Trying to understand instance mechanics.

[AlienChild]

Exactly how does XP work in an instance?

1. Is there some sort of averaging mechanism. For example in a given instance how will XP be effected for the following combinations:
a) 1 level 80 and 1 level 20
b) 1 level 70 and 1 level 20
c) 2 level 80 and 1 level 20
d) 1 level 80 and 2 level 20
e) 1 level 80 and 3 level 20
f) 1 level 80 and 4 level 20
g) 2 level 80 and 3 level 20

2. Is there a way to run more than 5 instances an hour, using normal game dynamics (no exploits)?
If you are concerned about any blizzard spies (for example the Pally JoL nerf!) please PM me.

3. What determines when you leave one instance and go to a higher one?
Some say the moment mobs turn green to the level 20, but what really should it be?

[Smoooth]

[quote='AlienChild',index.php?page=Thread&postID=20 7766#post207766]Exactly how does XP work in an instance?

1. Is there some sort of averaging mechanism. For example in a given instance how will XP be effected for the following combinations:
a) 1 level 80 and 1 level 20
b) 1 level 70 and 1 level 20
c) 2 level 80 and 1 level 20
d) 1 level 80 and 2 level 20
e) 1 level 80 and 3 level 20
f) 1 level 80 and 4 level 20
g) 2 level 80 and 3 level 20

2. Is there a way to run more than 5 instances an hour, using normal game dynamics (no exploits)?
If you are concerned about any blizzard spies (for example the Pally JoL nerf!) please PM me.

3. What determines when you leave one instance and go to a higher one?
Some say the moment mobs turn green to the level 20, but what really should it be?[/quote]
1. The exact formula isn't really known for xp but some really good estimations are stated here [url='http://www.wowwiki.com/Formulas:Mob_XP']wowwiki[/url]. Basically you get the same percentage of the xp as the percentage of total levels in the group. LVL20 and a LVL30..50 total levels the level 20 gets 2/5ths, the 30 gets 3/5ths. But there's alot more to it.

2. The limit on instances per hour is account wide so there's no way around it really. However scarlet monastary has "tiers" so each part of it doesn't actually count as a different instance. So you can run 20 of them an hour if you do all graveyard, library, armory, and cathedral.

3. The higher the level of the mob the more total xp it will give. If you are boosting you should start a new instance as soon as you can enter it assuming you can kill fast enough there to make it worth it. This wowwiki page shows the minimum level to get into each instance. I've got it bookmarked and use it all the time.

[Tdog]

This is my boosting schedule for both alliance and Horde.

Level 10 - 20 SFK.
Level 20 - 42 SM.
Level 42 - 45 ST.
Level 45 - 58 Strat
Level 58 - 64 Ramps and/or BF

From 64 on you can either quest or just have your alts help out and grind instances super fast with your 80 tank.

If you have a feral druid booster you might try ZF from 40-45. However with the recent change that you are no longer able to pull the instance by mount, ZF isn't really worth it, imo at least, xp/hr wise. I also don't bother looting anything till Outlands, but then again I have 80k gold so I don't really need the money.

[hendrata]

I have a general question about "boosting."

1. Do you pull a couple rooms with slaves in tow, or do you pull while slaves waiting in the back and you go back to the slaves before aoe-ing? If the latter, then how do you make sure the mobs don't evade? If I use aoe, I'm afraid they may kill the mobs before the slaves are in-range for xp.

2. Do you get the quests for instances or are these waste of time as well? Some of these quests are at the end of a rather long chain. But the turn-in xp from them are incredible, especially with RAF.

3. Summoning stones. Do they work with a level 80? As in, can a level 80 use the stone? Can a level 80 be summoned to the stone?

Thanks

[falsfire3401]

I have a general question about "boosting."

1. Do you pull a couple rooms with slaves in tow, or do you pull while slaves waiting in the back and you go back to the slaves before aoe-ing? If the latter, then how do you make sure the mobs don't evade? If I use aoe, I'm afraid they may kill the mobs before the slaves are in-range for xp.

2. Do you get the quests for instances or are these waste of time as well? Some of these quests are at the end of a rather long chain. But the turn-in xp from them are incredible, especially with RAF.

3. Summoning stones. Do they work with a level 80? As in, can a level 80 use the stone? Can a level 80 be summoned to the stone?

Thanks

*MOST* mobs in instances do not evade or leash, they'll chase you as long as you're in the instance and don't do anything that will drop aggro like vanish, feign death, die, etc.

Summoning stones cannot summon an 80 nor can an 80 initiate a summon of an appropriate level toon, but they can assist in the summoning. So you have to get one appropriate level toon to the stone, initiate the summon on another appropriate level toon, then the 80 can click on the portal to complete the summoning.

However, the best way to summon is using the RAF built-in summoning mechanic. If the accounts are daisy-chained 1->2->3 etc then any toon on account 1 can summon any toon on account 2, any toon on account 2 can summon any toon on account 1 or 3, and any toon on account 3 can summon any toon on account 2. So your 80 on account 1 can RAF-summon the lowbie on account 2, then that toon summons the lowbie on account 3.

Some instance quests are well worth it, IE the quest to kill the leaders of SM is normally worth 7.2k EXP. If the two lowbies are RAF-linked and they turn it in while within range and partied with each other, they'll get triple exp or 21.6K. A buddy of mine discovered the "secret" quest in UD Strat also, coming thru from the live side, he looted some object that you hand over to an NPC in the chapel at the entrance to dead side. Once you've turned it in to him, when you engage Baron he comes to help, and vainly dies. Then when you kill Baron, a quest appears over the NPC's corpse that anybody (even the lowbies, even if the high level toon looted and handed over the item) can accept and immediately turn in for 40k+ EXP with RAF bonus.

<EDIT> Here is a link to that massive EXP one-time quest you can get your RAF lowbies to do in UD Strat: http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=5125 </EDIT>

[Moorea]

Small note about "The higher the level of the mob the more total xp it will give." I experimentally found this to not be true: ie with 1 high level and 3 low level (which from trial/error seems to be the best combination, you get the most xp that way, it peaks at 1+3 while 1+2 and 1+4 isn't as good) - I found that killing yellow (for the lowbies) mobs is more xp than killing very red/skull mobs - so if alliance for instance I think staying in stockades until level 25 or so is better than rushing to SM as soon as you can (ie level 20) - but you want to verify all this by experimenting yourself - as maybe it changed (my experiments are from last year)

[Pwnstarr]

Small note about "The higher the level of the mob the more total xp it will give." I experimentally found this to not be true: ie with 1 high level and 3 low level (which from trial/error seems to be the best combination, you get the most xp that way, it peaks at 1+3 while 1+2 and 1+4 isn't as good) - I found that killing yellow (for the lowbies) mobs is more xp than killing very red/skull mobs - so if alliance for instance I think staying in stockades until level 25 or so is better than rushing to SM as soon as you can (ie level 20) - but you want to verify all this by experimenting yourself - as maybe it changed (my experiments are from last year)

I can confirm this to be true, whilst boosting my shammies in SM from 22-42, i got the most xp/kill at about the 31-35 level range, I imagine it looks somewhat like a skewed bell curve..