As I have been leveling up my retribution paladin with full heirloom gear, I have been learning new limits and boundaries to what I can and cannot do. As my 4th Paladin to level, this one is by far going the fastest (with the help of the heirloom gear). But also, I have perfected my rotations, and gear choices are becoming smarter and providing optimal dps results.

Leveling DPS Rotations

As you level, you gain access to new spells. Incorporating these spells into an optimal rotation is key to how fast you level, and how quickly you can bring down mobs.

At first, your options are very limited. Using Seal of Righteousness, you have auto attack and Judgement. This is 100% of your dps until Hand of Reckoning opens up at level 16. Hand of Reckoning only deals damage if the target is not focused on you, so it is the hands down opening spell in the rotation. It also works if the target is fleeing.

At level 20, you can start implementing Consecration and Exorcism. Exorcism I didn't really use because of the cast time. Hand of Reckoning was able to deal any ranged damage I needed. Smart rotations would not include single target Consecrates, as that is a huge mana drain, eating up chunks of your time spent drinking. Only use Consecrates in packs of mobs.

After level 20, you are stuck with that rotation for 24 more levels. At 44, Hammer of Wrath unlocks, and at 50 you finally get Crusader Strike. The missing link is Divine Storm, which is obtainable at 60.

After your opening rotations, if the mob isn't already dead, then it switches to First Come First Serve (FCFS) basis, based on the current level range rotation. This is how we refer to our rotation at level 80 endgame (FCFS).

So, here are the rotation lists for their respective levels:

* Hand of Reckoning is listed first to denote that it is my opening pull spell. If HoR is not applicable, ignore it and assume the rotation without it.

** Hammer of Wrath is under the assumption the mob is below 20% health. This takes precedence over the other spells when it is off cooldown.

Levels 1-3

• Auto Attack

Levels 4-15

• Judgement

Levels 16-19

• Hand of Reckoning > Judgement

Levels 20-43

• Hand of Reckoning > Judgement > Consecration (packs only)
  (Use Exorcism if you want, I used it occasionally to pull Undead targets)
  

Levels 44-49

• Hand of Reckoning > Hammer of Wrath > Judgement > Exorcism > Consecration

Levels 50-59

• Hand of Reckoning > Hammer of Wrath > Crusader Strike > Judgement > Exorcism > Consecration

Levels 60+

• Hand of Reckoning > Hammer of Wrath > Crusader Strike > Judgement > Divine Storm > Exorcism > Consecration

*Please note these rotations are NOT based on level 80 endgame raiding. These are based on leveling, and assuming a general non-elite mob population of enemies.

Exceptions to the Rule

You should expect, absolutely 100% expect, to modify these rotations as needed, as each encounter can pose different and unique combat scenarios.

For instance, when I am in a pack of mobs while leveling, I rarely open with a ranged pull, opting to instead close in on foot. I hit Consecrate, then use Divine Storm (if 60+), then Holy Wrath (if Undead), then I switch into my normal dps rotation.

When fighting Undead, Exorcism comes to the top of my list if Art of War is procced, since it is an automatic critical strike against Undead mobs.

Make adjustments as needed, but still try and stick as close to the basic rotations as possible.

Level 40 Art of War and Judgements of the Wise

For those that don't know...

• Art of War
• Judgements of the Wise

At level 40 you can start putting talent points into Art of War (AoW) and Judgements of the Wise. These are two huge and absolutely critical talents that have a major impact on leveling.

My first choice was to put points straight into Judgements of the Wise, to eliminate all my mana issues. I kid you not, from the moment I had all three points in Judgements of the Wise, I never had to stop and drink again until after 60. The 25% instant replenishment was huge.

Not only that, I could now use Consecrate without the mana drain (having the Consecrate Glyph helps, too). I would open with Hand of Reckoning, cast Judgment, then lay down a Consecrate. If a second Judgement was necessary on the mob, that would replenish my mana. After that mob was dead, I'd move on to the next, and when I cast Judgement again, the mana would be back to full if it wasn't already. A beautiful cycle.

Next I put points into Art of War, making my Flash of Light and Exorcism a instant cast on my melee criticals. This is also a huge boost to DPS and getting mobs down quickly. My favorite is when I have a proc right as I kill a mob, then move on to the next. I open with Hand of Reckoning, pop my instant Exorcism, then Judge and the mob is just about crippled before he even lays a hand on me! One quick auto attack and BOOM!...dead.

When both these talents are maxed out, you'll notice a significant decrease in downtime from level 45 on. Even at 80 now, I never have mana or health issues when doing my PvE.

Health Issues

I have none. Literally, none. No downtime, no bandaging, no food to eat. With Judgement of Light, I've rarely had health issues from the moment I acquired the spell. Constant judgements, as well as Art of War FoL procs keep my HP running high at all times. If my HP is down for any reason (maybe a large pack of mobs), I throw on a quick Holy Light and I move on.

The key to leveling quickly is minimizing your downtime. Recovering health and mana sucks up more time than you would think, and Paladins are the crown jewel of low leveling maintenance.

Gearing Up

My Heirloom items are as follows:

• Polished Spaulders of Valor
  
• Polished Breastplate of Valor with +3 to all Stats
  
• Bloodied Arcanite Reaper with Crusader Enchant

Every other piece of gear bought was a BoE green or blue item from the AH. Occasionally I would use a quest reward gear piece. The key to buying BoE armor is finding what best suits your needs.

Here is how I rank Stats for leveling:

Levels 1-40

1. Strength
2. Intellect
3. Stamina
4. Agility
   
5. Critical Strike
   

* Survivability is key, and stamina helps there, but Strength is the stat to pile on at first. Mana is also an issue once Consecrate comes into the picture, so Intellect is high up there as well. I love critical strike rating, but agility and its counterpart crit take a backseat to the top 3.

Levels 41+

1. Strength
2. Agility
3. Critical Strike
4. Stamina
5. Intellect

* After Art of War and Judgements of the Wise come into the picture, I basically stopped worrying about HP and mana. I went straight to gear with Strength and Agility as my primary focus. Getting my damage up, along with my crit rating made for an exceptionally strong Paladin. I was moving through zones faster than I ever had before.

BoE Gear Choices

Levels 1-40

1. ...of the Bear
2. ...of the Gorilla
3. ...of the Tiger
4. ...of Strength
5. ...of the Eagle

Levels 41+

1. ...of the Tiger
2. ...of the Bear
3. ...of Strength
4. ...of the Gorilla
5. ...of the Eagle
   

After much experimenting, I finally found the optimal gear for leveling. At the beginning levels, up to level 40 or so, I mixed and matched mail armor items of the Bear and of the Tiger. At 40+, I started hunting for BoE items of the Tiger, with no major preference to plate, mail, or leather (the only difference being armor). Since I had no real health concerns, the armor rating didn't carry as much weight any more.

