Best leveling guide?

I'll second the use of Jame's guide. I've been using it on and off
with a warrior I am leveling, and I do notice an increase in XP/hour
when using it versus my usual wanderings.
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On Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:02:21 GMT, az willie wrote:


>what is the best leveling guide?

I read Brian Kopp's (Alliance, cost money), Joana's (horde, cost
money) but the best I found was Jame's which is free:
http://www.wow-pro.com/

Joana's and Brian Kopp are not much more than links to thottbot etc.
while Jame does give hints and clues how to solve quests himself and
he does give a good order to solve the quests so you do an efficient
"quest-circuit".

Only negative point with Jame's guide is that it starts at level 20
(horde) or level 30 (alliance) and ends at 60 (no Outlands yet). There
are low-level guides at the link above but they don't compare with
Jame's guide.

One really positive point about both Brian Kopp and Joana are their
Outlands guides. I never actually followed Joana's but I heard good
about it. I tried Brian Kopp's however and I found several quests I
didn't know with that guide.
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Thomas Jespersen wrote in


> On Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:02:21 GMT, az willie
> wrote:
>
>
>>what is the best leveling guide?
>
> I read Brian Kopp's (Alliance, cost money), Joana's (horde, cost
> money) but the best I found was Jame's which is free:
> http://www.wow-pro.com/
>

Brian Kopp's guide is most excellent and is regularly updated.

Adam
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Thomas Jespersen wrote:
> Only negative point with Jame's guide is that it starts at level 20
> (horde) or level 30 (alliance) and ends at 60 (no Outlands yet). There
> are low-level guides at the link above but they don't compare with
> Jame's guide.

You don't really need an Outland guide, since it's so fast anyway. My
last 70, a hunter, took 9.4 days to 60 using Jame's. 60-70 took less than
another 2 days. I mean, there's a few areas where doing things in a
particular order might cut your time by 10 minutes or so, maybe 30 tops,
but "Go to a zone. Get all the quests. Do all the quests. Move to the
next zone" will get you to 70 very fast as it is.
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"Adam Leinss" wrote in message

<snipped>
>>
>
> Brian Kopp's guide is most excellent and is regularly updated.
>
Really? I am surprised you say that. I purchased it recently, and am very
disappointed.
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

"az willie" wrote in message

> Subject says it all:
>
> what is the best leveling guide?
>
> Does it make a difference which class / profession you are as to which
> guide is best?

Well, it certainly helps to decide your faction!

For free, there is Jame's Alliance leveling guide. It is straightforward,
and will help you keep on track. However, Jame's guide STARTS at level 30.
If you want help before then, you will have to do more research.

Back when I started, I used guides from Gameamp, authored by 'Nogame'
http://wow.gameamp.com/guide/viewGuides/0.php!pageNum=2&search=&search...=&order

His start area guides are more than adequate to get you up to speed. BUT,
they have not been updated - so there are no guides here for dranei or blood
elf areas.

Now, I recently purchased two game guides.

Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide is 'all that and a bag of chips'. It is
well written, professional, and useable by any class. Joana did the
homework, researched, and came up with the fastest way to solo a horde toon.
The guide can be purchased at http://www.joanasworld.com/ If you google,
you will find other links to the purchase site -- that is because the folks
are 'affiliates' and get money if you buy the guide through their link. The
link above is not coded in any way, I am not involved in the marketing in
any way. If you do purchase the guide, READ the part where you can download
coords for use by MetaMap. I totally missed that, as I already had MetaMap
installed, and didn't realize that the guide came with such an amazing
extra.

Joana is solely 'for the horde'. Which is a shame... because the guide I
purchased for alliance was just not as good.

Brian Kopp's alliance leveling guide is supposed to be similar to Joana's
horde guide. Similar, perhaps.. but there is a world of difference.

Joana's guide is more visual. There are numbered steps, and a little
mini-map showing the numbers (arrows and everything! I swear it was like
following the dots). And, the author did his homework. Every step can be
solo'd.

Brian's guide is just not as readable. Yes, there are numbered steps - but
there is no map showing the numbered areas. And, most importantly to me, the
guide can't be followed as written - not if you are soloing. Efficient
questing is more than not backtracking or running aimlessly around.
Efficient questing includes knowing which quests to take IN WHAT ORDER.
Using Brian's guide, I spent a lot of time at recovering my corpse.

The upshoot? If you are playing horde -- go for the bucks and buy Joana's
guide. There is value in time saved.

