WoW newbie looking for advice

[RTM]

OK, I know people are gonna hate me for this ... but alt-itis hits again. I just got bored out of my skull with the Hunter by level 36 (well, almost 37). All I did was cast Hunter's Mark, send in the pet and stand there firing auto-shot till the cows came home. Oh well I did hit Arcane shot once in an eternity. Well and a sting at the start of the fight. It became so ridiculously easy and boring that at level 36 I could solo level 41 creatures with very little trouble.
Combined with the guns (and all ranged weapons in general) getting slower and slower as the levels go by (from 1.7-1.8 speed to 2.5-3.0) I caught myself almost begging my character to fire the next shot already!
You must understand, if any of you guys remember Diablo 2, I come from being a huge Speedazon addict. And if you're familiar with Guild Wars, then you perhaps know of the Quick-shot Ranger. So ridiculously slow ranged weapons are almost physically painful to behold after those play styles.

So ... if some kind officer could add the Rogue named Anaesthetist ("Supernatural" didn't fit, unfortunately:D) to the guild, it would be greatly appreciated! I see people adding alts all the time, so I hope this isn't a major imposition.

And hey, maybe this one will get to 70. God knows I'm completely captivated by the game itself. Just got to find a character and play style that doesn't bore me after 30+ levels.

Haha, I usually get bored with hunters right around the same level you did. My current one is 46 though, and the prospect of taming a particular pet and learning the new hunter mechanics introduced by the expansion (and only available after level 60) has kept me more interested than usual. Rest assured that if you keep with it, hunters become a lot more complex at higher levels. The various haste effects you accumulate via talents & gear help with the speed thing also. There are fast bows available, but they chew through ammo and are actually end up being lower dps so most hunters shun them, and Blizzard has responded by making most bows slower. There is a neat synergy between a fast bow, lots of +crit, and the Go For the Throat talent though.

Anyway, yeah, play what you have fun with. It's a game so there's no sense in forcing yourself to endure pain. Also, rogues are very fun to play.:)

[Taelas]

Yes! I'm surprised 75% of the population hasn't respecced alchemy yet.

But it gets better.... Mad Alchemist's potion + Alchemist's stone! *drooool*

a.) Mad alchemist's potions are useless to half the population (as they have no mana); b.) Alchemist's stone takes up a valuable trinket slot (and no, +15 to all stats and 40% extra health from potions isn't worth giving up a trinket slot for); c.) BoP craftables > potions.

[Lissa]

OK, I know people are gonna hate me for this ... but alt-itis hits again. I just got bored out of my skull with the Hunter by level 36 (well, almost 37). All I did was cast Hunter's Mark, send in the pet and stand there firing auto-shot till the cows came home. Oh well I did hit Arcane shot once in an eternity. Well and a sting at the start of the fight. It became so ridiculously easy and boring that at level 36 I could solo level 41 creatures with very little trouble.
Combined with the guns (and all ranged weapons in general) getting slower and slower as the levels go by (from 1.7-1.8 speed to 2.5-3.0) I caught myself almost begging my character to fire the next shot already!
You must understand, if any of you guys remember Diablo 2, I come from being a huge Speedazon addict. And if you're familiar with Guild Wars, then you perhaps know of the Quick-shot Ranger. So ridiculously slow ranged weapons are almost physically painful to behold after those play styles.

So ... if some kind officer could add the Rogue named Anaesthetist ("Supernatural" didn't fit, unfortunately:D) to the guild, it would be greatly appreciated! I see people adding alts all the time, so I hope this isn't a major imposition.

And hey, maybe this one will get to 70. God knows I'm completely captivated by the game itself. Just got to find a character and play style that doesn't bore me after 30+ levels.

Truth be told, with choosing Hunter you've choosen one of the easiest classes for leveling. No class levels as quickly or as efficiently as a Hunter. Sometimes you have to mix up some of your play with unusual things to learn a few things about the class and get better with the class. Something you might want to do when you go back to your Hunter is to start learning how to kite, it's an invaluable skill for Hunters to learn and can let you get away with things that other classes cannot do (if you can run faster that something with Aspect of the Cheetah, the target is susceptible to daze effects, or the target doesn't have anti-kiting powers, you can really pull off some things).