See, I was always going to have to plate heirloom pieces with exceptional stats that I never need to replace. That meant I could venture out and try for the best combination of Stats. I started choosing the best piece available from Plate, Mail, and Leather Gear. Plate took top priority, then Mail, and finally Leather. Whichever piece of gear from the three was the best choice, that's what I went for.

Summary

If you play smart, you will find that leveling a Paladin (as ret) is extremely easy and fun. The thrill of it is seeing how powerful a Paladin can be when you play the class correctly. After leveling just about every class there is in the game, I can say definitively that for my part, a Paladin has such high initial burst damage, that it has surpassed every other class in terms of kill speed and damage. Couple that with Paladins being the kings of 'no downtime', you have one hell of a class to play and level with.

This one had me laughing pretty hard when Hogger opens up. Level 83 Hogger vs Premonition at BlizzCon 2009.

This Paladin Heirloom Project has been a lot of fun so far. I am discovering new ways of leveling that is just helping me blow through levels. I started this as a fun project, and that is exactly what is has been so far. I am looking forward to seeing what results this will deliver.

The keys to me pulling through with my objectives for this project is to have as little downtime as possible, and to significantly reduce my travel time, which it looks like I will have no problem doing.

Continuing with my Paladin Heirloom Project, I am going to post levels 21 through 30 here.

• Read the Paladin Heirloom Project Part I for levels 1-10.

• Read the Paladin Heirloom Project Part II for levels 11-20.

Paladin Heirloom Project Part III


Levels: 21-30

Zones Involved: Westfall (21), Redridge Mountains (22-25), Wetlands (25-29), Duskwood (29-30)

Training at Levels: 22, 26, 30

Overall Time Elapsed: 12 hours 27 minutes

Gear Purchased: Done by a bank toon every couple levels, random BoE greens of the Bear and of the Tiger. Helms purchased at level 26 and 28 of the Bear.

Tips

General

• Hand of Reckoning should now be engraved in your rotations for pulling mobs. Remember that this will only deal damage if the mob is not targeting you, so make sure to pull early on as your are closing in. It will also deal damage if the mob is running away in fear. The mana cost is ridiculously low, so it's a must in rotations at this point.
  
• Rotation should now be: HoR (to pull) > Judgement until dead. Consecrate is usable, but a mana drain, so I avoided using it unless in packs of mobs. Determine what works best for you kill efficiency and time management. Though Consecrate was helping me kill mobs quicker, single targeting with HoR was keeping me constantly on the move, keeping my mana up for nearly 3x longer.
  

Redridge Mountains

• You want to make sure and quest stack everything you can here to maximize your efficiency and time management.
• As a Ret Paladin with the heirloom gear, you can solo the elite quests at 24 or 25. Make good use of your shield spells and Lay On Hands.
• The quest to kill Lieutenant Fangore can prove difficult because of the mobs running for help in such close proximity to each other. Try entering that area along the northeast wall and pulling Fangore and his pack to you.

Wetlands

• Travel to the Wetlands via Ironforge to Loch Modan, grabbing the flight path in Thelsamar on the way. Take the tunnels in north Loch Modan into Wetlands. Grab the Algaz Gauntlet quest from Mountaineer Rockgar and complete it on your way.
• Quest Stacking as normal applies here.
• When doing the Greenwarden quests, Consecrate AoE damage works best as you attack the gnoll camps.
• Save all the Dun Modr quests until the very last.
• Once all Wetlands quests are complete, head north from Dun Modr over the bridge to Foggy MacKreel, just on the west side across the bridge in the tower ruins over the water. You will have to jump to him. Grab his MacKreel's Moonshine quest that makes you travel to Southshore. Along the way, make sure to grab the Refuge Pointe flight path. Grab Southshore's FP as well.
• Immediately after grabbing MacKreel's quest, dive under water, under the bridge, and locate the Waterlogged Envelope. It is in the hands of a dead dwarf trapped under some bridge debris. May be hard to find at first. This is a hidden quest that can be completed in Southshore. Make sure to stop by Ironforge on your way back from Southshore to turn it in and start the quest chain. Good XP.

Duskwood

• Only here a short bit before I dinged 3o, but quest stacking rules apply.
  

Summary

Now that I had my mount, I was not running everywhere, so killing everything in my path is now obsolete unless I am literally running from objective to objective, in which case it still applies.

I was able to stay ahead of each zone's levels, keeping me 1 to 2 levels above most of the mobs in the area.

I ran into an issue trying to kill Gath'Ilzogg in Redridge, during which my Lay on Hands was not off cooldown, so he wiped the floor with me after I killed his whelp. Second time around I got him, popping Lay on Hands to keep me alive.

Wetlands went by really fast, but I wasted some time waiting for Giant Wetlands Crocolisks to respawn. They have a LONG respawn timer. It was awful.

By now, everything is so methodical that each level seems like it flies by. I had a bank toon buy a couple of upgrades, but for the most part I didn't really need to buy anything.

Next up: levels 31-40.

*Day 2 starts at the bottom of the post!

BlizzCon 2009 is here! I am going to focus on reporting World of Warcraft news and upcoming content and the new expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, as the next couple of days progress. I will be updating this post continuously as information is released, so check back often!

Let's see what they have upcoming for our Retribution Paladins in addition to everything else!

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Confirmed so far at BlizzCon:

• New Alliance Race: Worgen
  • Playable Classes: Death Knight, Druid, Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior.
  
• New Horde Race: Goblins
  • Playable Classes: Death Knight, Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior.
• Much of Azeroth and Kalimdor is devastated by the cataclysm. Wetlands, Ashenvale, Barrens among those lands forever changed.
• Flying Mounts now allowed in Azeroth.
• New classes added to old races including Gnome Priest.
• Old world dungeons getting revamped for heroic versions (Deadmines & Shadowfang Keep).
• Guild Leveling System.
• Level Cap: 85
  
• Path of the Titans character progression.
  
• NEW SECONDARY PROFESSION: Archaeology

Opening Ceremony finished. More information later on with the upcoming panels!

Website up: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/

New Race/Class List

Cataclysm Panel

Here we go with the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Panel...

