppes (C)            Pan      (88-89)
• Dread Wastes (C)                   Pan      (89-90)
• Vale of Eternal Blossoms (C) Pan      (90)
  • Shrine of Two Moons Pan      (90)
  • Shrine of Seven Stars  Pam     (90)

• Key
  • H – Horde
  • A – Alliance
  • C – Contested
  • Kal – Kalimdor
  • EK – Eastern Kingdoms
  • Out – Outland
  • NR – Northrend
  • Mal – Maelstrom
  • Pan – Pandaria

I don’t follow this completely.  I do try and run them is some order.  But when I run Arathi and go ahead and do the Hinterlands next.  How I do each zone also depends on where I am starting.  If I start in Kalimdor I try and ‘go with the flow’.  Zones like Told Barad and the Molten Front will not be run this time around.  I have done Loremaster 3 times now but I did it during Cataclysm.  It will change the next time.  The next post will be an elaboration of how I go about running this mess.

Yours truly,

Gnasch

The Coming of Insanity

Greeting Readers!

 

After playing WOW for 6 months or so I found that I needed to start doing something I really loved.  Making spreadsheets!  There is so much stuff to do I could not keep track of it all.  At first I was using paper but I have such terrible penmanship that it became necessary to use Excel to keep track of it all.  Somewhere I discovered the Loremaster achievement.  I am a completionist.  I needed to do this on my main.  Then I though I needed to be self sufficient when it came down to professions too.  Therefore I need one toon per profession.  For that matter I needed a toon for every class!  AND THEN I NEED TO DO IT FOR BOTH FACTIONS!!!!  You see how this went.  I now have two three ring binders with my tracking spreadsheets in them.  This is how I break it out.

 

• Tab One:  Character Matrix – I will demonstrate below.
• Tab Two: Zone Progression – Explanation in a another post
• Tab Three:  Cooking- There is some much to do surrounding cooking that I had to have a separate tab to keep track of it all.  Then MOP hit and things got worse
• The Rest:  I have a tab for each toon which includes a spreadsheet for primary professions (Recipe, Plan Patter… etc.), a Best In Slot Gear Matrix for end game and a Bucket List for achievements.

 

This all led to the inevitable.  I am going to attempt to level 22 characters (or toons) to the level cap…which is 90. Why 22 toons you ask? Well that is 11 toons per faction.  So I will level 11 toons from the Horde and 11 toons from the Alliance.  I will play a main spec per class (plus the obligatory dual).   Here is the break out for Horde

 

• Undead – Death Knight – DPS – Unholy – Frost- Blacksmith – Mining
• Troll – Druid – Tank – Guardian- Feral – Alchemy – Herbalism
• Troll – Hunter – DPS – Marksman – Beast Master –  Leatherworking – Skinning
• Blood Elf  – Mage  – DPS -  Arcane –Fire –  Jewelcrafting – Mining
• Pandarian – Monk – DPS – Windweaver – Mistweaver – Jewelcrafting – Mining
• Blood Elf – Paladin – Tank – Protection –  Holy – Inscription – Herbalism
• Undead – Priest – DPS – Shadow- Discipline –  Alchemy – Herbalism
• Goblin – Rogue – DPS – Assassination – Combat –  Engineering – Mining
• Tauran – Shaman  – DPS – Enhancement – Elemental – Tailoring – Enchanting
• Blood Elf – Warrior – DPS – 2H Fury – Protection –  Blacksmithing – Mining
• Orc – Warlock – DPS – Demonology –Affliction –  Enchant – Herbalism

 

And here is the Alliance

 

• Human – Death Knight – Tank – Blood –Unholy – Blacksmith – Mining
• Worgen – Druid –DPS –  Feral – Guardian – Alchemy – Herbalism
• Night Elf – Hunter –DPS –  Beast Master – Survival – Leatherworking  – Skinning
• Dwarf – Mage  -DPS – Fire – Frost – Jewelcrafting – Mining
• Pandarian – Monk – Tank – Brewmaster – Mistweaver – Mining – Jewelcrafter
• Draenai – Paladin – Holy – Protection – Inscription – Herbalism
• Dwarf – Priest – Heal –  Holy – Discipline – Alchemy – Herbalism
• Gnome – Rogue – Combat – Subtlety – Engineering – Mining
• Pandarian – Shaman – Elemental – Restoration – Tailoring – Enchanting
• Human – Warlock – Destruction – Affliction – Enchant – Herbalism
• Worgen – Warrior – Arms – Protection – Mining – Blacksmithing

