Yep, my second article for WoW Insider has gone live. Go check it out!
Lot’s more after the break.
It’s the first of a series of articles I’m writing on leveling from 1 to 70… and my first draft covered all the way to 10… and was over 4000 words. Eeks!
After I chopped it up, I had to just give it a touch more polish… and ended up with section 1 being over 3000 words. So then I had to chop it up some more… and then polish again. Leaving it at around 2500 words.
Apparently, newsflash from the world to BBB… you’re one longwinded S.O.B. Shut up and get a life. Long story shortened (yeah right) my article was intended to go live as 1 to 10, but instead is only on how to prep your game for starting a druid… and I’ve got the actual levels 1 through 10 broken into two sections, basically before and after Entangling Roots. I’m gonna get ripped by the WoW Insider regulars, but I want to do a damn good, thorough job on this. So I’ll take the ripping with a smile.
As I said to my wife last night, “But who is going to wait three weeks to level from 1 to 10? You can knock that out in two days!”
But damn it, I AM going to get a good, lasting job done. It’s gonna actually be useful, and not just rehash statistics from Wowhead.
A funny story of how this is all happened… The Bronze Kettle had announced they were going to do that online charity raffle drawing last Saturday night at the Dark Iron server, a PvP server that perhaps is most famous (in the circles I travel) as the home of the guilds that webcomics Penny Arcade and PvP Online founded, back in the day.
I knew I wanted to do a leveling guide for brand new players, with some tips thrown in for more experienced players along the way. It’s been a LONG damn time since I was a level 1 druid…. so I decided it would be fun to create a brand spanking new level 1 NE druid on Dark Iron, level his butt to 10, complete the bear form quest and then make the long run to Booty Bay, where the raffle would take place. I’d be a level 10 dancing bear in PvP contested Booty Bay.
Along the way, I would document my experience, experiment with combat sequences, try out different stuff, and generally have some fresh pespectives in leveling a druid.
Well, I accomplished my mission. but I didn’t care for the ganking. The ship from Menethil Harbor to Theramore was literally haunted by a horde rogue that was riding it back and forth in stealth, killing everyone waiting to board it on both sides… and he kept it up for a long damn time, just riding it back and forth, killign everyone on the dock at each destination.
After the raffle, I bid farewell to Dark Iron… but I still liked the idea of leveling a new druid and experimenting as I go, and writing it up for a real, live leveling guide as I go. But I already leveled a night elf to 70…. so gee, guess what?
‘Bigbearbutt’ went live in Kael’thas last night…. as a hordie.
I’m going to take a ride on the horde side, and have some new things to experience, and be able to speak from both sides of the druid tracks.
I think it’s gonna be fun. And I love me my War Stomp!
Wish me luck my friends… oh, and if you happen to have a few coins on the Horde side in Kael’thas you wouldn’t mind mailing to a poor begging bear, I would appreciate the loan… until I can get my big bear butt down to Gadgetzan to play the ‘shared auction house shuffle’, I’m gonna be broke… and I’ve already leveled a druid from 1 to 10 as a broke ass bear this week. Been there, done that, don’t even have the shirt.
Wow, I just begged for money. How sad is that. I wonder if I can make the run to Gadgetzan prior to hitting 4th. I think I’ll give it a try.
It actually might be easier to run to Ratchet and take the boat to BB; at least you won’t have to be corpse hopping through 1K needles, and you’ll get another flight point for your Horde leveling.
You are going to LOVE Barren’s chat!!! I miss it so much since rerolling Alliance on a PvE server in May. Say hi to Chuck Norris for me!
Dax
I miss being on a PvP server as a druid sometimes. Its so great ganking lowbies in Tanaris while waiting for BM runs. Killing somebody with nothing but entangling roots, cyclone, and Moonfire is evil and rewarding.
I also used to love dotting and Mind Controlling lowbies, then making them run around in circles. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Well, I replied to what I thought was a 1-10 leveling guide with disappointment.
Then I read your last statement and realized 1-10 is scheduled for next week.
@Urthona… yeah, I saw your comment from the WoW Insider article, and I felt sad at disappointing you… I did kinda slip that last line in under the wire about having leveling tips and comabt sequences starting next week.
Believe me… I have 4000 words on using wrath, moonfire and entangling roots from 1 – 10.
Be grateful my editor sent me an email telling me that I need to be more realistic. It’s a blog post, no one has the time to read “level 1 – 10… the War and Peace version”.
I can’t wait to test out some of the addons folks have posted about in the comments there, though. They sounds pretty handy, and it might get me to drop X-Perl for a bit, see how I like ‘em.
I tagged the WOWI article in my reader as “Druid, Leveling” and I’ll do the same with others. Owlhawk is a Level 1 (and I DO need to hit the inn in Teldrassil real soon to empty his mailbox!)…once I really start leveling him in earnest, I’ll be poring over your articles!