I think most the Hunters here will chime in that slow weapons are preferable, but you don't really see their value till you get to a pretty high level now (it use to be when you got Aimed Shot you saw the value, but the change to Aimed Shot and the inclusion of Steady Shot changed this). As you get higher you begin to weave shots in between the autoshots, as such, ranged weapons with 3.0 speed really help for this as you can start weaving 2 Steady Shots and an Arcane shot between two Auto Shots, almost simulating 1 arrow down range per second (it's more like 2 to 3 arrows in one second with another gap of about a second an a half before you repeat the 2 to 3 arrows down range in a second). With the right skills and equipment in place, it can get even more sick with the amount of haste you stack on. At 70, if you have all the items with Haste on them that you can get, one of the top level quivers/ammo pouches, Rapid Fire activated, Improved Aspect of the Hawk proced, and also Abaccus of Violent Odds activated, you literally turn into a machine gun with just auto shots only being able to weave Arcane Shots, Stings, and Multishot between the autoshots without clipping even with a 3.0 speed ranged weapon. So, slow weapons really are the choice, it's just a matter of how much speed reduction you can stack in.

Also, something to keep in mind, the game really doesn't come into its own until you cap a character. Eventually you'll find a character that you like leveling with and then get up to the cap and see how the world really opens up then.

[Xanthix]

Mad Alchemist's potions are indeed really nice, but for raiding they are not ideal. They don't return as much mana as Super Mana Potions, and if you already have elixir buffs or a flask buff, you don't get the side benefit. So for min-maxing they are so-so, but for farm fights, alts, heroics, etc they are really sweet.

On topic though, Alchemy is a good profession for leveling. I think skinning is easier to level than herbalism, but few classes can use leatherworked gear, and everyone can use potions. A potion of +8 strength won't break the game for you or anything, but thy're nice to have, and it can be fun to have a draught for every occasion. And if you get to 70 and have mana, you won't regret keeping alchemy.

[TriggerHappy]

Herbalism/Alchemy is very tempting indeed. With the caveat that a Rogue really has no need for mana ... but I suppose those potions must sell decently at least?

How would it compare to Herbalism Enchanting? I've looked through the recipes available and there are quite a few +Agility and +Strength enchants that seem like a good idea for a Rogue.

[Crusader]

enchanting is extremely expensive to level. And why should you? Those few enchants you need you can buy from others eventually. That's how I see enchanting.

[Taelas]

The only point to being an enchanter would be a.) Ring enchants, and b.) selling 375 enchants. There's really no point aside from those two. Most would-be enchanters give away their enchants for free if you bring mats because they need to level them -- you can't really sell sub-375 enchants. So up until 375, Enchanting is a money-sink.

Well, you can of course sell the things you get from disenchanting on the AH. So there are three points -- but I don't think it's worth the money it takes to get up to the level where you can disenchant 70 blues.

[TriggerHappy]

Alright. Went with Alchemy. Some useful stuff already at the lowest levels. Regeneration per hour, stat boosts per hour, healing potions out the wazoo, it's already shaping up a really useful trade skill.


P.S.
It's really too bad Rogues can't use two handed weapons.:(
Dual Wield will have to do ...

[Taelas]

Dual-wield is superior to two-handed weapons in general. There are some exceptions, namely PvP, but dual-wielding is still good.:)

[Crusader]

And once you start backstabbing and ambushing you'll do bigger damage numbers then most 2h weapons anyhow. ^^

Have fun with alchemy, it only gets better as it grows. At some point you will have a potion for everything.:D

[TriggerHappy]

Heh, I kinda forgot about this thread. Here's a small update for the few that might possibly care.:)

The Orc Hunter is now level 45 (almost 46) and is a Jewelcrafter in the 220s. Engineering was abandoned a long time ago since all I really got out of it was the Guns (the bombs and other toys just sat there unused 99% of the time). And I could always get better ones from the Auction House. Such as the Precisely Calibrated Boomstick she's now using. And of course she's a Miner, which turned out to be unbelievably profitable during a few days' drought of Mithril on the server.
The blue rings I make with Jewelcrafting also sell quite well on the AH.

The Tauren Druid is level 40 and is still speced Feral. A day-long foray into Moonkin, or so aptly named Oomkin form has seriously disappointed me. Without the Spirit Tap of a Priest, the Life Tap of a Warlock or the free water of the Mage, the Oomkin is simply a pain to play. That one can't cast healing spells in Moonkin form only exacerbates the problem.
This Druis is a Skinner/Leatherworker (at 270), and has pretty much outfitted both himself and the Hunter in excellent (for me) gear.

I have a bunch of level 5-16 alt characters ranging from the 16 Rogue to the 10 Shaman and 11 Warrior, 9 Priest and 9 Mage. I like aspects of them all, but at the same time all have annoying aspects that made me put them down after a short while.

Guess I should try the Warlock again at some point, with the experience I've gotten so far. Will get to experience the Silvermoon area that way by going Blood Elf.