If you are playing alliance, google for any number of free starter area
guides, and then use Jame's guide from level 30 on.
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

"L" wrote in


> "az willie" wrote in message
>
>> Subject says it all:
>>
>> what is the best leveling guide?
>>
>> Does it make a difference which class / profession you are as to
>> which guide is best?
>
> Well, it certainly helps to decide your faction!
>
> For free, there is Jame's Alliance leveling guide. It is
> straightforward, and will help you keep on track. However, Jame's
> guide STARTS at level 30. If you want help before then, you will have
> to do more research.
>
> Back when I started, I used guides from Gameamp, authored by 'Nogame'
> http://wow.gameamp.com/guide/viewGuides/0.php!pageNum=2&search=&searchC
> at=&orderBy=
>
> His start area guides are more than adequate to get you up to speed.
> BUT, they have not been updated - so there are no guides here for
> dranei or blood elf areas.
>
> Now, I recently purchased two game guides.
>
> Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide is 'all that and a bag of chips'. It
> is well written, professional, and useable by any class. Joana did the
> homework, researched, and came up with the fastest way to solo a horde
> toon. The guide can be purchased at http://www.joanasworld.com/ If
> you google, you will find other links to the purchase site -- that is
> because the folks are 'affiliates' and get money if you buy the guide
> through their link. The link above is not coded in any way, I am not
> involved in the marketing in any way. If you do purchase the guide,
> READ the part where you can download coords for use by MetaMap. I
> totally missed that, as I already had MetaMap installed, and didn't
> realize that the guide came with such an amazing extra.
>
> Joana is solely 'for the horde'. Which is a shame... because the guide
> I purchased for alliance was just not as good.
>
> Brian Kopp's alliance leveling guide is supposed to be similar to
> Joana's horde guide. Similar, perhaps.. but there is a world of
> difference.
>
> Joana's guide is more visual. There are numbered steps, and a little
> mini-map showing the numbers (arrows and everything! I swear it was
> like following the dots). And, the author did his homework. Every step
> can be solo'd.
>
> Brian's guide is just not as readable. Yes, there are numbered steps -
> but there is no map showing the numbered areas. And, most importantly
> to me, the guide can't be followed as written - not if you are
> soloing. Efficient questing is more than not backtracking or running
> aimlessly around. Efficient questing includes knowing which quests to
> take IN WHAT ORDER. Using Brian's guide, I spent a lot of time at
> recovering my corpse.
>
> The upshoot? If you are playing horde -- go for the bucks and buy
> Joana's guide. There is value in time saved.
>
> If you are playing alliance, google for any number of free starter
> area guides, and then use Jame's guide from level 30 on.
>
>
>

==================
Yeah, I decided to try the Kopp guide and am somewhat disappointed. He
gives quest names but doesn't tell you which character to get them from.
Just gives co-ordinates and, in many cases, there are a ton of NPC's in
the area of the co-ordinates who might give you that quest so you have to
go to several to find which one is correct.

Better than nothing, but after just using it for awhile, I'm not sure it
was worth the money.

My rogue was lvl 13 and I was questing at Sentinal Hill when I got the
guide. After looking at it I decided to start with his 12-17 section. My
toon had chosen to do some quests in Elwynn different than he had chosen
but, since I had previous characters, I knew how to get to Darkshore.
Fortunately for me, cause if I hadn't played before I wouldn't have known
and he didn't tell how to get there.

To start with my toon is a bit out of phase with his guide because he
presumes you are working on quests that I didn't have but I was able to
sorta blend in and pickup on quests that he starts after reaching
Auberdine. From here on I will be able to synch with his guide and see
how it goes.

I do like his linking to thottbot.

Fortunately, my computer has enough horsepower that I can run the guide
in the background and switch between WOW and the guide and thottbot as
needed.

I'll have a better idea how I like it after a few days of playing.
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

In article , kerri RemoveThis @spamsucks.com says...
> > what is the best leveling guide?
>
> This doesn't answer your question, but I'll tell you what I do... Rather than
> use a leveling guide, I use thottbot to help with knowing where to go for the
> quests. All you need to do is to apply a bit of common sense and do quests in
> the same area together to avoid travel time.

Sometimes there is more than common sense (which isn't) - for instance
you can pick up a quest in southshore to get some turle meat by killing
them, but if you save that until you get to shimmering flats there is
another turtle quest and these turtles also drop the meat, so you can
combine the two. etc.
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

az willie wrote:

> Yeah, I decided to try the Kopp guide and am somewhat disappointed. He
> gives quest names but doesn't tell you which character to get them from.
> Just gives co-ordinates and, in many cases, there are a ton of NPC's in
> the area of the co-ordinates who might give you that quest so you have to
> go to several to find which one is correct.

I use his guide and have no problem finding the NPCs he talks about at
all. He tells you the name and the location. What more could you want??

> My rogue was lvl 13

Well... most guides don't even start till level 20. Below that is a
cakewalk anyway. Just read the quests closely and they tell you what to
do. I never bothered with any guide till I was in the low 30s.

And when you do get a guide, don't treat it as gospel. They will tell
you one way to reach the higher levels, not the only way. I do like
Kopp's when I enter a new area. It tells me who to go see, and the order
to see them to be reasonably efficient.

