Fastest way with one char from 60-70 - with team of 70ies or questing partner?

[Fuzzyboy]

As the subject says. I'm levelling a paladin from 60 to 70 and I was wondering if it was faster to dual-box a questing partner or to run instances with me 70 shammies? Input is appreciated :)

[Stabface]

Mob tagging in instances with 1 L60 and 4 70s is the fastest.

[Moorea]

Mob tagging in instances with 1 L60 and 4 70s is the fastest.isn't mob tagging when out of party high levels kill mobs that a lowbie has touched ? how can you do that in an instance where if you're out of the party you get ported out ? also isn't the xp division the same whether the high levels are in party or not (I thought you get low xp in either case - only that you don't share loot when outside of party ? and only healing or some totems don't diminish xp [what else does exactly btw ?] ? ) ?

[Stabface]

Drop low level from group, pull mobs, fry them with L70s, re-invite 55 seconds after dropping from group. Rinse & repeat. As long as the mobs con green to the 70s (L62+) then you get full XP.

No, this is not an exploit.

[bsdll]

This was Athene's method, I thought it was fixed?

[Stabface]

I believe his method involved zoning out of the instance, and yes that method has been altered by Blizzard to no longer provide higher than normal XP gains.

[Fuzzyboy]

Thanks for the replies :-) I think my first post might have been a bit unclear, so I'll try again. I need to get my paladin from 60 to 70 - I can do this in several ways:

1) with a level 60 questing partner (I have an account with a 60 druid and one with a 60 hunter - this method would mean that they hit 70 as well ofc)
2) I can use my 4 level 70 shaman to run instances with him
3) use my 4 level 70 shaman to run around and help him quest quickly
4) use my lvl 70 warlock to help him quest and kill mobs (does the trick with getting full xp for tagged mobs still work if the pet kills them?)

I'm simply wondering if the xp loss taken by grouping with one or several lvl 70 chars in regard to mob kills is offset by the faster rate of quests?

[Oswyn]

I found that using a 70 to help finish quests faster was more efficient as you just blaze through them (most quests are offer 9000xp to 15000xp). And for collection quests (if you do them), killing faster allowed you to get more drops faster.

Perhaps, use the quest partner to do kill quests and as Fur suggested fill in with running instances with shammies.

[Jheusse]

Another angle of this to consider is rep with factions. I know you're looking for speed, but if you are also looking to get various faction gear at 70 it might make more sense to do instances then quest.

Example: Honor Hold you get rep for area kills in Hellfire through Friendly and mob kills in Ramps and BF through Honored. After all HH rep quests are done it's all Shattered Halls for any further rep. I'd rather have to do 3-4 runs of SH at 70 to get the sweet Blade of the Archmage than have to grind out 12-15, too many flashbacks of helping a guildie grind to revered for the ammo on her hunter.

When I ran my first 70 up I did all quests I could solo then ended up grinding out instances to get what rep I needed (HH rep for the key before the heroic change, earthwarden on CE, etc).
Less efficient use of the rep gains from quests.

My current 2 alts refuse to quest until they have exhausted the rep gains available "cheaply". That means Ramps and BF runs until Honored. Unidentified Plant parts for CE, Arakkoa feathers for LC. The ~13k in rep from quests is much better used to get you into or halfway through Revered rather than partway through Honored. And seeing how easy and fast Ramps is, especially with 4 70 shammies, and the decent pally drops in there, I'd argue for instance until the easy rep is done. BF has a nice spelldam blade for a pally tank too.

(I'm on this because I have a 60 pally and am gathering info and the memory upgrade to box some shammies with him like every other FOTM, but I'm gonna try not to spam the forum and give Otlecs hives)

[Kyudo]

Although Athene's method in instances was indeed nerfed, it still works to some extent in outside play. I was levelling a 5th shammy to join my 4 already at 70, and found that it was more efficient to group with 1 shammy from 35+ and quest around with him blasting through stuff. At around 55 I started experimenting with tagging the mob with the lowbie and killing it with the highbie, I found that in general this actually generated more XP per mob than solo killing.

