Tales of a Gnome

It took all of no time for Hurc to reach level ten.  Actually he stopped questing at level nine and continued to gain experience strictly by skilling up his two gathering professions (mining and herbalism).  He finished the gnomish starter zone, picked up the sword he wanted, and then travelled to the warmer climate of Stormwind.   Thawed and ready to party, he hopped the next bird out of town and made his way through Elwynn Forest to continue his questing at the Eastvale Logging Camp.  Once he qualified for the Hero’s Call:  Westfall quest, it was time to move on despite there still being quests he could do where he was.  Best to move to a higher level zone and start knocking out quests that resulted in more xp.

During his time at the logging camp, Hurc ran into a priest who was having trouble killing murlocs.  He grouped up with her, and together they finished off a few of the quests she had yet to complete.  He was polite, helpful, everything one person should be to another in a MMORPG.  Just as they finished up their final quest, she asked  “Are you in a guild?”

Hurc paused, suspecting it might be a trick question.  Wouldn’t he have a guild tag over his head if he were actually IN a guild?  Polite, helpful, this was the mantra.  Also, there was no point in being a raging dick about it.  “Nope,” he replied.  “I was hoping to wait until level ten before I started looking for a guild.”

“Want me to see if I can get you an invite to mine?”

He’d seen her guild tag a few times before in Stormwind.  A quick bit of research revealed that it was a level twenty-five guild.  Generally speaking, level twenty-five guilds aren’t looking to fill their ranks with level ten characters.  But there was everything to gain, and nothing to lose.  “Sure!” he anxiously replied.

Leveling Protip:  Join a guild.  There are a number of perks to joining a guild, the most important to a leveler being an xp bonus.  A level two guild yields a 5% xp bonus, a level six gives the maximum of 10%.

A few minutes later, Hurc received his brand new guild tag.  He celebrated by picking mining nodes and herbs, reached level ten, then returned to Stormwind to buy skills from his trainer and camped out for the day.

Leveling Protip:  When you camp out for the day, do it either at an inn or in a city.  Always end your session getting the rested xp bonus.

As soon as he was able, Hurc picked up almost all of his professions:  Mining and Herbalism for primary professions, and Cooking, First aid, Fishing for secondary.  Archaeology had to wait until level twenty.  One of the upsides of taking mining as a profession is that Hurc will have the mats to create his own armor upgrades.  It’s cheaper to find someone with Blacksmithing and offer them a few coins to crank out armor pieces if they are being provided the mats.  Which he did in short order.

Making Low Level Gold

One of the things Hurc wanted to do was reach 100 gold before he left Stormwind.   That seemed like enough pocket change to buy some Netherweave Bags, pay for training, and the occasional Transmog.  Once he hit that mark, he tried repeatedly to pass this knowledge onto the number of beggers who wandered around outside the Auction House with cup in hand, asking for 100 gold.  “The balls on these people,” Hurc thought to himself.  “I remember the days when they’d just ask for enough gold to cover spells and training.  You’re level fifteen!  What the Hell are you buying that you need 100 gold!”

Also, it was easy to make that much cheddar.  This is what Hurc did in just a couple of days.

• He sold his herbs and ore (or bars, whichever was selling for more) on the AH.   He didn’t even do it very often, no mass farming here.  Just whatever he happened to have on him.
• Hurc had the very good fortune to be invited into a level twenty-five guild at level ten.  One of the guild perks was the ability to proc extra items of whatever he happened to gather.
• Daily cooking quest let him buy cocoa beans from the vendor, which he sold on the AH for 1-2 gold per bean.  At forty beans per quest, it’s a decent chunk of change at level ten.
• Fishing paid off by leveling it up and hopping the boat to Borean Tundra.  He fished off the dock and searched the coastline for pools which not only helped him further level up his fishing skill, but landed him fish that sold for 2-4 gold per fish.

And what about you?  Any questions or tips for people who might just be starting out in the game?  Leave a comment below and knowledge can be shared!