However, I often go into areas he does not mention at all. Just explore
and see where it takes you. Use the guides as a backup when you are
stuck, or seem to be out of quests. Don't use them as a step-by-step
guide to the game, or you will miss half the fun (and intent) of the
game.


--
- Burt Johnson
MindStorm, Inc.
http://www.mindstorm-inc.com/software.html
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

burt DeleteThis @mindstorm-inc.com (Burt Johnson) wrote in


> az willie wrote:
>
>> Yeah, I decided to try the Kopp guide and am somewhat disappointed.
>> He gives quest names but doesn't tell you which character to get them
>> from. Just gives co-ordinates and, in many cases, there are a ton of
>> NPC's in the area of the co-ordinates who might give you that quest
>> so you have to go to several to find which one is correct.
>
> I use his guide and have no problem finding the NPCs he talks about at
> all. He tells you the name and the location. What more could you
> want??
>
>> My rogue was lvl 13
>
> Well... most guides don't even start till level 20. Below that is a
> cakewalk anyway. Just read the quests closely and they tell you what
> to do. I never bothered with any guide till I was in the low 30s.
>
> And when you do get a guide, don't treat it as gospel. They will tell
> you one way to reach the higher levels, not the only way. I do like
> Kopp's when I enter a new area. It tells me who to go see, and the
> order to see them to be reasonably efficient.
>
> However, I often go into areas he does not mention at all. Just
> explore and see where it takes you. Use the guides as a backup when
> you are stuck, or seem to be out of quests. Don't use them as a
> step-by-step guide to the game, or you will miss half the fun (and
> intent) of the game.
>
>

==============
He tells you the name of the quest..but not the name of the mob to get it
from. There are often quite a few mobs in the area of the co-ordinates he
gives to get the quest so you have to ask until you find the right one.

However, yesterday I wondered why I wasn't seeing the co-ordinates on the
right side of the map system he has us install so I double checked with
his instructions. Somehow, when I unzipped the file into the directory
where it has to go, it put a folder there with the file in it!

Obviously I did something wrong..so I copied the file to the correct
location and now I get the co-ordinates and can use his waypoints.

NOW THAT IS WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION.

Overall, after a day and a half of playing with his guide ... I like it.

I'll have a better idea after more extensive use ... but initially I am
happy with it.
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

az willie wrote:

> He tells you the name of the quest..but not the name of the mob to get it
> from. There are often quite a few mobs in the area of the co-ordinates he
> gives to get the quest so you have to ask until you find the right one.

Uh... It is the NPC with the ! over his head... Not exactly hard to
find. The guide rarely tells you not to get a quest in an area at your
level. Later, at higher levels, the guide will sometimes tell you NOT
to get a quest (yes, he capitalizes it to make it stand out).

The trick is simply to go to each NPC with the ! at the coordinates and
see what quests he has. Look at the guide to see if you were told to
get those quests. As I said, at your level, I think the answer is
always yes. By the time he is telling you to skip quests, you will
know your way around enough that it won't be a big deal.

> Obviously I did something wrong..so I copied the file to the correct
> location and now I get the co-ordinates and can use his waypoints.
>
> NOW THAT IS WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION.

There are lots of addons to do that. I have 126 addons in my folder,
each of which tweaks things in some way that I like. That is out of
tens of thousands of possibilities. Check out

http://wow.curse.com/downloads

for a list of them. I recommend not adding more than 1 or 2 at a time.
See what it does, and if you like it. Remove the ones that turn out not
to match your preferences, then try some more.

Once you have your basis set down, check back at


http://wow.curse.com/downloads/search/1/sort-by/-date/name/?cat=1&q=&q_t
ype=0&q_tags=1&lastupdate=2&compat=1

every few days. That lists all the addons that have changed or been
created in the last 7 days, so is a good way to make sure yours are up
to date.


--
- Burt Johnson
MindStorm, Inc.
http://www.mindstorm-inc.com/software.html
 >> Stay informed about: Best leveling guide? 

"L" wrote in


>> Brian Kopp's guide is most excellent and is regularly updated.
>>
> Really? I am surprised you say that. I purchased it recently, and
> am very disappointed.

By? He gives you a LUA file for Metamap that comes in quite handy.
The quests link directly into Thottbot. I hit CTRL-ESC to get out of
WoW, go to his guide, click on the quest, look for the coordinates and
then go back to the game. I locate the coordinates which are already
marked by him and set a waypoint on them.

The waypoint tells me how far away it is and what the direction is
(given by an arrow). I even found quests and chains I never did on my
first character using the guide.

Hell, he even gives you pictures of quest items now.

Adam
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burt.RemoveThis@mindstorm-inc.com (Burt Johnson) wrote in


> There are lots of addons to do that. I have 126 addons in my folder,
> each of which tweaks things in some way that I like.

Patch day must be a bitch for you.

Adam
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