I've now got 3 level 70 toons that I can take to various levels of Heroics and Raids, but really don't have much %26#8220;drive%26#8221; to gear them up a lot more than they are.
I mean, I still earn badges and spend them on new pieces of gear when that comes up, or, more recently, spend the badges on upgrading gems on my Mage and Priest's epics, but I'm not actively hunting out new gear for these toons because as it stands, I can go almost anywhere in the game on one toon or another, and I have no aspiration to become a hard-core raider.
I've been into Sunwell in one of those %26#8220;Trash Farming PUGs%26#8221; that I see advertised (especially since they're screaming for Mages and say %26#8220;if you can sheep, that's good enough for us%26#8221;), but haven't gone back because I don't see a point in spending thousands of gold on a single piece of gear that gives a rather marginal upgrade to what I already have.
I've never been a buyer of epic gear in the Auction House either - I would rather gather the mats myself (at times leveraging my ability to make money elsewhere to shorten the gathering by buying some mats from the AH) and tip someone nicely for crafting something for me, if I can't craft it myself with my own professions.
Plus, in terms of Sunwell, farming those same 7-8 guys over and over and running out of the dungeon in between was novel at first, but boring very quickly. Farming in general is something I have low-tolerance for... 10-15 minutes at a time and I'm bored stiff, so I'd prefer other methods of getting new gear.
Nevermind the high-epeen-measuring, whiny players that the Sunwell PUG attracted when I was there... Maybe it was just a bad mix, but the run I was in had far too many people preening about who was the best damage-dealer, and when loot dropped, whiny players complaining that other people bid up %26#8220;their%26#8221; item to unrealistic values.
It's a PUG, not a guild run, not a run with friends... (why do some people expect PUGs to behave like lifelong friends?)
Back To Levelling The Lowbies
So, while I run some Heroics and occasional raids on all 3 of my 70s, I've turned to my Lowbies a lot more in order to get them up to a decent level before WoTLK comes out.
As mentioned before, I don't quest with my lowbies anymore - I park them in an Inn and let them rest up, and I do dungeon PUGs or (occasionally) trade runs with friends who also have lowbies to level.
I've updated the sidebar with my new lowbie toons - but they're not all that new. They just didn't get much love before recently and therefore weren't mentioned as part of the %26#8220;family%26#8221;.
But now that I've started truly advancing them again and learning how to play them in their dungeon PUG roles, I put them on the list, and started doing the standard upgrades I do on all my lowbie toons:
- Fill all inventory bags with 16 slot bags
- Fill all bank slots with 16 slot bags
- Pick up professions bags if required, for better storage in the bank
- Configure my inventory restocking addon so they never run out of water and reagents
- Level up First Aid
- Level up Cooking
Why Level Up Cooking?
I'd imagine that to most players with alts, all but the last one makes sense - I mean, if you've already got a toon that can cook, why get more?
My answer is simple - I like to have well-rounded characters, and Cooking is something I can powerlevel by watching the Auction House for good deals, storing the meats I know I'll need at a higher level of advancement, and using them when required.
Plus, as a secondary - the level 70 cooking quest gives way more materials than it requires to complete it, and is an easy quest to complete every day, so I think having a bunch of toons that can gather buff foods with a minimal of effort isn't a bad idea either!
Why Not Fishing?
Because All my 70s have fishing over 300, and it's not an easy profession to powerlevel.
I'm still advancing Fishing on my Priest, so if I need fish (Raw Sagefish takes you through a difficult levelling time, for example, and is close to Tarren Mills and plentiful) I fish on her. The Hunter and Mage are already locked at 375 and can fish out The Lurker Below without any troubles ;)
Plus, the Daily Fishing quest at 70 doesn't award many useful things. At least not for the amount of fishing one needs to do to get to 375.
Finally, Why More Lowbies?
I'm looking forward to the release of the new Expansion pack, to have more levels for my Priest, Mage and Hunter to progress through and explore and PUG in... but I want to also watch the progression of the new Death Knight class without actually becoming a Death Knight of my own when there are a billion running around.
I figure there'll be a lot of need for other classes, especially in the dungeon PUGs... so I'm bringing up a new generation of toons that will be able to watch things first-hand.
Plus, I'm finally taking on the role of a Tank, by using my Paladin, and that's turning out to be more fun than I had originally thought it would be.
I'm sure I'll be writing more about my Lowbie PUGging adventures and skill-learnings in the future!
(and of course, I'll be continuing to amass cash so when they hit 30, 60 and 70 they get the fastest mounts available, immediately!)
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