Now I'm not quite sure what level it was at, but I think when I hit 63 on the 5th shammy, I could remain out of group, tag it with the 63 and still get FULL XP. Having noticed this, I added my other 3 shammies to the mix, and saw that yep, full xp for the 63 as long as he tagged the mob 1st. It'll be some formula related to the mob level and the player level and the other DPSers level similar to the way Athene's Method used to work, but I can confirm it still works solo.

As an example I ground out half of my last level (69) with backup from the 4 70 shammies mainly on the L68 elite demons in the camp forges in Nagrand, each died in under 12 seconds and granted a massive 2256XP each (rested).

[Impatience]

Interesting. I've been doing exactly what you suggest for #4 above (70 Warlock leveling a Pally). Pally is currently 58 and I've been instance dual-boxing her since 30.

I should note here that my goal is NOT to power level as quickly as possible, but rather to have fun doing so. I'm an instance junkie and had fun dual boxing everything from SM to LBRS.

I've found two configurations that work well, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

1) Demo lock / holy pally.
This is the faster combo. Felguard tanks and pally heals with the occasional holy shock.
Blessing of Light on both warlock and pet make healing easy. BO Wisdom on pally.
Pally should use improved Devotion Aura for armor bonus.
Pull with seed of corruption, followed by felguard charge and holy shock = instant explosion.
Change pet targets frequently to maximize use of felguard taunt.
For bigger pulls, you will have some mobs on your lock and some on your pet. So Soul Link is important.
Maximize the armor on your 'lock since you will be taking more than a few hits. Something like the Resolute Cape can be a big, big help.
Advantages: Best combo for fast instances. Some trouble with AOE Pulls until you get the hang of it.


2) Prot Pally / Affliction Lock.
Pally pulls and tanks. Warlock dots using an /assist party1 macro.
Adjust your warlock's dot rotations to maximize DPS without pulling aggro too soon. For example, on very large pulls CO Agony > Corruption.
BO Sanctuary on pally. BO Salvation on warlock.
Warlock keeps imp out and phased as a "Mana Battery" (Dark Pact).
Advantages: This combo is slower, but more fun IMO since it takes more skill and attention to play.
It also has the advantage of helping you to learn how to play your pally while you level.
Finally, you don't have to re-spec every time you get an opportunity to tank an instance.
Disadvantages: As I said, somewhat slower and more prone to wipes. Limited healing = more downtime and more risks of wipes. You are limited to "level appropriate" instances, since your lowbie will be tanking.


I plan to use option 2 for most of outlands. I think they fixed the pet exploit you mention, but you'll still get decent XP for mobs that con "Green" for your warlock (pretty sure that's level 62 and up).

Some things to consider for your to-do list:
At 58 I've just completed the initial "gear up" quests in Hellfire. Most of my other gear is instance blues from Mara, ST and BRD.
At 60-61, I plan to complete the epic mount questilnes for both the Warlock and Pally. (Great walkthrough on The Warlock's Den forums). Both quests take you to Dire Maul and Scholo.
At 61: Don't forget to start the Sporegarr quests at 61 so you can get your Lichen shield.
At 66: I haven't tried it, but I understand that the XP per hour from Black Morass trash is phenominal and might outstrip questing. Unfortunately, it's not an option until level 66 and you have to complete COT Durn as a pre-req.

Finally, be sure to share quests between your pally and warlock, since the 'lock will get some nice gold for it. (Obvious exception is drop-gathering quests).

[Fuzzyboy]

Thanks much for the info. I've gone with retri paladin and demo warlock so far (I'm just quest boosting, not doing instances), but I'm thinking it's not the best way to go. Still, I'm reluctant to remove the paladins dps completely, since the felguard has proved a sufficient tank so far (I'm only finishing off the last hellfire quests, so I haven't gone that far just yet).

My options are:

1) Stick with the current setup, ret-paladin and warlock doing dps and felguard tanking
2) Respec paladin to holy and keep him healing the warlock pet while warlock is doing dps (probably as demo/affl?) - or is it better to skip the felguard and use the VW for tanking?

Interesting. I've been doing exactly what you suggest for #4 above (70 Warlock leveling a Pally). Pally is currently 58 and I've been instance dual-boxing her since 30.