 

 

As you can see DPS the most represented.  I started out as DPS and most comfortable DPSing.  I will go over my play style or lack thereof I a later post.  I will also go over my history in WOW.  For now you should know (on the Horde side) I have leveled my Hunter to 90, my Warrior to 90 and have started the Shaman into the Jade forest. Before Mists dropped I also started the Night Elf Hunter.  She is somewhere in the 30s.  Recently I started the Worgen Druid and he is currently level 27. 

 

On all of these toons I am going to get the Loremaster Achievement.  Yes, I realize that now that achievements are account wide this not necessary, but this is who I am.  I got Loremaster on the 3 Horde toon above and since MOP dropped I have gotten Loremaster of Pandaria on the Troll Hunter.  I am one quest chain away from the Pandaria Loremaster on the Warrior too.

 

A note on professions.  While leveling each toon I also level the professions to maximum level.  Yes that includes even the secondary professions . . . even Fishing.  Although I just noticed that I did not even bother leveling it on my Horde Shaman

 

Yours truly,

 

Gnasch

 

Greetings

Greetings Readers!

I am going to go by the name Gnasch.  This is the name of my Main in WOW.  He is a level 90 Troll Marksman Hunter.  Yea, so maybe I did pick the ‘easiest’ class.  So what! So for now you can call me Gnasch.  So now I will present a little personal and gaming history

I am 40.  In terms of gaming I am ancient.  Like many people my age I started out on the first console available. . . .  the Atari 2600.  As I got older I graduated to the Commador 64.  I was introduced to this platform in school as a programming tool but I soon was immersed in games.  Mostly platform games such as Raid Over Moscow and the now EA classic Summer Games.  With this game my friend and I created a lore that we still talk about today.  I finally convinced my mother to buy me the original Zork.  This was long before the Internet so cheats and walkthroughs were almost impossible to come by so I had to figure it out how to beat it on my own.  Thieves still bother me to this day.  Well into the 90’s I was still using my Commador to play the classic Bard’s Tale III.  I even still had the code wheel.  A friend of mine also had the mystical Apple IIe.  We played hours of Wizardry with classic green and black dungeon walls.

In high school I was also involved with paper and pencil D&D type games.  My friends and I befriended a comic store owner and we could play there.  I had own all the manuals and scenarios long before but this was the first time I had even been involved in actual playing.  But because of noise level and limited time we could not play too often.  My parents were rather accommodating with the house so we got to play many all nighters there.  Eventually we settled on playing Middle Earth with the Rollmaster system.

I got a real PC sometime in the early 90’s (do you remember 2400 baud modems)  and started playing the Might & Magic games.  I started with Might & Magic VI.  I finished VI, VII, and VIII but IV was very disappointing.  I played, beat and convinced my wife to play Diablo.  A friend game me a copy of Warcraft II.  I have never been a fan of RTS games.  I played and beat it but was not that into it. I hit the wall with RTSs with Warcraft III.  I could not play that. I was awful at it and I was hopeless at Starcraft.

I switched over to first person shooters at some point.  A friend and I spent a week playing DOOM.  Then I went back to collage and a guy down the hall from me a sweet set up for playing FPS.  He had a novel thing called a video card and was playing Quake II.  I was in love.  I ran to Fry’s and bought a card and the game.  I spent a week playing and beat it on normal.  Soon Quake III came out and I was hopelessly lost again.

I had heard of MMOs but I was not really interested because I have a phobia about group games.  I don’t like people so I was hesitant to play.  So I missed out on Everquest.  Finally I read about World of Warcraft and found out about the free trial.  This was during the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.  I created a free account and tried it out.  I was hooked.

So that is the history of my gaming.

Gnasch