Great Guide!

[mraddison]

Need to ask one thing though.
Why, in the beginning, you direct us to these quests.. then at level 7 we're 50% and yoiu ask us to grind before continuing... then the same thing happens for for level 8... you get to 50% and need to grind to get to level 9.

Is is going to be like this for other levels?
Why don't you just put all the quests inside the guide then? And not skip any? So that we don't have to "grind" to level?
It's just the beginning I'm concerned about.. after level 15 its no problem for me since we can just grind in dungeons to level. Just the beginning.

Thanks!

[cabby]

You shouldn't be seeing any grinding steps. They're in the guide more as a safety measure in case something was skipped.

What race are you and did you stay in your starting area or move to a different area?

[siofral]

I get those too, if you aren't level 66, grind until . . . and I'm already a 69. Part of it is the boost I get from gathering professions, part of it is cautious playing . . . the kill everything and don't take a chance mentality. And the side quests I add in just because they're ones I've run before that I really enjoyed playing or ones with particularly tasty loot.

Without those boosts I could see where grinding would be necessary and the point above is well made. Does Zygor have future capability to "tune" the guide accordingly? That would make it the most awesome tool for people who've never played before. As a programmer I fully understand the complexities . . . and the algorithm to fully tune each quest set to the current level which includes the gathering habits of the player has the potential to be of nightmare proportion.

Another thing that would be helpful would be a few more strategy hints. I've mentioned before I've run Thousand Needles a number of times. The quest that's up on top of all the columns that are connected by rope bridges had a challenge I had to do a forum query to complete successfully as there was insufficient guidance from Zygor.

The first time through TN I ran my first hunter (dead boring human with zero personality but good pets) and I was still a GAG (green as grass) newby. I totally missed that whole section of questing (no Zygor, no experience, no clue). She went from the Speed Barge to Tanaris never knowing she'd missed out on two whole sections of questing.

The next time I ran it I did it with my much more interesting and fun dwarf hunter. We had a few missteps but we completed the quests without dying. Go us. The third time through I killed my druid many times before asking my son to bring his hunter and back me up so I could get the quest done and get out of there which gave him a chance to show off his new bloodwing. Nice.

The next time through I took my mage. She was 29 forever, stuck in SW doing auctioning and banking for my other alts. It's only after I failed miserably with my rogue and started researching how to play a rogue to keep Kinelory alive in Arathi Highlands I began to understand how to play the mage.

After successfully getting through all the TN quests with my mage up to the bridge-connected columns, I just couldn't manage the final bit of the quests where the final bad guy has to die without her getting totally sliced and diced. After the second slice and dice I did an internet search to discover I'm not supposed to target the bad guy until I've cleared all his henchmen. Duh. No instruction to leave the bad guy to the Sentinel until the henchies are cleared in my Zygor Guide. Woulda been nice.

On the plus side, I'm getting better at researching when I get stuck though I usually have to die a few times to convince myself to do it.

[siofral]

I do have one more bit I'd like to add. Having the level or two bump above the base required can sometimes be a bonus allowing a player to skip unappetizing portions of the questing. My goal isn't to level fast, I'm trying to have as much fun as possible while keeping my alt alive.

I just ran Feralas with my Draenei hunter (LOVE playing a hunter) and I was able to skip the bits I didn't like and add the bits I loved doing. In this instance I did all the beginning quests (killed stags, harpies and whelks), ran ahead and got the yeti hide quest from the leatherworker at the Forgotten Coast, came back and killed yetis and corrupted stone giants, grabbed the shrink-the-giants and water elementals quests (though the quest reward for that is crap but the quests are fun), skipped the bit out on the island where naga must die before moving inland. Then I skipped the bit where the apprentice is missing (who gives a rip if the apprentice was stupid and got herself taken over by the dark side). Instead, because I'm trying to get all the Oglethorpe Obnoticus bot quests I did the next yeti hide set . . . all the fun stuff because I already had the necessary level to move on to TN once I'd done the ogres. If I'd been playing a miner or herbalist I would have run the quest for the goodies but a skinner? There's just no percentage in playing that whole section with that alt.

Which bring up another thought . . . yeah, I really should go back to playing but hey . . .

What if the player could "tune" the guide to accommodate the different gathering professions?

AND

What if Zygor could point out the elites that provide a big bump in points? In Feralas in the third quest set there's the white gryphon out by the first ogres quest. Inland, before the Forgotten Shore set there's a Fel demon in a small stockade where the first set of yeti hides is collected. He's worth good points AND has good loot.

I'll go away now . . . maybe.