• Deathwing is the main villain of Cataclysm.
• Deathwing has awoken and re-entered Azeroth, thus causing the Cataclysm. Every bit of Azeroth is seemingly affected.
• Zones affected by the Cataclysm will be a 'forever' change, even for those that don't purchase the Cataclysm expansion.
• 7 NEW ZONES: Twilight Highlands, Mt. Hyjal, Deepholm, Uldum, Sunken City of Vashj'ir, The Lost Isles, Gilneas.
• Guild Leveling:
  • 20 guild levels. Can level by doing what you normally do: raids, dailies, battlegrounds.
  • Levels unlock perks via guild talent tree.
  • Cheaper repairs, less durability loss on wipes used as examples.
  • Mass resurrection (Guild-wide)
• Talent Trees NOT being extended: Will receive 5 talent points, however.
• Path of the Titans basically a new talent system. Talents being redone to make them more 'fun'.
• New cataclysm zones
  
  • 5 level 78-85 zones
  • 2 level 1-15 starting zones (Goblin & Worgne)
  • Fly anywhere in Azeroth
• Leveling experience being redone. New zone and experience flow. Alliance has lost Southshore.
• Azshara lvl 10-20 Goblin zone.
• Deephome new Alliance & Horde hub. Subterranean and home of Deathwing.
  
• New underwater mounts.
• Ragnaros and Malfurion return to Hyjal.
• Uldum a leveling dungeon.
• Two new port towns added, on each for Alliance and Horde.
• New Raid & Dungeons:
  
  • The Firelands
  • Uldum - Halls of Origination
  • Uldum - Lost City of Tol'vir
  • Blackrock Caverns - new leveling dungeon in Blackrock Spire
    
  • Grim Batol - Leveling dungeon and raid instance
  • Skywall - Leveling and raid
    
  • Heroic: Deadmines
    
  • Heroic: Shadowfang Keep
• Tol Barad is the new PvP zone, it will also be the daily quest hub. Controlling it opens a raid "Tol Barad Prison" and unlocks dailies for your faction.
• 3 new battlegrounds
• Rated battleground system being implemented.

Hands-On info from World of Raids [Source]

Northern Eastern Kingdoms - Zone Level Range Changes

• Tirisfal Glades: 1-10
• Gilneas: 1-10
• Silverpine Forest: 10-20
• Alterac Mountains: 20-25 (25-30)
• Hillsbrad Foothills: 20-25
• Arathi Highlands: 25-30
• The Hinterlands: 30-35
• Western Plaguelands: 35-40
• Eastern Plaguelands: 40-45 & 45-50

Goblin Details

• Racials
  • Best Deals Anywhere
    • Always receive the best possible gold discount, regardless of faction.
  • Pack Hobgoblin
    • Calls your personal servant allowing you bank access for 1 min. 30 minute cooldown.
  • Better Living Through Chemistry
    • Increases Alchemy skill by 15
  • Rocket Barrage - shares cooldown with Rocket Jump
    
    • Launches your belt rockets at an enemy, dealing scaling fire damage. 2 minute cooldown.
  • Rocket Jump - shares cooldow with Rocket Barrage
    
    • Activates your rocket belt to jump forward. 2 minute cooldown.
  • Time is Money
    • Cash in on a 1% increase to attack and casting speed.

Worgen Details

• Racials aren't currently implemented, but-
  
  • Viciousness
    
    • +1% damage
  • Dark Flight
    
    • +70% run speed for 10 seconds. 3 minute cooldown
  • Abberation
    
    • Length of Curses and Diseases reduced by 15%.
  • Flayer
    
    • Skinning skill increased by 15 and allows you to skin faster
  • Two Forms
    • Switch to your currently inactive form. 1.5 sec cooldown. (seems purely cosmetic but has an absolutely awesome transformation from human to worgen)
• In the starting area your goal is to find a cure for the worgen effect
• As you progress through the quests, phasing takes place; you're fighting off a forsaken assault on Gilneas
• The land is sundered as you quest through it and battle the forsaken. The starting area becomes more and more flooded due to the destruction. Some quests require you to swim into the water and bring drowning watchmen back to shore.

Class, Items and Professions Panel

Warlocks

• New soul shard system.
• Shards no longer take up bag space.
• Shards used in combat only.
• 3 shards used max per fight, regenerate quickly out of combat.

Hunters

• No longer use mana, use Focus (capped at 100)
• Focus regenerates like energy
• Fewer cooldowns on abilities
• Ammo is now an item, not a consumable

Itemization

• Mana per 5 is GONE, Spirit is now the only mana regeneration.
• Spell Power is GONE
• Attack Power is GONE, agility now provides 2 attack power for rogues, hunters, shaman and druids
• Defense is GONE, tanks will receive anti-crit from talents.
• Armor Penetration is GONE, replaced with Mastery
• Block value is GONE, blocks mitigate percentage of incoming damage
• These stats are gone meaning they won't be seen on plate, mail, leather, and cloth gear anymore. They may still appear on items like rings and necklaces.
• No current plans to get rid of spell power plate until they can come up with a solution that makes sense for holy paladins wearing strength plate.

Archaeology

• Secondary Profession, similar to cooking.
• Will have to collect artifacts from around the world.
• Unlocks paths and unique rewards.
• Everything you collect will be kept in a Journal
• Is a gathering skill, works like all the other gathering skills. Find an artifact on the ground and pick it up.

Reforging

• New to Blacksmiths, Leatherworkers, Tailors, JCers and Engineers.
• Allows you to reduce a stat on gear made to increase another.
• Cannot put stat points into a stat already on the item.

Professions

• Skill-ups can be multi-gains.
• Green item you can make 5 of might give 1 skill-up, blue item might give 5
• Big changes for fishing to come, not saying what yet though.
• Engineering is going to get more convenience stuff like jeeves, more gadgets with "catastrophic" failures and more "toys"
• Gathering is to be made more fun and interesting, not saying how yet.
• Two gathering professions can now be tracked at the same time.

Misc.

• Ranks from abilities are GONE. They will automatically scale with your level now.
• Legendary Caster weapon in first Cataclysm raid.
• Old race racials will be re-vamped.
• They would like to remove +hit from talents, as they do not view it as a fun option. Trying to make talents more enjoyable.
• All healers potentially could get a dispel magic.
• A new treasure chest system is being implemented that can grant experience.
• New spells likely to be obtained at 81, 83, and 85.
• Ammo is now an item, and not a consumable. (About time)
• Potential changes to default to UI to make them more friendly to classes so as not to need additional ad-ons.
• Talents that improve auras and buffs are being removed.
• Paladins' Blessing of Wisdom fate up in the air.

World of Warcraft - Cataclysm FAQ

Quote from Blizzard staff
Info from: mmo-champion.com [Source]

Q: What is the story of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm?
A: While the attention of the Horde and Alliance remained fixed upon Northrend, an ancient evil has been lying dormant within Deephome, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane. Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth, nursing his hatred for the inferior creatures that infest the surface realm...and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.

Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deephome will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.

The face of Azeroth is altered forever as the destruction left in Deathwing's wake reshapes the land and reveals secrets long sealed away. Players will be able to re-experience familiar zones across Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, rewrought by the cataclysm and filled with new opportunities for adventure.