[Lissa]

Heh, I kinda forgot about this thread. Here's a small update for the few that might possibly care.:)

The Orc Hunter is now level 45 (almost 46) and is a Jewelcrafter in the 220s. Engineering was abandoned a long time ago since all I really got out of it was the Guns (the bombs and other toys just sat there unused 99% of the time). And I could always get better ones from the Auction House. Such as the Precisely Calibrated Boomstick she's now using. And of course she's a Miner, which turned out to be unbelievably profitable during a few days' drought of Mithril on the server.
The blue rings I make with Jewelcrafting also sell quite well on the AH.

Engineering shines when you get the transporters (Gadgetzan/Winterspring and Toshley's Station/Area 52) along with the flying mounts and the hats that can be made at 350 skill.

[Taelas]

The hats alone (which are T5-quality) is reason enough to level Engineering to 350.

You can also gather motes from gas clouds, I believe.

By the way, I wouldn't give up on the Moonkin that quickly -- at least if you hadn't taken the time to gather gear. At level 40, you need some semblance of gear in order to function well. (Though personally I don't like playing Balance... but that's a preference; some people are Balance for life.)

[TriggerHappy]

Well I might try Moonkin again later on.

Also, regarding teleports, I have one that still functions even though I'm no longer an engineer. I only tested it from Booty Bay and it brought me to Gnomereggan.

Overall though I just like Jewelcrafting (which is now at over 250) way more than Engineering.

[Kevin]

Also, regarding teleports, I have one that still functions even though I'm no longer an engineer. I only tested it from Booty Bay and it brought me to Gnomereggan.

That's a quest item, not something made from engineering. It's so that horde can get to Gnomer without having to spend an hour in travel time through alliance controlled territory.

[TriggerHappy]

Oops. :blush:

Guess I didn't look too clearly at the item's description.

[TriggerHappy]

After getting the Hunter to 47, I'm now playing an Unead Priest. Tailor/Enchanter. It was fairly easy to get both to 150 (need level 20 before progressing further) since I had stockpiled tons of items to disenchant from my Jewelcrafter and Leatherworker in addition to massive amounts of cloth my other characters gathered over their lifetimes.
Only level 16 at the moment but loving it. Very different from the style of my other characters. It's a clothie, but with remarkable staying power that can kill basically non stop (past level 13-14). Can't wait for Shadowform, but it's a long way to go.
Those Enchanter made Wands help a ton, though. I'm sure I'd be killing at 1/3 the current speed without them. Hopefully after I get Mindflay rank 2 at mid 20s I won't have to rely on Wanding so much anymore.

[Klaus]

After getting the Hunter to 47, I'm now playing an Unead Priest. Tailor/Enchanter. It was fairly easy to get both to 150 (need level 20 before progressing further) since I had stockpiled tons of items to disenchant from my Jewelcrafter and Leatherworker in addition to massive amounts of cloth my other characters gathered over their lifetimes.
Only level 16 at the moment but loving it. Very different from the style of my other characters. It's a clothie, but with remarkable staying power that can kill basically non stop (past level 13-14). Can't wait for Shadowform, but it's a long way to go.
Those Enchanter made Wands help a ton, though. I'm sure I'd be killing at 1/3 the current speed without them. Hopefully after I get Mindflay rank 2 at mid 20s I won't have to rely on Wanding so much anymore.

I still wand stuff while grinding, even at level 70. It's an efficient way to do extra damage while waiting for the dots to kill the target. Casting any other spell is a waste of mana if the mob can't hurt you too badly (and with VE running, most farmable mobs can't) and you know the dots are enough damage (or almost enough) to finish it off.

[Concillian]

I got the arena wand this week and it has increased my grinding speed dramatically(190 DPS wand). My priest isn't shadow though.

I basically Holy fire --> smite or mind blast --> pain --> then wand and regen mana until he dies. Normal mobs die before pain is up and can't do much damage to me. If I do this in full healer gear I end up with close enough to full mana after I'm done and maybe I need to throw a renew every couple mobs or so. It's not insane DPS, but in a raid healing spec, you can't expect that. I seemed to be out-killing a level 65 hunter who was in the same area as me this morning though =P

So as holy I use my wand quite a bit.

[TriggerHappy]

I don't hate Wanding, far from it, I just find it annoying how every "attack" seems to count as a spell and triggers the global cooldown. A staff attack doesn't do that, for example, so I can hit a spell whenever I want to. But with a Wand I have to force it to stop by mashing a spell button or moving.

I'm level 18 now so I've actually healed in an instance already (Whaling Caverns). Gonna need to find a mod that will allow me to move the party frame to the right, under the minimap. 'Cause it's seriously annoying to have to move the hand all across the screen every time somebody needs my attention. I'm hoping the CTMod I'm already using allows it, just haven't had the chance to investigate on the fly in the instance.