Here, I will lay out my exact plan on what to do first in WoW Classic Season of Discovery: everything from the leveling to the rune collection to the rating and the PVP as well.
Tip 1: Get To 25 Fast
The first thing you need to do is level to 25 as fast as possible.
Leveling faster means you can unlock the runes faster to play your dream build. It means you can easily avoid ganks on PVP servers as well. And it also means you can access the new BFD (Blackfathom Deeps) raid faster and the new Ashenvale PVP event.
My game plan for fast leveling is to use a speedrunning route. The RestedXP addon on CurseForge comes with a completely free 1 to 22 route. I’ve also modified that route to fit my own plans. Meanwhile, Guidelime has a free route that should be nearly as fast, also on CurseForge.
If you’re used to doing Hardcore routes, there are some things to keep in mind:
First, you’ve definitely got to add in Death Skips during the early levels. Whenever you die, you get placed at the nearest Spirit Healer, which can save minutes of travel time. The consequence is that you have to repair your gear all the time, which is something I rarely did in Hardcore.
Another thing to keep in mind is just because you can die doesn’t mean it’s efficient. You should play similarly to Hardcore, with very careful poles, since dying will set you back minutes each time. Remember that there will be increased mob damage. We don’t know the exact value, but I’ll throw out 30% as a number that might happen.
Tip 2: SoD Professions
Third, don’t forget to work on your professions as you level. Only in this way will you have more SOD Gold to do more things, such as buying and upgrading equipment.
Mining is the biggest key, since it’s required for both Engineering and Blacksmithing. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on Enchanting and Tailoring early myself, to make Greater Magic Wands.
Tip 3: Quests Changes
The other thing to keep in mind is that the quest may change. For example, we don’t know what’ll happen with the Gravestone Scepter quest, since it involves the BFD dungeon.
I’m also prepared to mob grind if I need to, since that buys me more time to reroute if things are different with the quest. A secret tool for that is a macro that targets and marks any nearby enemies. If you’re playing with a friend, you can have them run a different mark and both of you can mark everything for easy kills.
Tip 4: Rune Collection
Back on the topic of rerouting, we’ve got to be ready for rune collection as well.
There were some mentions of at least one rune being available early on, which implies you should be able to get a rune in your starting area. This rune would likely be something useful for leveling, like the infinite wrath rune (Fury of Stormrage).
I’m prepared to drop everything and go to grab a rune like Mind Sear, since it could save me hours of leveling time.
Tip 5: Do Some Dungeons
In between leveling and collecting runes, you should also be dungeon blasting as much as you can.
Pre-BIS farming will be the ultimate key to success in the BFD raid, as well as in PVP.
If the lockout system is the same as in classic, you should always aim to do the same dungeon multiple times. It’s just more efficient, since you’ve already traveled all the way out there.
I planned a 4-man RFC (Ragefire Chasm) from 13 to 15, then I’ll be doing SFK (Shadowfang Keep) from 22 to 25.
After hitting 25, it’ll be time for more Pre-BIS farming. That means all the questlines you probably skipped when leveling, like the Paladin questline for Verigan's Fist. This also means more Deadmines, more SFK, and the BFD dungeon if it’s available.
If the raid’s out right at launch, I’ll be cutting my Pre-BIS farming short to get in the raid earlier. Aiming to hit the first lockout will be key to get ahead on gear.
I definitely want to maximize my odds of getting new loot like the Extraplanar Spidersilk Boots for my Priest. I'll also be doing Ashenvale PVP in Warsong non-stop.
Ashenvale offers a new PVP event and new rewards from the Warsong vendor. The PVP event will also offer the new Boon of the Blackfathom world buff, which can be saved for rating. There's also a new mount (Trainee's Outrider Wolf) with a 50% increased movement speed just for Ashenvale.
As for the gear rewards, weapons like the Legionaire's Sword are better than Pre-BIS options, like Cruel Barb though I'm personally excited for the Advisor's Gnarled Staff with extra intelligence and stamina.
Tip 6: Make Alts
In between raiding and PVP, I also hope to make several more alts as well.
More alts early means you can take advantage of lockouts and get even more gear and so many specs look really strong and fun at the same time.
With only a level 25 cap, it makes sense to want to try everything out no matter what you try out first!