Q: What are the features of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm?
A: Some of the new features of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm include:

• Two New Playable Races: Adventure as one of two new races--the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
• Level Cap Increased to 85: Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.
• Classic Zones Remade: Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.
• New High-Level Zones: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj'ir beneath the sea.
• More Raid Content than Ever Before: Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.
• New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.
• Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
• New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
• Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
• Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.

Q: Why are you revisiting the continents of Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor?
A: As we developed new content and expansions, we learned a lot of techniques to provide players with a better game experience--but the majority of the new content we were creating was for high-level characters only. We felt we could apply the lessons of Outland and Northrend to improve the gameplay experience while leveling in the original two continents. Imagine revisiting a familiar zone like Darkshore only to find Auberdine destroyed by the cataclysm--and then discovering entirely new towns and quests in other parts of the zone.

Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms are central to World of Warcraft lore, and we want those areas to remain an important part of the game, not just a place to train or auction. Our goal is to make questing, leveling, and the overall story more fun for new, returning, and existing players. By redesigning areas of the original continents and introducing new content that matches or exceeds the quality of Wrath of the Lich King, we can revitalize the nostalgia and coolness of Azeroth.

Q: How did you decide upon the two new playable races, worgen and goblin?
A: The community has been requesting to play as the goblins for quite some time now, and we wanted to stick with at least one race that players were very familiar with. This expansion was the perfect time to bring the goblins to the forefront and offer more insight into their past, since the catastrophic events of the expansion really hit close to home.

As for the worgen, players have been hoping to be able to learn more about them since Silverpine Forest. This is a great opportunity to explore their lore and the mysteries of the Greymane Wall. The worgen are an aggressive and beastly race, which is something you see often among the Horde races, but is unique among the Alliance races.

Q: Will the two new races have all-new starting experiences?
A: Yes, we are creating all-new level 1 to 15 starting zones for both races. Players will start their adventures with the worgen in Gilneas, which was sealed off behind the Greymane Wall. Goblin players will start on the Isle of Kezan and then head to the Lost Isles in the South Seas before joining the mainland. Each starting experience will be presented in a fashion similar to the death knight starting area in Wrath of the Lich King, and these starting zones will make extensive use of our new phased-terrain technology.

Q: Which classic zones have been overhauled? What are some examples of changes?
A: Nearly all of the game’s original zones are being altered to some degree, but the extent of the changes varies by zone. For example, Darkshore is flooded and has been completely redesigned with all new quest hubs. The Barrens have been split in two; one half is for low-level players and the other is for higher-level players. Azshara is now a low-level zone for Horde players and connects directly to Orgrimmar.

Q: Is another Hero class being added to the game?
A: We are not planning to add a new Hero class in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. For this expansion, it was more appropriate to focus on the two new races, the goblins and worgen. We never intended to include a Hero class in every expansion. As you saw with death knights, adding a new class changes the dynamics of the game dramatically, which is not something we want to do in every expansion. We still have plans to introduce new Hero classes in the future.

Q: Will I will be able to use my flying mount in the redesigned Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor?
A: Yes. While the original Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor weren’t designed for flying mounts, we’re redesigning the continents with flying mounts in mind. However, we’re still determining whether there will be any restrictions on where you will be able to fly, at what level flying will become available, or whether you’ll need to do anything to unlock it. We’ll share more details about this in the future.

Q: Will I need the expansion to be able to experience the Cataclysm changes?
A: When the Cataclysm occurs, it will occur for all players, whether they have purchased the expansion or not--you will no longer be to play in the original version of Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms. However, certain features such as the new zones, new races, and new level cap will only be accessible to players who purchase the expansion.

Q: Will “phasing” be used more extensively in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm?
A: Yes. We’ve come up with a number of new, cool ways to using phasing since we introduced it in Wrath of the Lich King, and plan to use it more extensively to change the world as players progress. We are also now able to phase terrain, which players will see in the starting areas for the goblins and worgen. We’re also adding some UI improvements to help determine when another player is in a different “phase” from you.

Q: Will there be any updates to the graphics and changes to the minimum system requirements?
A: Yes, there will be incremental tweaks and updates to the graphics engine in this expansion. For example, we’ve made improvements to the way that water is rendered. We’ll announce the exact system requirements closer to the expansion’s release.

BlizzCon 2009 Day 2

Q&A Panel

• Northrend affected by Cataclysm, though not nearly as much as Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms
• Spirit a healer stat only. Other casters won't be using it at all.
• Frostmourne NOT to be a legendary weapon, as it claims the soul of the character.
• Race changes: Next big implementation after Faction changes.
• Trying to get Rogues to use daggers more. May add more talents to the Assassination Tree.
• Herbs and Ore nodes to be revamped. Hopefully we'll see a more plentiful supply and shorter respawns.
• Guild Leveling System:
  • Will be able to create guild heirlooms
  • Will be able to learn plans/patterns for gear that anyone can wear, and will scale with leveling.
• Armor Penetration removed from gear, but may be available through talents.
• Onyxia at 60 being completely removed. Bye bye free gold.
• Potentially more than 10 character slots per server, but not implemented in Cataclysm.
• Many passive talents in the beginning of the subtlety tree being removed and implemented as passive talents. Want to fill in with more 'cool' abilities.
• Letting other players assist in your phased events is on the list for Cataclysm.
  

Game Systems Panel
Information originally reported by World of Raids LiveBlog [Source]

• With rated battled grounds, honor titles will be returning.
• Tol Borad, the new Wintergrasp, will be south of present Southshore.
• Guild Advancement:
  • Everything you do attributes to your guild's level of advancement, from doing daily quests to gaining levels and reputation ranks, as well as boss kills, amounts of grand masters of any profession, overall BG rating and Arena ratings.
  • You can earn guild experience from pick up groups if at least 75% of your group is from the same guild.
  • Guilds will have a 20 point talent tree, and the talents affect the entire guild. For example, a guild talent that is specable is "Cash Flow" which increases the gold drop rate from all boss monsters slain, and "Everybody's Friend" which makes it so nobody has to use Reagents to buff. Other examples are "Mass Ressurection" and "Mass Summon"
  • Guilds earn guild currency and can spend it on different items. It works similarly to the badge system that is currently in place, except the items you can buy are tabards, banners, guild heirloom items (which are bound to the guild bank), and Guild Heirloom profession recipes.
  • Any character that is possessing a guild recipe or guild item that leaves a guild will have the item transfered to the guild bank as soon as they /gquit.
  • A guild vendor will be available in every major city that members can purchase items from.
  • New types of reagents can be bought from the guild vendors, the example that was used is that guilds can buy frost lotus type items that replace the herbable lotus when making flasks.
• New Guild News Feed UI, which was compared to an RSS feed, which reports 3 days worth of news. Examples of news feeds given is who is given what loot, who gets certain types of achievements, and first time boss kills, etc.
• New guild member profession UI which allows you see every guild member's list's of recipes.
• Guilds can now invite other guilds to events using the calendar UI.
• Characters at max level will now progress down the Path of the Titans using the secondary profession Archaelogy.
• The rewards from archaeology is a new type of glyph, called "Ancient Glyphs." Currently examples of Ancient Glyphs are "15% less stun duration." These glyphs aren't associated with inscription at all. Once you reach max level and start progressing down the path fo the titans, you are awarded points and can spend them to buy the glyphs. The glyphs themselves are tied to your current spec and can be respeced.
• NPCs associated with paths of the titans are members of the "Titan Cults" which have sprung up all over azeroth. When cataclysm is shipped, there will only be 4 or 5 ancient glyph slots available, and more will be unlocked in content patches.
• Path of the Titans designed to gate content.
• Path of the Titans progress limited on a week-to-week basis.