I should note here that my goal is NOT to power level as quickly as possible, but rather to have fun doing so. I'm an instance junkie and had fun dual boxing everything from SM to LBRS.

I've found two configurations that work well, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

1) Demo lock / holy pally.
This is the faster combo. Felguard tanks and pally heals with the occasional holy shock.
Blessing of Light on both warlock and pet make healing easy. BO Wisdom on pally.
Pally should use improved Devotion Aura for armor bonus.
Pull with seed of corruption, followed by felguard charge and holy shock = instant explosion.
Change pet targets frequently to maximize use of felguard taunt.
For bigger pulls, you will have some mobs on your lock and some on your pet. So Soul Link is important.
Maximize the armor on your 'lock since you will be taking more than a few hits. Something like the Resolute Cape can be a big, big help.
Advantages: Best combo for fast instances. Some trouble with AOE Pulls until you get the hang of it.


2) Prot Pally / Affliction Lock.
Pally pulls and tanks. Warlock dots using an /assist party1 macro.
Adjust your warlock's dot rotations to maximize DPS without pulling aggro too soon. For example, on very large pulls CO Agony > Corruption.
BO Sanctuary on pally. BO Salvation on warlock.
Warlock keeps imp out and phased as a "Mana Battery" (Dark Pact).
Advantages: This combo is slower, but more fun IMO since it takes more skill and attention to play.
It also has the advantage of helping you to learn how to play your pally while you level.
Finally, you don't have to re-spec every time you get an opportunity to tank an instance.
Disadvantages: As I said, somewhat slower and more prone to wipes. Limited healing = more downtime and more risks of wipes. You are limited to "level appropriate" instances, since your lowbie will be tanking.


I plan to use option 2 for most of outlands. I think they fixed the pet exploit you mention, but you'll still get decent XP for mobs that con "Green" for your warlock (pretty sure that's level 62 and up).

Some things to consider for your to-do list:
At 58 I've just completed the initial "gear up" quests in Hellfire. Most of my other gear is instance blues from Mara, ST and BRD.
At 60-61, I plan to complete the epic mount questilnes for both the Warlock and Pally. (Great walkthrough on The Warlock's Den forums). Both quests take you to Dire Maul and Scholo.
At 61: Don't forget to start the Sporegarr quests at 61 so you can get your Lichen shield.
At 66: I haven't tried it, but I understand that the XP per hour from Black Morass trash is phenominal and might outstrip questing. Unfortunately, it's not an option until level 66 and you have to complete COT Durn as a pre-req.

Finally, be sure to share quests between your pally and warlock, since the 'lock will get some nice gold for it. (Obvious exception is drop-gathering quests).

[jpacker828]

Would a 3 box combo of a prot pally,2 ele shamans in outlands be able to run quests decently? Maybe some lower instances when they get decent outlands quest gear?

[Impatience]

Thanks much for the info. I've gone with retri paladin and demo warlock so far (I'm just quest boosting, not doing instances), but I'm thinking it's not the best way to go. Still, I'm reluctant to remove the paladins dps completely, since the felguard has proved a sufficient tank so far (I'm only finishing off the last hellfire quests, so I haven't gone that far just yet).

My options are:

1) Stick with the current setup, ret-paladin and warlock doing dps and felguard tanking
2) Respec paladin to holy and keep him healing the warlock pet while warlock is doing dps (probably as demo/affl?) - or is it better to skip the felguard and use the VW for tanking?



Thanks. Sorry for the above wall of text; I hope it helps.

Felguard is the better tank, since the blueberry's AOE taunt is on a two minute cooldown.
Tank with your felguard. Keep cleave active and change targets often. You'll do fine.

I haven't played around with ret, tho it might be worth a try if the new 3.0.2 patch comes out before I hit 70. The ret DPS should be small compared to your warlock's DPS.


I plan to switch to quest boosting for Outlands with the pally prot and the warlock following with an affliction build. It's the simpler solution, and I consider it important to play the pally as much as possible while leveling so I learn how to play the class. I strongly recommend doing it this way if you plan to tank in the future. The tanking learning curve can be brutal for a new 70 and it's a big advantage to start early. (I have a prot warrior so I speak from experience.)