Preparing for the Lich King

by Tachyon on Sat. 08. November 2008, 22:39

Filed under: expansion, preparation

Five more days until the new expansion Wrath of the Lich King is released, that's plenty of time to get ourselves prepared propertly.

Preparation Step 1: Take a screenshot of your char

Take a last picture of yourself with all your shiny epic gear before it gets replaced by blue quest rewards and 5man loot at level 80 (when again we will look like colorblind cleaning ladies). And for later reference , also note down your current stats. I still regret that I haven't done this at level 60, I only have a vague idea of what items I wore back then and how my actual stat were.



My stats as of the last days of the Burning Crusade (selfbuffed):
8243 HP, 10.3k Mana, 1239 Spellpower, 24.51% Crit (302 Crit Rating), 11.02% +Hit (139 Hit Rating), 8.37% Haste (132 Haste Rating).

Preparation Step 2: Clean up your bags

Get rid of all the trade goods you longer need, throw away/sell/disenchant all the stuff you don't want to keep for sentimental reasons. Put all your off equip (PvP, resistance equip) into the bank, you need the free bag space. Consider buying larger bags, that's now probably the best investment you can do. Say 'Hello' to your new Gigantique bags if you can afford them.

Preparation Step 3: Get a new levelling build

Optimize your levelling build for maximal efficiency in stop-and-go fights, and optimize towards minimal down time. Reconsider your stats, Crit will serve you better while levelling than Haste or Hit. Killing a mob 0.5 sec faster doesn't count as much as having an additional crit and saving you from casting another spell.

I'll be levelling as deep frost, starting with this build ( http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZZAccIsfuhcdgfot), where I added all the snare and AE utility, and ignored the cooldown reducing talents as there will be enough idle time beween fights to not to justify them.

Preparation Step 4: Do the boring achievments now


Honestly, the exploration achievments were probably the most boring thing I ever did in WoW, but I knew if I wouldn't do them now I would do them never. New interesting content awaits us, you would be insane to spent your limited playing time doing boring stuff when the expansion is new.
Now's also the best time to do all the missing BC dungeon achievments, you'll never again find a group so easy to do them later on.

Preparation Step 5: Plan ahead for the new terrain

Print out Northrend maps early, and inform yourself what dungeons are offered at which level range so you won't miss anything in the new zones.
http://www.wotlkwiki.info is a good starting point for doing expansion related research.

Preparation Step 6: Organize levelling groups with your friends

Stick together as long as you can, it's way more fun to level and quest together in a group of friends. Do regular dungeon runs, and try not to rush for lvl 80, but rather enjoy the new expansion and levelling content while it lasts. The new endgame will come soon enough, don't panic. Just do yourself a favour and enjoy the trip while it lasts

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