Dungeon and Raids Panel

• Icecrown Citadel to have 4 floors
• 12 Epic Bosses to fight.
• Will use waypoints, similar to Ulduar
• Sindragosa will be one of the bosses.
• The spire with the Frozen Throne on top runs through the whole instance.
• New 5-man Dungeon with Icrecrown release.
• 3 wings, 2nd and 3rd must be unlocked. 8 bosses total.
• Cataclysm Raids: Grim Batol, Skywall, Firelands and Blackwing Descent.
• Icecrown coming in 3.3 patch.
• Cross Server LFG to let PUGs search for groups across their battlegroups. Will be released with patch 3.3.
• The LFG system is being revamped along with the Cross-server LFG. Could work like a BG queue. Summons everyone to the instance.

This Paladin Heirloom Project has been a lot of fun so far. I am discovering new ways of leveling that is just helping me blow through levels. I started this as a fun project, and that is exactly what is has been so far. I am looking forward to seeing what results this will deliver.

The keys to me pulling through with my objectives for this project is to have as little downtime as possible, and to significantly reduce my travel time, which it looks like I will have no problem doing.

Continuing with my Paladin Heirloom Project, I am going to post levels 11 through 20 here.

Read the Paladin Heirloom Project Part I for levels 1-10.

Paladin Heirloom Project Part II


Levels: 11-20

Zones Involved: Elwynn Forest (10-15), Westfall (15-20)

Training at Levels: 14, 16, 20

Overall Time Elapsed: 5 hours 50 minutes

Gear Purchased: By a bank toon every couple levels, random BoE greens of the Bear and of the Tiger.

Tips

There are several 'hidden' quests to look out for. Two you can find in Elwyn Forest, and one can be found in Westfall.

• The Collector - Obtained by looting Gold Pickup Schedule from Hogger and the gnolls in his area in Elwynn Forest. This is a random drop.
  
  
• Furlbrow's Deed - Obtained by looting Westfall Deed from Defias mobs level 7 and above in eastern Elwynn Forest. This is a random drop.
  
  
• Captain Sanders' Hidden Treasure - Obtained by looting Captain Sanders' Treasure Map from any of the murlocs in Westfall. This is a random drop.

Also, many people forget that off the shore of southwestern Westfall, there is a light house with a quest giver for 3 quests. One of his quests requires flasks of oil, so when killing harvesters for other quests, make sure to loot and keep the oils for an immediate quest turn-in!

When traveling to Lakeshire for the Defias quest chain, go ahead and knock out Hilary's Necklace, which is given by Shawn at the end of the pier. This is a low level quest that gives you max XP by completing it this early.

There are 3 Deadmines quests that can be done without actually going into the instance itself.

• Collecting Memories and Oh Brother... given by Wilder Thistlenettle in the Dwarven District of Stormwind, and Red Silk Bandanas, given by Scout Riell at the top of the Westfall Tower.

Completing all these 'extra' quests alone will almost boost you up another level. So don't leave them out!

Summary

Basically, for this, I followed the same methods as Part I. Killing everything in my path and looting only what I needed, I moved very quickly from quest objective to quest objective. I hit every quest available, include all those in Goldshire, Eastvale Lagging Camp, and Hogger's area.

Upon reaching Westfall, I completed the traveling quests first (sending me to Redridge and Stormwind), then knocked out the rest in short order via quest stacking.

• Quest Stacking - An absolutely imperative method for leveling quickly. Grab every single quest you can in an area and do not return to turn any of them in until they are all completed. This saves extraordinary amounts of time from running back and forth repetitively.

I was consistently a couple levels ahead of the mobs and quests for these zones, so I blew through them all. Very easy, and a very rewarding mount at level 20! Time flew by on these levels, and I was easily into 20 and beyond.

BlizzCon 2009 is only a couple days away, and I am eagerly awaiting more details on the new expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. I am also eager to hear what's to come with our final showdown with Arthas in Icecrown.

Keep an eye on this site, as I will be posting new information as it is released. Specifically, I will be taking the information given and applying it to our beloved (or hated) retribution paladins in many different ways.

There is going to be heaps of information released within the next few days, so sit back and relax as we catch more of a glimpse of what direction WoW is headed.

Looks like we might have a preview of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and what's to come at Blizzcon next week! Keep in mind none of this has been confirmed, so until we hear it straight from Blizzard's mouth, it's all still specualtion.

I will try to keep new information on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and other patches as up to date as possible, so keep checking back for new info!

Khor

Information from mmo-champion [Source]

None of the information below has been officialy announced by Blizzard, this is only a compilation of information gathered from reliable sources. Just keep in mind that it takes a LOT to make me post something on the front page and I'm definitely not speculating here.

Other sites started it, I'll try to finish it. Think twice before you read this post, we have a lot of spoilers here.

Most of this stuff will be announced at the Blizzcon anyway, if you didn't take the time to order the live stream you might want to consider doing it. We will probably see a lot of interesting things here.

Quote from: Blizzard [Source]

This year, for the first time, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy a live Internet stream of BlizzCon coverage from the comfort of your own home. The stream includes the same content as the DIRECTV pay-per-view event, but you do not have to be a DIRECTV subscriber to purchase it. It consists of over 16 hours of video, including interviews and commentary, main stage presentations, and tournament coverage. It’s now available to order for $39.95, and purchasers will also receive the BlizzCon 2009-exclusive in-game pet, Grunty the Murloc Marine (not available in all regions). Head over to the BlizzCon 2009 Live Stream website to get more information, to test video playback on your system, or to place an order.

http://blizzcon.rayv.com/

Forums - The WoW Cataclysm General Discussions forum is now available.

Update - Another update from the Something Awful forums has been confirmed and is now integrated to the post. (The original quote was removed by the author's request on SA)

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the next expansion for World of Warcraft. Dark and forgotten threats that have long stayed out of sight have finally arrived on our shores, unleashing a cataclysmic event upon Azeroth and now preparing more nefarius plans to take it back.

Level Cap
The level cap in the next expansion will be slightly lower than expected this time around; 85.

This suggests Blizzard wants more room for expansions before hitting the level 100 cap. With less leveling to do (along with the revamped leveling listed below likely to increase the speed and ease of leveling), leveling a new race remains appealing for new and existing players alike.

Leveling from 80-85 should be a much bigger deal, the idea is to make sure that gaining a level really means something and doesn't make you feel like you just have 4 more levels to go.

New Classes
Cataclysm doesn't introduce any new classes to the game. Instead, Blizzard have offered more race and classes combinations to players. The Some of these have alreadly been datamined from the 3.2.2 Test Realms. The An Injured Colleague quest and it's new Night Elf counter-part help to introduce the lore for these new race and class combinations, so we can probably expect to see more of these for some of the less traditional ones.

• Human Hunter
• Orc Mage
• Night Elf Mage
• Dwarf Mage
• Blood Elf Warrior
• Dwarf Shaman
• Undead Hunter
• Tauren Paladin
• Tauren Priest
• Gnome Priest
• Troll Druid


New Races
The events of the cataclysm has caused two new races to seek new allies. The Goblins for the Horde and the Worgen for the Alliance.

Goblins
Deathwing once again sought the services of the goblins, as slaves. Unable to refuse such an offer, the goblins were enslaved by him. A large group have resisted however. With their previous homes devastated by the cataclysm, they escaping to an island off the coast of The Barrens. As they strive to recover, they come across an Orc captured on an Alliance ship and rescue him. The Orc turns out to be none other than Thrall himself, and in return offers the Goblins a place within the Horde. These events are carried out in a quest line, allowing players to experience first-hand the reasons behind the Goblins' shift from neutrality.

Worgen
The cataclysm has cracked open the Greymane Wall, finally revealing what has happened to the kingdom of Gilneas and its citizens. With the Worgen curse taken hold, they have found a partial cure, allowing thme to retain their Human minds even when transformed. Venturing forth from Gilneas and seeking help from the Alliance, they have decided to join them, to combat the new threats of Cataclysm.

Gilneas will make extensive use of the phasing system (much like the Death Knight starting area), to show what happened while the kingdom was cut off from the rest of the world and lead up to present day.

Worgens will have two forms, a Worgen form and a Human form. Players will be able to customise the look of both forms.

New Content
Cataclysm will be the first expansion not to introduce a new continent, instead making use of previously unreleased zones and revamping existing ones.

Classic Azeroth Revamp
A cataclysmic event caused by Deathwing and Azshara will change the face of Azeroth as we know it. Most of the new content for Cataclysm will take the form of a revamped Azeroth, taking advantage of newer additions to WoW such as phasing and daily quests. Most of the quests and mobs in the classic zones will also be redesigned to make leveling less painful. With the revamp, a greater narritive and sense progression will be offered to players. Some zones and dungeons will change drastically to fit this, e.g.,


• The Barrens will be split into two separate zones of two different level bands.
• Azshara will become a low level (~10-20) zone.
• Some of the zones like the Thousand Needles will be flooded.
• Durotar is wrecked and apparently Orgrimmar could be destroyed. A new Orc city is rebuilt

over the course of the expansion.
• Gnomeregan will be part of the expansion as well and gnomes might be able to reclaim their

capital. (The last part is still unconfirmed)
• Wailing Caverns will be become a lush tropical area as a result of the druid's magic.
• The Blackrock Spire will erupt and a new version of Blackrock Mountains will be available,

apparently Ragnaros will be back too.

In the aftermath of the cataclysm, and the new conflicts on the horizon relief efforts can be found in many zones and new open PvP areas similar to Lake Wintergrasp.

Flying in Azeroth
Part of the redesign of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor is the introduction of flying to the two continents, allowing access to many new areas and quicker travelling across the large continents.

Classic Dungeon Revamp
Redesigning Onyxia's Lair in Patch 3.2.2 was just the first step. As most of the leveling will take place in revamped areas of Azeroth, so too will the dungeons, allowing players to use them to level from 80 to 85.

Unreleased Zones & Dungeons
With the addition of flying mounts to Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms and the redesign of many zones, most of the previously unreachable or incomplete zones will now be made available to players. This is where most of the new content from 80 to 85 will take place. Some of these are,

• Hyjal (present)
• Gilneas - The Worgen starting Zone.
• Uldum

It is unclear if the old Goblin locations such as Kezan and Undermine will be included in Cataclyms with the revelation of the goblins' plight, but several new islands have also been risen from the seas by the events of Cataclysm, some on the backs of giant sea turtles and whales, with the addition of several underwater zones.

Characters and Events

Deathwing
Deathwing the Destroyer / Neltharion the Earth-Warder will play a major role in Cataclysm. Having been driven mad by Old God whisperings and turning against his own kind only to be fail in his attempts, Deathwing has sunk into the shadows. While the Horde and the Alliance were busy fighting back the Burning Legion only to then be beset with the Scourge, he has been lurking and moving things into place. After Lady Sinestra's failed attempts to create a Twilight Dragonflight, he again retreated to Grim Batol and succeeded where she failed. With his results seen in the Obsidian Sanctum, he has finally created the supreme Dragonflight he sought and plans to unleash it upon the world. But what of the Old Gods' sway over him?

Azshara
Queen Azshara will also play a major part in Cataclysm. Unknown to many mortal races, long forgotten by others, and believe to be dead by her own kind, she has not been dormant in depths of the Maelstrom. Having those around her transformed by the Old Gods into Naga after her failure in the War of the Ancients, she has become far more powerful and a greater threat than she once was. Not content with just Nazjatar and the depths of the sea, Azshara seeks to reclaim power and reign once again. With the true plan behind Lady Vashj's support of Illidan remaining a mystery we do not know what hand Azshara has yet played. The big question remains, is she now serving her "saviors", the Old Gods?

The Cataclysm
I'm still not sure who is the true end boss of Cataclysm is, but the cataclysm appears to have been caused by attempts to incantation to summon extremely powerful beings using an ancient incantation by Deathwing and Azshara. They're both very powerful, but the cataclysm itself suggests something more powerful is behind it, perhaps their shared past of Old God influence?

The Guardian of Tirisfal
Malfurion Stormrage will be returning to Azeroth to aid in the creation of the new Guardian of Tirisfal - Thrall! Med'an's role in these events is currently unknown.

The New (New) Horde
Thrall will hand over the leadership of the Horde to Garrosh Hellscream, while he serves as a coordinator for both the Horde and Alliance forces in and effort to combat the new threat of the Naga and Black Dragonflight. Without Thrall to keep Garrosh in check, he declares open war on the Alliance. In the political upheaval Cairne Bloodhoof is implicated as a traitor to the Horde and murdered by Garrosh. Cairne's son Baine takes over as the new Tauren chieftan. This could explain why Baine was removed from the game in Patch 3.2.2, you can find more information about this in Ahmo Thunderhorn - replacement for Baine Bloodhoof?

World of Warcraft PTR Patch 3.2.2

The latest test realm patch notes can always be found at:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/patchnotes/

The latest patch notes can always be found at:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/testrealm.html

General

The Brood Mother Returns

After years of lurking in her lair battling the many brave adventurers who travelled from afar to challenge her, Onyxia returns to commemorate World of Warcraft’s five-year anniversary.

• Onyxia has been scaled to offer new challenges to level 80 players and is now available for testing in 10- and 25- player modes.

• Adjustments have been made to the encounter to keep it fit for modern raiding, but the fundamental experience of fighting the Brood Mother will remain, as will the horror of the Deep Breaths!

• Some classic items Onyxia offered level 60 players will have their stats adjusted appropriately for level 80 players.

• Brood of Onyxia, a very rare 310%-speed mount modeled after Onyxia herself will be available for the luckiest of challengers.

Copied Test Realm characters will no longer be copied with their achievement history in order to better facilitate the character copy process.


Death Knights

Pets

• Gnaw: This death knight ghoul ability now has a 1-minute cooldown.


Druids

Talents

Balance

• Moonkin Form: This form now also reduces the damage the druid takes while stunned by 15%.

• Typhoon: The knockback distance from this spell has been increased to match Thunderstorm.


Feral Combat

• Predatory Strikes: This talent now also causes the druid’s finishing moves to provide a 7/13/20% chance per combo point to make the next Nature spell with a cast time below 10 seconds instant cast.


Mages

• Arcane Blast: The buff from using this ability now stacks up to 4 times instead of 3, and each application increases mana cost by 130% instead of 200%.

Talents

Arcane

• Missile Barrage: The effect from triggering this talent now removes the mana cost of Arcane Missiles. In addition, the chance for Arcane Blast to trigger this talent is now 8/16/24/32/40%. All other listed spells continue to have a 4/8/12/16/20% chance to trigger it.


Paladins

• Righteous Fury: The bonus threat from Holy spells caused by this talent has been reduced from 90% to 80%.

Talents

Protection

• Judgements of the Just: The reduction in cooldown to Hammer of Justice provided by this talent has been reduced to 5/10 seconds instead of 10/20 seconds.

• Touched by the Light: This talent now provides 20/40/60% of the paladin’s strength as spell power instead of 10/20/30% of the paladin’s stamina.

Retribution

• Seal of Command: This ability now chains to strike up to 2 additional targets when it is triggered by an attack.

This has potential and I can see its uses in PvP, as well as groups of mobs in dungeons and raids. It is important to note that this will proc only off single target attacks, not mutliple target attacks such as Divine Storm (understandable because the chaining would be insane). Seal of Command will still proc it's normal damage on Divine Storm, though.


Rogues

• Fan of Knives: The damage done by this ability has been reduced by 30%.

Talents

Combat

• Throwing Specialization: This talent no longer causes Fan of Knives to interrupt spellcasting.

Subtlety

• Honor Among Thieves: A 1-second cooldown is now enforced on how often a rogue can gain combo points from his party via this talent.


Dungeons & Raids

Shadowfang Keep

• Wailing Guardsman: Screams of the Past will no longer have multiple applications on a target. Recast time has been increased.


Items

Glyphs

• Glyph of Mind Flay: This glyph no longer reduces the magnitude of the movement reduction on the Mind Flay victim.


User Interface

• The size of the Focus Frame can now be adjusted via the Interface Options menu.

For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the US UI & Macros Forum:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?sid=1&forumId=11114


Bug Fixes

• Balance of Power: Misleading tooltip reworded. The tooltip previously reported an incorrect value for the increased chance to hit with spells. The actual benefit of the talent is unchanged.

• Divine Aegis: Ranks 1 and 2 now work with Holy Nova.

• Trap Mastery: Tooltip now states the correct amount of snakes summoned.

-----

New Pets / Mounts

From mmo-champion [Source]

A few new mounts and pets have been added to the game with this patch, we already know that the Onyxia Whelpling will be given to every character connected in-game during the 5th anniversary of WoW.

Tuskarr Kite - Right Click to summon and dismiss your kite.
Little White Stallion - Summons and dismisses a rideable little white stallion. This is NOT a fast mount.
Little Ivory Raptor - Summons and dismisses a rideable little ivory raptor. This is NOT a fast mount.
Spectral Tiger Cub - Right Click to summon and dismiss your spectral tiger cub.
Onyxia Whelpling - Right Click to summon and dismiss your whelpling.

There are also a bunch of ... Mohawk related spells.

Silence Fool - Pummels an enemy for 15 damage and interrupts the spell being cast for 5 sec.
Pity the Fool - Reduces the melee attack power of nearby enemies for 30 sec.
Maximum Mohawk - Only one Night Elf Mohawk may assist a group at a time.
Create Mohawk Grenade - Right Click to throw and pity some fools!

With the new Argent Tournament daily quests available upon the release of patch 3.2, we now have several more options for some quick gold. And I mean quick. When I first started these, I was amazed at how quickly I was blowing through them, as a ret paladin of course. So, I decided to time my normal routine on this daily grind.

There are 9 available dailies, and I grabbed 7 of them, leaving out the mounted quests (citadel and the 4 marks). The reason I did this is because I had much easier alternatives and stopped doing them once 3.2 went live. Here are the quests I had:

• Threat From Above - 13.23g / 2 Champion's Seals / 1 Champion's Purse
• Taking Battle to the Enemy - 13.23g / 1 Champion's Seal / 1 Champion's Purse
• Get Kraken! - 13.23g / 1 Champion's Seal
• Deathspeaker Kharos - 13.23g / 1 Champion's Seal
• You've Really Done it This time, Krul - 13.23g / 1 Champion's Seal
• Rescue at Sea - 9.93g / 1 Champion Seal
• Breakfast of Champions - 13.23g / 1 Champion's Seal

I started at 0823 AM and killed my last worm at 0840am.

I knocked out Taking Battle first, then crushed Chillmaw, see this post on how to solo Chillmaw as a retribution paladin. Next was Kharos and Krul, both located within about 5 seconds of each other.

Get Kraken was next, and that actually wasted some of my time as I was forced to sit on the bird even though I had completed the quest on my first pass. Rescue at sea was next, and I finished that in about 2 minutes. The tricky part about that is as a ret pally, you have no means to escape combat to fly away. The best way I've figured out is to jump into the water and swim down under the boat until you're free. Swim back to the boat ramp and take off!

The worms were last, and again, extra time spent flying to central Storm Peaks. As soon as I killed the last worm, I stopped my time.

Flying back to the tournament grounds, I sold my vendor trash and got my loot. I had about 6g worth of vendor trash from some gray weapon/gear drops from killing cultists, as well as about 5g already looted off their corpses. I received an extra seal from one of my Champion's Purses, so in 18 minutes I came away with:

• 121.71.16g
• 9 Champion's Seals

Not bad at all. If you are pressed for time, but need some quick gold, try this out and see how you do!

Khor

I am on a mission to see how fast I can level my new Paladin (retribution of course) with 3 heirloom items. These are the bind on account items, which I bought with my ret pally main character. Since I enjoy playing the paladin so much, I have more or less lost the will to play my other alts, a rogue and a mage. So, my solution was to create another pally to fill those roles.

With the heirloom items, I will get an extra 20% experience gain from killing mobs and completing quests. This stacks with the xp gain increases from quests already factored into vanilla WoW and TBC content. In addition, the xp required per level was lowered forthose two as well. This should make for some pretty quick leveling times.

I have several guidelines when leveling, and I have leveled toons to 60, 70, and 80 many, many times. Since I am trying to level as fast as I can, I have a few tips I'd like to share. They are as follows:

• Kill everything in your path when running from objective to objective. There is no longer a need to grind for levels with all the xp boosts, but killing mobs helps speed up the leveling process and will help keep your level on par with the zone you are in, as well as the zones you are about to enter. The worst thing is to enter a zone under the minimum level requirements, as that slows down leveling tremendously.
  
  
• Only loot mobs that are pertinent to your game-play and leveling. This only applies if you already have a sound financial stability with other toons. If not, you may want to loot everything you can to stock your bank and pad your wallet. For instance, loot all mobs that drop cloth if you plan on leveling first aid or tailoring. If you are killing murlocs, don't loot them since they don't drop cloth. However, they do drop clams with meat and pearls inside, as well as some leatherworking items. So, if you are leveling any of those professions, then looting murlocs would be advisable. Just pick and choose. I end up looting about 50% of the mobs I kill. Skipping the looting process eliminates a good chunk of time spent on bag management and having to visit vendors to sell trash.
  
  
• Level professions only if necessary. Wait until your goal level to start your professions, especially crafting. Professions slow down leveling time, and usually can be done much quicker at higher levels where money, mount speed, and ability to blow through low level zones help make this process go as quickly as possible.
  
  For instance, on this toon, I am choosing herbalism and enchanting. I am skipping herbalism, and will level that when I reach level 80. Enchanting I will have to level during leveling because I cannot disenchant past a certain level, and there will be many, many items I will need to DE along the way. So, I will break this up into 4 or 5 visits to level large chunks at a time.
  
  
• Don't afk, log out instead. Since I am actually going for /played time here, I won't be afk. Any time I need to leave the computer, I am logging out.
  
  
• Skip dungeons. I should clarify, only unless you have 4 or more quests for a dungeon, and a friend or guildie ready to blow you through the level. Otherwise, you would be wasting precious time. It is way too easy to elvel now, without having to do the dungeon quests.
  
  That said, I love old school dungeons, especially the vanilla WoW ones. If you want to experience these, by all means go ahead. I just choose to skip them because I've been there before, and I know I can actually level faster by not going through them.

Starting Out

Okay, now for the meat of the post. I chose a female human Paladin, mainly for the reputation gain increase (racial ability). I then had to decide what my plan was:

• Levels: 1-80
• Professions: Enchanting, Herbalism
• Dungeons: No
• Side Professions: First Aid only
• When to head back to the Paladin trainer: Every 4 levels
• Spec: Retribution!

Level 1

After my ret pally was made, I moved her straight over to Stormwind City by hugging the northern mountain wall between Northshire and Stormwind. By discovering new areas, I actually leveled to level 2.

Once in Stormwind, I needed to set myself up for my project, as this was before patch 3.2. I was going to use Champion's Seals to buy my heirloom items, so those would have to wait. However, I wanted to be as geared as possible, so here is the list of what I sent myself:

• Traveler's Backpack x4
• Unadorned Chain Vest
• Unadorned Chain Leggings
• Unadorned Chain Gloves
• Unadorned Chain Bracers
• Unadorned Chain Boots
• Unadorned Chain Belt
• Stormwind Doublet (shirt)
• Blood Elf Bandit Mask (level 5)
  
• 50 gold

Upon 3.2 going live, I also added these:

• Polished Spaulders of Valor
  
• Polished Breastplate of Valor with +3 to all Stats
  
• Bloodied Arcanite Reaper with Crusader Enchant

When my set-up was complete, I headed back to Northshire Valley to begin my project.

Level 2-7 Northshire Valley

Starting at level 2 with 32 minutes 11 seconds time elapsed. Onward!

To see specifics on leveling in this starting zone, see my Intro to Paladin Leveling Guide.

Here we are with screenshots of each level as I hit them and the time /played.

Level 3 - 34 min 3 sec (1 min 54 sec elapsed)

Level 4 - 36 min 26 sec (4 min 15 sec elapsed)

Level 5 - 40 min 52 sec (8 min 41 sec elapsed)

Level 6 - 45 min 40 sec (13 min 29 sec elapsed)

Now, in my Intro to Paladin Leveling Guide, it took me 35 minutes to level from 1-6. With my heirloom items, it took me about 15 minutes. 20 minutes ahead of time already!

Level 7

As I was running to Goldshire, I hit level 7 by killing mobs on my way there.

Level 7 - 54 min 12 sec (22 min 1 sec elasped)

Then it was on to Goldshire, and completing all the quests there. I did every quest that was available in Elwynn Forest. I dinged 10 right as I was starting the quests over to the east in the logging camp.

Level 8 - 1 hr 6 min (27 min elapsed)

Levels 8 through 9 carried me into the mine and through Billy McClure's quests.

Level 9 - 1 hr 16 min (37 min elapsed)

Level 10 - 1 hr 28 min (59 min elapsed)

That's it! As Guard Thomas celebrated level 10 with me, I cheered at a 59 minute time! Barely under an hour for levels 1-10. The heirloom items just seem way overpowered, but there's no way I'm complaining. I'm loving it!

I'm actually already to level 24, just need to do the level 11-20 post. Should be up soon!